The Anchoress has teamed up with Band Spectra (disabled musician Robert Manning) for a politically charged new single Human Reciprocator which is released through The Music Federation today. You can watch the new video below.
The new single has been inspired by West Germany's 1970s Krautrock movement, coupled with the vocal expressiveness of David Bowie's Low album and is the first single to be taken from Band Spectra's forthcoming debut album.
"I like to think of it as my modern day reincarnation of Genesis' Jesus He Knows Me (which I was obsessed with as a kid) in that I'm singing from the point of view of a pretty unsavoury character," explains Catherine Anne Davies.
"Human Reciprocator was heavily inspired by an overdose on the toxic news cycle, ruminating on privilege and abuse of power in politics, deception, hypocrisy and the slow slide into a Britain steeped in poverty and a cost of living crisis while a political elite bluster and lie their way through a decade in power. Growing up with periods of my childhood relying on free school meals I am increasingly horrified at the proliferation of reliance on food banks while those in power become ever more detached from the realities of the working classes. Human Reciprocator is a reflection on the current state of affairs.“
"Band Spectra began as a therapeutic endeavour following a passing recommendation by a neuropsychologist to use music as an aid to try to combat a decline in my health as a result of Multiple Sclerosis," adds Manning. "Recognising the frustrating lack of visibility and significant barriers faced by disabled musicians within the music industry and with the help of Arts Council funding, I made an album of remote collaborations during a challenging period of shielding, with the intention of celebrating and raising awareness of disability and diversity.
"Human Reciprocator, the first song written for the album, started as a primitive idea: a 909 motorik beat; a driving Moog bassline and Leo Abraham’s cacophonous experimental guitar saw the tentative beginnings of what (18 months later) translated into the perfect hostile foundation for Catherine's powerful and veracious political lyrics."
Signed lyric prints (which you can view below) are on sale as a limited edition in aid of the Trussell Trust.
