Photo by Georgia Darby
Norwich’s Takeda has just marked a milestone. They have released their debut album In Venus’ Train, delivering to their growing audience the folk-rock innovation teased throughout the year in a beautiful and emotive package.
What Takeda has mastered is the balance between raw, barren, acoustic soundscapes with soft, steady, ambling sounds and big, impressive soundscapes. The thematic attitudes and arrangement choices of the album seem to flow like a river meandering through the country, its tributaries stories in their own right, drawing from this larger narrative.
Sonically, the folklore is paired with grunge and bitter solemnity, leading to some of the most visceral, real atmospheres you’ll hear this year.
“I wrote the album during a period of massive change in my life, losing touch with my family and friends, and rediscovering my own inner self.
I began writing about characters and narratives that, on the surface, felt separate from me. Yet through them, I found a way to look deeper into myself. Some of these figures emerged from folklore, others from scripture, and others still from my own imagination. Despite their varied origins, they each carried a kind of inner light—one that helped me reflect, process, and better understand the truths I was writing about.”
The backstory of Takeda hinges on the frontman Josh Harrison, escaping a cult in rural England and forming the band, its folk influences now intertwined with a reflective rebelliousness.
The debut album from Takeda is out now…
