After recently announcing the new full-band studio album, Mute Swan Empire, for February 5, 2027, Dutch artist CHARLOTTE WESSELS today unveils the record’s first single, entitled “Incubus.” Together with her band, now dubbed The Obsession, Charlotte has crafted a character-driven concept album in which each of its 15 songs embodies a different archetype, a personified response to the crises of our world and the perceived end of the Anthropocene. Together, these characters form a fractured portrait of humanity, revealing the ways we confront collapse, all woven into a sonic multiverse that defies genre-categorization.
Enter “Incubus,” a journey through choral soundscapes and heavy instrumentals, inspired by Henry Fuseli’s “The Nightmare” painting. The song gives a face to archetype the Insomniac: it’s about lying awake at night, and about discovering that endurance itself can become a form of power.
The new single arrives with an official music video and serves as the first harbinger of the Mute Swan Empire’s universe.
CHARLOTTE WESSELS about “Incubus”:
“‘Incubus’ is about the things that keep us awake at night, both literally and figuratively. It introduces the Insomniac, one of the archetypes that inhabit Mute Swan Empire: a character lying awake beneath the weight of an incubus, wearing a mask made up of her fears, worries and the many crises unfolding around her. Inspired in part by Henry Fuseli’s painting ‘The Nightmare’, the song explores that peculiar space where our inner anxieties and the horrors of the outside world begin to blur. But there is also a certain strength in this character and the very act of perseverance. As the song puts it: ‘You can’t break what’s already broken. You can’t burn what is made of fire.’
I’m so excited to finally share this piece of Mute Swan Empire with the world. This album has grown into a universe of its own, and I can’t wait for people to start meeting the characters that inhabit it, starting with this sleepless soul.”
CHARLOTTE WESSELS about the new album, Mute Swan Empire:
“I didn’t set out to write a concept record from the start, but somewhere along the way, I began to realise that all the latest songs I’d written were connected. Each of them seemed to embody a different response to the world we’re living in: denial, complicity, withdrawal, blind obedience, selective empathy, but also hope and connection, and so on. I started to recognise these recurring themes and archetypes, and eventually realised they were all part of a much bigger story. I found myself wanting to follow this thread as far as it would take me, exploring the concept through the music first, and eventually through the artwork and imagery too.
That discovery became the foundation for Mute Swan Empire. What fascinates me is how easy it is to recognise these responses in others, and how much harder it can be to recognise them in ourselves. I didn’t want an album that simply points fingers or offers easy answers. I wanted to explore the contradictions, the uncomfortable grey areas, and the possibility that we can change.
Musically, the same freedom to follow wherever a song leads has resulted in a record that moves between some of the heaviest music we’ve made and moments of vulnerability. Despite how varied the record is, I think we’ve never sounded more together like a band. Everyone brings something distinct to the music, and I’m really proud of what happens when all those elements come together.”
Pre-order your copy of Mute Swan Empire NOW
The title Mute Swan Empire draws on the myth of the swan song: the belief that a swan sings its most beautiful song just before death. Throughout history, individuals, cultures, and civilizations have had their own swan songs – final moments of beauty, meaning, or grandeur before fading away. On Mute Swan Empire, CHARLOTTE WESSELS asks: What if we don’t get one? What if we’ve pushed ourselves so close to ecological and social collapse that we’ve lost, or no longer deserve, that final act of grace? Will the swan remain silent?
Musically, the album continues the exploration of the space between heavy music and alternative influences, bringing together intricate arrangements, expansive atmospheres, powerful vocal performances and the band at its strongest. The musicians she first brought together for The Obsession have since taken on its name, growing into a close-knit live band through the past years of touring. That shared experience, combined with a more intensive production process with Joost van den Broek, and Timo Somers on top of his game joining in on the arrangements, has helped the band’s collective identity takes centre stage, giving the album a more cohesive sound, without sacrificing its dynamic range, moving between powerful, hard-hitting passages and moments of striking intimacy.
Mute Swan Empire tracklisting:
- Incubus
- In Leta Via
- Tempest
- After Us The Flood
- Good Girl (If You’re Ready To Die)
- The Hermit Song
- Emergency Kit
- One Day They Will Come For You
- Weeping Madonna
- This Is Not An Opinion
- The Villain
- Let The Music Decide
- Incantations
- Starling
- Bells Of Lynn
Mute Swan Empire is driven not only by the current state of the world but also by human responses to it and by how deeply entrenched some people can become in those. In addition, Charlotte drew inspiration from books, poetry, film, and literature, and the record incorporates words by two medieval mystics, Hildegard von Bingen (“In Leta Via”) and Julian of Norwich (“The Hermit Song”), as well as text from the Dutch “Denk Vooruit” campaign on “Emergency Kit.” “One Day They Will Come For You” is inspired by Martin Niemöller’s post-war confessional prose piece “First They Came For The Communists,” while “Bells Of Lynn” was inspired by and incorporates fragments of the poem of the same name by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
Charlotte’s work on Mute Swan Empire had already begun before she finished her previous record, The Obsession (2024). Since 2020, she has released a new song every month through her Patreon page, and her favorite tracks eventually make it onto her public albums. The earliest song to appear on Mute Swan Empire in a rearranged form is “Incantations,” which was originally released on Patreon in March 2024. Compared to CHARLOTTE WESSELS’ previous release, Mute Swan Empire features a more band-focused sound. The album was produced by Charlotte and Joost van den Broek at Sandlane Recording Facilities, where it was also mixed. In addition to Charlotte and The Obsession, the album also features Elianne Anemaat on cello on several tracks, as well as orchestral and additional keyboard arrangements by Vikram Shankar.
Mute Swan Empire is a work of art that serves as both a wake-up call and a dreamlike experience. With her truly unique artistic vision, CHARLOTTE WESSELS has created the most remarkable music of her career to date, proving why she deserves to be recognized as one of the most outstanding artists in today’s heavier music scene!
CHARLOTTE WESSELS’ The Obsession Live 2026/27
The album arrives just in time for CHARLOTTE WESSELS’ first-ever headlining tour across Europe and the UK, kicking off on February 4, 2027, in Sint-Niklaas, Belgium, one day prior to the album release.
In February 2027, CHARLOTTE WESSELS will take The Obsession on their very first headline tour, spanning major cities across Europe and the United Kingdom, with Melissa Bonny, vocalist of modern metal outfit AD INFINITUM, joining as support. The tour will kick off on February 4, 2027, in Sint-Niklaas, Belgium, and conclude on February 27, 2027, in CHARLOTTE WESSELS’ hometown of Utrecht, the Netherlands. Before that, CHARLOTTE WESSELS and The Obsession will head to Brazil and Argentina in December.
The full list of dates can be found below. Be sure to grab your tickets and VIP upgrades quickly at https://charlottewessels.nl/tour/
11.12.26 BR – Sao Paulo / Carioca Club
12.12.26 BR – Sao Paulo / Liberation Festival
15.12.26 AR – Buenos Aires / El Teatrito
Mute Swan Empire Tour 2027
Support: Melissa Bonny (except Essen)
04.02.27 BE – Sint-Niklaas / Casino
05.02.27 UK – London / Islington Assembly Hall
06.02.27 UK – Glasgow / Slay
07.02.27 UK – Manchester / Club Academy
09.02.27 FR – Paris / La Machine Du Moulin Rouge
10.02.27 CH – Zurich / Papiersaal
12.02.27 IT – Milan / Legend Club
13.02.27 DE – Munich / Backstage Halle
14.02.27 CZ – Zlín / Masters of Rock Cafe
15.02.27 AT – Vienna / Szene Wien
17.02.27 HU – Budapest / Barba Negra
18.02.27 PL – Krakow / Hype Park
19.02.27 DE – Leipzig / Werk 2
20.02.27 DE – Hamburg / Gruenspan
21.02.27 DK – Copenhagen / Pumpehuset
23.02.27 DE – Berlin / Lido
25.02.27 DE – Aschaffenburg / Colos-Saal
26.02.27 DE – Essen / Weststadthalle
27.02.27 NL – Utrecht / TivoliVredenburg Ronda
CHARLOTTE WESSELS’ The Obsession is:
Charlotte Wessels – Vocals, Keys
Timo Somers – Guitars, backing vocals*
Joey Marin de Boer – Drums
Otto Schimmelpenninck van der Oije – Bass guitar*
Nina Van Beelen – Keys, backing vocals
*Note: on Mute Swan Empire, Bass guitar was performed by Timo Somers
CHARLOTTE WESSELS online:
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