The practice, imagery, and effects of sensual flagellation have long been a source of infatuation. Marcel Proust, James Joyce, and Algernon Charles Swinburne, for instance, made mention of the salacious practice in their writings. The taboo cat-and-mouse game of BDSM has since evolved from a 19th-century act of subversion, yet it still remains an enticing world of sensual wonder and devotional fervour, dancing deftly beyond the pale of modern sexual paradigms.
Now, Luxembourg polymath Roya Zargar of House of Baden joins the fray with her spicy new single “Spank Me,” transcending language as she, too, lashes out her innermost fantasies. With stylistic nods to The Flying Lizards, the Au Pairs, Tony Joe White, and most certainly Lydia Lunch, this track deftly straddles the realm of delightful camp, garage rock, and dominating power.
Zargar is coy about the song’s origin, simply stating that it was influenced by London, LA, NYC, Berlin, and Paris, but it made its genesis in 2008, written when she was living in an old factory in the outskirts of Paris. Zargar will pay homage to her former home with her upcoming album L’usine, French for ‘the factory.’
For ten long, quiet years, House of Baden remained her cherished whisper, tucked neatly behind the curtains of her more public art of acting. Her sporadic, clandestine performances had an air of secrecy so profound, one might think they themselves were love affairs. But, after a hiatus, Zargar found herself back in LA, revealing her clandestine sonnets to select few. Their cadence hinted at a bygone era – think of dimly lit bars with the likes of T-Rex and Hole just stepping onto the scene.
With “Spank Me,” Zargar bares her soul, a noir realm of whims and fancies, untouched by the garish glint of overproduction. This, not unlike each one of her songs, is captured in a raw and unapologetically first-take. With songs like “Spank Me,” a refreshing antidote to the otherwise mundane, one cannot help but foresee House of Baden will leave a deep impression…or a mark on the international music scene,
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