Written by: Michael Mitchell
This piece also appears in Torched
Sashimmy Records based in Atlanta, GA will be celebrating World Goth Day (this Wednesday, May 22nd) in a big and beneficial way. The band Hypnagogic State offer the download only single, “Doo Wop Thou Wilt” from their forthcoming album, Every Man and Woman is a Superstar. During the entire month of May, you can purchase the single for any price you are willing to pay (the only caveat is that it is a $1.oo US minimum). You may consider digging a little deeper into your pockets for this one though as the proceeds for this download will go to benefit the Sophie Lancaster Foundation. For those who would like more information about Sophie and the great things the foundation does for the Goth community and other subcultures, please see the link below to their website.
According to label boss, Lisa King (of The Hot Place fame), “Sashimmy Records was created to nurture a place of mystery, which supports the spirit of experimental music. Sometimes artists have sides of themselves that they would like to express, which might not fit into a more conventional format. There’s a bit of anonymity that can be evoked in this environment, which is part of the appeal of making unconventional sounds. I hope to encourage this kind of freedom in the art that we release. Hypnagogic State is an Atlanta multimedia psychotronic artist, fond of satirical humor, having a go at panic, paranoia, and organized religion. Just like the band name insinuates, there is a touch of dreamy psychedelia reminiscent of that state we are in, right before we fall asleep, where we might experience hallucinations and visions. Some of those specters can be frightening, even inducing sleep paralysis. It’s this world of half-truths and illusions that Hypnagogic State explores in parody.”
The music on the single is exactly as you read it in the title. H.S. have laid down a smooth groove with sampled Doo Wop singers crooning along. It’s really the spoken word stylings of guest vocalist Aleister Crowley that steal the show. It really is a clever use of the old wax cylinder recordings of Master Therion to play on the words of the Thelemic tenant, “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law”. Crowley has been sampled many times through the years by the likes of Fields of the Nephilim, Ministry, Current 93 and Psychic TV to name just a few. The wide and varied way H.S. have used him here though as the main focal point and not just a supplemental something in the background really helps the enjoyment of the track. It’s not always the same few lines over and over. It’s a unique listen for those nights that ‘ol Aiwass comes by to hang! Maybe he can help you hang the special Sashimmy Records/S.O.P.H.I.E./World Goth Day poster you get with your download. And remember kids, “His name is Crowley it rhymes with holy. It’s not Crowley, that rhymes with fouly. Blech.”
Even the forthcoming album title is a play on another Crowley/Thelemic axiom that, “every man and woman is a star” and it is indeed true of people in the Gothic community. Each one of us has an individual style, attitude and personality. We are all Sophie Lancaster. Let’s not forget that on World Goth Day this Wednesday. Hopefully your True Will can guide you to this Bandcamp page to help support a worthy cause. Help end the hate and bullying.
Sashimmy Records on Bandcamp: https://sashimmyrecords.bandcamp.com/
The Sophie Lancaster Foundation’s website: https://www.sophielancasterfoundation.com
World Goth Day: http://www.worldgothday.com/
To learn more about Aleister Crowley, start here, then dig deeper: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleister_Crowley
To learn more about Thelema, pick up a copy of David Shoemaker’s excellent book, “Living Thelema” at a fine bookstore near you or here at this little known site: https://tinyurl.com/y43p8wxy
The lyrics used above rhyming A.C.’s name are written by David Tibet and quoted from the Current 93 single, “Crowleymass.”
Go dance to it this Wednesday:
