Seven Souls

Del prolífico, provocador, alucinado, intrépido, volador, etnófilo, bajista y compositor Bill Laswell, he recomendado hasta el momento (para no parecer obsesivo) sólo dos de sus cientos de excelentes proyectos paralelos, y en esta ocasión presento Material, su agrupación de jazz/rock experimental que viene operando desde hace 27 años. Seven Souls (1989) es el álbum que aquí destaco, el cual contó con la valiosísima colaboración del polémico escritor y crítico social William Burroughs, quien recita con su voz envejecida sobre la mezcla musical de Material que incluye el sitar y otros instrumentos del Oriente (Próximo, Medio y Extremo), teclados electrónicos, violín, guitarra, percusión y el siempre preciso bajo de Laswell. Como plus, dejo aquí también el álbum Road To The Western Lands que se editara 9 años después como homenaje póstumo a Burroughs, con remezclas electrónicas de Seven Souls en clave downtempo, trip hop y d&b. Complemento este paquete con una muestra de ambos álbumes que bien podría ser una edición camuflada de nuestra sección Mixin' Trip

SEVEN SOULS

The ancient Egyptians postulated seven souls, Top soul, and the first to leave at the moment of death, is Ren, the Secret Name. This corresponds to my Director, He directs the film of your life from conception to death. The Secret Name is the title of your film. When you die, that's where Ren came in. Second soul, and second one off the sinking ship, is Sekem: Energy, Power, Light The Director gives the orders, Sekem presses the right buttons. Number three is Khu, the Guardian Angel. He, she, or it is third man out... depicted as flying away across a full moon, a bird with luminous wings and head of light. Sort of thing you might see on a screen in an Indian restaurant in Panama. The Khu is responsible for the subject and can be injured in his defense- but not permanently, since the first three souls are eternal. They go back to Heaven for another vessel.

The four remaining souls must take their chances with the subject in the Land of the Dead. Number four is Ba, the heart, often treacherous. This is a hawk's body with your face on it, shrunk down to the size of a fist. Many a hero has been brought down, like Samson, by a perfidious Ba. Number five is Ka, the Double, most closely associated with the subject. The Ka, which usually reaches adolescence at the time of bodily death, is the only reliable guide through the Land of the Dead to the western Lands. Number six is Khaibit, the Shadow, Memory, your whole past conditioning from this and other lives. Number seven is Sekhu, the Remains.