Photography by Austin Marc Graf
In 1801, German author Clemens Brentano wrote “Zu Bacharach am Rheine,” which translates to “to Bacharach on the Rhine,” referring to the German town and Rhine River. In the ballad, a young maiden named Lore Lay falls to her death atop a cliff overlooking the Rhine. As she falls, an echo of her name resonates across the valley.
Two decades later, poet Henreich Heine refined the tale in a short poem titled Die Lorelei, which reinvented the character as an ethereal siren that sat atop the cliff over the Rhine, singing and luring sailors to the same fate as hers.
The loveliest maiden is sitting
Up there, so wondrously fair;
Her golden jewelry is glist’ning;
She combs her golden hair.”
She combs with a gilded comb, preening,
And sings a song, passing time.
It has a most wondrous, appealing
And pow’rful melodic rhyme.
In 1983, the poem manifested into reality. Heine’s description of Lorelei’s physical beauty inspired sculptor Natascha Alexandrova Jusopovto to craft a 16-foot bronze Lorelei statue that now resides over the Rhine. It was her statue that grabbed the attention of a 16-year-old Dahlia Knowles visiting Europe.
“She’s just really metal, cool, inspiring and I thought the name was really cool, so I just kind of took it and ran,” she says.
Taking after her muse’s story, Knowles has been performing music under the name ‘Lorelei K’ for over ten years now.
Her first widespread release came in January 2019, a three-track EP collaboration with KXT Radio host and multi-instrumentalist Paul Slavens titled KILL THE WORLD. Nine months later, she released Lightbender, a full-length album that doubled down on her signature electronic crooning sound. She now has three albums under her belt. The most recent, Gucci Doom, released in 2023 with a deluxe follow-up this May with six additional tracks.
“Everything changes all the time. It’s stressful and it doesn’t ever stop,” Knowles says. “I feel like my music is sort of a way for me to document those changes. I hope that I’m able to share intimate moments with an audience. I enjoy the exchange of energy.”
Her next performance won’t be so intimate. She takes the stage at the 1,000-capacity Granada Theater on July 6 to open up Obituary Fest, a one-night music event celebrating goth culture. The show is hosted and curated by Leah Lane, who fronts Dallas-based goth rock band Rosegarden Funeral Party.
“I’ve never considered myself goth,” Knowles says. “But I enjoy goth culture, I’m sure we’ll be done up pretty dark for the show.”
A done up Lorelei K will debut “Colder” at the show, her newest single set to drop on July 5 with an accompanying music video.
“‘Colder’ is a song that means a lot to me,” she says. “It’s written to someone in my life that made things really complex and difficult, but gave me a lot too. I learned a lot from them, it’s more of a thank you letter.”
Knowles describes the song as a sprawling, cinematic ballad with dark undertones ripe for a gothic music festival. With it being performed in front of one of her biggest crowds yet, she’s sure to recognize the significance of the moment. For Knowles, that means to let the music speak for itself.
“I kind of ramble,” she says. “My words get all jumbled up whenever I’m just talking normally, but when I’m singing, there’s more clarity. My music is my output, that’s what I want my legacy to be.”
