SEAWITCH premiere video for new single Witches Forever

Shane | 18 August 2022 | Reply

SEAWITCH premiere video for new single Witches Forever
By Shane Pinnegar

Seawitch is the new, exciting band led by legendary frontwoman Fiona Horne of Triple J & Big Day Out ’90s faves Def FX, who is also Australia’s most famous real-life white witch, whilst guitarist Dave “Spiff” Hopkins was a member of ’80s hardcore/surf punks the Hellmenn, alongside the great visual artist Ben Brown. Fiona has written fourteen books on Witchcraft, and her song lyrics are inspired by her Craft.

“‘Witches Forever’ is a song about resilience, courage, and survival. Witches were the original healers and spiritual guides – the world needs her Witches now more than ever.” – Fiona Horne

The single entrances with a retro ‘70s intro before Hopkins’ soaring fuzz-drenched guitar explodes from the speakers, joined by Brad Miller’s thundering bass, with Horne’s siren vocals riding the rock and roll waves like a valkyrie leading the charge from Valhalla.

“‘Witches Forever’ came about with Fiona and me locked in iso and writing a song a day. We’d never written together before and found ourselves caressing each other’s talents, with me adding some vocal ideas and her giving me instructions on how to make guitar riffs different and more original with timings. I watched a doco on Jimmy Page and how he created ‘Stairway to Heaven’ in his head before the studio, and I was thinking I would like to do something like that, that could start off acoustic and classic then turn into a thundering Fu Manchu V8 riff. After the intro, ‘Witches Forever’ moves into Neil Young territory, then cranks up a notch into Joy Division for the verses with some sonic mayhem and blistering outro. Definitely showing some 70s influences. It certainly didn’t get close to Stairway, but we weaved together some magic tones.” – Dave (Spiff) Hopkins

“Writing songs with Spiff is exciting. We sit and create from scratch, and together end up doing something that neither of us would have done individually, influencing each other to try different and unfamiliar things. My favourite lyric in Witches Forever is the second verse – ‘Dressed in holy flames, the rope now spells my name.’ As I wrote, I was thinking about the Witches who were hung and burned to death in ages past. ‘Standing in the wind and rain, I feel no shame – my soul is born again.’ I had a vision of me standing naked on a hill – with flames at my feet and a rope around my neck, but I was dancing in the fire and I took the rope from around my neck and wove it through the air, so that it spelled my name. I took back my power and felt grateful for all the women who suffered but built the foundation upon which we modern Witches can live free and practice our Craft, we are Witches together forever.” – Fiona Horne

The video, produced and edited by Simple Ben Films, was filmed live at the Winter Solstice ‘Witches Ball’ which took place at The Rechabite, Perth, Western Australia.

‘Well of Spells’ will be released in October 2022 just in time for Halloween, and the Perth-based Seawitch will be touring the East Coast in support of the record.