Argentinian post-punk expat project Nattskrik lifts a curse with her new album Luz Mala, an aural navigation of a sick, sad world where kindness, pure heartedness, and human connection can be drowned out by the chaotic noise of today’s society.
“Nattskrik” comes from a Swedish word, the meaning in English is “night cry.” It serves as the solo project of Nathalie Astrada, who, one year ago, not only wrote the music and lyrics but also recorded every instrument all by herself from a little home studio in Málaga, Spain. Totally independent, Nattskrik works as an outlet for her to express her personal ideologies, thoughts, and feelings from a pessimistic, sarcastic, and realistic point of view.
Nattskrik weaves a mixture of upbeat danceable Post-Punk with sensual Darkwave, sometimes flirting with dramatic early 90s Grunge and, light touches of classical music, adding to the musical textures siren voices and ensnaring violins.
Her inspirations range from a varied assortment of artists such as Depeche Mode, Sopor Aeternus, Siouxsie and The Banshees, Christian Death, Nine Inch Nails, Nick Cave, and PJ Harvey, among others.
On her album’s sound, Astrada explains:
“What you are going to hear is a cry in the night, trying to spread beauty in the darkness, pleasure in pain, strength in rebellion, and freedom of thought.”
And regarding the title track, “Luz Mala,” she adds:
“Luz Mala is the song that gives the album its name, it’s about an old story from my country, Argentina.
It consists of the nocturnal appearance of a bright light that floats low above the ground. It can remain motionless, move, or sometimes chase someone at high speed. Luz Mala (Bad light) is commonly identified as a “banshee,” the spirit of a deceased person who did not receive a Christian burial. Before an encounter, it was popularly recommended to say a prayer and then bite the sheath of the knife.
The thing is, you have to escape because is a bad luck omen, and lately, since I moved here to Spain, wherever I pass by, someone has a little accident: people fall, they drop something made of glass, the wind blows their clothes, even the weather in Spain get worst after a lot of years since I came here.
I just thought it was a funny coincidence, but the song says I’m a Luz Mala, bad luck for anyone close to me.”
Listen to the album below:
Luz Mala is out now.
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