Norwegian psychedelic post-punk outfit Mayflower Madame presents the third single ‘Sacred Core’ off their new second album ‘Prepared for a Nightmare’, released via French label Only Lovers Records in collaboration with Portland’s Little Cloud Records and Parisian label Icy Cold Records,
“Sacred Core is a song about getting lost, drifting away and trying to find the way back to your safe haven – guided by swirling, hypnotic guitars and an insistent, heavy beat. Compared to the shoegazey post-punk of the album’s previous singles “Vultures” and “Swallow”, this track digs deeper into haunting, psychedelic territories, yet still maintaining our trademark dark and atmospheric sound,” says frontman Trond Fagernes.
The accompanying video was directed by Astrid Serck, who also created the videos for previous singles ‘Swallow’ and ‘Vultures’.
“To me, the song is like an open landscape – it’s grounded, but at the same time moving. I wanted to capture that feeling visually with footage from windmill fields and beaches, where there’s constant movement – like a rhythm, as opposed to the solid ground. A contrast between motion and stillness. Something to hold on to as well as something loose and vibrating,” says Astrid Serck.
“The core is what you hold on to. The motion is what you can let go. The sunbeams are blinding you, like a sacred light. The ceiling of a church is another symbol for sanctity. The moon is dancing, in disturbing ways, on the screen. In the video there is also an abandoned house, left with the door open. It´s a metaphor for the feeling of something that is lost, you can go back there, but only the memories are left. In addition there’s live footage of the band filmed from shows in Oslo and San Diego.”
‘Prepared For a Nightmare’ presents a dark and distinctive blend of post-punk, shoegaze and psychedelia. Here, the band delves deeper into their own distinctive blend of psych-noir and post-punk with elements of shoegaze and noise-rock.
Hailing from Oslo, Mayflower Madame is Trond Fagernes (vocals, guitars, bass), Håvard Haga (guitars) and Ola J. Kyrkjeeide (drums). Formed in 2011, they first rehearsed in a desolate industrial building, sharing space with a carwash company. Their hazy, smoke-laden sound was conceived naturally amidst these gritty surroundings. They soon recorded a four-track demo and became ‘Unsigned Band of the Week’ on a major Norway stations.
After a few years of touring, Mayflower Madame finally released their debut album ‘Observed in a Dream’ in 2016, followed by the ‘Premonition’ EP in 2018. Through eight tracks of theatrical psych-gaze exploration and dark romanticism, the album conveyed the wintry feeling of their home country – icy and gloomy, haunting and majestic.
Mayflower Madame has shared the stage with bands like Killing Joke, Moon Duo, Night Beats, Psychic Ills, Froth, The Underground Youth, Crocodiles, Cosmonauts and La Femme. They have also toured North America, the UK and Europe.
‘Prepared for a Nightmare’ was released on vinyl and CD on June 12. It is available through Bandcamp in all formats, as well as digitally via iTunes and Spotify.
CREDITS
Trond Fagernes – vocals, guitars, bass
Håvard Haga – guitars
Ola J. Kyrkjeeide – drums
Kenneth Eknes – synth on all tracks except 2, 6 & 7
Petter G. Marberg – bass on track 1 & 10
All songs written by Mayflower Madame / Trond Fagernes
Recorded by Trond Fagernes & Ola J. Kyrkjeeide at MaMa Studio, Oslo
Mixed by Bob de Wit (track 1, 5, 6 & 7), James Aparicio (track 2, 3 & 4) and James Trevascus (track 8, 9 & 10)
Mastered by Rafael Anton Irisarri at Black Knoll Studio, New York
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