Bearing the pseudonym My Violence, Viennese songbird Silvia Ryder, once part of the ethereal pop twosome, Sugarplum Fairies, steps into her newfound persona. Ryder has unveiled the maiden track from her eponymous first album under this new guise, named “Harlot.” The LP is set to drop on October 6th.
Brought to life through the production and mixing prowess of Gold Star, Ryder navigates through a cinematic panorama of unique auditory terrains, including using a 1980s Omnichord for composition. Her musical narrative finds harmony in the unlikely matrimony of arco double bass dalliances, psychedelic shades of pedal steel, and the vintage charm of a Baldwin Fun Machine.
These features underscore Ryder’s delicate vocal artistry, spinning a sonorous spell as she dances between head voice and layered, double-tracked/binaural arrangements. Beautifully entrancing, Ryder’s effervescent voice echoes faint hues of Nico, Cocteau Twins, Julee Cruise, and Mazzy Star. Ethereal yet mysteriously grounded. “Harlot” is an introspective folk dirge cloaked in the veiled and shimmering gossamer of light hitting the water from beneath the waves.
“The track depicts a young woman’s bipolar dance between small town ingenuity and treacherous femme fatale maneuvers,” says Ryder.
The album is complemented by a mesmerizing Super8 music video, a creation of intermedia artist Clea T. Waite. The visual piece enchants with a surreal underwater tableau, conjuring a dreamscape that mirrors the atmospheric tones of the album.
Watch the video for “Harlot” below:
The songs on My Violence are adorned with cryptic lyrics from Silvia Ryder’s personal diary, creating a “concept” album that blends reality and imagination through a diverse cast of characters. Alongside the album, a trilogy of visual narratives showcases fleeting moments of debauchery, chaotic beauty, and a cosmic affair woven into the fabric of the universe.
The My Violence LP is out on October 6th, 2023.
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