South African dark‑pop visionary Hunter As A Horse (HAAH) — the creative vessel of vocalist and songwriter Mia van Wyk — unveils her new single “Leviathan”, the fifth release under her recent signing to Metropolis Records. Based in the Western Cape, van Wyk has spent the past decade self‑releasing a series of striking singles and EPs, blending electronic production with introspective, cinematic lyricism. With “Leviathan”, she steps further into her most confident and transformative era yet.
Speaking about the new track, van Wyk explains: “This song is about the moment you realise the person who tried to own, break, or define you no longer has power over you. It’s not revenge, it’s transformation. It’s becoming so vast and so certain of yourself that their shadow can’t reach you anymore. And in that moment, you become the dangerous one.”
“Leviathan” follows the singles “Lighthouse”, “Here’s To All The Ones”, “Paradise Lost”, and “Obey” (check it out over HERE) — all of which will appear on HAAH’s long‑awaited debut album, Paradise Lost, set for release on 24 July. The record gathers 12 tracks of electronic dark‑pop that shift between pulsating rhythms and atmospheric, downtempo meditations, unified by a deep emotional through‑line.
Van Wyk describes the album as an excavation of the self: “This album deals with my shadow, my transformation, and my inner architecture. I discovered that the things I was taught to bury were never my enemies, but actually my power.”
While earlier HAAH releases often stood as self‑contained pieces, the seeds of a more cohesive vision emerged with the 2025 EP Anathema, which introduced a thematic thread that now fully blossoms on Paradise Lost. “It was the first time I really started thinking in terms of a connected body of work,” she notes. “It felt natural to take that further. This album is designed to be heard as one piece, even though the songs are quite different individually.”
Reflecting on the period that shaped the record, van Wyk adds: “A lot changed for me personally, and I went through a kind of integration process. Writing the album felt like a natural expression of that. In the past, songs felt too different to belong together, but this time everything came from the same emotional place.”
Her inspirations often come from the shadows — the misunderstood, the feared, the monstrous. “I’ve always been drawn to the villains in stories,” she says. “Some people see monsters. I see stories. I see what survived. I see how it transformed. This album is resurrection, obsession, desire, revenge, surrender, love, and my shadow. Darkness isn’t always something to destroy. Sometimes it’s the only part of you strong enough to save you. This album isn’t about conventional healing. It’s about walking out of the ruins wearing the crown.”
With Paradise Lost, Hunter As A Horse steps into a realm of dark‑pop grandeur — intimate, cinematic, and fiercely self‑possessed. Link
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