A Hawk and a Hacksaw Return After Nearly a Decade with Volume 8, Led by the Powerful Single Gayda

The experimental folk world is welcoming back one of its most culturally adventurous and border-defying acts as A Hawk and a Hacksaw—the duo comprising multi-instrumentalist Jeremy Barnes and violinist Heather Trost—announce their eagerly anticipated new studio album, Volume 8. Slated for release on February 5, 2027, via Rocket Recordings (with North American distribution handled by Living Music Duplication), the record marks the band’s first major full-length release since their critically acclaimed 2018 effort, Forest Bathing.

For nearly a decade, followers of the duo have watched Barnes and Trost expand their individual artistic horizons through various side projects, community work, and solo releases. Yet, the convergence of personal creative milestones and a turbulent global political landscape has driven the pair back into the studio. Accompanying the album announcement is the release of the record’s lead single, "Gayda," a striking interpretation of a traditional regional wedding melody that sets the tone for a project deeply rooted in historical preservation, cultural connectivity, and urgent contemporary commentary.

A Legacy of Cultural Synthesis and Borderless Music

Since their formation, A Hawk and a Hacksaw have carved out a unique space in contemporary alternative music by mapping the musical traditions of Eastern Europe, the Balkans, Turkey, and the wider Middle East, and filtering them through an avant-garde, DIY experimental lens. When KLOF reviewed Forest Bathing in 2018, critic Thomas Blake observed that the duo’s entire ethos centers on “making connections between cultures,” describing their output as some of the most “wide-ranging and daring” in modern folk music.

Unlike artists who borrow exotic tropes superficially, Barnes and Trost have spent decades deeply immersed in the communities whose music they study. They have traveled extensively, lived abroad, collaborated with local master musicians, and absorbed regional performance practices ranging from Northern Romania to the bustling urban soundscapes of Istanbul. Their music continuously challenges the concept of rigid national borders, emphasizing instead how folk traditions migrate, bleed into one another, and evolve over centuries. Volume 8 promises to push these exploratory boundaries even further, diving deep into antiquity while maintaining a thoroughly modern sonic edge.

The Hiatus: Community Work, Solo Pursuits, and Creative Diversification

The nearly ten-year gap between albums was far from an idle period for the Albuquerque-based duo. Instead, Barnes and Trost redirected their creative energies toward diverse solo endeavors, community engagement, and specialized recording projects.

Jeremy Barnes focused heavily on his solo output, releasing works such as Human Error and the critically praised Albuquerque Radiophonic Workshop. Beyond his studio recordings, Barnes dedicated significant time to social outreach, working closely with incarcerated teenagers and refugee youth in Albuquerque, utilizing music as a tool for rehabilitation, expression, and cross-cultural empathy.

Heather Trost similarly cultivated a prolific body of work, releasing projects under various monikers and imprints. Her recent catalog includes Agistri (released via LM Duplication), Petrichor (via Third Man Records), and Desert Flowers (via Bada Bing).

Despite stepping away from the traditional album-release cycle, the duo never truly stopped playing. They continued to perform at traditional celebrations, weddings, and local gatherings, tirelessly learning new tunes and composing new material. However, they felt no commercial pressure to package these efforts into a cohesive commercial release—until a convergence of global and personal catalysts shifted their perspective in 2026.

The Catalysts for Return: Personal Urgency and Global Conflict

The decision to finally compile their years of writing and studio experimentation into Volume 8 was sparked by a combination of internal reflection and external turmoil.

Reflecting on the motivations behind the new record, Barnes notes that a series of developments in 2026 provided the final push needed to formally document their recent work and plan an extensive return to touring. Simultaneously, the emotional weight of global events heavily influenced the album’s thematic undercurrents. Trost points directly to the persistent conflicts and humanitarian crises unfolding internationally as a primary driving force behind their artistic return.

“After all the war and atrocities that have been happening in Ukraine, Palestine, and Iran, it felt we needed to say something through our music,” Trost explains.

In an era defined by geopolitical polarization, rising nationalism, and violent territorial disputes, A Hawk and a Hacksaw’s commitment to celebrating shared cultural roots takes on profound political resonance. By highlighting the overlapping histories of communities often pitted against one another by modern nation-states, the duo uses instrumental folk music as a subtle yet powerful vehicle for solidarity and peace.

Lead Single Gayda: An Ancient Melody Reimagined

The artistic philosophy driving Volume 8 is prominently displayed in its lead single, "Gayda." The track centers on a traditional bagpipe melody frequently heard at Turkish, Kurdish, and Armenian wedding ceremonies. Rather than attempting a purely academic preservationist approach, A Hawk and a Hacksaw radically recontextualize the tune, arranging the ancient folk motif for distorted violin and the thunderous, driving pulse of the tapan drum.

The resulting sound is both fiercely contemporary and hauntingly ancient. It bridges the gap between raw, acoustic folk performance and the abrasive textures of experimental rock, creating a dynamic listening experience that feels immediate and urgent.

To celebrate the single’s release, the duo has shared a live performance video recorded at Idea Farm, showcasing their formidable musicianship and the intense, hypnotic energy they bring to the stage.

Exploring Pre-Christian Roots and Shared Geographies

A central theme of Volume 8 is the deep antiquity of the songs Barnes and Trost have chosen to interpret. Rather than viewing folk music through the lens of modern national identities, the duo emphasizes that these melodies predate contemporary political borders by millennia.

Barnes elaborates on the historical complexity of the material featured on the new album:
“Many of the traditional songs we recorded, like ‘Gayda,’ are incredibly old, probably pre-Christian, and considered Kurdish, or Turkish, or Armenian depending on who you ask. Some of our influences have moved further back in time, but the geographic areas are the same.”

By intentionally focusing on pre-Christian, shared regional repertoires, A Hawk and a Hacksaw bypass the sectarian divisions that characterize modern geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East and Eastern Europe. They present a sonic landscape where musical heritage belongs to the land and its people rather than to governments or administrative borders. This historical perspective reinforces the album’s broader sociological implications: music as a universal archive of human experience that transcends the artificial boundaries of modern states.

Album Details, Distribution, and Future Outlook

Volume 8 is scheduled for an official international release on February 5, 2027. Global distribution outside of North America will be managed by Rocket Recordings, while listeners in North America will be serviced through Living Music Duplication. The album will be available across digital streaming platforms, on compact disc, and as a standard vinyl LP, catering to both digital consumers and physical collectors alike.

Pre-orders and advance tracks are currently accessible via the official A Hawk and a Hacksaw Bandcamp page, as well as directly through the Rocket Recordings web store.

As the music community anticipates the full-length release, early reactions suggest that Volume 8 will be one of the most intellectually engaging and musically adventurous records of early 2027. By pairing rigorous ethnomusicological curiosity with raw emotional urgency, A Hawk and a Hacksaw have crafted a timely reminder of the power of art to heal, connect, and bear witness in an increasingly fractured world. Their return to the global stage promises to be an essential journey for followers of experimental folk, world music, and boundary-pushing contemporary art.