ALZIEND COMPONENT Sacred Sorceress CD. Digipal

Ltd.Ed. 100

With "Sacred Sorceress", Alziend Component surveys the subterranean landscapes of an ancient, unexplored territory. The loss of landmarks becomes more pronounced as the winding paths draw us into the depths. Down here, the echo of the world above is still present; archaic litanies link us to it. The muffled notes seem at once distant and strangely familiar, as do the obscure resonances of the humming coming from the cavities below. The sound score seems to use contemporary technologies, although here it is embodied in a primitive form that suggests it originated centuries before our era. Access continues below.

Deep in the rock, electrical clusters of intertwined cables run along the wall; human artefacts and age-old mineral become one. In places, mechanical fragments embrace the cold, damp monolith of craggy nooks and crannies. The ghostly, discreet melodies of the voices respond to the throbbing, saturated reverberations of the strings. Instruments and other sound materials come to life in a shapeless, sinuous arrangement. Machinery regurgitates its black fumes, while bells toll the knell amid the feedback. Industrial incursions are discreet, while textures alternate between ambient noise and organic harmonies, playing on accidents and improvisation. Between oscillations, jolts and calms, the ritual frenzy maintains its fire. On the last breath, "Sacred Sorceress" appears like an ancient, forgotten creation, a form of archive, an analog emanation crystallized on magnetic tape, held there as a souvenir of a distant world.