NYC-based multimedia artist Yatta Zoker, a.k.a. YATTA, today shared a solemn track from the forthcoming reissue of her debut EP Spirit Said Yes! on NYC imprint PTP. The record as a whole arose from mourning the death of a family member—Zoker describes the production process as “hart balm” in a press release—and “we never went to church” focuses on the spiritual dimensions of that experience. Transpiring with the pace of a hymnal procession, the track combines distorted guitar chords, a chipmunked introductory passage, and a solemn rhythmic undergirding to create an intimate, lo-fi sensibility.
Overall, “we never went to church” conveys a poetic tone somewhere between an elegy and a lament, suggesting a grief-stricken search for clarity. The artist told THUMP about the song’s origins via email. “I wrote this song for someone I love who is living and then it became about someone I love who is dead,” she said. “It’s about failed and forgotten promises to participate in sacred acts together. Here’s to hoping it’s possible to make up for it all on your own.”
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The deluxe reissue of Spirit Said Yes! will be released this Friday, March 31, and is available for preorder on Bandcamp.
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