London experimental-pop musician Jerskin Fendrix has released his new single Black Hair via London label untitled (recs). Listen to Black Hair via Soundcloud below or on DSPs here.
Black Hair is a dark song and was inspired by Japanese anthology horror film ‘Kwaidan’.
Speaking about the new single, Fendrix said, “I wrote Black Hair just after finishing UBU at the V&A, and I had this slow and long and dark pacing very deep in my muscle memory. Hair is such a good idea for a ghost, the song is playing with that idea. I really wanted a way of playing with ghosts in a song, and being eaten by hair worked well. By the end the hair eats the song too. The hair is also kind of a symbol of regret”
A renaissance man of sorts, still only in his early 20’s, the classically trained, former Cambridge University student, Jerskin Fendrix, has been carving himself a special place on the London scene. In 2018, he composed the score to an experimental absurdist opera ‘UBU’ at the V&A (receiving four stars from the Guardian) before embarking on a UK tour and joint single release with rock phenomenon Black Midi.
As a classically trained pianist and violinist, Fendrix’s practice and ambition extends far beyond the realm of traditional songwriting. His PC-Music influenced, and avant-garde take on electronic pop cannibalises and appropriates elements of pop culture at the service of very personal songs. All of his material has an emotionally playful sarcastic take on the tropes of modern life, whilst also delving inwards. Most of all, it can’t be easily pigeonholed.
In 2017, Fendrix dropped his debut single Onigiri and exacerbate romantic ballad Manhattan, before his third single Swamp alongside a spectacular music video. Directed by close collaborator and visual artist Peter Price, the video juxtaposed internet found footage with portraits of the artist mourning a long-distance breakup – a recurring theme in the artist’s practice.
Black Hair represents another musical leap forward for Fendrix, adding new textures and further nurturing an avant-pop sound that has been his and his alone since he began writing and performing.
Fendrix has also recently announced his first London headline show at Bermondsey Social Club – Tickets are available here.
