Divide and Dissolve is Melbourne-based duo Takiaya Reed and Sylvie Nehill. Combining elements of ambient, metal and doom, the band work up a sound both colossal and ominous, like some equal and opposite monolith capable of facing down that of the social order in Australia and beyond. “We would like to observe a radical shift in the current paradigm of complacency in regards to oppressive power dynamics, genocide, racism, white supremacy, and colonization,” they say of their intentions. “To give weight and validation to voices that are traditionally misrepresented and criminalized before given a chance to speak.”
After releasing TFW as part of Saddle Creek‘s Document series, Divide and Dissolve are gearing up towards their latest full-length album, Gas Lit, which will be out early next year via Invada Records. The first single from the album, ‘We Are Really Worried About You’, has been released to whet your appetite, and finds the duo once again melding beauty, strangeness and unforgiving fury. From the portentous mystery of Reed’s saxophone opening to the relentless march of Nehill’s percussion, the song serves as an encapsulation of the Divide and Dissolve mission. One willing and able to draw on every tool afforded to them, chart every mood and emotion, call upon every mistreated and dispossessed person to reveal the hollow myth at the heart of the white hegemony. And to destroy it with violence and love.
The song comes complete with a video filmed on sacred Huichin Chochenyo Ohlone Territory by Stone Dove Productions and a team of collaborators. The footage brings to life not only the alienating nature of our systems of oppression, but also the community spirit and compassion needed in order to challenge such forces, crystallizing the key themes explored across Gas Lit.
“‘We Are Really Worried About You’ is a call to transformation and freedom,” Divide and Dissolve explain. “This song and video seek to undermine and destroy the white supremacist colonial framework. We are weaving together our fight for Indigenous Sovereignty, Black and Indigenous Liberation, Water, Earth, and Indigenous land given back. Decolonise now.”
Gas Lit will be released via Invada Records in late January, and ‘We Are Really Worried About You’ is available now via Bandcamp.
Photo by Billy Eyers