Phurpa & Queen Elephantine
Ita Zor
This inner space journey features an international collaboration between Phurpa, renowned Russian ritualists that perform the ancient Bon music of Tibet, and Queen Elephantine, the avant garde rock group formed in Hong Kong and now based in Philadelphia, USA. Together they weave history with the future into an offering that reflects the present moment, slowly teasing the tension of a dense electric buzzing chaos while seeking anchor and abandon in ancient knowledge. This chant and drone work goes incredibly deep, astronomically far out, and is the sound of death as much as of healing. Phurpa provide the backbone with their transcendent thunderous throat chanting while Queen Elephantine create an otherworldly cloud around them, using gyaling horns, conch shells, gongs, flutes, ceremonial bells and bowls, drums, guitar, and electronics. The artwork features a striking sculpture by Transylvanian skull-carver Victor Seiche, a fitting image for the sound of a dead wisdom tradition adored, adorned, and defiled with sincere devotion.