The first time I saw Todd Pendu perform solo electronics I thought, "Klaus Schulze in a suitcase! I can dig this!" No longer does the performer need to be buried in impossibly tall racks of heavy keyboard gear, that which obscure his very view, to be able to touch other worlds, to taste the unseen, and to take the listener on a significant journey.
Often pressured to take the short-and-sweet route simply by noise-gig propriety, it was gratifying for me personally to be able to offer Todd a forum within which to lay out a considerable slab of music, a vision of some length, something I knew he'd not only ace, but take good and seriously.
"Hermetic Erotics" is that slab, and more—a powerful electronic suite of arcing and shifting dynamics; there is tension, resolution, warnings of danger, absolute peace, contemplation aplenty, and some lovely and subtly positioned guest vocals by Laylah (Johanna Lenski.)
All in all, Chaos*Majik brought it, left it, and returned to the hive of NYC leaving barely a trace, save these excellent 38 and a half minutes (kind of like an assassin with very good intentions; and I must note that this is very much in line with the behavior of an evolved magician.) My suggestion, as with several previous Castle sessions, is to download the file and listen to it on headphones, as "Hermetic Erotics" includes passages of near-subliminal activity that will get a bit lost on in-browser play.
Todd also read my cards that night, and a good tarot reading always reveals a little more than you want it to, as was the case here. To listen to the full program archive, visit this page.
To learn more about Todd's universe of activities in and outside of Chaos*Majik, visit pendu.org.
Thanks to Bob Bellerue for expert live engineering (and for enduring my gruffness) and to Tracy Widdess for finding the color in the darkness. Original photo by Johanna Lenski.
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