So Sick Edits

Hear Nick Cave Reflect on Grief in ‘Letter to Cynthia’

Nick Cave has shared his poetic spoken-word track “Letter to Cynthia” online. The track, from Cave and Bad Seeds member Warren Ellis‘ recent vinyl 7-inch Grief, is based on a letter sent to Cave’s Red Hand Files website.

‘In Fall 2018 Cynthia sent this question to The Red Hand Files – ‘I have experienced the death of my father, my sister and my first love in the past few years and feel that I have some communication with them, mostly through dreams,’” Cave wrote of the song. “‘They are helping me. Are you and Susie feeling that your son Arthur is with you and communicating in some way?’”

He continued, “My reply was the first time I was able to articulate my own contradictory feelings of grief. Letters like Cynthia’s have helped bring me and many others back to the world. I recorded ‘Letter to Cynthia’ and ‘Song for Cynthia’ with Warren in November 2020 at Soundtree Studios in London. They are beautiful pieces and I hope you like them.”

Cave and Ellis released Grief, featuring “Letter To Cynthia” and “Song For Cynthia,” in April as a follow-up to their February album, Carnage. The pair decided to write and release the album after their 2020 tour was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Carnage marked Cave’s first studio release since he and the Bad Seeds dropped Ghosteen in October 2019.

Cave and Ellis will hold a live-stream conversation about Carnage on June 18 to answer fan queries about the new music.

Last year, Cave did perform live — albeit without an audience — at Alexandra Place in London, with the resulting concert released as his live album/concert film Idiot Prayer. The musician will head back out on the road this summer on a European tour.