Swiss songwriter Thomas Schmidiger, who records as Tender Ender, has shared ‘Woke Up with a Knife’, the second single from his forthcoming album ‘Red Kites’, out November 13.

Despite the title, the song is not nearly as threatening as it first sounds. It begins with a home organ and drum machine before a piano line comes in, with Schmidiger’s baritone gradually joined by a choir. There is something quite nice about the contrast between the title and the warmth of the arrangement.

‘Woke Up with a Knife’ follows ‘Darkness’, which we featured in August. That song was also built around Schmidiger’s home organ, and it seems to be an important part of how ‘Red Kites’ has taken shape.

The new album is Tender Ender’s second. Schmidiger has kept the instrumentation fairly simple, with organ, piano, harmonium, vibraphone and pedal steel appearing across the record.

<a href="https://tenderender.bandcamp.com/track/darkness-2">Darkness by Tender Ender</a>

Headline credit: Thomas Schmidiger

Tender Ender Website / Instagram / Bandcamp
A Tree In A Field Records Website / Instagram / Bandcamp

Tender Ender