There was a trace of something bigger in Old Black, the October-released Ohbijou-featuring single from Toronto’s Egyptrixx (David Psutka), best known for his contributions to vanguard British imprint Night Slugs.
An equally textural take on Earth’s transcendent original, Old Black and its b-side Hiawatha circulated online, seamlessly absorbed into Egyptrixx’s idiosyncratic, techno-referencing catalogue.
It turns out that metal-derived single was a sliver of something much bigger.
HIAWATHA is the collaborative, psychedelic-streaked project between Psutka and Thrush Hermit’s Ian McGettigan.
At this point, Psutka’s quiet on details (McGettigan is on a Romanian sojourn) encouraging listeners to “create their own narrative.”
He does confirm a full-length record, Language, will be released on Last Gang Records this fall, around when HIAWATHA will begin touring. (Cover pictured above.)
Along with more original compositions, Language features reconfigured versions of the titular track as well as Old Black.
This past weekend HIAWATHA premiered Caring Less And Less To See And Know You (title of the year!) on Mary Ann Hobbs’ XFM show.
The song starts ominous and vague, building to a warm ghoulish shuffle suffused with drifting, diaphanous vocals by Psutka. There’s a good-humoured preoccupation with the macabre here, but HIAWATHA’s detailing takes it beyond pastiche. I heard another unreleased track and the general take-away is “scary-beautiful” – like Tim Hecker’s dissociative suites and the bare atmospheric pulse of Actress, all in one.
Stream Caring Less and Less To See and Know You here:
