Out today is Nika Mo’s new single The Messenger of Death from the upcoming Of Cloven Hoof in Honey. It is the finest freak-folk going around. Musically, lyrically, conceptually, and sonically a really amazing listen. A little here about the concept (from Nika Mo’s liner notes):
One might wonder what is still relevant about the Grimm’s Fairytales; the social inequities and religious undertones of 19th century German culture are so solidly written into these stories, they’re like a fableist brick framework, holding each line firmly in (ideological) place. But in the shadow of the more widely known stories (Rumplestiltskin, Hansel and Gretel, Rapunzel), there are gooier, stranger, more unearthly things lurking. I feel genuine child-like glee as characters sprout feathers and make room-mates with a lion, or without surprise or alarm, communicate with the Devil, and Death; striking bargains and asking for help. I also feel a morbid fascination as a character discovers her sisters’ dismembered bodies then proceeds to reassemble them), or a disquieting queasiness reading the tale of How Some Children Played at Slaughtering, (which you can infer from the title, was not a fairytale ending). I find myself revelling in the fluidity of them; both the literal presence of many fluids (bodily and otherwise), and also the metaphorical slipperiness of the characters’ physical forms.
The full Of Cloven Hoof in Honey record is due to launch on April 6th during Tone List’s 2021 Audible Edge Festival. For the performance Nika Mo brings together many of the musicians who played on the record into a 9-piece ensemble which will lean into the extended improvised sections, filling The Rechabite Hall.
Recorded by Annika Moses
Mixed by Dan O’Connor & Annika Moses
Mastered by Lee Buddle