A prolific creative, Mortal Phrophets has blessed us many times with a wide range of musical offerings. Not afraid to delve into different musical territories, the New York City-based composer and artist now jumps straight into experimental territories, pivoting his sound design skills towards long textures and hypnotising soundscapes. The resulting work is called ‘HANUSSEN: The Enigmatic Clairvoyant | An Opera’. As suggested by its title, the format follows the classical layout of an opera, being divided into a prologue, seven acts and an epilogue.
Sonically, there’s a lot to swim through. Featuring bright, high-pitched textures, the pieces are majorly ethereal and ephemeral, drenched in reverb and dissonant modulations. At times, solitary sounds are seen pushing through the gloomy mist, enlightening the listening experience with an almost pointillistic approach. As the record proceeds, its noisy character gets enhanced, slowly engulfing us in what we can only describe as an obscure, abstract shower of pure catharsis.
Beckmann named the album after “Erik Jan Hanussen (1889-1933), the Viennaborn Jewish mystic who became a psychic advisor of sorts to Adolf Hitler”, in a fruitful attempt to attach a specific theming to the record. While that’s rather successful, the keen listeners might also find joy in wrapping the record with their own set of values – as any abstract work ultimately implies.
Recommended! Discover ‘HANUSSEN: The Enigmatic Clairvoyant | An Opera’ on Spotify:
