ALBUM REVIEW: Leila Abdul-Rauf – Phantasiai


No matter how much you write about a record, you can never quite fully encapsulate the feelings invoked by the music. Composer and multi-instrumentalist Leila Abdul-Rauf’s (Vastum, Ionophore, Cardinal Wyrm, Fyrhtu) words about her new album, Phantasiai, go some way to explaining why this might be. She writes, by way of explanation of the record’s concept:

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K-X-P – IV


Ambient music is tricky. Get it right and you can create some of the most mind-blowing, expansive, forward-thinking art imaginable. Get it wrong and you’re left looking like a pretentious mess. It’s very difficult to ride the line of pretension and come out on the right side when making anything that forsakes a conventional song structure, but by album six, you’d think K-X-P would be pretty adept, right?Continue reading


Paul Booth Talks Tattooing, His New Album, And His Life In The Arts


Paul Booth has spent the majority of his life dedicated to art. Since he was a child he gravitated to the darker nature of art and used the world as his canvas over many different mediums. Of course, Paul is perhaps best known for his legendary tattoo-work and paintings which have a legion of fans. Paul welcomed Ghost Cult’s crew into his private sanctum at Last Rites Tattoo Theatre within Last Rites Gallery In New York City. Paul discussed his entire career with us, including his passion for film, painting, sculpture, jewelry, his creative process, and especially his pride over his new album, the just-released Nihilistic Melodies. Interview with Keefy and Videography by Omar Cordy of OJC Photography.Continue reading


Gravetemple – Impassable Fears


Very few pairings can channel and embrace the art of compelling and near inaudible noise as an art form as Stephen O’Malley and Atilla Csihar of SunnO))) (and Mayhem in the latter’s case). A partnership formed with SunnO))), they have proven to be champions of incredibly dissident and daunting soundscapes within Drone and experimental Ambient musci, in as close to pigeonholing as is possible. Following on from 2007’s debut of alternative project Gravetemple, Impassable Fear (Svart Records) offers yet another snapshot into their striking vision.Continue reading