In a sea of disposable, cookie-cutter music, Chicago stalwart Hieroglyphic Being continues to be a singular voice in the crowd. The 12 track album deftly maps the intersection of house, techno and EBM; while maintaining the curiosity of free jazz & the DIY of punk. Haters gonna hate, but the true heads are gonna rejoice! Limited import copies... 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: The Sun God dishes out some more material that harks back to some of the Afrikans With Mainframes tackle. Singular genius from the Chicago underground. IYKYK!

TRACK LISTING

A1. The Sound Of Something Ending
A2. The Sutras Of Patanjali
A3. The Veil & The Prophecy Of The Spiritual Man
B1. The Magic Key
B2. The All Is Mind
B3. Temple Wide Open
C1. Relentless (1991 Dub)
C2. Blessings From The Arch Angel Aaliyah
C3. Everything Flows Out & In
D1. I Am The Calling Of Me
D2. In The Pursuit Of Madness 
D3. Held Together By Impulses Of Desire

Viernulvier Records presents its new LP release ‘Quadric Surfaces’ by iconic electronic producer Hieroglyphic Being aka Jamal R Moss. It collects the soundtracks Moss wrote for ‘Parellel Spheres’ & ‘Figures in Mynd’, two parts of an abstract animation film by visual artist Gabriela González Rondon. The film premiered in October 2023 during Videodroom / Film Festival Ghent.

In her surreal and trippy gem of analog filmmaking Gonzales draws up whole universes of movement and color that seem to share a spiritual space with likeminded sci-fi writers such as Ursula K Le Guin or filmmaker John Whitney. The soundtrack for this dreamy experiment was provided by kindred soul and psychonaut Hieroglyphic Being.

For over 20 years Moss has been an one-off musical explorer that takes inspiration from House, Industrial, Kraut, Avant-Jazz and Noise to make his spectacularly unique take on radical & psychedelic (dance) music.

Viernulvier Records is the Belgian record label by VIERNULVIER Arts Centre (Ghent). The label focuses on music that is unconventional, unafraid to go against the grain. A mix of local and international talent, always linked to visual arts or performances.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Quadric Surfaces 7:18
A2. Triquetra 4:11
B1. Ogee 7:21
B2. Cellies 5:04
C1. Brachistochrone 4:35
C2. Conchospiral 7:52
D1. Bueerfly Curve 6:07
D2. DiacausTc 8:13

Hieroglyphic Being’s third solo album on Soul Jazz Records, a resolute and powerful statement of Jamal Moss’s raw, vital, pioneering, Afro-Futurist electronic (dance) music.

On his new album, Moss once again draws upon the vast scope of experimentation that has defined Chicago’s musical universe over the last half a century - from the birth of house music with the pioneers Ron Hardy, Marshall Jefferson, Lil Louis and others to the radical avant-garde jazz legacy of the city, The Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, The Art Ensemble of Chicago and Sun Ra.

Chicago’s musical universe continues to push-further forward today with artists such as Hieroglyphic Being, Angel Bat Dawid, Makaya McCraven, and labels such as International Anthem and Hieroglyphic Being’s own Mathematics, all continuing to explore radical new music while drawing upon the city’s decidedly Afro-futurist lineage.

Jamal Moss remains at all-times a radical one-off musical explorer, a resolute pioneer of an avant-garde dance music aesthetic taking lineage from the founding fathers of acid house such as Ron Hardy and Adonis, and pushing the musical form to its own limits, adding his own harder almost industrial edge to this unique sound, which Moss sometimes describes as ‘Outsider House’ or, referencing the earlier avant-garde musical resident and pioneer, Sun Ra, ‘Rhythmic Cubism’ and ‘Cosmic Be-Bop’.

Hieroglyphic Being’s music crosses many boundaries and has led to remixes of a wide and diverse list of artists, from St Vincent to Hans-Joachim Roedelius (the pioneering German electronic composer and member of Cluster), King Gizzard and the Lizard Gizzard to Adonis and many more. In similar fashion, his music has appeared on Ghostly / Spectral, Warp, Ninja, Axis and his own Mathematics Recordings.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Our favourite sonic shaman returns! For new devotees expect - emotive acid, pointillist drum workouts, fried electrics, warped atmospheres and a total merger of machine and mind - taking cues from jazz, industrial and house music along the way. There's no-one else like him, yet he somehow manages to reflect 30+ years of dance music experimentation back at us through his own interplanetary lens. A feast for the ears, one of his best for a while - both a wonderful entry point for newcomers and a completely essential purchase for his existing cult fanbase.

TRACK LISTING

1.  Communion Of The Highest Order
2.  We Are The Light Vessels
3.  When Situations Get 2 Deep
4.  Look Over There 9 O'Clock
5.  Beyond The Outrage
6.  Frantic Moments
7.  Mephisto's Pulpit Of Stank
8.  Deconstructing The Path
9.  Nights Under The Nubian Sky
10.  Dark Acidic Organs From The Void
11.  Private Runner
12.  Let Me Know How U Really Feel
13.  There Is No Acid In This House (Just Emotions Remix)
14.  Dogs Don't Wear Pants

Jamal Moss aka Hieroglyphic Being releases his definitive solo album of 2016 'The Disco’s Of Imhotep' via the Technicolour imprint.

He has built a sterling reputation both as a producer and live performer of deep, mesmeric experimental electronics and free jazz rooted in his native Chicago and his relationship with the city’s fertile underground club scene. Inspired by the likes of Ron Trent, DJ Rush (residents at The Reactor where he danced week in week out) and Ron Hardy, Moss was mentored by visionary producers Steve Pointdexter and Adonis, who showed him the drum machines that were the backbone of the Movement and whom encouraged his early forays into music production.

Releasing prolifically on his own Mathematics Recordings imprint and a clutch of other imprints including RVNG Intl. and Soul Jazz / SOTU; collaborating with Marshall Allen of Sun Ra’s Arkestra and Noleian Reusse (as Africans With Mainframes) – Moss has cemented his stature as a unique creative force. He balances his ancient heritage and musical DNA with a passion to experiment, create and channel music as a healing force, which has resulted in his art being tagged “Afrofuturist”. Moss, however, prefers to describe his output as Synth Expressionism / Rhythmic Cubism and would rather be viewed simply as a promoter of Nubian Rights.

Describing The Disco’s Of Imhotep he says:

“'The Disco's Of Imhotep' is about creating Frequencies and Vibrations for the Listener that are conducive for him or her to Heal The Mind and Body and Enrich the Soul by creating Hemi-Synced Harmonies and music that contains embedded Binaural Beats.

We have been made to believe that electronic sounds are just for Movement, Enlightenment, Primal Afflictions and Entertainment purposes, but it's much more… It's Sound Healing, but the ancestors would call it Frequency Medicine. Medicine is Healing and this project is dedicated to one of Earth's first Healers: High Priest Imhotep.

The One who comes in Peace, is with Peace."

STAFF COMMENTS

Philippa says: Easing off on the distortion and amping up the spiritual techno vibes Jamal Moss comes up with his most accessible Hieroglyphic Being album yet. Jazzy, driving, intense and uplifting.