CMU Approved

Approved: Zyna Hel

By | Published on Wednesday 1 June 2016

Zyna Hel

Zyna Hel’s debut single ‘Catacombs’ and its accompanying imagery are so overloaded with drama that they verge on the ridiculous. On the cover artwork, Hel sits, eyes closed, in a purple veil surrounded by crystals and occult symbols. Whilst hitting play on the release instantly throws you into an overloaded electronic track helmed by Fuck Buttons’ Benjamin Power, aka Blanck Mass.

It’s this teetering on the edge of going completely over the top that makes it so exciting. For all that, the song’s subject matter is perhaps not what you would expect. “‘Catacombs is about the sometimes complicated relationships between mothers and daughters, and the ways in which we inherit patterns from our parents and often repeat their mistakes, or their behaviour unconsciously”, explains Zyna.

“It’s in part inspired by Persephone’s descent into Hades and her mother Demeter’s frantic search for her”, she adds. “I’ve always been fascinated by this myth, and I really relate to Persephone and her journeys in and out of the Underworld. Ultimately in the song there is a release from this damaging symbiotic relationship through the practice of self-awareness and self-creation”.

The single is released through Zyna Hel’s own Occult Babes label on 10 Jun, and you can catch her live next at The Hug And Pint in Glasgow on 3 Jun. Listen to ‘Catacombs’ here:

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