[KH] Kappa Acca – Soundressing. Bells, Chants and Drums from Forgotten World (Album Review)

Today’s review features [KH] Kappa Acca’s new album “Soundressing. Bells, Chants, and Drums from Forgotten World.”

This album is inspired by Mircea Eliade’s “Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy”. “Soundressing is a fictional word, a concept concerning shaman and musician: both inhabit a space made of sounds and significant sonic signs that must be interpreted; both play a social role dependent on their knowledge, know-how, feeling, and action.” The tracklist follows the chapters of Eliade’s book: the music as an imaginary soundtrack, notes to complement the words of a book written seventy years ago.The album features a strong Sardinian influence, particularly in the use of voices as lullabies, nursery rhymes (duru duru), funeral laments (atitidus), and polyphonic singing (canto a cuncordu). The production strategy was to make “shamanic” what is not normally considered as such.

Kappa Acca’s theory is that “The shaman is always a musician. Eliade defines shamanism as a ‘set of techniques of ecstasy’ aimed to transcending the human condition of everyday life; these techniques are fostered and perpetuated through specific musical training and apprenticeship, following the candidate’s spiritual election.”

“The aim (of the album) is to demonstrate how the expression ‘the Shaman is a Musician’ is bidirectional, remaining valid even when reversed (the Musician is a Shaman); not only does the concept of musician offer a new perspective on the role and practice of shamanism, but it is equally true that musicians enjoy a similar regard among non-musicians to shamans.”

The album cover is by Ylenia Porcu, who visually interprets the shaman’s mediating abilities, the ability to pass from one world to another, sometimes reversing his orientation, between worlds made of different sounds and signs. The photo on the back cover, dating back to the 1920s, portrays a Tungus shaman in his costume while he beats a traditional drum.

So let’s have a listen …

Play with Fire starts with sticks rattling over a steady drone, followed by a chant like voice, keyboards and bass. Very interesting musical textures. A female vocalist comes in singing “las”, along with a child’s voice doing the same. The track ends with a keyboard drone, more “las”, and drums.

Rattle picks up right where the prior track ends, with what sounds like a trickling waterfall, accompanied by a piano playing a slow progression. Enter a steady drum beat. Faint echoes of a female singer, chanting. Lots of unique instrumentation. Interesting keyboard pairing with what sounds like bells or a metal clanking. Could be a xylophone-type instrument. Ending again on the waterfall type sound and birds chirping.

Dream is a very short track, just over 1 minute. Drums against a keyboard drone, with the sound of cicadas.

Bajkal starts with birds chirping against the sound of a keyboard and what sounds like steel drums, and a waterfall sound. Then enters a xylophone playing a simple melody against skinned drums. A vibrating keyboard sound. More drums against an alien-like keyboard drone. A keyboard playing a simple melody in the upper registers against different drums. Fading out over a washing surf.

Birch Initiation starts with the washing surf sound, then immediately pivots to the sound of a keyboard drone against a steady drum circle type beat. The sound of an alien keyboard playing a simple melody. The next sounds are hard to describe – what sounds like a faint human rhythmic chant against what sounds like a calliope and a keyboard in the background. More drums, playing ever faster. The tension is then broken by a keyboard playing an elegant melody. Ending with a few seconds of silence.

Guides start off with a background keyboard and the sound of bells or windchimes. The keyboard is vibrating. Sounds of wood blocks and a human child’s voice, which may be an instrument of some kind. Then a faster rhythmic progression that could be straight out of a pop song. The sound of a waterfall enters again. The keyboard is playing steps. The swirl of sounds washes over your ears. The drums pick up intensity. The child’s voice echoes against a steady march drum beat, ending with whistling.

Downwards kicks off with a keyboard against what sounds like a metallic drone. A wind instrument of some kind or keyboard enters against the clanking of metal. There are so many unique instruments in this soundscape. I hear faint echoes of a human voice against the swirling keyboards – multiple keyboards – one playing an alien-like repeating riff and the other providing an ethereal soundscape. More human voices, but only in the background.

Yir Sacrifice starts with a vibrato keyboard riff against a steady drum beat. The drums then fade. And then come in again over the steady vibrato of the keyboards. An ethereal keyboard enters in the background. Very chill. The fast sounds of wood blocks, against a majestic reappearance of the keyboards.

Ovoo, another 1-minute song, enters the world with electronic chirping against a repeating keyboard riff. Fading out against a waterfall sound.

Upwards, the last song on the album, enters with a Friday the 13th type repeating keyboard riff against a second keyboard playing a faster melody. The keyboards also provide an ethereal soundscape to this track. What sounds like a reverse delay enters against the sound of a xylophone. I faintly hear what sounds like heavily effected human voices chanting in the background. All sounds very chill against the repeating keyboard riffs. A fast, steady drum beat gives way to a full drum kit against the ethereal sounds of the main track. The sonic landscape is very circular. Rotating. Ending on the faint sound of woodblocks.

The album is a study of the sounds of a musical shaman. Meant to provide healing energies, there is plenty to choose from among a swirling palette of unique soundscapes. The album is a very chill ride through your mind.

SCORE/Excellent: Kappa Acca has created an epic ride through the mind of a musical shaman. Very chill, ethereal soundscapes. I love the chanting nature of the human voices and drums on the album. Seems like the perfect music for meditation. Much love, Beth

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