Tag Archives: Exomène

Requiem

 

Requiem
(Exomène)

In memoriam SPB (1988-2012), requiescat in pace. The lyrics are out of a requiem mass.

French artist Exomène is a soundsmith and digital apothecary.

A soundsmith because he works sounds like a potter his clay, or a blacksmith his metal: hammering, stretching, twisting sounds until they fit all together into a coherent piece of music.

As a digital apothecary, his approach is quite the same: playing with an abstract material as if it was physical in a more experimental way. The sound in itself is no longer triturated but what generates it is subjected to several techniques: data-bending, generativity, algorithm, glitch…

These two approaches stem from the same mysticism that holds abstract and physical materials are the same thing in different realms.

Follow Exomène via
Website
Soundcloud
Twitter
and
Anthology Profile

 

Magick, Music and Ritual 6, the Winter 2013 anthology album from the Hermetic Library
Hermetic Library Anthology Project – Magick Music and Ritual 6

 

 

Luna’s Dogma

 

Luna’s Dogma
(Exomène/Wotton)

Lyrics were written and spoken by the French image slayer Dorianne Wotton.

Tension. Tension is the leitmotif of Luna’s Dogma.

Firstly, the way the track is built reflects tension with harsh words interspersed with naive music. Then the sound itself tries to render tension by the use of static as background noise. This reduces the violence of words by giving them a ghostly and ethereal feeling while giving a disturbing aspect to the music. That aspect contrasts with its simplicity, as if it came from the background of a nightmare. Finally, the tension is also created by the juxtaposition of several spoken elements spatialized so that the listener is trying to follow all of them at the same time which dissolves the meaning of each of them into une bouillie de mots, or word porridge. This tension is also that of an ascetic mystic, an anchorite, which seeks to achieve a celestial spirituality while feeling trapped in his earthly body.

The text, written and spoken by Dorianne Wotton, is an illustration of the “æsthetic of desolation”, as defined later by Dorianne Wotton and Exomène, that underlies both their respective individual and collaborative works since 2004.

The sampled spoken word of Dorianne Wotton from this track translated to English:

I am a heretic.
What enjoyment heresy can give us.
I am the ascetic of another mysticism, the priestess of another dogma.
What happiness, what sublimation, what transcendental moments my dogma gives me.
Behind the apparent barbarity of the acts that my almighty cult makes me do, there are short, too short moments that bring me closer to an impenetrable and indefinable ideal. The ascent to another spirituality far from pain, greed, emptiness. Agony for the common man, an orgasm for my emotional being.
[...]
I dream of another reality and perfection before I leave.
I want to live before I die.
Exalting my soul, I desert my body and especially the passing of time that ravages everything.
Like an anchorite, I hate my body and try to take refuge where no one can reach me.
Torn between inner violence and contemplation that brings me peace and serenity I chose to denigrate my body to feel the purity of my soul,
As required by my own religion.

The entire August 2003 essay by Dorianne Wotton is available in full on Exomène’s anthology profile page.

French artist Exomène is a soundsmith and digital apothecary.

A soundsmith because he works sounds like a potter his clay, or a blacksmith his metal: hammering, stretching, twisting sounds until they fit all together into a coherent piece of music.

As a digital apothecary, his approach is quite the same: playing with an abstract material as if it was physical in a more experimental way. The sound in itself is no longer triturated but what generates it is subjected to several techniques: data-bending, generativity, algorithm, glitch…

These two approaches stem from the same mysticism that holds abstract and physical materials are the same thing in different realms.

Follow Exomène via
Website
Soundcloud
Twitter
and
Anthology Profile

 

Magick, Music and Ritual 6, the Winter 2013 anthology album from the Hermetic Library
Hermetic Library Anthology Project – Magick Music and Ritual 6

 

 

The Hermetic Library Anthology Album – Magic, Music and Ritual 6

Magick, Music and Ritual 6, the Winter 2013 album, from the Hermetic Library Anthology project is now released for immediate digital download!

Magick, Music and Ritual 6, the Winter 2013 anthology album from the Hermetic Library

 

Please join the Hermetic Library in thanking and promoting these artists who have contributed their work to this benefit anthology album project by picking up this release. Please also spread the word to people you think may be interested in the work of artists who combine magick, music and ritual.

Be sure to also check out the entire Hermetic Library Anthology project, including previous albums and information about the upcoming inaugural issue of the new Hermetic Library Journal. Gander at the call for submissions to Summer Solstice 2013 anthology journal, with a deadline on Mar 21st, and look for a call for submissions to the Spring 2013 anthology album on Mar 15th!

 

 

The full track list for this Winter 2013 anthology album consists of 15 tracks with over 2 hours of music:

Part I

  1. Ego and the Ids – Picture It 03:43
  2. Apollon – Hidden Light 04:38
  3. Dr.Hans – Phasmatis 05:06
  4. Shams93 – Blues for the Man Devil 10:58
  5. yzzy☥kyzy – Narcigesis 01:36
  6. The Psychogeographical Commission – Walking with Omega 05:19
  7. The Implicit Order – Trance Induction 06:21
  8. Mahatma Dalí – Initium Novum 22:53

Part II

  1. Ralph Buckley – The Art of Magick 06:46
  2. Troy Schafer – Sending Anubis 01:59
  3. Exomène – Luna’s Dogma 03:24
  4. ///Δ – Void 13 06:00
  5. KaosMind – 12Lilitu7 12:00
  6. Dessicant – Head of a Pin 11:19
  7. Exomène – Requiem 24:26

 

This sixth issue from the Hermetic Library Anthology Project is being released on Imbolc in Winter 2013, at 15° Aquarius. This is the first album in the second full year of releases, planned for all four quarters in 2013. Magic, Music and Ritual 6 brings together 15 tracks, from new and returning artists, with over 2 hours of music spanning 2 physical CDs.

Magick, Music and Ritual 6 could be a story of a full night’s sleep, but this Winter album seems a fitful rest. There is a bit of tossing and turning here trying to get comfortable through the night. Some thoughts from the daytime of the year have stayed in mind and must be allowed to pass through our minds without attachment. No full story is without healthy variety, evidence of a life being lived.

Winter is a great time of year to contemplate ourselves, our relationships and the world. We can be thankful for the past, while still happily leaving it behind. We can be proud of ourselves and our lives, while still giving ourselves room to breathe, allow for change, and permission to rest. We can be part of the world and participate in seasonal celebrations which echo across the globe, while still choosing for ourselves what to hold close and what let go. Especially in Winter, we can contemplate a vision of what service we will offer in the new year to others that is also in service to ourselves, while recognizing what is not in service to either and rightfully refused. One of the fruits that can be savoured from all our preparations prior to the arrival of Winter is the luxury of time in this night of the year to contemplate and prepare for the coming year, the new beginning to come at the dawn that will be another Spring. This can be a personal ritual in liminal space where we can banish what needs to be past, evoke from ourselves an intentional future, and freely transform ourselves.

The artwork and design of this issue was created by Mustafa al-Laylah. This is the first of a full series of covers which will span the entire year. The cover design of this issue is the upper right quadrant from the full set of covers this year which can be combined to make a larger image, a collectable poster that combines the elements of all four seasons. The upper right quadrant, in this case, being related to a position on the wheel of the year and the typical correspondences between this time of year, this Winter season, and various things associated such as magical weapon, element, zodiac, cherub and so on. Mustafa has done a great job in combining various correspondences into a compelling and interesting image for this cover, and we can all look forward to seeing the whole image revealed through the rest of the year.

The Hermetic Library at Hermetic.com has an overall vision of Archiving, Engaging and Encouraging the living Western Esoteric Tradition. I started the benefit anthology project to help promote newer works in the Western Esoteric Tradition to the audience of the Hermetic Library and beyond. The anthology project also further raises awareness about the corpus and culture of magick and ritual.

I encourage you to check out the Hermetic Library at Hermetic.com, if you aren’t already familiar with it, as that’s the reason this project exists and may also offer inspiration to you. The site was started in 1996 and has ever since consistently been an extremely popular resource for students and researchers interested in the Western Esoteric Tradition.

Please join the Hermetic Library in promoting these artists who have contributed their work to this benefit anthology album project. Please also spread the word about these anthology albums to people you think may be interested in the work of artists who combine magick, music and ritual.

Hermetic Library
Hermetic Library Anthology Project

Production by John Griogair Bell
Artwork and Design by Mustafa al-Laylah

All songs used with permission. All rights reserved.

Requiem

“Requiem” is a track added by Exomène in the Hermetic Library audio pool.

 

“In memoriam SPB (1988-2012), requiescat in pace

The lyrics are out of a requiem mass“

 

The Hermetic Library audio pool is a participatory place for sharing sounds and music of a living Western Esoteric Tradition. If you would like to submit your work for consideration as part of the audio pool, head over to the Hermetic Library audio pool or contact the librarian.

Tabla rasa

“Holiday special – Tabla Rasa – New Year’s day” is a track added by Exomène in the Hermetic Library audio pool.

 

“My mood on the last days of the year.
The mood at the end of the year. A walk on the beaches of the North Sea by high wind. The rain that falls on the blockhouse where I take refuge.”

 

The Hermetic Library audio pool is a participatory place for sharing sounds and music of a living Western Esoteric Tradition. If you would like to submit your work for consideration as part of the audio pool, head over to the Hermetic Library audio pool or contact the librarian.

Doom

 

Doom
(Exomène)

In a day of doom and gloom I doomed the poor mandolin you hear. Yes, what you hear from the beginning to the end of the track is the sound of a single mandolin. Twisted, stretched, then torn, cut into pieces, and then all the pieces of the sound of the mandolin were nailed to each other, glued, hammered. Three times the screams of agony of the mandolin imitated the mourning of angels just before the crack of doom is heard. But it’s only the fourth crack that starts the judgement day.

French artist Exomène is a soundsmith and digital apothecary.

A soundsmith because he works sounds like a potter his clay, or a blacksmith his metal: hammering, stretching, twisting sounds until they fit all together into a coherent piece of music.

As a digital apothecary, his approach is quite the same: playing with an abstract material as if it was physical in a more experimental way. The sound in itself is no longer triturated but what generates it is subjected to several techniques: data-bending, generativity, algorithm, glitch…

These two approaches stem from the same mysticism that holds abstract and physical materials are the same thing in different realms.

Follow Exomène via
Website
Soundcloud
Twitter
and
Anthology Profile

 


Hermetic Library Anthology Project – Magick Music and Ritual 5

 

 

The Hermetic Library Anthology Album – Magick, Music and Ritual 5

The Fall 2012 album from the Hermetic Library Anthology project is now released at The Hermetic Library Anthology Album – Magick, Music and Ritual 5 for immediate download! Physical CDs of this Fall 2012 issue are also available as a pre-order.

Please join the Hermetic Library in thanking and promoting these artists who have contributed their work to this benefit anthology album project by picking up this release. Please also spread the word to people you think may be interested in the work of artists who combine magick, music and ritual.

Be sure to also check out the previous issues of the Hermetic Library Anthology and look for a call for submissions to the Winter 2013 anthology album on Dec 15th!

 

 

The full track list for this Fall 2012 anthology album consists of 16 tracks with over 2 hours of music:

Part I – Arrival

  1. Shams93 – Wahabibi (Part 1) 04:21
  2. Shams93 – Wahabibi (Part 2) 04:00
  3. Anantakara – Unlock an Immortal Seal 09:20
  4. Apollon – Juxtaposition of the Shadow Traveller 06:25
  5. Troy Schafer – Blue Death 01:22
  6. Ophwurld – Spontaneous Involuntary Feeling 07:18
  7. y3mk – Shalicu 07:16
  8. Mahatma Dalí – Elephant Graveyard 11:21
  9. Exomène – Doom 04:49
  10. Dr J Cephei – Mystic Prophecy 04:27
  11. (m) – Izmir 02:24

Part II – Departure

  1. Ikipr – Orbits (Reprise) 03:41
  2. Machabray – Empty Room (Part V) 04:25
  3. (m) – Dark Liquid Replicating 02:38
  4. David B Metcalfe – Fields of Light – Lumen Siccum 24:50
  5. Kim Cascone – Ros Crux – Alchemisphere Zero 34:09

 

This fifth album from the Hermetic Library Anthology Project is being released on Samhain in Fall 2012, at 15° Scorpio. This fifth issue completes the first full year of releases, one on all four quarters in 2012. Magick, Music and Ritual 5 brings together 16 tracks by 14 artists with over 2 hours of music which spans 2 physical CDs.

Two parts of this playlist seem to have developed for me a ritual structure, or at least a passage through liminality. The first part is an arrival which is also the departure from normal place and time and the second part is a departure from a place of imagination but also a return to world, having perhaps changed ourselves and world in the meantime. Beginning with a two-part track that develops from a mostly unadorned oud playing a lament and then unfolds in the second track to reveal a heavily processed and altered dirge; thus the circle of the ritual is cast. We move further into liminal place and time with a series of tracks leading deeper into the unknown, offering a self-reflection with mysterious overtones. This is an unfolding descent into a metaphorical and allegorical darkness that paradoxically reveals us to ourselves. The ritual progresses to a lacuna between parts, a space where in ritual one might do a specific working. You may decide each time you listen to take advantage of this place and time between parts to interact with this playlist by enacting your own work here in the space prepared by you and these artists. The second part of the playlist lifts us back through an ascent that returns us, not ourselves the same nor to the same world from which we departed but to see with new eyes a place slightly different than before. We have polished our vessel through travel into the self and have become better prepared to share our specific gifts with the world. Like the long delayed return of Odysseus, we are entering a season of increasing darkness from which light is inevitably liberated.

This cover for this issue was designed and illustrated by Valerie Herron. When I think of the top heaviness of antlers, I actually think of the looming ominous canopy of fall trees in the dark with their skeleton arms and fingers sloughing off leafy skin. I also think of the way that the tree of life looms large above the single point at Malkuth, such a long, tall and precarious spectral ladder to the stars … a place, perhaps, where the dark romance of both old school esotericism and new American Gothic meet.

The Hermetic Library at Hermetic.com has an overall vision of Archiving, Engaging and Encouraging the living Western Esoteric Tradition. I started the benefit anthology project to help promote newer works in the Western Esoteric Tradition to the audience of the Hermetic Library and beyond. The anthology project also further raises awareness about the corpus and culture of magick and ritual.

I encourage you to check out the Hermetic Library at Hermetic.com, if you aren’t already familiar with it, as that’s the reason this project exists and may also offer inspiration to you. The site was started in 1996 and has ever since consistently been an extremely popular resource for students and researchers interested in the Western Esoteric Tradition.

Please join the Hermetic Library in promoting these artists who have contributed their work to this benefit anthology album project. Please also spread the word about these anthology albums to people you think may be interested in the work of artists who combine magick, music and ritual.

Hermetic Library
Hermetic Library Anthology Project
Hermetic Library blog
Hermetic Library audio pool

Production by John Griogair Bell
Artwork and Design by Valerie Herron
Mastering by SickTanicK of SKR

All songs used with permission. All rights reserved.