Leeds-based creative collective Witch Of The East are pleased to reveal their new single ‘Martini Glasses’ which is released on 8th October 2021 on all good digital service providers.
The track is the latest to be taken from their second album Savage Beauty, set for release on 29th October 2021 via I’m Not From London Records.
Commenting on the single, vocalist Aeris Houlihan says: “‘Martini Glasses’ is inspired by a time when I read that Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton had Martini’s together at the Ritz-Carlton. Apparently, upon arriving in their vehicle they pulled up inside the Loading Only zone at the Ritz. Sexton looked over at the bemused workers from the hotel shouting ‘It’s ok, because we’re going to get loaded!’—it stuck with me and inspired me to write a song about their possible conversations that day.”
The band recently appeared at Hard Rock Hell’s Goth Weekend alongside My Dying Bride, Fields of The Nephilim and more, as well as performing at Dot To Dot Festival in Nottingham, with several other live dates also on the horizon (see below for listings).
The pioneering collective were recently awarded a grant from Leeds Inspired & Leeds City Council to host Rainbow-Topia, a performance art exhibition in partnership with Come Play With Me Records based in Leeds city centre. The project will be launched at the Belgrave Music Hall, Leeds on 13th October 2021.
A queer arts and live music extravaganza focused on tackling isolation within the LGBTQ+ community of Leeds after lockdown (which exacerbated the mental health crisis already occurring throughout the country) the first part of the night will feature audio/visual media created by members of the LGBTQ+ community over lockdown, curated by vocalist Aeris Houlihan.
The second part of the night will be live entertainment by Witch of the East, Galaxians, S_EX CLU_B, and Vita Bohem, with DJs and performance artists TBA.
On their concept for the exhibition, Houlihan said: “The idea came about due to our concern around the mental health of marginalised communities. For one of our upcoming music videos we placed a call-out on social media asking for people to submit videos of themselves expressing how they were feeling during lockdown. The idea was to help people escape reality for a brief moment, celebrate themselves, and get back to some type of normality and joy.”
“We used the videos that were sent in and overlaid them with a performance expressing the overall tone of the videos, filmed at Leeds School of Performance Art. The exhibition will host a range of brand new submissions from the public in the form of videos, paintings, photography, and live performances from drag acts and artists.”
The band will reveal further details and new music over the coming months.
Witch Of The East live:
13th Oct 2021 – Leeds – Belgrave (Rainbow-Topia)
24th Oct 2021 – Nottingham – Hockley Hustle
31st Oct 2021 – Nottingham – Rough Trade Nottingham (album launch party)
06th Nov 2021 – Nottingham – Angel (w/ Avalanche Party/A Void)
29th Jan 2022 – Leeds – Belgrave (Riffest)
