heka

“hauntingly stunning… challenges the conventions of time, space and structure.” PASTE

“heka is a force that draws joy and connectedness from melancholia, and she leaves no soul unaffected.” LOUD WOMEN

Praise for Saint Jude:

“sits somewhere between the stark yet surreal honesty of Archy Marshall and the playful electronics of Mount Kimbie…a real pearl” CLASH

“a dreamily spoken spectacle amongst backdrops of expansive turbulence…a celestial spectacle above the rest.” So Young

Uniting two compelling voices from South London’s leftfield underground, heka and Saint Jude collaborate on a sumptuously serene dual-release - ‘Swallow’ / ‘In Your Garden’ - released on 11th September via Slow Dance Records (Uma, The New Eves, Sarah Meth).

Rooted in a mixture of ambient, gospel, folk, avant-pop and early 20th century Italian poetry, the two tracks on offer provide an exquisite synergy of the two artist's distinctive talents. With heka’s ethereal folk melodies and touch-tight guitars sitting intimately above Saint Jude’s nocturnal soundscapes and sweeping cinematic productions, the release is also defined by the experimental approach taken to the creative process; grounded in improvisations, Saint Jude adapted gospel chord structures and Heka cut up her lyrics from existing poetic texts.

Accompanying the sanctified abstractions of ‘Swallow’ - described by heka as resembling the mood Terrance Malick’s 2011 coming-of-age-drama The Tree of Life - ‘In Your Garden’ comes is directly inspired by a poem by Italian poet Gabriele D’Annunzio which Heka herself translated and dissected for the track’s lyric, as she explains: 

“The song is about new love. It was inspired by La Pioggia nel Pineto, a poem by Gabriele D’Annunzio, which follows two lovers as they walk through a pine forest in the rain, progressively morphing with the vegetation around them, and experiencing the elation both of their growing feelings for each other and for the communion with the nature they are immersed in.”

More about Heka and Saint Jude:

A multidisciplinary artist, songwriter, and producer based in London, heka (AKA Francesca Brierley) mingles lo-fi warmth, “gothic folk” (Consequence of Sound) and ambient electronics in a compelling, genre-defying fusion of intimate songwriting and abstract experimentalism.

Moonlighting as a writer/performer for the likes of Gently Tender and Drug Store Romeos, Brierley’s acclaimed solo project - which saw the release of a sophomore EP swan songs in 2023 via Practise Music - has earned slots on a Black Country, New Road-curated Sonic City line-up, supports for Indigo Sparke, Sam Burton, bar italia and William Doyle,  press backing from PASTE, The i Paper and Fred Perry, as well as radio play from BBC Radio 1 & 6music, Worldwide FM and NTS.

The alias of South London songwriter and producer Jude Woodhead, Saint Jude found himself drawn to songwriting after Tinnitus prevented him from pursuing an early love for club-focused electronic music. Following a string of highly successful singles, 2022’s debut album Signal (Released via Slow Dance Records), offered a cinematic, full-bodied immersion into the full range of Saint Jude’s repertoire; its glittering array of expansive electronic beats, LA rap, grime, gospel, experimental folk and pop winning him acclaim from The Line Of Best Fit, Clash, The Quietus and NME.

Uniting two compelling voices from South London’s leftfield underground, Heka and Saint Jude collaborate on a sumptuously serene dual-release - ‘Swallow’ / ‘In Your Garden’ - released on 11th September via Slow Dance Records.

Rooted in a mixture of ambient, gospel, folk, avant-pop and early 20th century Italian poetry, the two tracks on offer provide an exquisite synergy of the two artist's distinctive talents. With Heka’s ethereal folk melodies and touch-tight guitars sitting intimately above Saint Jude’s nocturnal soundscapes and sweeping cinematic productions, the release is also defined by the experimental approach taking to the creative process; grounded in improvisations, Saint Jude adapted gospel chord structures and Heka cut up her lyrics from existing poetic texts.

Accompanying the sanctified abstractions of ‘Swallow’ - described by Heka as resembling the mood Terrance Malick’s 2011 coming-of-age-drama The Tree of Life - ‘In Your Garden’ comes is directly inspired by a poem by Italian poet Gabriele D’Annunzio which Heka herself translated and dissected for the track’s lyric, as she explains:

“The song is about new love. It was inspired by La Pioggia nel Pineto, a poem by Gabriele D’Annunzio, which follows two lovers as they walk through a pine forest in the rain, progressively morphing with the vegetation around them, and experiencing the elation both of their growing feelings for each other and for the communion with the nature they are immersed in.”

Francesca Brierley - aka heka - is a multi-disciplinary artist, songwriter and producer based in London.
Deeply intimate and awash with melancholia, her style of lo-fi warmth incorporates snippets of conversations previously buried deep within the notes of her phone, blending murmurings of life with themes of love and loss, nostalgia and the everyday.
Rejecting genre constraints, her self-produced butchered folk songs meld electronic and organic tones in favour of a sonic hybridity.

Having carved a name for herself in the underground indie scene over the last few years, heka has recently released a new EP via Practise Music (Squid, Martha Skye Murphy, Blue Bendy). And alongside her own solo project she now plays in and writes for an array of bands such as Drug Store Romeos & Gently Tender.


Having released singles with the likes of Fire Talk and Slow Dance as well as her previous EP that gained coverage from the likes of PASTE, The i Paper and Fred Perry and radio support from Radio 1 & 6, Worldwide FM and NTS, Francesca (heka) has spent the past year crafting away on her live set up and working on various soundscapes.

Picked by Black Country, New Road to play Sonic City, and having collaborated on a video with award winning videographer Tobias Bradford, Francesca Brierley's work spans far outside the conventions of music. And to get back into the swing of things she has recently played an array of festivals and supported the likes of Indigo Sparke, Sam Burton, Bar Italia and William Doyle.