Back in August we introduced Wildflowers, the upcoming EP from Perth‘s Sophia Hansen-Knarhoi, with lead single ‘Disguise‘. “A reflection on the past offered with slow-burning clarity,” as we described it, “enticing the listener in with its ethereal grace but smouldering beneath the surface as it recalls the mistakes and betrayals which mark the strange gap between youth and adulthood.” This reflective style provides the fertile ground of the EP, Hansen-Knarhoi mining her childhood and adolescence to better understand the present, brought to life with a patient and searching blend of folk, gospel and chamber pop. Something apparent on latest single, ‘The Sea’.
“I wrote ‘The Sea’ when I finally found the answers I needed from my younger self,” Hansen-Knarhoi explains of the single. “I had been deeply wounded by some experiences in my late teens, before I had even started to find my feet as a woman. Following some relationship fallout in my life, I started to discover this damage I had left unexamined, and began to understand the hurt I’d held inside for a long time.” This willingness to not only excavate past pain but sit with it with such attention and calm shapes every aspect of the track, resulting in a song charged with compassion for selves past and present which clears the ground for new life to grow through.
Though I left her long ago
I felt her presence grow
As I waded into the sea
She was staring back at meShe held my hand with grace
As our fingers interlaced
I will show her the ways of the world
And watch her hair unfurl
The song comes complete with a video with direction, cinematography and editing by Stephanie Senior and Hansen-Knarhoi alongside Izzy Leclezio.
‘The Sea’ is available from the usual places. Wildflowers is coming soon.