Track Premiere: Mekigah – “Broken Rhythm Pressure”

Mekigah

Australian aural insanity demons Mekigah are back with “Broken Rhythm Pressure” – a haunting preview of their upcoming album, To Hold Onto A Heartless Heart, set for release in August 2024 via Aesthetic Death.

Originating from a collaboration that took an unexpected and deeply personal turn, founding member Vis Ortis explains, “Its origin lies in the beginning of a song I wrote with a friend for a much more aggressive and fast-paced project. My friend passed away before the song got any further, so I sat on it for a while before intensely working on it and transforming it to what I felt was a Mekigah song.”

The approach to “Broken Rhythm Pressure” fused savage noise rock guitar, slower grind bass, off-kilter ambient piano, and noise soundscapes. The vocals—more of a noise frequency than a vessel for profound messages—unexpectedly gave the album its title during the recording process. “Pure spontaneous takes led to, ‘To hold onto a heartless heart / And make religion of your nothingness’ – just one of the things that came bursting out of my mouth and mind,” Ortis reveals.

After several years of working on other projects and a few false starts, the new Mekigah album began to take shape after completing its first 14-minute track, “Collapsing Under.” With the creative momentum unlocked, faster, more straightforward passages of bass riffing, raw drums, and ambient frequencies ensued. Featuring collaborations with long-time friend Leigh Ritson (piano, synth, and noisescapes), returning member Richard Ziltch and newcomer Sova Locus bring their experimental guitar styles to the party, drawing inspiration from ’80s and ’90s Australian discordant noise bands.

To Hold Onto A Heartless Heart promises to be a dense and immersive experience, challenging listeners with its layers of field recordings, morbid doom noise punk, and relentless walls of frequencies. Stream “Broken Rhythm Pressure” exclusively below and brace yourself for August’s full album release.