HEJIRA

If you happen to remember those dreary Dove adverts from the early 90’s the chances are you’re more than familiar with Litmus Tests. If, by some chance, you’re lucky enough to have escaped those ads, outside of dipping strips of paper into soap, a litmus test is any test which produces a decisive result by measuring a single indicator. It’s with that in mind, I slip on my headphones and delve into today’s tip.

Highly praised by electronic auteur Matthew Herbert, London based four-piece Hejira draw from a diverse collection of musical lineages — namely German, Chilean, Hungarian, and Ethiopian —to make an intriguing, experimental sound.

‘Litmus Test’ is the second single to be taken from their debut album, Prayer Before Birth, and is a beautifully spooked affair. Backed throughout by its broody beat and creeping guitars, ‘Litmus Test’ cautiously lurks from its stark, XX-aping openings to create a sparse but stirring sphere of crunching guitars and echo-haunted vocals that slowly, but surely, begin to burn their way into the darkest corner of your sub conscious.

The most important question left is: do Hejira pass the Litmus Test? In their own words “give me noise, give me more, give me something to explore.”

Words by George Shaw

Tip courtesy of Amelia Ideh from Put Me On It