Phurpa

The Editions Mego imprint has spun off two artist-curated sub-labels this year. First came Spectrum Spools, run by John Elliott of Emeralds. Next up is Idiologic Organ, heaved from a smoke-filled abyss by drone wizard Stephen O'Malley. Phurpa's Trowo Phurnag Ceremony is the debut release from this fledgling imprint and is a reissue, lovingly packaged as a pair of vinyl platters (the original was released on CD). Hailing from Russia, Phurpa are a group of musicians and artists that concentrate their studies on the ancient ritual music of the cultures of the East. This release is focused in particular on the sounds of Tibetan Buddhism: the offspring of the pre-Buddhist religion of Bon and Indian Tantric Buddhism. Tantric overtone chanting, or "rgyud-skad," makes up 90-percent of the sounds found here ― imagine O'Malley's drone metal group Sunn o))) made up only of vocalists. These two entities ― O'Malley and Phurpa ― make a perfect pair!