Nkisi

from Beats Emptiness by Onna Limb

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

€1 EUR or more
Buy the Full Digital Album

about

This song I wrote for 'Art Rocks'; the assignment was to write a song about a piece of art. I chose a Nkisi Nkondi, an object used in ancient African traditions by ritual experts to communicate with ghosts. Because the sculpture was taken from the local tribe by colonists involuntarily, I wanted to write about what happens when you take something important from a small community and and thinking about what could be the consequence of losing a part of tradition and spiritual guidance.

lyrics

They took you away to show the European tribe
How exotic our rituals are
Without the eye of Nkisi’s all-knowing soul
Our distrust is spinning out of control
All the nails for the imminent oaths
Have to be hammered into a new magic host
Keeping promises I boast

Nkisi where will I be
If you’re not on my side
When I wallow further into the mire

Now that is on me to cover up the crime
That you have been stolen from the shrine
Can I conjure a new you to seal the agreement
Swearing sermons and heads of snakes are needed
To keep the neglected promises a secret

Nkisi where will I be
If you’re not on my side
Nkisi where will I be
If I don’t have you as my guide
I wallow further into the mire
Where the ghosts start to conspire

credits

from Beats Emptiness, released November 21, 2022
Mastered by Jeffrey de Gans @ DaGoose Mastering

license

about

Onna Limb Leeuwarden, Netherlands

Onna Limb searches for new sounds and musical worlds in order to escape and reflect on the world of today, humans, mental illness, past and future. Swaying between sonic experimenting and a more organic, acoustic approach, the music emphasizes introspective struggles in a cinematic way. He draws inspiration from artists such as Frustrator, Mount Kimbie, Alex G & Radiohead. ... more

contact / help

Contact Onna Limb

Streaming and
Download help

Report this track or account

If you like Onna Limb, you may also like:

don't you wish you could forget
by seventh stitch

From London comes this album of arty electronic music with jittery beats and writhing electronics. Bandcamp New & Notable Nov 27, 2023
go to album
Indian Wells - Pause
by Bad Panda

A hazy blur of ethereal late-night sounds that ebb and flow to the lure of unrelenting, subterranean drums. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 10, 2015
go to album
Going Strange
by R.J.F.

Cermony's Ross John Farrar experiments with synths, bass, & percussion to make music similar to that from the '80s homemade tape scene. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 30, 2023
go to album
I Will Be the Sun for You
by Sally Dige

The brilliant Sally Dige returns with this sweeping new single that is grand in scope and centered on a radiant chorus. Bandcamp New & Notable May 16, 2022
go to album
The End Is the Beginning
by Mirror Of Haze

Perfectly gloomy Norwegian goth/post-punk, anchored by a punchy rhythm section and driven by chiming guitar lines and morose vocals. Bandcamp New & Notable Feb 16, 2021
go to album
A Loveless Sunken Sun
by Corey King

Playful, cerebral, slightly off-kilter pop with rich sound detail and expansive atmosphere. Bandcamp New & Notable Sep 10, 2019
go to album
Forest Bees
by Forest Bees

Meticulously-crafted productions provide the backdrop for haunting, slowly-winding vocals on this gloriously shadowy EP. Bandcamp New & Notable Jun 19, 2017
go to album