[Cover photo credit to Ashton Nyte]
Gothic Rock / Darkwave act The Awakening have released their 12th album, which is self-titled, via Intervention Arts on vinyl, CD, digitally and various limited-edition formats. The album has been previewed by the lead track “Mirror Midnight“.
Now US-based, The Awakening was formed in Johannesburg, South Africa in the late ’90s as the creative expression of vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Ashton Nyte. Having morphed over the years, The Awakening’s sound incorporates numerous genres, including Gothic Rock, Darkwave, Post-Punk, Electronic Rock, Folk Noir, New Wave, and more.
The Awakening album follows Nyte’s second book and eighth solo album Autumn’s Children. The lead track “Mirror Midnight” focuses on “the historical tendency towards self-obsession and the media’s recurring manipulation of self-perception.”
Nyte says:
Essentially, I fell in love all over again with the bands and albums that made me want to create this sort of art in the first place. It was a true joy to create this work.
The last two Awakening albums were departures for me. ‘This Alchemy’ (2021) explored the more electronic side of my musical personality, and ‘The Passage Remains’(2022) effectively cleared out the vaults of unreleased heavier material. It feels like it’s time to come home.
A core contributor to LA-based supergroup Beauty In Chaos, Nyte has collaborated with members of The Cure, The Mission, Tricky, All About Eve, as well as Peter Murphy‘s band. 2024 also saw Nyte involved in the latest Beauty In Chaos album Dancing With Angels.
Ashton Nyte’s Solo Acoustic Tour Part 2 kicks off in Germany next week. Tickets are available via The Awakening’s official site.
TOUR DATES
25 OCT – KOHI! KULTURRAUM, KARLSRUHE, GERMANY
26 OCT – PAULUSKIRCHE, DORTMUND, GERMANY*
27 OCT – CAFE FOLI-A, RETIE, BELGIUM
1 NOV – MARIA’S BALLROOM, HAMBURG, GERMANY**
2 NOV – BRAINSTORM FESTIVAL, APELDOORN, THE NETHERLANDS (SOLD OUT)
* Special Guest Eric Clayton (Saviour Machine), Support Hans Blücher feat. Sandy Slanina
** Support Paralyzed Wave
