Mysterious, multifaceted collective i Häxa have unveiled their epic self-titled, full length debut; a ground-breaking conceptual double album shaped by a collision of ancient gods and bleeding-edge technology…
Released as four distinct Parts over the course of the year, ‘i Häxa’ now comes together as a singular vision that weaves together genre-defiant soundscapes, abstract cinema and ancient meteorological mythologies from singer-songwriter and visual artist Rebecca Need-Menear (also of electronic alt-rock duo Anavae) and forward-thinking producer Peter Miles (Architects, Dodie, Fizz). i Häxa is a ritualistic dissection of the world as we know it, a forceful separation of the monotony of modernity from the rites and rituals that for centuries formed the foundations for who we are, how we came to be and where we claim to belong. Disjointed fragments of time collide. Two sides, one of logic and one of chaos, seeking unity and balance through an expression of freedom. This is i Häxa.
A sonic culture clash that envelopes organic alt-folk storytelling, harsh industrial electronica and a dream-like ambience that conjures the golden age of the UK’s pioneering trip hop scene, Parts One to Three evolve in symbiotic unison with their visual pairings made in collaboration with filmmaker Daniel Broadley. The eerie folk-distortion of Part One’s ‘Underworld’ and ‘Last At The Table’ soundtrack a nameless, wraith-like woman as she journeys through an ever-shifting fever dream before Part Two’s ‘The Well’ introduces a more intimate and tender dynamic palette as i Häxa emerge as a physical entity in their own right, captured as myth made manifest in a breathtaking live performance. In jarring contrast Part Three is visceral and menacing, with bone-shaking basslines on tracks like ‘Dryland’ and ‘Destroy Everything’ interrupted without warning by abrupt, high-gain percussion as Need-Menear’s spellbinding voice and cryptic lyrics float effortlessly above the maelstrom.
Part Four is an awe-inspiring and unsettling amalgamation of what came before as plaintive piano refrains collide with shimmering drum and bass grooves, all interspersed with rich string arrangements and truly apocalyptic synthesiser soundscapes. ‘Vessel’, Part Four’s opening piece, is pulsating synth suspense and eerie effected spoken word as Need-Menear’s already otherworldly vocal delivery is played forwards and backwards, akin to a tape-looped ghost in the machine. ‘Blue Angel’ immediately bursts into life with a fluttering, syncopated breakbeat that channels the likes of Goldie, Massive Attack and Björk as Need-Menear’s presence also gathers momentum before receding back into a deep droning menace that would make i Häxa labelmate and dark ambient pioneer Lustmord proud. ‘Infernum’, a twisting, cyclic callback to Part One’s ‘Inferno’, is as incendiary as its name suggests. The breakbeat from ‘Blue Angel’ returns with a vengeance; this time bitcrushed, compressed and relentless, conjuring the chaos of IDM icons like Squarepusher and Aphex Twin, but paired with a plaintive string motif that adds a distinctive human melancholy to the machine-like madness. Not just the final piece of Part Four but the closing chapter of the entire i Häxa saga, ‘Circle’ is a work of staggering intimacy and emotional candour. The sparse piano, string and vocals arrangements that make up ‘Circle’ are somehow more powerful than the barrage of breakbeats and basslines that precede it and, whilst in this direction the dynamic shift might appear abrupt, ‘Circle’ crucially echoes the latent alt-folk ambience of ‘Underworld’, the very first track of i Häxa’s Part One. As such, ‘Circle’ begins the project’s epic arc again, with Need-Menear’s last words “I see a light, I see an end / And a start, I see it all” serving lyrically and literally as the project’s open and close.
Whilst the album is composed of four distinct movements, each consisting of four distinct tracks themselves; pulling them apart into easily digestible, standalone singles isn’t an easy feat and, as is now clear from the project’s sprawling cyclic nature, was never the intention. In an age of fast fun and instant gratification, the ties that bind these works together are intended to transcend tracklisting. True to its shifting, ephemeral nature, ‘i Häxa’ will be released in two formats: a Double LP in a gatefold sleeve and a deluxe box set housing all four Parts as individual EPs with screen prints on each b-side as well as a bonus LP entitled ‘Fishnets/Oceans’ featuring three vinyl-exclusive tracks as well as a 36-page photobook documenting the making of Part One’s mesmerising short film.
With aural, visual and lyrical themes freely intertwining, i Häxa is something to be consumed whole; just as it will, in time, consume you. Charting an existential journey to the very depths of what makes us who we are, with every dark corner illuminated in glitched out, discordant glory; i Häxa is a project years in the making that draws simultaneously from rituals for old gods and the modern day deification of data. i Häxa is both heartwarming and horrifying; i Häxa is ancient history and hyper-real; i Häxa is everybody and no one at all; i Häxa is for you and for me; i Häxa is here and it is happening now.