Chiffon Magnifique, the post-punk/minimal wave brainchild of Australian musician Jed A. Walters, is set to cast a spell on music lovers with the release of his latest single, Witches Falls. Following the success of 2021’s Abomination and 2022’s Ice Witch and Cyanide, this new offering provides a riveting taste of what’s to come from the enigmatic artist’s forthcoming debut album, ‘Anxietika’.
Witches Falls is a brooding masterpiece that invites listeners into the depths of Walters‘ emotional labyrinth. The single, accompanied by a spellbinding music video directed by Walters himself and filmed by friend Matt Power, unfolds a narrative of despair and introspection. Walters, descending into a world of depression in streets, bars, and the eponymous Falls, encounters a mysterious Witch (played by friend, local model and photographer Isabelle Rickards) who hauntingly whispers through the shadows.
The genesis of Witches Falls took root during a fateful hike through a rainforest walk. “I wrote this one very quickly, after a fateful hike through a rainforest walk” exclaims Jed, “…I was in a particularly poor state of mental health. My heart had been brutally broken, my social skills and self-confidence were at an all-time low, and hot anxiety was a part of every-day life. I chose to escape reality on my own at the Witches Falls walking track, located in Tamborine National Park. I found myself at the infamous lookout over the falls, thinking to myself ‘this would be a beautiful place to die’. I guess, instead of acting on this thought, I walked out of that rainforest, drove home, picked up the guitar and wrote Witches Falls. The riff came first, and it was all put together in a couple of days.”
The result is a haunting blend of gradually-building drum machine beats, gritty plucked bass guitar, mournful lead guitar twangs, and Walters’ woeful reverb-drenched baritone. The song’s tone is accentuated by eerie soundscapes, created by Walters through ingenious techniques like reversing high-pitched guitar plucks.
Recorded at Jed’s home studio, Witches Falls is a testament to Walters’ classic approach to production. “I treated the main beds of this mix as a real rock band – the drums I played in with my fingers, my bass, guitar, acoustic and synths all played in my myself” says Jed, “plus I experimented with making vocal drones by layering vowels and dragging them onto a sampler. I really like that kind of sampling like they did in the 80s. It had its limitations but they made these really weird sounds by twisting vocals up and down in pitch, becoming instruments themselves.”
The lyrics paint a vivid picture of the desolate Witches Falls walking track, located in Tamborine National Park, where the artist contemplated the haunting beauty of the surroundings. Walters muses on “jagged rocks and tangled trees,” cautioning against the ethereal sounds that drift in the wind, a nod to local legends that lend the Falls its eerie name.
Witches Falls is a significant milestone in Chiffon Magnifique’s evolving discography, a follow-up to the impactful Abomination, Ice Witch, and Cyanide. As fans eagerly anticipate the release of the full-length LP, ‘Anxietika’, in the works, Chiffon Magnifique continues to captivate audiences with its uniquely evocative blend of post-punk, minimal wave, and goth rock.
UPCOMING SHOWS
OCTOBER 28 – The Cave Inn, Brisbane
NOVEMBER 26 – Mo’s Desert Clubhouse, Gold Coast
