HOROLOGIUM

Decorated Silence available

2012-01-22T14:20:00.000-08:00

HOROLOGIUM & K. MEIZTER's "Decorated Silence" CD is out now and available either here or at ur.muzik(at)yahoo.com

Stormchaser

2011-12-15T13:23:00.000-08:00

A fine review of Der Volksmund Sagt 7"

2011-11-29T04:38:00.000-08:00

Mentenebre

Wrocław Industrial Festival 2011 getting closer...

2011-11-05T12:20:00.000-07:00

Grzegorz Siedlecki is performing as GS at the 10th Wrocław Industrial Festival on Friday, November 11th. See you there!

Two new reviews of Tellurian Anthems LP

2011-10-06T01:59:00.000-07:00

Two new reviews of Tellurian Anthems:

Mentenebre

Heathen Harvest

Decorated Silence by Horologium & K. Meizter

2011-09-19T06:18:00.000-07:00

Nearly five years since K. Meizter (Beyond Sensory Experience) and Horologium's previous work "Eight Studies in Transition" the two artists return with their sophomore collaborative release "Decorated Silence". The album's theme revolves around the concept of language perceived as decorated silence with K. Meizter and Horologium communicating through their illustrious dark tinted soundscapes. Expect a dark ambient industrial release of highest class.

More information and sound samples available here.

Grzegorz Siedlecki at the 10th Wrocław Industrial Festival

2011-08-15T11:32:00.000-07:00

GS (Horologium side project) will perform at the 10th Wrocław Industrial Festival on Friday, November 11th. Expect some songs included in the Metafizyka CD (Ars Benevola Mater, 2006) alongside a few newer tracks.

Der Volksmund Sagt II teaser

2011-08-08T14:03:00.000-07:00

TELLURIAN ANTHEMS reviews

2011-07-22T05:17:00.000-07:00

Some recent reviews of Tellurian Anthems can be read at the following addresses:

Santa Sangre

La Defuncion

Obskure Magazine

HOROLOGIUM Fyre 10" finally available

2011-07-08T01:39:00.000-07:00

HOROLOGIUM Fyre 10" out on the 16th of May

2011-05-07T04:35:00.000-07:00

Finally, after many months of delay, Fyre 10" record is available as a joint release between Steinklang Industries and Midnight Productions.

Box edition including Fyre 10", Tellurian Anthems 12", bonus CD with exclusive material - along with postcards and inlays - will be available shortly. The bonus CD comes with brand new tracks recorded with Der Arbeiter. The whole will be housed in an elegant, wooden box. Stay tuned for more news.

HOROLOGIUM - TELLURIAN ANTHEMS 12" LP out now!

2011-03-11T01:22:00.000-08:00

LER 004/2010 HOROLOGIUM - Tellurian Anthems

12" LP limited to 333 copies.

Poland’s HOROLOGIUM need hardly any introduction.

Over the years they have managed to create their own musical language and win many hearts in the post-industrial milieu. Two years after their critically acclaimed “Earthbound” CD (Old Europa Cafe, 2008) they are back with even more solemn and powerful release. Martial trumpets, orchestral fury and tribal percussion have been skillfully combined with delicate neoclassical fragments, dreamy ambient parts and female recitation.

Everything intertwined to create once again the band’s one-of-a-kind sonic maelstrom. Sea waves singing along gentle piano tune, radio broadcast fighting against air raid siren, fire meeting water meeting fire meeting... Well, you damn well know what to expect, don’t you?

These earthbound songs come exclusively as a 12” LP in gatefold edition, limited to 333 copies on black vinyl with an elegant A2 poster. The artwork has been designed by Łukasz Pawlak of Requiem Records.

Wywiad z Horologium

2011-01-31T10:26:00.000-08:00

Pierwszy numer magazynu Gothica nabyć można już od 15 lutego w Empiku.
Gothica

Some music on facebook

2011-01-08T05:47:00.001-08:00

Some old and new tracks have been added to Horologium's facebook profile. Check it out here.

Złoto Dla Zuchwałych MC out now!

2010-11-13T12:05:00.000-08:00

HOROLOGIUM 'Złoto Dla Zuchwałych' MC - limited to 77 copies only is now available through Old Europa Cafe. Each copy is hand-numbered and enclosed within a cardboard housing. Act fast!

Złoto dla Zuchwałych MC

2010-08-28T11:17:00.000-07:00

A small gift and teaser before the release of "Tellurian Anthems" LP.

Italian Old Europa Cafe will soon issue a cassette by Horologium titled "Złoto dla Zuchwałych".

Check OEC website for more information here.

This autumn on La Esencia!

2010-08-14T05:58:00.000-07:00

Check out La Esencia Records website

2010-07-13T13:53:00.000-07:00

La Esencia Records

Tellurian Anthems cover artwork

2010-07-02T10:37:00.000-07:00

The artwork for Horologium's new album "Tellurian Anthems", designed by Łukasz Pawlak (Requiem Studio), has finally been revealed. We are more than happy with the result! The album will be released by La Esencia Records as a 12" gatefold LP with poster. More details soon.

A Handful of Dust and Ashes

2010-05-24T12:26:00.000-07:00

The 16th of June is the release date of Horologium's 'A Handful of Dust and Ashes' CD by Zoharum Records from Poland. The official press info reads:

"A Handful of Dust and Ashes" is a collection of tracks recorded during various occasions, but united again by a peculiar sediment of dust and rust; it’s a journey in time to strictly limited "A Handful of Dust", published by Cynfeirdd, and to "Opium", amounts of which have long sold out and are yearned for by those in search of lost time. The (re)collection is crowned by three tracks performed live in Barcelona and Bologna in 2008 and 2009. The artwork by Fab and Sophie embodies fin de siècle that has never been that convincing and tangible.

Fyre and more...

2010-05-03T12:33:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately the new 10 inch vinyl release from Horologium titled "Fyre" has been delayed due to some issues with the pressing plant. Hopefully "Fyre" will be released soon.

For the new full-length album "Tellurian Anthems" Horologium have inked a deal with our wonderful Spanish allies - La Esencia Records. Stay tuned for more news to come.

'Der Volksmund Sagt I' seven inch vinyl out now!

2010-03-12T12:42:00.000-08:00

Is there anything more enriching than a pastime in the countryside?
And yet, has there ever been more grief and misery than in the countryside?

Der Volksmund Sagt 7” - the first release starting a trilogy of Horologium’s postmodern-folkish adventure - comes limited to 300 black vinyl records. To be followed by 10” and 12” releases, all available on La Esencia Records.

Information and orders at laesencia.org@hotmail.com

Fyre: soon on Midnight Productions

2009-12-10T13:43:00.000-08:00

Fire has been a point of reference for Horologium’s musical endeavours since the very beginning of the band. It is now high time for you to experience a release specifically centered around this meaningful theme. Let us invoke the fire that gave birth to the Earth, the flame stolen from the gods by Prometheus, the all-changing element of Heraclitus... Horologium hope to set your hearts on fire! Released as a black 10" vinyl, once again with an outstanding artwork by K.Meizter.

"The World Is Not Enough" Pins

2009-12-04T12:38:00.000-08:00

Get'em while they're hot!
38 mm pins, 1 € per each.
Just write at horologium_mundi(at)hotmail(dot)com.

Memories of Bologna

2009-09-14T09:23:00.000-07:00

Horologium played live in Bologna at 2 in the morning, which was a challenging yet great experience. I want to thank the organisers (Ahndy & Rodolfo) for their work, Vale & Fede for being there, all the great artists who played that night (especially Dimo & Marcel for their kind guest appearance on stage along with us), Kindergarten staff and everyone who came to see us at the club!

My special thanks go to Monica and Yvan who played with me as Horologium and without whom this gig wouldn't have been possible. Thank you very much for your excellent performence and kind hospitality!

GS

Horologium live in Bologna

2009-08-06T00:05:00.000-07:00

Horologium will perform live on 12th of September at the club Kindergarten in Bologna. The show starts at 9 PM. Hope to see you there!

More information to be found here.

Horologium hip flask

2009-07-23T23:07:00.000-07:00

If you wish to get hold of one, feel free to e-mail me at horologium_mundi(at)hotmail.com. There aren't many left, so hurry up!

HOROLOGIUM & ODA RELICTA "s/t" 7"

2009-06-07T05:38:00.000-07:00

"In 2007 Neuropa Records simultaneously released an album by Horologium and Oda Relicta. Two years later both bands are back in the spotlight with the first in a series of collector 7" EP's.

This EP contains one track by each artist and carries the unofficial title 'Saint George & The Dragon'. The 7" is packed in an elegant gatefold -portraying Saint George whilst slaying the dragon- printed in gold. Artwork once again designed by Kim Solve."

A. The Death Of George
B. Saint George

7" EP (black vinyl) - 150 copies
7" EP (red vinyl) - 50 copies

You can now order your copy/copies of the 7" split EP at Neuropa headquarters.

Some news for 2009

2009-04-29T13:46:00.000-07:00

It seems that 2009 will be a pretty fruitful year for Horologium again.

At the moment we are expecting "St George & the Dragon" split 7" with Oda Relicta to arrive from a pressing plant. The vinyl is limited to 200 pieces and consists of 2 tracks by each band. To be soon released via Neuropa Records of Belgium.

A new collaborative album with Polish legend Desolation Zone has been in the making for quite some time. Expect a fusion of raw industrial sounds + some ambient and neoclassical music. Labels interested in a vinyl release please get in touch.

Last but not least, Chinese Midnight Productions will release a 10" conceptual material titled "Fyre" later in 2009. Limited to 300 black and beautiful pieces of vinyl.

New album by K.Meizter recommended!

2009-02-27T11:36:00.000-08:00

'Tetraphobia' out soon on Old Evropa Cafe.

K. Meizter – Tetraphobia (OECD 117)
After channelising all his musical energy into Beyond Sensory Experience for the past two years, K. Meizter finally returns with a new solo exertion. Spawned during the sinister last months of a northern year, Tetraphobia scans through the kafkaesque layers of human anxiety, and continues K. Meizter’s distinctive manipulation of sound, melody and pulse. Following Travelling Light, Dark Matters and the Horologium collaboration Eight Studies in Transition, K. Meizter’s new release develops even more unsettling atmospheres of reflection and alteration. With 10 tracks and over an hour of foreboding avant-garde, Tetraphobia is K. Meizter’s most convincing work this far.

Track List:
1. The Process
2. Protoscience
3. Samarkand
4. Tetraphobia
5. The Golden Mean
6. Retroduction
7. K-Shaped
8. Projections
9. Synkemina
10. Introspection

Interview avec Horologium

2009-01-25T02:57:00.000-08:00

If you're a French speaking person, there's an interview with Horologium to be found at the address given below. Just follow the link and enjoy:

Douche Froide

Le Paradis des Chasseurs out now

2008-12-02T13:40:00.000-08:00

How about greeting late Autumn and buying yourself the new Horologium CD?

Twilight Records have just released the 'Le Paradis des Chasseurs' album. The digipack CD contains 'Songs for Hunters', 'Paradise Inverted' and a bonus track. Two great paintings by Fabrice Billard were used as an artwork for the CD.

More information to be found here.

Two new reviews for Polish readers

2008-11-02T02:13:00.000-08:00

Courtesy of Rebelia/Beast of Prey Magazine:

Horologium & Moljebka Pvlse
Title: Penfield Mood Organ
Label: Divine Comedy Records
Format : CD
Contact:www.moljebka.com
www.myspace.com/horologium

Penfield Mood Organ to kolejny już owoc współpracy Horologium i Moljebka Pvlse. Tym razem można odnieść wrażenie, że płyta jest jeszcze bardziej spójna, bardziej przemyślana i dopracowana.
To jedna z tych płyt, których słuchanie sprowadza się na głębszy poziom. Przy których nie powinno się sprzątać pokoju, czy prowadzić samochodu. Trzeba jej poświęcić trochę czasu i uwagi by odkryć jej wielowarstwowość i piękno.
Sama muszę przyznać, że robiłam kilka podejść do tego, by przesłuchać w całości i opisać tę płytę. Za każdym razem odkrywałam w niej coś innego, zupełnie inaczej wpływała na mój nastrój.
Zresztą - płyta opiera się na idei programatora nastroju Penfielda, która narodziła się w książce Philipa K. Dicka…
Czułam, że niełatwo będzie napisać o tej płycie, ponieważ miałam wrażenie, że po prostu trzeba ją przeżyć samemu, odczuć…jakby powiedział Wittgenstein - „język przesłania myśl"…Jednak mimo wszystko spróbuję.
Na krążku znajdziemy cztery bardzo rozbudowane, długie kompozycje. Ambientowe, pozbawione liryki, stonowane, wręcz wyciszające, nostalgiczne.
Pierwszy z nich zaczyna się w charakterystyczny dla Horologium sposób. Dynamiczne, neoklasyczne „ Opening" po chwili cichnie ,by jego miejsce zajęły uspakajające, delikatne dźwięki. Parę razy przypomniał mi się klimat znany z In Scissors.
Coś upada, coś zmierza ku końcowi, niknie…pojawiają się dźwięki organów, bębny, bogaty, wyrafinowany dźwiękowy wachlarz…
Głęboki wdech... niskie tony w tle, ktoś krzyczy, ktoś płacze, ktoś przechodzi…staram się śledzić dźwięki, one jednak niepokornie szczelnie się oplatają, tworząc hybrydyczną całość…
Po chwili powraca organowy motyw... cisza… nie wiem już czy to dźwięki zza okna próbują zmylić moja percepcję, czy to Penfield…czekam... przenoszę się w czasie, słyszę jadącą dorożkę, ktoś idzie, w końcu nadjeżdża samochód…cywilizacja.
Z nieokreślonej przestrzeni dobiega chrapanie, ktoś się szaleńczo śmieje.
Tracki niepostrzeżenie się zmieniają.
Mood 002... pojawia się metaliczna, industrialna linia dźwiękowa, atmosfera delikatnie się zmienia…słychać śpiew..
ale to tylko chwile, dźwięki jak organiczny twór zmieniają nieustannie formę i kształty…
Uruchamiasz wyobraźnię, zastanawiasz się, czy tak mógłby brzmieć dźwięk zgniatanych chmur…unosisz się wysoko, jeszcze wyżej, poza galaktykę…
Płacz kobiety odrywa cię od egzystencjalnych myśli, znów jesteś na Ziemi.
Zaczyna się coś zmieniać, pojawia się nowa melodia, słychać kościelne organy gdzieś daleko w tle..
Zmierzamy ku Mood 003. Mam wrażenie, że to dźwięki dobiegające gdzieś spod ziemi, dużo metalicznych, lekko drażniących dźwięków połączonych z ujmującą melodią…słychać kościelne dzwony…nadchodzi powoli koniec…
ukojenie, akceptacja. Niepokój pomału znika…
Penfield Mood Organ to fascynująca płyta od samego początku do końca. Po jej przesłuchaniu niełatwo wrócić do banalnej rzeczywistości…

Note: 9/10
Autor: Rebelia

Horologium
Title: Earthbound
Label: Old Europa Cafe
Format: CD
Contact: machtmuzik.blogspot.com

Horologium bez wątpienia należy do wąskiego grona polskich wykonawców z których możemy być dumni. Grzegorzowi Siedleckiemu udało się już wypracować własny, rozpoznawalny styl i co cieszy- nadal niełatwo go zaszufladkować. Co więcej, wciąż poszukuje nowych pomysłów i rozwiązań, dzięki czemu jego twórczość wciąż mnie intryguje.
Nie zatrzymuje się na powierzchni. W swoją muzykę wtapia myśli filozofów, czy fragmenty literatury. Wciąż zmusza do refleksji.
Earthbound to kolejna bardzo interesująca płyta, choć moim zdaniem dość mocno zdominowana przez postać Troya Southgate'a.
Troy Southgate to artysta znany z formacji H.E.R.R. Na Earthbound nie tylko napisał większość tekstów, ale i użyczył swojego głosu.
Jego specyficzne monodeklamacje są mocnym akcentem, rzekłabym nawet dominantą kompozycji .Przez to troszkę na dalszy plan schodzi sama muzyka, która jest jak zwykle w przypadku Siedleckiego rewelacyjna.
Jeśli chodzi właśnie o samą warstwę dźwiękową - mamy tutaj dużo potężnych, orkiestralnych dźwięków, industrialnych hałasów, łączonych z operowymi wokalami. Różnorodnie, wielowarstwowo. Poza Troyem pojawia się również głos Marii Southgate i Merissy d'Erlette.
Płytę rozpoczyna "Introduction: Dionisos vs. Apollo". Dynamiczne dźwięki stanowią tło dla Southgate'a nawiązującego do nietzscheańskiej teorii .
Odwieczny konflikt. Z jednej strony żywioł, chaos, nieokiełznanie, z drugiej ład, porządek, świat pozoru…
W „Elegy for the mediocre, lesson to the worthy" znajdziemy ciekawy tekst na temat jednostki i masy, etyki mięsożercy i roślinożercy, istoty siły, honoru i godnego życia.
Do tego operowe wstawki i mocny marszowy rytm...
„The return of the Sun" to opowieść o przesileniu letnim.Zapętlone folkowe skrzypce łączą się z wykrzykiwanymi fragmentami tekstu przez Eustację Vye. Można powiedzieć, że Troy tym razem nie deklamuje, a śpiewa. Całość jest bardzo melodyjna i chwytliwa, jednak mocne uderzenie bębnów sprawia, że pomimo tego zachowany zostaje niepokojący nastrój.
W utworze „Nasz wieczny śmiech" atmosfera ulega zmianie. Pojawiają się niskie, dronowe, ambientowe dźwięki, kobiecy głos i fragment z „Wilka stepowego" mistrza Hessego.
„The Watchers (Between the Ages)" – krótkotrwały spokój znowu znika. Zastępuje go pełen furii i emocji głos Troya, który snuje opowieść o tytułowych "obserwatorach"- elitarnych strażnikach tradycji, wartości, pielęgnujących w swych dłoniach przyszłość...
„The Immoralist Creed" to zasługująca na większą uwagę kompozycja. Wykręcone dźwięki skrzypiec tworzą niesamowity, nieco psychodeliczny klimat...
„Credo" to utwór w którym zdemaskowana zostaje religia chrześcijańska, jako religia wyzysku , przestarzałych morałów, zniewolenia i braku wolności…
„Kazanie ogniste"- spokojne dźwięki pianina pomału zostają zastąpione przez industrialne hałasy... coś wisi w powietrzu...
To jedyny całkowicie instrumentalny utwór na płycie.
Mamy jeszcze bonus-chóralny śpiew i głos Crowleya.
Nagle pojawia się „bujający" wręcz bass... coś z zupełnie innej beczki. Operowe sample. Fragment z Nietzschego…i znowu dźwięki niczym ze starego filmu grozy…
wiele mocno poszarpanych, bardzo różnorodnych fragmentów...
Earthbound nie jest płytą łatwą. To porcja muzyki wymagającej czegoś więcej od słuchacza.
Na pewno warto się przy niej zatrzymać.

Autor: Rebelia Note: 8,5/10

Mediterranean Autumn Festival

2008-10-06T10:18:00.000-07:00

I would like to thank everyone who showed up at the club Salamandra during the fantastic festival. Both the organisation of the event and the concerts themselves were great. It was awesome time and hopefully we shall meet again soon!

Le Paradis des Chasseurs

2008-09-20T07:39:00.000-07:00

Argentina's Twilight Records is going to release Songs for Hunters and Paradise Inverted on one CD. The reissue, titled Le Paradis des Chasseurs, will be available as a digipack with one additional track recorded with Der Arbeiter. Stay tuned.

Some new reviews

2008-07-11T04:49:00.001-07:00

Precisely four new reviews concerning Horologium's releases have recently been written. Here they are for you:

HOROLOGIUM 'Earthbound'
Gothtronic

Earthbound is the third full length album of Horologium, the industrial dark ambient project of Grzegorz Siedlecki. After releases on labels such as Divine Comedy and Neuropa records, the new album is now been released via the Italian cult label Old Europa Cafe. The atmosphere on Earthbound is less experimental than on the previous album and goes back some more to dark ambient and martial industrial. This time mostly in support of the philosophical and socio-political lyrics that are recited throughout the recording.

On this new album Grzegorz gets support for his philosophical interest from Troy Southgate (known from H.E.R.R, Seelenlicht). Southgate has a platform on Earthbound for his lyrics in which he advocates his visions of life and humanity. He uses lyrics from inspirational sources such as Greek Mythology and texts from a.o. Oswald Spengler (‘Elegy for the Mediocre, Lesson to the Worthy’), Herman Hesse (‘Kazanie Ogniste III’) and Friedrich Nietzsche (‘The Immoralist Creed’). Southgate connects text fragments of these thinkers to his own lyrics and thus reflects his personal thoughts with some extra status from thinkers that mean something to him.

The female vocals have been delivered by Maria Southgate (‘The Immoralist Creed’), Merissa, known from Artefactum (‘Kazanie Ogniste III’) and Eustacia Vye (‘The Return of the Sun’). Horologium again takes the listener on a trip to the conservative Nietzschean world of ideas packaged in disturbing dark ambient and orchestral soundscapes with experimental post-industrial and fragments of opera. To some it perhaps may seem a bit controversial in social respect but an explanation for this is that according to the artist Earthbound can also be considered an antidote to the rising neo-christian trend in the genre of martial industrial music.

Musically and conceptually Earthbound is a neo-classical dark ambient album of high standards that with regards to content and atmosphere will not only appeal to fns of the dark ambient and post-industrial from Horologium, but also to fans of H.E.R.R. Earthbound contains a hidden bonus track, that starts playing after the regular track list has ended. Recommended tracks are ‘The Return of the Sun’, ‘The Watchers (Between the Ages)’ and ‘The Immoralist Creed’. Earthbound is an excellent new opus for Horologium.

HOROLOGIUM & MOLJEBKA PVLSE 'Penfield Mood Organ'
Troy Southgate

HAVING worked with Poland's Horologium on the recent 'Earthbound' (Old Europa Cafe) album, I can certainly vouch for Grzegorz Siedlecki's impeccable musical credentials. On the other hand, I knew very little about Sweden's Moljebka Pvulse. The man behind the project is Mathias Josefson, a Stockholm-based composer with a prolific array of titles that have been released by - amongst quite a few others - interesting labels such as Cold Meat Industry, Some Place Else, Fin De Siècle Media, Beast of Prey, Topheth Prophet and Drone Records. The album has been lovingly rendered with grey-brown artwork, pock-marked walls and leafy, autumnal imagery and the title is the name of a curious device taken straight from Philip K. Dick's brilliant sci-fi novel, 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep' (1968). The book was later made into an equally-stunning film ('Bladerunner', 1982) featuring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer and Daryl Hannah. Dialing a 'penfield' provides someone with the opportuinity to artificially stimulate the brain and regulate emotional states. The recipient has a series of choices available to them, such as 'the desire to watch TV, no matter what is on', 'ecstatic sexual bliss' and 'self-accusatory depression'. I think I already know which one I'd choose! Anyway, this collaboration of minds - and moods - contains four tracks and amounts to almost one hour in length. 'The Opening' contains Horologium's repetitious trademark sound and is hugely addictive. The sound of breaking glass and crashing symbols are looped around it as a male voice protests his innocence: 'What are you calling me a murderer for? I've never killed anyone! I don't need to kill anyone!' At just over two minutes, the track is fairly short and it isn't long before 'Mood 001' begins. This time the atmosphere seems more restrained, with long drones and a metallic ringing that just about fills the void. The volume increases slightly and the ominous synth-scapes twist their way through a sea of constantly regenerating ambience like a harpooned whale. After five minutes the track assumes slightly more of a recognisable structure. The keys of an organ herald a change in the musical climate, as very gradually a hypnotic percussion and diverse vocal samples make way for a constant wall of sound. The tribal percussion returns again later on, but by this time you find that you have been completely engulfed by the endless claustrophobic hissing and intermittent frequencies that expode like bubbles on the surface of a maelstrom. But you have to use your imagination as far as working out which particular mood Greg and Mathias are attempting to induce. It goes through so many complex phases that it is representative of a whole multitude of different moods. The pre-mentrual female has nothing on this. I love the way your thoughts are systematically decluttered, allowing your consciousness to dance and weave its way through the environmental fluidity like an amoeba in a bowl of primeval soup. It's like climbing a sacred mountain and never wanting to descend; like immersing yourself in technocolour dreams that you never want to end. After a brief pause in which the aural scenery is shifted around a little, the sound of approaching horses and spluttering motor cars take us into the unchartered waters of 'Mood 002'. Then after the sound of deep snoring, the light drones are sliced through with horrible laughter, possibly infectious at one time but certainly not when it has been cruelly looped in this unnerving fashion. A dance seems to be taking place in the background, but this is soon absorbed into a ritualistic rustling that is accompanied by an electronic dragging and then a newly-constructed edifice of percussion is mixed with operatic samples. The nasal rasping makes an unwelcome return and eventually we are left with nothing but the perpetual droning. It's hard to tell if it was there all along, perhaps it's all just a question of shifting perceptions? Sounds that come and go like the seasons, directing you towards hitherto unexplored regions of sensual delight. The droning increases, deepening rapidly like a shroud of thick mist on a November hillside. A woman can be heard crying. Melodic snatches are thrown out by a keyboard, but the droning - always droning - is far louder, refusing to subside and act as the accompaniment for this newcomer. But soon the keys are joined by a rhythmic drumming and squealing, although the drones inevitably win through in the end. 'Mood 003' wobbles erractically like someone playing around with a Wendy Carlos tune and there are distinctive Bachian elements here, too. Imagine wandering into a vast, light-strewn cathedral where the bells ring out loudly and a robot choir indulges itself in a gyrating orgy from which the sharp and discordant sounds of grinding metal upon grinding metal can be heard bouncing off the walls like Tudor weaponry upon tonsured skulls. Some people will not like this mood and will want to get off, but it's worth hanging around for a while because the way this track develops is literally breathtaking. Layers are piled up like bodies in a plague-pit and things finally end with someone telling us that it's 'closing time' in broken English. Finally, it's no exaggeration to say that this album is a masterpiece, both conceptually and in actuality. I enjoyed every minute of it and will continue to do so. In fact bedtime will never be the same again. For more information, please visit: http://divineco.records.free.fr

HOROLOGIUM & MOLJEBKA PVLSE 'Penfield Mood Organ'
Gothtronic

If you are a fan of the genre Horologium must surely ring some bells. Already active since 2001, Horologium mastermind Grzegorz Siedlecki started making industrial/ambient/experimental music and has already released quite a few records. Now Horologium joined forces with Moljebka Pvlse; an experimental music group from Stockholm Sweden, which uses electronics, acoustic instruments, and samples. The end result of this cooperation has become very successful in my opinion. Penfield Mood Organ is inspired from P.K. Dick’s book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and has become an opus divided in three chapters. Chapter The Opening gives you the chance to enter the world created on this disc and is a dark, intense, and threatening opener. After this intro Mood 001, 002, and 003 are presented. Every Mood has its own character. Mood 001 starts very slowly, but gradually the tension is built up by using drums and other instruments giving it more cachet. Each track on this album is unique and stays on its own, yet fits in the general atmosphere of this album. And atmospheric it is! Dark, intense yet dreamy ambient is being offered which no one should disregard. Penfield Mood Organ has become a superb album which should be thoroughly enjoyed by fans of the genre. An album which definitely finds its way in my CD player…over and over. Let’s only hope that this not the only cooperation between these two interesting acts.

HOROLOGIUM & MOLJEBKA PVLSE 'Penfield Mood Organ'
Simon Collins (Judas Kiss Magazine)

This is the second collaborative release for the Polish industrial project Horologium and the Swedish drone ambient project Moljebka Pvlse, following 2006’s Kaukasus album, released on Beast Of Prey Records and reviewed right here on Judas Kiss (although that one was credited to Moljebka Pvlse and Horologium, so you gotta look for it under M). For the release of Penfield Mood Organ, Horologium has returned to French label Divine Comedy Records, which released the very first Horologium album, The Fire Sermon, back in 2005.

Penfield Mood Organ is named after a fictitious device which features in Philip K. Dick's 1968 book Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?, famous as the novel which became the film Blade Runner. The slim and elegant digifile sleeve of Penfield Mood Organ bears a quotation from the book:

"So I left the TV sound off and I sat down at my mood organ and I experimented. And I finally found a setting for despair… So I put it on my schedule for twice a month; I think that's a reasonable amount of time to feel hopeless about everything..."

Personally speaking, I find TV itself to be quite effective at evoking feelings of despair and hopelessness, due to its overwhelming output of relentless vulgarity interspersed with brief glimpses of crushing horror, and this is one major reason why I’m a music critic and not a TV critic. Put it this way – imagine yourself, hopefully many years hence, on your deathbed, saying, “Oh, if only I’d watched more TV whilst I had the chance!” Doesn’t seem too likely, does it?

But be all that as it may, the salient question here is what feelings are inspired by Horologium’s and Moljebka Pvlse’s mood organ. The album opens with a short intro track simply entitled ‘The Opening’, which is typical Horologium – crashing cymbals, melodramatic orchestral strings, and a vocal sample of, I believe, Charles Manson – “What do you want to call me a murderer for? I never killed anyone. I don’t need to kill anyone.” The three long tracks which follow, entitled ‘Mood 001’, ‘Mood 002’ and ‘Mood 003’ are very different. ‘Mood 001’ opens with long mid-frequency tones echoing through a capacious soundscape, joined after a couple of minutes by a looped melodic phrase from some kind of exotic wind instrument, sounding a little like the zurna playing of KnifeLadder’s Andrew Trial. The middle-eastern, ritual atmosphere evoked is quite similar to Horologium’s and Moljebka Pvlse’s previous collaboration Kaukasus. As the track develops, a rapid tribal drumbeat appears over the amorphous layers of drones, adding tension and urgency. After a middle section without drums, the wind instrument returns and the track fades out. ‘Mood 002’ opens with some vintage sound recordings from Horologium – horses’ hoof beats, street bustle, passing cars, and a man snoring and restlessly murmuring in his sleep, muffled cackling. These sounds die away, leaving a placid, expansive drone. There are bursts of distorted cabaret music and vibraslap. Mechanical rhythms clank and groan over the continuing drone. A looped, wavering high tone, tambourine and ethereal female vocals appear and fade away, giving way to a return of the mechanical rhythms and the snores of the restless sleeper. The second half of this track is much less eventful, being dominated by uninterrupted mid-frequency drones. ‘Mood 003’, the album’s final track, is the darkest and most ominous in tone, with thin, distorted piano melodies struggling to be heard over cold and menacing metallic drones. Entertainingly, near the end of the track, a female voice announces in several languages that it is closing time and invites us to make our way to the exits, which is a neat and witty idea.

Penfield Mood Organ is by and large a success – certainly, this is the nearest Horologium has yet come to producing pure dark ambient. After two collaborations, it’s evident that Horologium and Moljebka Pvlse have a good working relationship, with each project bringing something new and fresh to the other’s work. If I were forced to choose, I’d have to admit to a slight preference for the exotic ethnic atmospheres of Kaukasus, but this is really down to personal taste, and not a reflection on the quality of either release.

HOROLOGIUM confirmed at the Mediterranean Autumn Festival

2008-06-17T05:56:00.000-07:00

See you in Barcelona.

The first 'Penfield Mood Organ' review

2008-06-16T05:37:00.000-07:00

The first 'Penfield Mood Organ' review was posted on Gothtronic. You can have a look at it here.

A new track with Der Arbeiter

2008-06-04T13:31:00.000-07:00

Horologium has recorded a new song titled 'De Cacería en el Paraíso'. The lyric is sung by Juan of Der Arbeiter and the track will hopefully be published soon. Stay tuned.

De Cacería en el Paraíso

Estos páramos desolados
Territorios de cazadores aventurados
Son un verdadero paraíso
El único paraíso que realmente poseemos
Lugar de sangres derramadas y lágrimas vertidas
Aquí tenemos nuestro verdadero reino

La escoria del mundo
Y la belleza del mundo
Esta es la corona del mundo!

Hay un Dios oculto dentro de nosotros
Su nombre es YO
Puedes encontrar el camino a su Templo
O permanecer en la sombra de la ignorancia

La escoria del mundo
Y la belleza del mundo
Esta es la corona del mundo!

A bunch of news

2008-04-16T09:13:00.000-07:00

There will be another collaboration album between Horologium & Moljebka Pvlse released soon. Penfield Mood Organ will be out on Divine Comedy Records. You can expect one of the most melancholic works from both artists ever to date.

At about the same time there should be the new full-length album Earthbound released on Italian Old Europa Cafe. Comes as a luxurious digipack designed by K.Meizter.

Finally, I want to thank all the people who showed up at the Slodko-Gorzka club in Zielona Góra to see Beyond Sensory Experience, Moljebka Pvlse and K.Meizter playing live. It was a brilliant event!

Horologium in Zero Tolerance Magazine

2008-03-14T09:10:00.000-07:00

Horologium was interviewed for the 022nd issue of the UK's Zero Tolerance Magazine. You can buy the magazine along with a double CD sampler that includes Horologium's song. The track titled 'The Watchers (Between the Ages)' comes from the upcoming 'Earthbound' album.

Go and order it now :)

Beyond Sensory Experience, Moljebka Pvlse, K.Meizter live in Zielona Góra.

2008-02-07T02:57:00.000-08:00

'EARTHBOUND' CD out soon on Old Europa Cafe!

2008-01-30T12:18:00.000-08:00

The 3rd full-length album from Horologium, who offer 43 minutes of monumental, fierce, yet listenable music. Aided by Troy Southgate, Maria Southgate, Merissa d'Erlette and Eustacia Vye on vocals, Grzegorz Siedlecki takes you on a Nietzschean trip once again. Postindustrial dirt meets martial drums, opera arias and neoclassical sublimity.

Some of the lyrics include fragments from H.Hesse, F. Nietzsche and O. Spengler. 'Earthbound' may also be perceived as an antidote to a slowly emerging neo-christian scene within the postindustrial/martial paradigm. Horologium scorn fanatics. Artwork designed by K.Meizter for a luxurious digipack release with additional booklet!

Production foreseen in springtime 2008 on Old Europa Cafe.

Mp3 excerpts:

The Return of the Sun

Nasz Wieczny Śmiech

The Watchers