Hoor-paar-Kraat — The Eureka Tapes: The Complete Recordings

I  listened to some Blue Oyster Cult and Moss this past weekend….. apologies to those of more finely-tuned musical sensibilities…..and was re-reminded of untold aeons in human music where occult elements have been a haunting presence; anthropologically, music has been a part of our more esoteric practices and rituals from the very beginning. In part this can be attributed to fear (think about it) or because it provides listeners an exciting sense of something beyond the claustrophobic sophistries of self. That’s entertainment folks! This means the ineffable is of deep interest to some and naming your musical project after a Thelemic deity is certain to arouse a modicum of curiosity. And pause. 

Hoor-paar-Kraat is the musical project of one Anthony Mangicapra, who approaches art as a ritual act. In addition to his musical pursuits, he is also an exhibiting painter. Mangicapra has stated that some of his extra-musical influences are Surrealism, William S. Burroughs, Aleister Crowley, Marcel Duchamp, Max Ernst, and Austin Osman Spare. His latest music release, The Eureka Tapes, is a 2cd compilation of tracks from the same-titled musical series released across various formats, music accompanying an exhibition of paintings, and music from a split cassette, along with an unreleased track. The Eureka Tapes comes in two versions: the standard 2cd version and an art edition limited to only twenty copies (which is sold out, I believe). 

Names that get thrown around when discussing musical influences or similar musical projects to Hoor-paar-Kraat are: Organum/David Jackman, Nurse With Wound, Hafler Trio, irr. app. (ext.), Coil (their more ‘ritual side’), and a wee bit of Nocturnal Emissions or Brume. Now, these names are pretty familiar to those interested in the enigmatic realm of ambient/ experimental/industrial sounds and all have well-deserved reputations for producing brilliant music at one time or another. Hoor-paar-Kraat, while not functioning at the same lofty levels as these artists, still produces some compelling music. The Organum and Nurse With Wound influences are most obvious in the droning, plinking, rumbling, scraping, and tearing-like sounds to be found on The Eureka Tapes. The auditory realms of HpK also bring to mind a less-expansively breathtaking version of those improvised mysteries associated with AMM and Taj Mahal Travellers, at times. It can be said that The Eureka Tapes functions as a sort of mystically surreal musique concrète and it’s easy to see the thematic links with Mangicapra’s paintings (look them up on the interwebs) . All this is a good thing, in my opinion. 

The amount of enchanting material on this 2cd set makes it difficult to choose the most enjoyable tracks, but I’ll give it a go. Let’s see, the “Departure of the Icicle Man” drones nicely, “Habit and the Smooth Sailing of the Psyche” wanders about some plinky and springy shadows, “The Self is an Onion Self” reverbs and pulses, the rumbling drones of “Everything Gets Devoured, Eventually” are nicely dark, there are the hallway mysteries of “Opharim”, “Gnomes” is Elph-ish in a huge closet, “By the Light of the Morning Star” shimmers, and the “Sobbing Peaks Backward Twins” is freaky fun (courtesy of Twin Peaks?).

And yeah the song titles are a bit wonky and overly didactic, especially if one is not especially interested in Western esotericism or Wikipedia diving, but their presence gratefully disappears under the spell of the music itself.

While I feel I cannot give this release a full 5 out of 5 because it treads familiar territory, I can say this release is well worth purchasing for the guaranteed repeated listenings and audio adventuring.