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The new mystical breakcore masterwork from one of the top female musicians in all electronica. This album offers high drama, complex time signatures, top production values, and a concept based on Aleister Crowley.
„As above, so below.“
Hecate's second journey into twisted time signatures and bellowing basslines tune the listener into a complex web based off of Aleister Crowley's Qabala. As a luxurious double 12“ package, Zhark International and Praxis have teamed up once again to produce the first ever LP based numerically off of the English Qabala. Most of the Sounds were recorded live in Papiro's Subterranean studio. Most of the strings (viola, cello, as well as accordion) are played while Hecate jammed on his keyboards and guitars to blister the ears of her followers.
Starting from the bottom, X – Malkuth – The Earth in 10/4 time tablas intertwinded with a voice like Lilith set the pace for the next track based on the moon as Yesod, IX. The moon in its infamous glory of witches and their craft. This track also connects to the wolves and the ravens who are covered by the Egyptian god Anubis. Yma Sumac, a supposed Amazonian jungle priestess from the 50's sings about witchcraft in her native tongue – also in 9-4 time. Rachael is the first woman to use this complex beat programming, and probably the only person in the „breakcore“-scene besides Venetian Snares. The A side provides beats for DJ's as well as room for chilling out. The B side (Hod) starts out hard, and moves into quicksilver like Thoth, this is a rocking track with vocals and mass feedback assailing Rachael's own birthsign. Hard hip-hop beats explode into something like speedcore with the sirens of feedback and Rachael's voice layered over. The next one up is dedicated to Venus or the Egyptian counterpart Hathor, once again in 7/4 time, and is a beautiful tune which equalizes the movement of the record into a more laid back position. The third track on the record starts out with African instruments and a warm tone since it represents the theme of Tiphareth and the desert which belonged to Osiris. Hecate always refers to it as her „hippy“ track, but many disagree and say it's actually her most psychedelic tune yet.
Moving onto the C side, Rachael proclaims the Aeon of Horus with an invocation made in the blinding heat of a summers day. This track rocks on like a 4/4 hardcore track but it's actually 5/4 which is cool to mess with the DJ's. V stands for Geburah which means war and the Aeon of Horus the Avenger is now upon us.
Jupiter sorts out the heaviness of the C side with Papiro's strings bringing a bounty of life and light back into the picture. A relaxed 4/4 track that kicks in the middle to prove the point that Hecate can still roll out the beats and bass over a backdrop of beauty.
The D side brings the supernal triangle together with Binah (III). First a beatless piece which brings out the darkness of the Sea of Saturn. This sephira is black, black as the seas are turning through all the oil spills and animal extinction, an ominous track that opens up into the male counterpart of Binah (womanly-understanding) and Chokmah (II) blasts back with full force of men's wisdom. A driving drum and bass tune clearing the air with the power of a man. Rounding out this collection and sonic experimentation, Hecate runs Papiro's strings into a maddening finish of a pinnacle of power – once again a beatless track, Kether (I) represented by Amoun-Ra which wraps up a wonderous ride through a serious implementation of personal occult study and self-taught knowledge of technology and hermetics.
This 2nd LP is what Rachael refers to as her „unholy graal“ for reasons left to others to find out why. This LP also is a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the writing of the book of Liber AL – which supposedly was written April 8-10th 1904 in Cairo, Egypt.
Hecate's own graphic design lends perfectly with her own musick bringing her first ever gatefold sleeve (on vinyl) along with her everpresent lust for creation, which ever side it comes to. No other woman in the musick business has achieved what she has with this album.
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