I first crossed paths with RUNAH at Manchester’s inimitable Three Minute Theatre, where she gave a truly bewitching performance and later pressed ornate envelopes entitled ‘do you like magic?’ into the palms of audience members.
Now Dublin based, her newest single ‘Ground,’ is equally enchanting. The verses, sparse and unsettling, narrate the story of a woman swallowed by the earth, living between the realms of the living and dead, and never truly belonging to either.
Thematically dark and a beautiful example of modern folk it weaves a rich tapestry of mythology and intrigue, incorporating the artistic imagery and storytelling elements of traditional music while the production keeps it firmly rooted in the contemporary.
A wandering bass line gives a sense of unrest throughout the track accompanied by RUNAH’s vocals, low and moody at first and later giving way to an anguished, dreamlike falsetto. Ascending riffs, accompanied by a guitar tone that would not feel out of place in a Spaghetti Western, bring to mind dry, earthy landscapes and rolling tumbleweed as the vocals crescendo into the chorus.
Poetic and ethereal, it sets the tone for the rest of RUNAH’s undoubtedly magical debut album Strange, due for release on May 5th 2019 with Irish label Beardfire Music.
‘Ground’ is out now – available to purchase on iTunes here.
