It is fitting that the first records I ordered from the new Bent Crayon location (now in the second floor of the 78th Street Studios) are the new Afro Noise Vol. 1 Parts 1 and 2 from William Bennett’s Cut Hands. William Bennett’s work has long been a topic of conversation between the proprietor and me so it only makes sense.  Sorry I missed it when it was released on cd, I just felt I had to wait until the vinyl knowing fully well they would be elegantly packaged and high quality like all the recent Whitehouse reissues. No regrets here. Interesting thing about the packaging, the covers are vévé style illustrations that I can’t seem to find the origin of. Would be interested in finding out if they are new designs by the illustrator (Mimsy Dubois) or if they have a traditional base. They don’t look like any vévé I’m familiar with but that just exposes a gap in my knowledge. The cover of Vol. 2 features three skulls and what look to be modified tombstones, so maybe Baron Samedi and some of his baron friends?*

The records are outstanding, the title Afro Noise sums up perfectly what they contain. But check it, his isn’t a Graham Greene noise record, a Brit in the jungle storming around like a mad dog looking for a spot of gin sneering at the savages. Cut Hands comes across as exploring it more from the Maya Deren school, completely immersing himself in the drum music of Western Africa and Haiti and the religions and art that surround it. Maybe he hasn’t, but the quality of music has no outsider boundaries to it. A fascinating thing about it is it doesn’t sound that different from many of the traditional voodoo records in my collection. There are a few clues, a lot of time stretching on a particular track, but other than that it stays closer to the source than I expected.

Thinking about it, Noise and Voodoo have a lot of similar traits. Both are essentially about leaving your head (or as Lon Milo Duquette would argue going really deep into it). Trance inducement is the name of the game. Plenty of noise types try to get away with the junkiest most fucked up equipment they can force a sound out of,  and voodoo thrives in some of the poorest regions of the world. Voodoo drummers don’t have the luxury of going to the nearest Guitar Center and picking up a drum, as the best noise musicians are never the guys that go there with Mom’s credit card and make a pedal chain. Both noise and Voodoo have plenty of frauds and fakers involved. Oh yeah, and most people don’t want a noise venue next door as most people would probably wince if they lived next door to a voodoo peristyle. The ceremonies in Brooklyn generally started around 1 or or 2 am and would go until 6 or so.

William Bennett provided Radio Web Macba an African percussion mix which is outstanding, listened to it yesterday while I was writing copy about ferns for my day job.

Disclaimer: When I was doing my own noise/Haitian/Brazilian drum experiments (Mysteres du Serpent) I thought at the time I was referencing more SPK, Voudon Gnosticism of Michael Bertiaux, Kenneth Grant Typhonian weirdness, and the various Voodoo cults down here in New Orleans. Maybe on an unconscious level I tried to separate myself from what I had heard from the Whitehouse camp previously, most particularly 2007′s Racket. I am extremely proud of the Mondo Neptune cassette and it touches on similar themes as Cut Hands, but where Cut Hands is more polished and methodical Mysteres du Serpent is a bit chaotic. Perhaps Cut Hands is more cinematic where Serpents draws from New Orleans’ rich Discordian tradition? Two different beasts drinking from the same well.

* I brought the records by famed New Orleans mambo Sallie Anne Glassman’s Island of Salvation Botanica this afternoon. She said she didn’t recognize the source of the vévé illustration but she was also in a hurry to get her precious akita Ayizan to the vet. She said something about the arrow language which I can’t find any information on anyway. If anyone has more info on the cover designs please give me a shout, either in the comments, by email: witchbeam@gmail.com or you can tweet at me twitter.com/templeofpei. I’ve been off the twitter since I started working full time but I still check it occasionally.

Suggested reading: KANAVAL by Leah Gordon/Voudon Gnosis by David Beth

Few bands have left a bigger crater in their wake in 2011 than the duo of Telecult Powers. Witchbeam and Mister Mathews have been brewing up some of the best electronic stew for a while now but never has it been more condensed and ready to bathe in than on their first vinyl sacrifice, Zion Traveler. Easily one of the year’s best albums, Zion Traveler takes synthetic time traveling to a whole different place.

via Hexed by Telecult Powers | | Foxy Digitalis.

Pulled the veil a bit for Foxy Digitalis, thanks Brad for saying what’s up, thanks for taking the time.

You looking for a copy of Zion Traveler? Check these Babylon motels, probably can help you. If they aren’t listed in the catalog send an email. Perhaps they want to make sure you really, really, really want it:

Bent Crayon

Discriminate

Tomentosa

Mimaroglu Music Sales

Been rereading the Robert Anton Wilson cannon a bit, thank god for the Cosmic Trigger. Woke up a few days ago remembering that I have been a Discordian all along. Was excited to find out that Discordianism was birthed here in New Orleans, very close to where I live. Hail Eris!

Watch the whole thing here – http://www.folkstreams.net/film,150

The Crow Hill Gnostic Temple is Sister Jillian & Witchbeam.  Together they explore astral time travel, insect lycanthropy, and cosmic meditation via gnostic revelation and sensory stimulation.

8/14 Mudlark Theater, 1200 Port Street, New Orleans
w/ Proud Father, I have two wolves inside of me

8/24 Eyedrum, Atlanta, GA
w/ Motion Sickness of Time Travel, Nova Scotian Arms

8/25 Bandwagon, 474 Haywood Road, Asheville NC
w/ Concern

Will have copies of the new Telecult Powers cassette Stars are the Eyes of God, plus the ISA Christ/Telecult collab Golden Abulis.

New artwork from 311, one of the many reasons I hate 90s music,

oh, and some art I did for Emeralds a few years ago, totally unrelated…

Oh, and something I did for Emerald side project Imaginary Softwoods last year:

Want to point out the circles were my addition, the collage itself was done by Mr. Blue O’Randa…

“commercial designers aren’t trained to be original … that role is left to the un-hirable artists” – John Fell Ryan

10. Do certain colors and shapes relate to certain types of music or sounds for you?

Definitely! Ever since I was a kid I’ve made this type of association. For example if you were to ask me what color the number 7 is my answer would be yellow. 6 is yellow too. 8 is purple and 9 is green. 3 is blue. Music works this way as well.

via  The Colorful World of Caroline Teagle | | Foxy Digitalis.

Magick 101 would point out that correspondences are the foundation to a whole new world… Read the whole thing, it was conducted by the talented Rachel Evans, from what I can tell an individual that shares many of our fascinations and obsessions.

Some Telecult related flyers by Ms. Teagle:

 The top was commissioned by Witchbeam, the bottom three by Franklin Teagle, her brother and proprietor of the amazing Tranquility Tapes.

The Sakawa Boys: Inside the Bizarre Criminal World of Ghana’s Cyber-Juju Email Scam Gangs | Motherboard.

For Ghede | Mysteres du Serpent.

Decided digital distribution for Mondo Neptune may be fun and actually have had a huge response, only $6 at Bandcamp.  Check out sound samples and purchase via the link.