Sign up for our mailing list Real artists creating records on their own terms

News

Half Waif Embraces Ecstatic Togetherness On New Album ‘See You At The Maypole’, Out Today
Friday, October 4th, 2024

Half Waif Embraces Ecstatic Togetherness On New Album ‘See You At The Maypole’, Out Today

Half Waif aka Nandi Rose found out she was pregnant in the summer of 2021 and anticipated nine months of writing music through a new, maternal lens. But when a soundless morning arrived that December, the music which became the new album 'See You At The Maypole' took on a new life, one that would seize the uncomfortable reigns of uncertainty. Out today, listen to the new album in full HERE.  

‘See You At The Maypole’ is both a recognition of personal sadness and a call to ecstatic togetherness. It is gathering the colors of our spirit, in all its shades, and making something intricate and remarkable. The ceremonial folk dance performed around a maypole is filled with fauna and flora, with ribbons woven into complex braids incapable of unraveling; these dances are survivals of ancient ritual, honoring the living trees, and the return of Spring and fertility. These patterns––this dance––cannot be completed alone, and so, Half Waif welcomes others to join her, a collective of bleeding color. “We are so much stronger for the colorful experiences we go through,” she says. “That's where we find our humanity and find each other.”   
 
New York City-based choir Khorikos adorns several songs, most notably on ‘Fog Winter Balsam Jade’, urging a mantra of collective howling. Naming those stomach-prodding reminders of grief but still recognizing their beauty: cutting an apple in the kitchen; watching a bird take flight from the back yard; a morning glory climbing up the corner of the house (‘Collect Color’); a sunset in the rearview mirror (‘I-90’); fog, winter, balsam and jade. The natural world has often been a cradle to Rose––a gentle sway of serenity––but it’s on ‘See You At The Maypole’ that she had to look to its tougher lessons and embark on a metamorphosis of her own. “Let me be oak,” she utters on ‘Heartwood’. “I embrace in all directions.”   
 
“This wasn’t just my story, I wanted to say. It was every story of loss—the loss of a life, the loss of a dream, the loss of trust and hope and faith. A story of finding a way back again,” Rose explains. “My own avenue back to the land of the living was through my relationships with people and with the natural world. It only seemed right that these songs would invite those people in to build the very heart of the sound.”  
 
To that end, Hensler and Rose welcomed a wealth of players and friends into the world of the record: Jason Burger and Zack Levine on drums and percussion; Josh Marre (Blue Ranger) on guitar; Hannah Epperson and Elena Moon Park on violin; Kristina Teuschler on clarinet; Willem de Koch on trombone; Rebecca El-Saleh on harp; and Spencer Zahn on upright bass.  
 
Andrew Sarlo (Big Thief, Bon Iver) lent his deft mixing skills to many of the tracks, including lead single ‘Figurine.’ “Descriptors just wouldn’t do “Figurine” justice; the song is a complex, emotive portrait of one life altered by the passing of another,” said Paste. “The song itself appears to be a lovely, if melancholy, ode to this loss, with lyrics like "I love you every morning when the sun / Is rising in the yard" coinciding with lyrics like "I felt it growing in me / And now everything is gone", representing the flood of conflicting emotions Rose and her loved ones must have been grappling with in this time,” added The Needle Drop. 
 
In the coming days Half Waif will perform two album release shows – one in upstate New York and one in Brooklyn – and will then tour the country in support of ‘See You At The Maypole’ beginning at the top of 2025 with select EU shows in February. All upcoming dates are listed below. 
 
US 2024 / 2025 TOUR DATES 
10/5 - Chatham, NY @ PS21 
10/9 - Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Made 
1/10 - Philadelphia, PA @ Milkboy 
1/11 - Washington DC @ Songbyrd 
1/13 - Asheville, NC @ The Grey Eagle 
1/14 - Nashville, TN @ Soft Junk 
1/15 - Louisville, KY @ Zanzabar 
1/16 - Chicago, IL @ Sleeping Village 
1/17 - Grand Rapids, MI @ Calvin University 
1/29 - Brattleboro, VT @ Stone Church 
1/30 - Portland, ME @ One Longfellow Square 
1/31 - Boston, MA @ Arts at the Armory 
3/1 - Los Angeles, CA @ Pico Union Project 
3/2 - San Francisco, CA @ Cafe Du Nord 
3/4 - Portland, OR @ Polaris Hall 
3/5 - Seattle, WA @ Madame Lou’s 
 
EU & UK 2025 TOUR DATES 
2/10 - Berlin, Germany @ Privatclub 
2/11 - Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Paradiso 
2/12 - Antwerp, Belgium @ Trix 
2/13 - Paris, France @ Le Hasard Ludique 
2/14 - London, UK @ King’s Place 

Browse by Artist

2110All Artists 100Tom Waits 74Mavis Staples 59Neko Case 51Lost In The Trees 50Sean Rowe 48Dr. Dog 45The Milk Carton Kids
41Jolie Holland 40Bettye LaVette 37Man Man 36Son Little 35Tinariwen 33DeVotchKa 33Tim Fite 31Islands 31Grinderman 29Glen Hansard 28Saintseneca 27Wilco 27Galactic 27Delicate Steve 26Andy Shauf 25The Drums 24Michael Franti and Spe... 24Xenia Rubinos 22Doe Paoro 22Bob Mould 22William Elliott Whitmo... 21Nick Cave & The Bad Se... 21The Frames 20Joe Henry 20Christopher Paul Stell... 19Booker T. Jones 19Yves Jarvis 19Sage Francis 19Cass McCombs 18Gary V 18Calexico 18Deafheaven 17John K. Samson 17Yann Tiersen 16Ramblin Jack Elliott 16Danny Elfman 16The Antlers 16Jason Lytle 14Half Waif 14Daniel Lanois 14Jeremy Ivey 14Madi Diaz 13Billy Bragg 13The Dream Syndicate 12Xavier Rudd 12Peter Silberman 12Combo Chimbita 12Girlpool 12Leyla McCalla 11Mose Allison 11Jade Jackson 11The Weakerthans 11Ryan Pollie 11Lyrics Born 11Rain Machine 11Glitterer 11Japandroids 11Roky Erickson 11Purr 10Alfa Mist 10High Pulp 10Darrin Bradbury 10So Much Light 10Christian Lee Hutson 10The Swell Season 10Moor Mother 10The Melodic 9Cameron Avery 9Lido Pimienta 9M. Ward 9Hey, King! 9Josiah Johnson 9Marianne Faithfull 9Wynonna 9Curtis Harding 9N.A.S.A. 8Katy Kirby 8Greg Graffin 8James Brandon Lewis 8Kate Davis 8Slow Pulp 8The Coup 8Solillaquists of Sound 8Cadence Weapon 7Ben Harper and Charlie... 7Alec Ounsworth 7Dead Man's Bones 7Elliott Smith 7Kelly Hogan 7Rafiq Bhatia 7Richard Reed Parry 7Title Fight 7Ben Harper 7Eddie Izzard 7Beth Orton 6Deradoorian 6Busdriver 6Os Mutantes 6Broken Twin 6MJ Lenderman 6Kate Bush 6Bonny Doon 6Waxahatchee 6A Girl Called Eddy 5Scott McMicken and THE... 5Art Moore 5One Day As A Lion 5Beat Connection 5Kristine Leschper 5Ezra Furman 5The Tallest Man On Ear... 5Keaton Henson 5The Field 5Foxwarren 5Jasmyn 4Marketa Irglova 4Jackson+Sellers 4sunking 4The Good Ones 4Sparklehorse 4Sam Akpro 4Pops Staples 4Ersi Arvizu 3Mavis Staples & Levon... 3Plains 3Sierra Leones Refugee... 3Marc Ribot 3Petra Haden 3Walter Wolfman Washing... 3Mothers 3Danny Cohen 2Various Artists: RANGO 2Jeff Tweedy 2ANTI- Records 2Fleet Foxes 1Joe Strummer And The M... 1Porter Wagoner 1Blackalicious 1Tricky 1Simian Mobile Disco 1Solomon Burke 1Lightman Jarvis Ecstat... 1Antibalas 1Youth Group 1Rogue's Gallery 1Various Artists: ROGUE... 1Kronos Quartet with Br... 1Merle Haggard 1case/lang/veirs 1The Locust 1Taylor Vick
See Full List+