I need nature’s touch
This forest is my home
Laid to rest here alone
Hide in fear, hide away my tears
Chiffon Magnifique, an innovative post-punk/minimal wave outfit masterminded by Australian musician Jed A. Walters, promises to enchant music enthusiasts with the release of his latest single, Witches Falls. This track offers an intriguing glimpse into the shadow-laced world of the artist’s forthcoming debut album, Anxietika.
Witches Falls unfolds as a darkly captivating composition, luring listeners into the labyrinthine depths of Walters’ emotional terrain. The result is a haunting blend of gradually-building drum machine beats, gritty plucked bass guitar, mournful lead guitar twangs, and Walters’ woeful reverb-drenched baritone. The song’s tone is accentuated by eerie soundscapes, created by Walters through ingenious techniques like reversing high-pitched guitar plucks.
The lyrics paint a vivid picture of the desolate Witches Falls walking track, located in Tamborine National Park, where the artist contemplated the haunting beauty of the surroundings. Walters muses on “jagged rocks and tangled trees,” cautioning against the ethereal sounds that drift in the wind, a nod to local legends that lend the Falls its eerie name.
“I wrote this one very quickly, after a fateful hike through a rainforest walk,” he says. “I was in a particularly poor state of mental health. My heart had been brutally broken, my social skills and self-confidence were at an all-time low, and hot anxiety was a part of every-day life. I chose to escape reality on my own at the Witches Falls walking track, located in Tamborine National Park. I found myself at the infamous lookout over the falls, thinking to myself ‘this would be a beautiful place to die.’ I guess, instead of acting on this thought, I walked out of that rainforest, drove home, picked up the guitar and wrote Witches Falls.”
The single is complemented by a visually arresting music video, self-directed by Walters and filmed by his compatriot Matt Power, which weaves a poignant tale of despair and introspection. He poetically reincarnates as a previous version of himself, ensnared by forest Witch, (Isabelle Rickards), who eerily whispers from the shadows, guiding him towards inevitable decline. This elusive figure stands as an allegory for the tormenting inner voices that coax self-destruction amid sorrow. The narrative is further enriched with nods to both Stanley Kubrick and the “wicked” luminary of the silent era, vamp queen Theda Bara.
Watch the video for “Witches Falls” below:
Witches Falls is a significant milestone in Chiffon Magnifique’s evolving discography, a follow-up to the impactful Abomination, Ice Witch, and Cyanide.
Recorded at Jed’s home studio, the song is emblematic of Walters’ classic approach to production:“I treated the main beds of this mix as a real rock band – the drums I played in with my fingers, my bass, guitar, acoustic and synths all played in my myself” he says. “I experimented with making vocal drones by layering vowels and dragging them onto a sampler. I really like that kind of sampling like they did in the 80s. It had its limitations but they made these really weird sounds by twisting vocals up and down in pitch, becoming instruments themselves.”
“Witches Falls” is available on all major streaming platforms now. Stream below and order here:
Chiffon Magnifique will be presenting WITCHES FALLS, as well as an entire setlist of tastes from the forthcoming album Anxietika, with live shows.
Live Dates:
- OCTOBER 28 – The Cave Inn, Brisbane
- NOVEMBER 26 – Mo’s Desert Clubhouse, Gold Coast
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