Hunter As a Horse release debut album ‘Paradise Lost’
Hunter As a Horse has released the debut album “Paradise Lost” on Metropolis Records, out on LP, CD and digital, with a video for the title track.
South African electronic dark-pop artist Hunter As a Horse has released the debut album Paradise Lost through Metropolis Records on 24 July 2026. The record is out on LP, CD and digital formats and arrives with a video for the title track.
“Paradise Lost” is the project of South African musician and vocalist Mia van Wyk, who signed to Metropolis Records in early 2026. The twelve-track album includes five previously released singles – “Lighthouse,” “Here’s To All The Ones,” “Paradise Lost,” “Obey” and “Leviathan” – alongside seven new songs that move between rhythmically driven tracks such as “Dark Sky” and downtempo, atmospheric pieces such as “Masochist” and “Object.” The full tracklist runs “Here’s To All The Ones,” “Kiss Of Death,” “Object,” “Obey,” “Masochist,” “The Fortress,” “Paradise Lost,” “Go To Bed Now,” “Leviathan,” “Lighthouse,” “Dark Sky” and “Dead Things.”
Van Wyk describes the album as an exploration of what she has kept hidden: “This album deals with my shadow, my transformation and my inner architecture. I have tried to show what is deep inside myself. I discovered that the things I was taught to bury were never my enemies, but are actually my power.”
A video for the title track “Paradise Lost” has been released alongside the album.
Van Wyk’s approach shifted with the 2025 EP “Anathema,” her first release built around a single connecting thread rather than a set of standalone songs. “It was the first time I really started thinking in terms of a connected body of work, so it felt natural to take that further with ‘Paradise Lost.’ It is designed to be heard as one piece, even though the songs are quite different individually.” She adds: “A lot changed for me during that time personally and I went through a kind of integration process where I started confronting things more. Writing the album felt like a natural expression of that.”
Van Wyk traces the album’s themes to a longstanding pull toward the misunderstood: “I have always been drawn to the villains in stories, the ones who were feared and misunderstood, and I have often found beauty in places other people are afraid to look – the strange, the haunted, the macabre. This album is resurrection, obsession, desire, revenge, surrender, love and my shadow.” The Guardian described the project’s sound as “the mesmerising atmospherics of Lamb and Zero 7. Dark and very lovely indeed.”
Songs by Hunter As a Horse have appeared in the television series “American Horror Story,” “Riverdale” and “Elite,” as well as the film “Wander Darkly.”
About Hunter As a Horse
Hunter As a Horse is the recording name of Mia van Wyk, a musician and vocalist based in the Western Cape, South Africa. Over roughly a decade, she self-released a series of EPs and singles combining electronic dark-pop production with personal, often cinematic songwriting. Hunter As a Horse signed to Metropolis Records in early 2026 and released the single “Lighthouse” on 30 January 2026, followed by “Here’s To All The Ones” on 6 March 2026. The 2025 EP “Anathema” marked her first attempt at a thematically unified body of work, a direction she carried into the singles “Paradise Lost,” “Obey” and “Leviathan,” each later folded into the debut album. Side-Line covered the announcement of the album ahead of its 24 July 2026 release on Metropolis Records.
Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!
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