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WORDS Zara Hedderman PHOTO Megan Doherty kinds of
sonics and, of course, Spud is very good at that stuff and building on that sound. So it was extremely natural that he became involved,” Kim explains. CYRM captures the magic of Nollaig na mBan which is no surprise given that much of the development of the six songs that make up its tracklist was done during the period when they were working on the stream. A unifying theme of the album is anchored by songs sharing stories of the grave persecution of women through history, as explored on the haunting Cruel Mother and The Wife of Michael Cleary. Kim describes the importance and impact these songs have had on her as both a person and performer. “There’s definitely something almost cathartic about singing about these women, and also with the arrangements that accompany them, it’s extremely powerful singing about these women. It’s also made me more aware to go back and read more about them. For instance, I didn’t know anything about Bridget Cleary before Maija Sofia had written that song. So finding out about her story, which only occurred in the last century, was just so insane to me that that could happen. I would never have discovered that without Maija’s song. So, I think these songs make you more aware and more interested to find out about what happened to these women and bring their stories to life within the arrangements. It never ever feels boring singing the songs.” Thematically, this has trickled into the visuals for ØXN’s music videos, which have been co-directed by Kim and Myler, respectively. Most recently, they shared a video for Cruel Mother, featuring revered actor Olwen Fouéré. Myler expands upon the inspiration for the work and how it was inspired by women who had been victims of a domineering patriarchal society. “When I started researching the song, it tied into some other interests of mine, such as Baroque period artists and all the different kinds of imagery that they use. I found a lot of that tied into the story of the Cruel Mother, when the story was and why the song was written. It tied into a lot of other things that I was reading from around that time which had to do with persecution of women. There’s a baroque artist called Artemisia Gentileschi whose father was the famous artist Orazio Gentileschi. And even though she was born into extreme privilege, had a really difficult life. She had been raped by a guy that worked for her dad, which again was tied in with the story of the song. But in his trial, she was tortured with thumbscrews. The people giving evidence were also tortured, to give evidence. A lot of her work got really dark after that, and I used a lot of the imagery from her work in the video. Also, after Sinead O’Connor died, I think there was more of an awareness of women who had been poorly treated. That was in the air, so all those things met.” CYRM is an immensely visceral and vital body of work, which is charged by the commanding and vast synth-focused arrangements and the harrowing stories contained within. The excitement from Kim, Myler and Murphy with regards to performing the songs to a live audience, which they will do for the first time in The Sugar Club in October, and CYRM’s release is palpable. Reflecting on the making of the album, Kim beams, “It’s been a really nice process; all of us finally getting the songs and the album together. Even the logistical stuff has been fun to organise! We’re all excited for the album to come out. Of course, there’s pressure because sometimes when members of other bands come together to be in another group, I’m not gonna say the word,” she laughs, “But sometimes, I’ve found, it can sometimes be a little bit disappointing in the result. So, I’m always thinking, ‘Oh, God, I hope people are gonna like it! I hope the expectations aren’t too high!’ But we’re really proud of the way all the songs turned out.” CYRM is out on October 27 via Claddagh Records. ØXN plays in The Sugar Club on Tuesday, October 31 & Wednesday, November 1. Both shows are sold out. 43