Elysian Chants is a hard album to pinpoint. Almost inevitably the word neofolk will be put forward, considering the other projects of the members and the concept. And whilst I’m happy enough to accede that it’s an apt descriptor in the sense that most likely fans of neofolk will harbor interest towards Caverna Delle Rose, Elysian Chants is not neofolk musically.
Release published in four versions: Digipack CD complete with large booklet ( 500 copies), marbled green LP (60 copies), marbled blue LP (60 copies) and black LP (180 copies). Aima is a vocal master of ceremonies in a work steeped in mysticism and archaic rituality, this time on the wings of a particularly powerful magnetism, well supported both by Diego’s synths and by Trevor’s instruments (primarily the decisive percussion).
It will be the collaboration between artists of different origins, it will be that the figurative part emerges overbearing as it rarely happens in other works, but this work that accompanies us through seven Orphic Hymns lives and brings to life emotions that go beyond simple listening. Singing and music merge in a continuous flow of sounds where the voices of Aima and Evor become real musical instruments and do not follow melodies, but create them, changing like the fumes that suddenly became voices, shadows of spirits, begging for Orpheus when he was engaged in his bitter enterprise in Hades.
For years, a more organic collaboration between AimA Lichtblau and Evor Ameisie was in the air and it finally resulted in this first work: Elysian Chants.
The album was born from a common feeling between three artists particularly interested in ancient and “primitive” cultures. The third member of the group is in fact Diego Cinquegrana, a visual artist who has been curating the whole image of AimA for a long time and author of the entire artwork for “Les Chimeres” by Les Jumeaux Discordants.
As I said, creation is a kind of trance for me. I don’t compose because I wouldn’t be able to. The melodies come from a deep feeling, from a connection that is beyond this world. Otherwise I would find no sense in making music or writing.
When I write or sing I do it in a kind of possession state that is very different from creative inspiration. This can also happen during live shows. I leave this earthly part for a moment and I am captivated by something that I can’t define, but I like it.
This album took me by surprise for its instantly Ritual approach. The power of the vocals mixing Ritual- and Ethereal styles has something bewitching. But there also is a great symbiosis with the music, which through its overwhelming sound waves and subtle field recordings reaches a state of climax, a kind of sonic ecstasy.
In caressing the dream of a return to the origins of the Golden Age, Caverna delle Rose looks to the future.
His is a conservative revolution projected forward that shapes the sound matter to give it a new musicality.
In it dwells the ancient spirit of the wise and inspired researcher who dares and reinvents, who experiments the alchemy of possibilities through the tools of knowledge and logos that nourish the mind.
AimA, Evor Ameisie and Diego Cinquegrana deliver a first work that declares itself in the poem with the title it boasts: Elysian Chants.
An orphic oratory in 8 movements that emanates dark and radiant vibrations at the same time. Theater of mystery and Olympic beauty.
Under this name a high-level meeting is revealed for all lovers of dark, ritual and spiritual climates between AimA (Les Jumeaux Discordants, Daimatland) and Evor Ameisie (Camerata Mediolanense, NG), accompanied by Diego Cinquegrana on field recordings and keyboards. We know their penchant for haunting, possessed, alternately ethereal or demonic music, and fans will not be disappointed. Quite the contrary. The musicians show themselves here particularly inspired, carried by the pagan beliefs, the sounds of nature, the Orphic songs and the great poetic themes (the night, the creation …).
If ritual music usually focuses mainly on achieving a trance, and if one dares to work towards this in an extensive (read: at times long-winded) trance, the concise rituals of Caverna Delle Rose form a welcome change. The trance aspect is certainly present through the obligatory percussion, but fortunately the Italians do not forget to actually write songs around it, so that they know how to distinguish themselves from the umpteenth random act within the genre.
Despite its limited playing time of ‘only’ 42 albums, Elysian Chants has become a richly filled album. Again, we add. It’s not all gold that glitters, but if it comes out of the hands of AimA, the chances that this will actually be the case are sky-high.
The Orphic Hymns.They are a collection of poems from the late Hellenistic period and are situated around the mystery cult of Orphism. A movement that went against the Christian faith. Adherents lived ascetically in order to gain a better life after death through physical and spiritual purity. The core of ‘Elysian Chants’ are seven Orphic Hymns, each dedicated to various deities or natural elements.
The cover artwork of the record shows a strong image: the penetrating ‘look’ of an old black mask against a contrasting white background, half veiled by a dark red veil. Intriguing, just like the opener ‘To Dionysius’. The figure Dionysus or Bacchus is the deity of viticulture, fertility, theater and music, but also of ritual madness and ecstasy. The latter can clearly be heard on this more than six minutes lasting trip full of compelling rhythms and mysterious voices. It is one elongated Dionysian and particularly rousing evocation.
