[Cover photo credit to John Cowhie]

Badlands, the solo project of composer, Producer and sound designer Catharina Jaunviksna, has released a new double-track, “Nightmares Daymares”. It was “inspired by the quiet power of restraint”, and is a “haunting backdrop for watching a situation collapse under its own weight.”

Opening with just piano, cello and vocals, the track gradually transforms into groove.

Jaunviksna says:

The track stems from a manipulative situation that caught me off-guard at a vulnerable time – a stark reminder of how subtly those dynamics take root. But if you fight monsters with their own methods, you risk becoming one yourself. It’s hard, but true power lies in letting go, and giving enough rope. There’s nothing in this world you can control.

Badlands is a project that operates “at the intersection of avant-pop, cracked folk-ambient and tape-saturated electronics” and Jaunviksna’s output spans solo releases, theater and film scoring and radio documentaries crafted from conception to final broadcast.

All work is funneled through her multidisciplinary platform RITE, based in Tambourine Studios in Malmö, Sweden. Her collaborative orbit reflects her multifaceted style and includes The Radio Dept., Ikonika, Maggie Björklund (Jack White, Mark Lanegan), Ellery James Roberts (WU LYF, LUH), Art Feynman, Cooly G and Odd Nosdam to name a few.

Jaunviksna’s work has earned international critical acclaim alongside honors like the Manifest Composer Award and grants from the Swedish Arts Grants Committee, the National Arts Council and STIM.