By Charlie Maybee
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HØVDING is a brand-new father-daughter duo who just released their debut single, “Caught Beneath the Water.” A 17-year-old rising talent, Nika Jane, fronts the dark Nordic-inspired outfit with haunting melodies while Billboard-charting producer and songwriter Geoff Duncan produces the instrumentation.
Taking its name from the ship that transported Nika Jane’s ancestors from Norway to New Zealand (translated as CHIEF), HØVDING creates a sound that feels both ancient and cinematic, combining traditional folk instrumentation with symphonic approaches to percussion. Following in the steps of bands like Nightwish, the lyrical content is epic in nature and captures the natural mystery and brutal strength of the elements; in this instance, it has the feel of a storm brewing at sea.
“Everything we’re looking for is caught beneath the water,” Nika Jane sings as the chorus opens wide like the maw of a whale. It’s brooding, haunting, and withholding of information in a way that cultivates a strange, otherworldly energy. The depths of the ocean often signify a great unknown and a space where human life notably is absent, so if there’s something beneath the water that is calling them to it, this song captures that siren call to chilling effect.
As the band’s first outing, “Caught Beneath the Water” comes across ambitious and ready to charge. It is an expansive soundtrack that could easily support visuals of sailing ships in the night. Where they are headed feels like a mystery, but there is an undercurrent that propels them into the unknown with a level of certainty that is commanding.
“Caught Beneath the Water” is available on major streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music. A music visualizer is also available on YouTube. Follow our Alchemical Weekly Spotify Playlist for more great music featured on the site.
Charlie Maybee is a dancer, musician, educator, and writer based in Charleston, South Carolina who currently teaches with the Dance Program at the College of Charleston. His primary work as an artist is with his performing collective, Polymath Performance Project, through which he makes interdisciplinary performance art that centers tap dance as the primary medium of expression and research. He also currently plays rhythm guitar for the Charleston-based punk band, Anergy, and releases music as a solo artist under the name Nox Eterna.
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Alchemical Records is a Washington, D.C. based music publication. We cover the Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Richmond, VA metro area music scenes, including band interviews, articles about your favorite musicians, new music and concert dates.
