{"title":"Wren Hinds","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWren Hinds is a South African singer\/songwriter. With a unique blend of soulful vocals and heartfelt lyrics, Wren captivates audiences with his powerful performances. Drawing inspiration from his personal experiences, he crafts songs that resonate with listeners on a deep level. From intimate acoustic ballads to energetic anthems, Wren's music showcases his versatility as an artist. With a growing fanbase both locally and internationally, Wren Hinds is poised to make waves in the music industry.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"dont-die-in-the-bundu","title":"Don't Die In the Bundu","description":"\u003cp\u003eA fresh chapter takes soft, sure shape for Cape Town-based singer-songwriter Wren Hinds on his new album. Released through Bella Union, \u003ci\u003eDon’t Die in the Bundu\u003c\/i\u003e follows Bella Union Pressings’ vinyl releases of Wren’s first three Bandcamp LPs. A gleaming set of gently dappled and poetic songs about fatherhood and fortitude, the album roots its restrained strength in an innate understanding of what matters most to us.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWren’s own life began on the South-east coast of Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa. His father was a musician, his mother a landscape painter. While his dad inspired Wren to record whenever and wherever he could, his mother’s artform coloured his approach to songwriting: “painting with sound” is Wren’s description, a methodology illustrated by his use of light, shade and space to communicate powerful impressions and feelings.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRecorded at a timber cabin in the South Peninsula mountainside, about 40km outside of Cape Town, Don’t Die in the Bundu is at once a natural evolution from his earlier work…, a fresh start and a statement of commitment, embedded in its title. Drawn from “a few personal experiences,” says Wren, the inspiration for the title helps pinpoint its purpose. “It was inspired by a very old survival book distributed in South Africa and Zimbabwe. I had a few title options I was playing with, and around July 2022 a friend and I were held up at gunpoint in Cape Town. Fortunately we weren’t harmed or anything, but the whole ordeal helped me to settle on the title.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMeanwhile, parenthood helped crystallise Wren’s perspective on the trials of our times. “I try not to be too pessimistic about the future, especially now that I have a kid. It forces me to look at the beauty in humanity and the mysterious nature of this place we call home. I guess, like everyone else, I’m often trying to figure out how it all fits together, and how we fit into this story… Now that I’m a father, I’d rather live in hope than in fear.” Richly subtle, deeply inquisitive, Don’t Die in the Bundu illustrates Wren’s preference beautifully.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Bella Union","offers":[{"title":"Black LP","offer_id":50483418562891,"sku":"2022753","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/yQqMAHQ_6c07e734_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727566847"},{"product_id":"a-thousand-hearts-2","title":"A Thousand Hearts","description":"\u003cp\u003eRelocated from Durban to Simon’s Town, Cape Town, Wren Hinds recorded his second album in 2018. A small-town kid in a big city, he channelled his sense of displacement into a fluent range of songs, linked by a feeling for place and space. Drawn from a poem by his uncle Keith Erasmus, the lovelorn waltz of ‘Sadness in the Wind’ is a beatific stand-out, Wren evoking Karen Dalton in his wavering, multi-tracked voice. Elsewhere, an ear for layered details and discreet tonal shifts asserts itself. On ‘Run’, a piano and a finger-picked guitar share mutually supportive space. On ‘Lights’, the guitar displays just a hint of swagger. Meanwhile, also drawing on Erasmus’s poetry, the title-track’s wonky ballroom lament sums up the album at a soothing stroke: “There’s beauty in the sadness, and there’s beauty in the pain\/ And in the melancholic madness and its bittersweet refrain.” Wherever you listen, essentially.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Bella Union","offers":[{"title":"White LP","offer_id":50490358661451,"sku":"2001086","price":23.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/a3790517382_16_38930918_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727659663"},{"product_id":"a-child-s-chant-for-the-new-millennium","title":"A Child's Chant for the New Millennium","description":"\u003cp\u003eWren Hinds is a singer \/ songwriter from South East Africa. In a relatively short career, all the while flying under the radar with a rather low profile, Wren Hinds has proven to be a prolific songwriter, producer and composer, and an artist that is definitely worth keeping an eye on.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWren Hinds brought fresh thematic cogency to his third album, recorded in early 2020. The linking matter is his unerring ability to apply himself to each new situation, in this case a longing for connection - to humanity, nature - in a world tilted towards digital disconnection. While the lockdowns intensified the album's dystopian fears, the beauty and artistry in Wren's song craft counterpoint the shadows eloquently. The title-track laments \"digital modification\" over gamelan-ish flutters across six delicate minutes. All spectral voices and pining, 'Sign of Life' yearns for \"some act of human kindness\" to a wind-caressed cowboy lollop. 'The Pearl' longs for blissful quietude, while 'Wrenbird' evokes Sam Beam at his dreamiest. River's Song' adds soft, sure layers of accordion and guitar, before 'The Path' marshals misty harmonies and finger-picked guitar for a gentle declaration of resistance. \"Bang your freedom drum,\" sings Wren, mapping out a singular path with understated assurance.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Private Pressing","offers":[{"title":"Red | LP","offer_id":50490785825099,"sku":"1157812","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/58d4c833-9514-43a0-bdc2-d492a66ed55e_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727674226"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/collections\/test_e3b1f0e8_thumbnail_4096_2a5aaa29-6cff-4ffb-901f-62a1a0ecd78f.jpg?v=1727566829","url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/collections\/wren-hinds.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}