The Belgian act Empusae has pleased me with a few very good releases already. This 7″ on Spectre Records is no exception. “Geesten” (ghosts in Dutch) comes with a splendid 8-page B&W booklet with raw & nightmarish drawings by the well-known illustrator Daniel Hulet. The two tracks on this single give a good impression of the rich style of Nicolas Van Meirhaghe. Seemingly effortless he fuses dark ambient, IDM, electro and techno into a coherent structure.
The music on this single sounds quite ritual, just like the related project This` Morn Omina, but less straightforward. ‘Lemures’ is a fine of exorcism, with a technoid beat and trance-like sounds. A nice hypnotic piece. As the booklet explains, you could become a ‘Lemure’ in ancient Rome if you died before producing any offspring. The other track, ‘Ankou’ (meaning ‘King of the dead’), has metallic percussion and complex rhythms. As the song evolves it gets more uptempo and compelling. Both tracks have surprising breaks, haunting soundscape parts with surreal voices giving explanations.
Two nicely crafted and interesting tracks by Empusae. Another collectable release of Spectre Records.