Multidisciplinary artist Hyd (the musical project of Hayden Dunham) returns with “Freak,” a striking new single that captures the euphoric intensity of human connection through vivid, emotionally charged vocals. The release arrives as the final preview of Hyd’s forthcoming album Hold Onto Me Infinity, set for May 22 via Cascine.
Accompanying the single is one of Hyd’s most ambitious visual works to date, directed by Kelly McCormack. The music video unfolds across shifting timelines, following Hyd’s encounter with a mysterious, one-eyed intergalactic traveler, blurring the line between intimacy and cosmic narrative. Like the song itself, the visual leans into themes of connection, transformation, and the unknown.
The release coincides with the opening of Hayden Dunham’s latest solo exhibition, Never Is Over, debuting April 30 at Company Gallery in New York. Marking their third solo show, the installation expands on Dunham’s ongoing exploration of reconnection and transcendence through sculpture, sound, and immersive environments. Within the gallery’s central atrium, suspended lilies and handwritten notes drift overhead, while a large glass battery slowly leaks into the lower level, where a ladder formed from water bridges floor and ceiling.
Sound plays a crucial role throughout the exhibition. A layered composition blends whale song with the 526-hertz frequency associated with black holes, creating a meditative, otherworldly atmosphere. Scattered vessels containing recorded voices of the departed—including figures such as Octavia Butler, Pippa Garner, Marsha P. Johnson, Radclyffe Hall, Sally Ride, and SOPHIE—invite interaction, revealing their contents only when physically opened, reinforcing the exhibition’s themes of release, memory, and transformation.
These same ideas carry into Hold Onto Me Infinity, a project that moves fluidly between the intimate and the infinite. The album explores grief, love, and continuity beyond physical existence, framing music as a conduit that transcends time, space, and the body itself. Through a process of emotional and sonic alchemy, Dunham channels these themes into sound—transforming them into heat, rhythm, vapor, and light.
“Freak” follows earlier singles “Watch You Cry” and “Angel,” the latter produced by Hudson Mohawke, and further showcases the album’s tactile, drum-forward production. Across the record, collaborators including Benny Long, Saint Patrick, Finn Keane, Tjorvi, Marcus Andersson, Michael Bailey-Gates, and Bobbi Salvör Menuez contribute to a richly layered sonic landscape designed to be felt as much as heard.
The album’s visual identity reflects this same physicality. Shot by Michael Bailey Gates, the cover art was created entirely through practical effects—featuring a glass sculpture by Hayden Dunham, pyrotechnics, mirrors, and natural light piercing through a window to create a portal-like image. This analog approach emerged in part from Dunham’s ongoing experience with intermittent vision loss, which heightened their sensitivity to artificial light while deepening their connection to other sensory dimensions.
Hold Onto Me Infinity follows Hyd’s acclaimed debut CLEARING, further expanding a multidisciplinary practice that bridges music, visual art, and conceptual storytelling. Beyond music, Hayden Dunham’s work has been exhibited at institutions including MoMA PS1 and the New Museum, reinforcing their position at the intersection of experimental sound and contemporary art.
With “freak” setting the tone, Hold Onto Me Infinity promises to be a deeply immersive and emotionally resonant body of work—one that blurs the boundaries between the physical and metaphysical while inviting listeners into Hyd’s ever-expanding creative universe.