Album: The Ossuary
Artist: SINIUS
Label: Self-released
Catalogue no: N/A
Tracklist:
1. As
Above So Below
2. Eliphas
Levi’s Baphomet
3. Hermetic
Origin
4. Microcosm
and Macrocosm
The Paris Catacombs: one
of those places that over the centuries has accumulated layers and layers of
myth and legend. The Ossuary, a
project of UK-based sound designer, film composer, and photographer Daljit
Kundi, was inspired by this most esoteric of monuments to death, a place
wrapped in so much obfuscation and mystery that the lines between fact and
fiction often blur, to the detriment of creating a clearer picture. However, as
human beings we latch on to the occult aspects of such enigmas, preferring the
romantic to the mundane, embroidering and embellishing the tales as the
tellings grow, and in the process we make manifest its own genius loci that’s entirely independent of the catacombs’ original
purpose. It’s even entered the hallowed precincts of popular culture, in the
form of 2014’s As Above, So Below
film, which peppered the story with references to mainstays of the Western
Magical Tradition and occult conspiracy theory; here I have to admit to having
thoroughly enjoyed it, tending as I do towards the occult and esoteric.
It appears that Kundi is
also drawn to these aspects too. Even a cursory glance at the track titles will
tell you that the project is interested in emphasising the esoteric
connections, obviously delving deeply into the myths and legends associated
with the place. Prosaically, long-abandoned limestone mines begun in Roman
times were reused after public health concerns about overcrowded cemeteries
with exposed rotting corpses triggered bouts of deadly disease, finally forcing
the authorities to do something. It is said that up to six million individuals
are interred here among the estimated 185 miles of tunnels running beneath the
city. It isn’t surprising then, when corridors are lined either side with
bones, that stories and tales of mysterious events have sprung up and persist.
This four-track album
expresses these subterranean concepts in quiet hisses, shimmering planes of drone,
whispering winds and exhalations, and crackles and scrapings, creating a range
of subdued atmospheres redolent of the grave and of spaces reserved for the
dead. This is a place where anything but a whisper is anathema, where the souls
and shades of the dead roam randomly in search of a place to rest. These are
the nameless and forgotten, the unremembered former inhabitants of the City of
Light, now mired in Hadean darkness and oppressive gloom. This really isn’t a
fit habitation for the living, but inevitably of course in our quest to conquer
the fear of the unknown we’ve introduced light and modern cultural phenomena
into its corridors, spoiling and defiling its respectful silences. SINIUS’ compositions
go some way in reminding us that even those whose names have been lost to time
deserve to rest in peace, to let them exist outside the over-bright world of
modern day humanity, and to sleep the long sleep without distraction.
Having outlined the
above, that’s not all this music offers. Interweaving between the lines of the
purely romanticised aspects attaching to death, the occult layers underpinning
our conceptions of the spiritual and esoteric of the darker side of human
existence abound here too. There are untapped currents of power here, humming
along concealed conduits unavailable to those who aren’t attuned to their
frequencies. It’s a multi-layered release, with as many meanings and themes
occurring as one can comfortably accommodate. Once can successfully separate
them, or view them in combination: either way, I think a close listen will
reward the listener, revealing a deep understanding of the streams pertaining
to life, death, the universe, and the occult. Take the time to invest your mind
into this one – it’s quiet, yes, but then so are the dead, and look how strong
an influence over the living they exert in culture. This is the key to this
one.
Available as a download
from here:
Psymon Marshall 2019.
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