LISTEN: heka - 'no one'

If, like me, you loved the debut heka EP (a) then you'll be pleased to hear that she is back with a new song! If you missed it, here are some of my ramblings after I'd listened to an early stream... it remains like nothing else I've heard this year, in the best way possible. Sonic heaven, speaking straight to the soul. heka is back with the equally as stunning no one, arriving on Fire Talk's 'Open Tab' (a digital singles imprint marking its place as a discovery tool for listeners, platforming their favourite new artists.) The release marks the end of a pretty exciting year for heka and opens the door to an even more exciting 2022... 

On the track, heka, AKA London-via-Italy artist Francesca Brierley, shares: "The pivoting lyric of this track,' nobody ever gets this close anymore', is something someone said to me once. It filled me with sadness even though I couldn't fully understand the sentiment behind it at the time, and made its way to my brain, clinging to it, waiting to be experienced. Years later - when I'd finally understood what it meant to feel like that- this song was born."

. heka · no one

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LISTEN: heka - ‘(a) wall’

I must admit that I was really excited when Paddy from Balloon Machine and Stay Loose sent this track over to me. The track is (a) wall by heka, the latest artist to sign to the Balloon Machine label. Based on how much I loved the Laura Fell record they put out last year and knowing Paddy's exquisite taste, I was already basically sold on it - but the mention of Hailaker being involved only served to pull me in deeper.

heka, AKA Francesca Brierley, a solo artist living in London though raised in the Italian hills, has announced her new EP (a) and this is the first track from it. Co-produced with Ed Tullett (of Hailaker) and with Jemima Coulter (of... you guessed it) on trumpet, it's a really special tune. Very much unlike anything else you'll listen to this week and that you might have listened to for a while. In the best way. The blend of vocals and production is at once enchanting and haunting. A thrilling combination - I was enthralled from the first listen, dived straight into my stream of the EP (due 19th May) and listened all the way through twice in a row almost without realising. Check out the single below...

. heka · (a) wall

On the track, heka writes: "I guess the song is an ode to anger. Not in an absolute sense but as the cathartic alternative to the numb powerlessness that can take over and swallow every other emotion when we find ourselves in a painful or shocking situation. 'Hate' in this sense is seen as a way to eventually move past the grief, especially in the face of someone else's lack of action, or evasiveness, which can be overwhelmingly paralysing." 

Follow heka - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.