A shamanic melange of feminine power from Danse Noire’s Abyss X.
Brought up in Crete, Evangelia VS, aka Abyss X, has long drawn from mythology, industrial music and her own history to create music that stands out of time.
Her first release was Echoes, on the Extasis imprint, and appeared back in 2015, fusing sizzling pop vocals with pounding percussion; it sounded something like a peak-era Kylie Minogue record filtered through the internet-savvy haze of vaporwave and witch house.
Since then, Abyss X has released records on Infinite Machine (Nüshu), Halcyon Veil (2016’s acclaimed Mouthed) and last year put out her highest-profile release to date: Pleasures of the Bull on Aisha Devi’s Danse Noire label.
Abyss X’s FACT mix is billed as “an ode to the woman shaman, both ancient and contemporary,” and features a host of recordings of groups of women from India and the Amazon singing folk music, as well as what Abyss X describes as “modern shamans” such as Lisa Lisa Gerrard, Diamanda Galás and Olena Uutai Podluzhnaya. These tracks are blended with recordings from Evangelia’s live show on MONOM’s 4DSOUND system in Berlin, and finished off with a special version of Ryuichi Sakamoto’s ‘Forbidden Colours’.
This year, Abyss X is running her first festival, Nature Loves Courage in Crete. A small, 350-capacity event in Sougia, the festival features appearances from Juliana Huxtable, Rabit, Nkisi, Kilbourne and more. It’s taking place between June 7 – 8 and tickets can be bought from the Nature Loves Courage site.
Tracklist:
Unknown + Saamleng + Shipibo Shamans
Lišaj – Skalyr + Amazon Icaro for Peace + Abyss X – ‘Gangsters Were Weeping’
Madonna – Bedtime Story + Cloud – ‘Parkzicht’
r98 + Unknown
Basaltes & Mnstl Live + Diamanda Galas – ‘Judgment Day’ + Schake – ‘Make Them Remember’ + Olena Siberian Shaman
Manganiyar Women + Dickie Landry – Fifteen Saxophones
Hasar de Doria – ‘Spirits of Truth’ + Unknown
Bebe Yama – ‘El Diablo Benevolente’ + Unknown
DJ Fashionista – Engine Valve + Unknown + Abyss X – Humiliation + Sad God Screw & Slick Killa – ‘Demonic Duo Remix’
Kaija Saariaho – ‘Sept Papillons’ + Lisa Gerrard Live
Abyss X Live at MONOM
Ryuichi Sakamoto – ‘Forbidden Colours’ + Abyss X Live Acapella at MONOM
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