Chicago’s experimental noise/post-punk duo Djunah have shared their raucous final single Bless Your Money ahead of the release of their debut album ‘Ex Voto‘. The album was produced by Converge’s Kurt Ballou and comes out on November 1st via Triple Eye Industries (Bandcamp pre-order).
Bless Your Money takes aim at capitalism and the ultra-rich’s stranglehold on the world at large, following previous two singles lifted from ‘Ex Voto’, Animal Kingdom and Nurse and Nun. Listen to Bless Your Money via YouTube below.
Djunah is an unrelentingly fierce duo out Chicago, composed of Donna Diane (ex-frontwoman of Beat Drun Juel) and drummer Nick Smalkowski, a veteran heavy hitter from acclaimed acts like Arctic Sleep and Fake Limbs. Known for her raw, aggressive performance style, Donna pulls triple duty in this noisey power duo, simultaneously playing guitar, singing, and pulverizing on a massive-sounding Moog bass organ with her feet.
Of the new single, Donna notes “Bless Your Money is a good example of how amazing it was to work with Kurt [Ballou]. His instincts are incredible. I normally don’t like many effects on my vocals, but in this song he went wild with the delay and was 100% right. By the end, I sound huge! Unlike most of the other songs on the album, there’s no metaphor or conceit to the lyrics. It’s just a straight-up fuck you to the ultra-rich for their exploitation guns, religion, and nationalism as a means of preserving their wealth and status. The media still acts like it’s a mystery what’s raising the ultra-right. It’s no mystery. It’s fucking billionaires.”
The list of artists who can [capably] play two instruments at once is short, but Donna is on it, and pulls it all off effortlessly. By design, everything they do in their live show is executed live—no loops, no samples, no backing tracks. Their goal is simple but lofty: execute a full trio sound in time with just eight limbs. This makes the band as much about their passion for their gear as they are about their colossal sound. Many of Diane’s lyrics entwine the personal and political, often weaving together topics of sexuality, gender roles, and political crisis.
Their debut album is a full-force barrage of emotional expressions of deep pain, intense sexuality, and personal and political power. Diane’s voice frequently shifts from throat-wrenched whispers to explosive ranting, the melodic line often warping under the weight of her words.
