i Häxa releases Part 2

Mysterious, multifaceted collective i Häxa return to this plane of existence to deliver ‘Part 2’, the next chapter of their ground-breaking multimedia project shaped by a collision of old gods and new technology...

The piece serves simultaneously as electronica-fuelled, spoken word alt-folk storytelling with a coinciding live session filmed in collaboration with Part 1's filmmaker Daniel Broadley. 'Part 2' blurs the boundaries between a band in the studio and the rich seam of lore that steeps the work they produce.

A singular vision that weaves together genre-defiant soundscapes, abstract cinema and ancient meteorological mythologies; i Häxa is a breathtaking 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.

Where ‘Part 1’s harsh electronics and distorted alt-folk followed a nameless, wraith-like woman through an ever-shifting fever dream of nameless places and unbridled, impassioned impulse; ‘Part 2’ is more intimate, tender and organic as the focus shifts towards i Häxa as a physical entity, as myth made manifest. As such, ‘Part 2’ lets a sharp sliver of light pierce through the gloom, serving as a sobering blade of honesty and anger that burns up the mental dead wood and emotional detritus rather than rotting in it, as ‘Part 1’ explored.

The sultry acoustic guitar arpeggios that lie under the lyricism of opening piece ‘Eight Eyes’ quickly evolve into something new and undefinable. Percussive pulses and discordant drones swell to a crescendo that extends past the confines of one song and bleeds into the next as our narrator asks again and again, ‘How does it feel?’

These percussive waves persist, twisting and turning to shape the bones of ‘We Three’, a mesmerising mixture of stuttering drum and bass groove, whispered words and alluring close harmonies that dissipate, just as effortlessly as they appeared, into majestic piano ballad ‘The Well’ before it too erupts into trip-hop euphoria that conjured the likes of Blue Lines-era Massive Attack, Portishead and Björk. Closing ‘Part 2’, ‘Fog of War’ is an unsettling concoction of the three pieces that came before it, growing slowly but surely before an abrupt ending leaves us breathless, with questions unanswered, waiting helplessly for answers that may or may not be given in ‘Part 3’...

Whilst ‘Part 2’ is composed of four distinct movements, pulling them apart into easily digestible singles isn’t an easy feat. In an age of fast fun and instant gratification, the ties that bind these works together are intended to transcend tracklisting. With aural, visual and lyrical themes freely intertwining, i Häxa is something to be consumed whole; just as it will, in time, consume you.

Coinciding with Beltane, the ancient Iron Age festival of fire, ‘Part 2’ is the latest chapter of a truly ambitious, year-long multifaceted project 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). Together, as i Häxa, Need-Menear and Miles are using the seasonal solstices of 2024 as waypoints to unveil collections of songs and cinematics ahead of a vinyl box-set combining all four ‘Parts’ set for release in November. The project charts an existential journey to the very depths of what makes us human, with every impassioned pang amplified in glitched-out, technicolour glory, before ultimately pulling everything together as one awesome, unified whole.