Indigo Sparke explores the myth of Mary Magdalene on new song “In The Garden”

With each of her two albums to date, Australian folk artist Indigo Sparke has built her sound from the ground up. Her 2021 debut Echo was gossamer-thin while the 2022 follow-up Hysteria was a little sturdier, more assured but no less prone to moments of utter despair. Today Sparke returns with a new one-off single, "In The Garden," which introduces programmed drums and airy synths into her ever-evolving musical world.

Surrounded by a holy-sounding choir, Sparke looks to the Bible for some sort of context as to how the world operates today. "On the verge of madness, In the garden," she sings. "Tempt me with transcendence, with death." Sparke returns to this polarity throughout, dropping references to war and bodies heavy with love, attempting to capture the vastness of humanity in the process. That may be an impossible task but she undoubtedly adds new layers to her own image in the process.

"This song was born out of a mystical connection to Mary Magdalene," Sparke says in a statement. "To her grace and myth in a time when there were only unanswered questions and chaos. To all the different faces of her through time. The mother, the whore, the healer, the maiden, the crone, the priestess. I was astounded by how she manifests through women now in the 21st century and how more and more women are rebelling to be trapped by the limiting boxes of just playing one role. What is the myth of sinning? How did we separate from nature after the story of Eve and the apple? What knowledge did the seed contain? It seems that women were often the bringers of consciousness and that the patriarchy monopolized off this connection to the void and all creation. I wanted to explore this in the song and create a sphere and portal for all archetypes to be explored without prescriptive commentary. Something to move to and feel free in.”

Sparke will close out 2023 by joining The War on Drugs in Australia and New Zealand. Find those dates below.

September 7 - Galway, Ireland - Roisin Dubh
September 8 - Cork, Ireland - Sounds from a Safe Harbour Festival
September 9 - Dublin, Ireland - The Workmans Club
December 1 - Wellington, New Zealand - On A Good Day*
December 2 - Auckland, New Zealand - Spark Arena*
December 4 - Sydney, Australia - NSW, Sydney Opera House Forecourt*
December 7 - Melbourne, Australia - Myer Music Bowl*
December 9 - Brisbane, Australia - Riverstage*
December 11 - Perth, Australia - Kings Park*

* w/ The War on Drugs