Noise auteurs The Body and electronic artist Dis Fig, aka Felicia Chen, have announced the collaborative album Orchards of a Futile Heaven, arriving February 23rd via Thrill Jockey. The lead single “Holy Lance” can be streamed now.
The mysterious track offers a glimpse into the full breadth of the collab, as Chen’s voice cuts through a haze of droning noise. The tension builds to a climactic drop of feedback squalls and pulverizing guitar, with the vocals of Chen rising to match the sonic swell. Overall, the track recalls the post-metal adjacent music of Chelsea Wolfe, Myrkur, and BIG|BRAVE, among others.
The Body and Dis Fig found common ground in their desire to make heavy music that defies “the tropes of metal and electronic music.” As heard on “Holy Lance,” they instead merged the two genres to create something altogether their own.
“I always wanted the heavier stuff but I also didn’t really like heavier guitar music,” said The Body’s Lee Buford, pinning down his band’s artistic ethos for the past two decades. “None of it really felt quite heavy enough to me. A human can’t be as heavy as a machine.”
Added Chen on the electronic machinations underlying the collab: “I love the balance. You could never connect to just a machine as well as you could a human. Which is why the combination is so potent for me. I don’t want to hide. I think nothing connects you more empathetically than another human’s voice.”
You can pre-order Orchards of a Futile Heaven via The Body’s Bandcamp. Stream “Holy Lance” and see the album art and tracklist below.
Orchards of a Futile Heaven Artwork:
Orchards of a Futile Heaven Tracklist:
01. Eternal Hour
02. To Walk a Higher Path
03. Dissent, Shame
04. Orchards of a Futile Heaven
05. Holy Lance
06. Coils of Kaa
07. Back to the Water
