Siichaq — the project of Atlanta-based musician Kennie Mason, and also her native Inuit name — independently shares new single ‘Cattle Driver’ and announces her forthcoming album The Righteous Sword, out 28 August. ‘Cattle Driver’ marks her first new release since last year’s CATCHER.
Built from a glitchy soundscape and industrial sludge textures, ‘Cattle Driver’ reflects on the experience of growing up in a digital world and the struggle to avoid losing yourself within the static.
“‘Cattle Driver’ is the culmination of my experiences growing up in a digital world and struggling to retain a sense of self or artistic individuality. The internet can be a wonderful tool for community building and education, but it is also insidiously claiming more and more of our time, creativity, privacy, and attention. I see how powerful it is to have an online presence and following for musicians because of the current industry expectations, but I just have so many objections to the idea that art has to be qualified by how well it performs on the internet. Plus, I don’t have the personality to be a viral sensation…
Siichaq
I also think that when industries of the arts become social media or trend driven, it creates an environment where originality suffers. I’ve been guilty of this in other projects by giving excessive consideration to what sound is doing ‘well’ online and, consciously or not, letting that influence my sensibilities.”
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