British alternative pop artist Nick Hudson presents ‘Khevsureti’, the second single from his forthcoming album ‘Kanda Teenage Honey’, following up the lead track ‘For My Silence’. Stark, cold and somber – this new single is definitely a product of the surroundings in which it was created.
Recorded largely in Georgia under the shadow of the Ukraine war, featuring some incredible Georgian musicians in a huge former Soviet movie studio, this album was recorded and engineered by Ilya Lukashev at Leno Studio and Sano Studio in Tbilisi. and then mixed by Toby Driver and mastered to analogue tape by Paul Pascoe at Church Road Studios in Hove.
When someone as cutting edge as Jamie Stewart (Xiu Xiu) says “Kanda Teenage Honey is shockingly emotional, thoughtfully orchestrated and wonderfully curious lyrically. It is a record for true music lovers” and Faith No More’s Billy Gould says this is “beautifully written, recorded, produced and arranged… all complimented by vocals that live up to the same standard. No cheating, no fronting, just honest crafted musicality”, the selective music connoisseur may want to take note and lend their ears.
“I started writing ‘Khevsureti’ the day I arrived in Tbilisi in 2021; early January, as icicles dangled from the cliffs by a frozen waterfall. It was the last song to be completed. Khevsureti is a mountainous region in Northern Georgia by the Chechen border. I try to repair here as often as possible to escape the chugging white noise of the city. The whole area thrums with a pagan energy that balances nature’s serenity and brutality in the true essence of the sublime,” says Nick Hudson.
“Despite being ostensibly an Orthodox country, animal sacrifices are still performed here on sacred pagan days. There is a necropolis right by the Chechen border – one of the most intense sites I’ve ever visited. Every time I visit the region, I encounter some mode of profundity. I wrote a lot of the album up here, often in dreams and visions infused by the mountain air, hallucinating bears and taking long midnight walks into a night unsullied by light pollution. So this song is a secular hymn of gratitude to the region for being kind to me in moments of grief and providing glimpses of Herzogian ecstasy in spells of joy.”
Directed, filmed and edited by Nick Hudson, this video was filmed in various locations in Georgia: Korsha, the Abudelauri Lakes, Roshka, the Datvisjvari Pass, Shatili and Tbilisi.
A prolific figure on the UK music scene, Hudson released his latest album‘Font Of Human Fractures’ in 2021, followed by the ‘K69996ROMA:EP’ later that year. His band The Academy of Sun had released their opus album ‘The Quiet Earth’ the year before.
Nick’s vast output also encompasses painting, film, and a novel. Hudson has also collaborated with Wayne Hussey (The Mission), Matthew Seligman (Bowie, Tori Amos, Morrissey), members of Kayo Dot, David Tibet (Current 93), Asva, queercore icon GB Jones, as well as Massive Attack’s Shara Nelson. Apart from touring 3 continents, highlights include shows with Mogwai, Toby Driver and Keith Abrams (Kayo Dot), and Timba Harris (Mr Bungle, Amanda Palmer).
Hudson also just released his book ‘The Land Exists So The Seas Don’t Argue’. Limited to 50 numbered and signed copies, this is the first volume of his lyrical output over a decade, encompassing five albums plus ephemera – satellite poems that inhabit the same world as each of the primary cosmologies. This collection embodies a searing intensity and unity of vision – paganism, queer love, grief, death, ecstasy, radical politics, social satire, hymns to nature, her rhythms and forces. The book also features a foreword by renowned Scottish author Chris Kelso.
On February 15, the ‘Khevsureti’ single will be available on Bandcamp, followed by other platforms, such as Spotify and Apple Music. The full album ‘Kanda Teenage Honey’ will be released on March 15.
CREDITS
Composed, produced and arranged by Nick Hudson
Nick Hudson – voice, programming, string arrangements, foley, filing cabinet, piano, Soma Ether, Faemi 1M
Lizzy Carey – all strings.
Wolfgang Dubieniec – moods
Ilya Lukashev – foley, filing cabinet
Engineered by Ilya Lukashev and Nick Hudson at Leno and Sano Studios, Tbilisi
Produced by Nick Hudson
Mixed by Toby Driver in NYC
Mastered by Paul Pascoe at Church Road Studios, Hove, UK
Video directed, filmed and edited by Nick Hudson
Single cover artwork by Kenneth Anger
Publicity by Shameless Promotion PR
Artist photography by @_Carl_Solomon_
Rings in the photos by @Fauda.Silver
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