‘Laika‘, you’ll recall, was the first dog in space – sent beyond the boundaries of the atmosphere by the USSR. It was a “proof of principal” experiment – could a creature be sent into space and live? The only slight drawback for Laika was that the satellite casing she was sent up in didn’t have a return capacity…it was a one way trip. It is this aspect of the conquest of space that Melanie Maclaren engages with on her new song ‘Laika‘, taken from the recently released ‘Bloodlust EP.‘
Melanie was reminded of Laika’s story by a TikTok video – and the disregard for life disgusted her and sent her on a rabbit hole of thoughts on man’s inhumanity towards man and the exploitation of the vulnerable. Although this is a quiet and gentle song, she was angry and disgusted when she wrote it, and she hoped that people will “listen to the lyrics and I hope they’re uncomfortable.”
