It follows the recent release of the pair’s collaborative album Carnage.
Nick Cave and Warren Ellis have released a new 7″ single entitled Grief. The release features two songs: Letter to Cynthia and Song for Cynthia. Both are based on a 2018 letter sent to Cave by a fan via his Red Hand Files website. At present, Grief is not available digitally. However you can pick up a copy here and preview Letter to Cynthia below.
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Back in 2018, a Cave fan named Cynthia wrote into Red Hand Files and said, “I have experienced the death of my father, my sister, and my first love in the past few years and feel that I have some communication with them, mostly through dreams. They are helping me. Are you and Susie feeling that your son Arthur is with you and communicating in some way?”
Cave then replied: “This is a very beautiful question and I am grateful that you have asked it. It seems to me, that if we love, we grieve. That’s the deal. That’s the pact. Grief and love are forever intertwined. Grief is the terrible reminder of the depths of our love and, like love, grief is non-negotiable.”
He added, “I feel the presence of my son, all around, but he may not be there. I hear him talk to me, parent me, guide me, though he may not be there. He visits Susie in her sleep regularly, speaks to her, comforts her, but he may not be there. Dread grief trails bright phantoms in its wake.”
Cave and Ellis recently announced that they were working on a Carnage and Ghosteen concert film. Elsewhere, Ellis has been collaborating with our Crack Magazine: The Collections, Vol. 2 cover star Marianne Faithfull on a new album entitled She Walks in Beauty. Cave also features on the new record.
Pre-order Crack Magazine: The Collections, Vol. 2 here.