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ZEENA Live at Wave-Gothic-Treffen Leipzig: Ten-Year Anniversary Album

6/6/2025

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Release date June 6, 2025 - A Typhonian Tantric Ritual Soundscape held at the University of Leipzig Egyptian Museum in 2015 is now available for posterity at Bandcamp!

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Celebrating the ten-year anniversary of Zeena's return to the European music stage with a new live performance album recorded at Germany's world-famous festival for dark music and arts, Wave-Gotik-Treffen (WGT) in 2015. The release of 'A Typhonian Tantric Ritual Soundscape' coincides with this year's WGT festival happening this weekend.
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Tony Sokol of Daily Offbeat reported in 2015: "After a twenty-four year retreat from the German music scene, avant-garde musician and mystic Zeena Schreck announced her return to sonic magic performance-art appearances in Europe.[...] Zeena promised Daily Offbeat that the event will feel 'like a numinous presence is taking them on a trip through another time and space,' to the lay audience."

Credits:
Concept, musical composition and direction, percussion and vocals: Zeena Schreck
Accompanying musicians:
John Murphy, 1959–†2015 (Last Dominion Lost)
Cory Vielma (The Sadnesses)

Audio mixing from combined live sources: Cory Vielma
Sound engineering and mastering: Studio Raskit
Videographer: Thorium Heavy Industries

A more detailed description, with concert photos, is in the liner notes that come with the album!
Available only as a digital album from Bandcamp.

__________________________________________

Categories: 10-year-anniversary, alternative, experimental, ritual ambient, ambient, dark ambient, electroacoustic, industrial, live album, live performance, sound art, soundscapes
[Posted by T.M. 06/06/25]
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New Review of Zeena's Album 'Transcend' by African Paper

5/4/2025

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Big thanks to online music journal African Paper for the great review of Zeena's album Transcend!

Scroll down to read the English translation or read the original in German HERE.
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English version:

"If you have strength of character, you can use that as fuel to not only be a survivor but to transcend simply being a survivor, use an internal alchemy to turn something rotten and horrible into gold", says Zeena Schreck on the occasion of her album "Transcend," released almost two years ago and which served as the soundtrack for an exhibition in New York prior to its release. This Western-influenced thought pattern, reminiscent of the alchemists' ideas of transformation, also plays a major role in Tantric Buddhism, in which—in contrast to other forms of Buddhist teachings—even actions generally considered dangerous or even impure can become the engine of inner awakening.

This connection is interesting because Zeena has been active for many years as a yogini and teacher in the Karma Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. She released the album on the Saga Dawa Düchen holiday, which fell on June 4th in 2023 and on which Buddhists commemorate the birth, awakening, and parinavana of the historical Buddha. The three tracks on the nearly hour-long album, whose titles "Ascent," "Parting Clouds," and "Gone Beyond" already allude to Buddhist themes, are conceived, according to Zeena, as "meditative journeys of contemplation and sonic catharsis, culminating in an intoxicatingly triumphant feeling of racing through space and time, shedding the burden of all pain and suffering and emerging victorious." The combative choice of words is by no means a personal whim of the artist, but rather a product of Buddhist tradition itself, as Buddhas are often referred to as victors (Sanskrit: Jina) because they are considered those who have overcome their inner enemies—especially ignorance, greed, and hatred.

In a simple description, the truly meditative music on "Transcend" could be described as ambient drones interspersed with numerous details, placing it in the tradition of the electronic avant-garde of the early 80s and so-called cosmic music, which differs greatly from the radio play-like music on the EP dedicated to F.W. Murnau by the former Radio Werewolf musician. "Ascent" initially reveals a flat structure and appears very clear in sound, but one quickly registers details such as something reminiscent of heavenly choirs, subtly mixed in with the drone. Over time, the music also reveals more and more of its undulating, tidal form. At certain moments, it's as if an avalanche is breaking out, but is quickly absorbed by the flow of sounds, similar to the stormy rush that is reminiscent of driving in the rain. Of great melodic beauty, this music is never truly lulling, but it does seem to evoke a sense of reverence, which is revealed especially in the breathy vocal fragments.
The nearly half-hour-long "Parting Clouds" is like the heart of the album. It begins with more organic sounds reminiscent of the whirring of low strings, and with its hypnotic yet never entirely regular waves, it seems to me to be the most accomplished and impressive of the pieces. It evokes memories of works that have long since become classics of ambient drone, such as Nurse With Wounds' "Salt Marie Celeste" and His Divine Grace's "Reverse Aleph." Online, one can find various comparisons to Brian Eno. At some point, one hears Zeena's looped voice, leading one through various layers of whirring sounds like a mystagogue, eventually becoming part of the background like a gentle choir. This fits well with the increasingly melodic sounds, which radiate something warm, comforting, and almost liturgical.

The following track, "Gone Beyond," has something of a glimpse into a new world, which may seem unusually eventful to the unfamiliar ear, still enchanted by the relaxed world of parting clouds. Here the liturgically colored melodies appear as if they were being shaken by storms, storms that also whip the fading tonal substance forward into fiery intervals. With its strange effects, which evoke memories of krautrock electronics from better times, it is the most "psychedelic" of the pieces and, without wishing to overinterpret it, wonderfully suited to the sonic accompaniment of an idea – "gone beyond," or paragate in Sanskrit, is a central term in the Buddhist wisdom tradition, as recorded in texts such as the "Heart Sutra," for the transition into a state beyond dualistic ideas.

Although “Transcend” is meant to be experienced, the titles can be seen as signposts indicating the direction the album is taking – the three tracks herald paths that lead to another place, regardless of whether they are crooked or straight – similar to the ladders on the cover. 
​-African Paper

​Transcend is available as digital download HERE.
[Posted by T.M. 05/04/25]
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"Zeena is a death rocker" : Review in Humans vs Robots Online Music Magazine

14/3/2025

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Big Thanks to Humans vs Robots, Italian online magazine, for today's review of Zeena performing 'These Wounds Never Heal' on the new Sacred Legion album, 'The Higher Unknown'.
Scroll down to read the English version of journalist Max Zarucchi's review, or read the original in Italian HERE.
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​English version:

Zeena is a death rocker.

If our attention span when reading an article were the same as it was twenty years ago, the incredibly intense life of a figure like Zeena would deserve several thousand words alone: only in this way would we be able to truly understand how much this featuring of hers is a unique and rare event.

Her relationship with our Sacred Legion certainly didn't start yesterday (she was the one who chose both the band's moniker and the title of the 2020 album The Silent Lineage), but finding her voice on one of their songs is both a surprise for those who listen and a reason - and how could it be otherwise - of infinite pride for the band.

Her deep and hypnotic recitation is undoubtedly the focal point of this brand new These Wounds Never Heal, where the music chosen by our guys to accompany the Divine is a perfect hybrid between the dark hard rock of the seventies and the most direct and evocative death rock of the 80s. There is no room for unnecessary embellishments: the bloody rawness of the piece is more than enough, while it literally kidnaps the soul at first listen.

The Higher Unknown, the album in which this single is present, also gives us other special guests such as Adolphe Violet Le Duc (Chants of Maldoror) and Matteo (Spiritual Bats), which is why it will be difficult, in the genre, to keep up with it until the end of 2025: already a podium album, but it was inevitable for three musicians of the genre. Please take note.
- Max Zarucchi, 14 March, 2025

↦ Read also:
Sacred Legion (feat. Adolphe Violet Le Duc): Assassin Times
Sacred Legion: A Taste Of Turmoil
Sacred Legion: Hole in the Heart

[Posted by T.M. 14/03/25]
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New: Sacred Legion Album 'The Higher Unknown' - Featuring ZEENA

22/1/2025

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Below, a message from Zeena about a new album she appears on and below that, the music video of the song!

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'Very happy to announce the release of the new Sacred Legion album, The Higher Unknown, which includes my guest vocals in the opening song, "These Wounds Never Heal"!
A big thanks to Sacred Legion front-man Fabiano Gagliano for inviting me to collaborate with him on this track.
Each song in the album is powerful and unique, capturing an 80s L.A. atmosphere and vibe. For anyone who enjoys Alternative, Deathrock and Post-punk with hints of Industrial music, this album will be a welcome new addition to your collection.
The cover art is also by Gagliano, whose graphic art is inspired by Italian Renaissance, Pre-Raphaelite, and Symbolist art movements. His illustrations are, in his words, "centred in the representation of the female figure, which embodies to me the idea of poetic beauty."

May Goddess Saraswati (the Goddess of the arts, music, knowledge, and understanding) bless all involved in the creation, partaking and enjoyment of this new release! '

-Om Aim Shreem Hreem Saraswatyai Namah -

Zeena

For anyone in Rome in March, Sacred Legion officially presents the record with a live concert Saturday March 8 in Rome. For updates follow them on Instagram and/or Facebook.
Sacred Legion on Bandcamp.
[Posted by T.M. 22/01/25]
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Your Mountain Is Waiting: Review Of Zeena’s Transcend Album, by Nicholas Diak

24/6/2024

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Big thanks to author and industrial music scholar Nicholas Diak for his great review of Zeena's latest music project Transcend!!! 
Scroll down for full review!

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In 2023 multimedia and multidiscipinary artist Zeena unveiled her newest musical endeavor, Transcend, at the Movement of the Triangle series exhibit at the Snow Gallery in New York City. Though the exhibit took place last June, Zeena’s music was preserved as a digital-only album published via Bandcamp.
​

In the 80s and early 90s Zeena made gothic and death rock music while part of Radio Werewolf. Years later she would begin releasing her own music while exploring different genres. In 2020 Zeena realized her debut solo endeavor, Bring Me The Head Of F. W. Murnau, which was part silent film score, a hint of experimental-industrial, and a large dose of field recordings. Concurrently, Zeena explored a spiritual angle through her music, which listeners got to preview with her live performance of “Sethian Dream Oracle” that was released on the John Murphy tribute compilation All My Sins Remembered in 2016. Transcend can be thought of as the next canonical entry in Zeena’s spiritual music output.

Transcend balances two genres – new age and ambient – though neither in an expected fashion. Ambient music, in the Cryo Chamber vein, can conjure up images of deep space, forgotten cities, desolate alien landscapes, and so on, with an emphasis on droning and emptiness. It can certainly be a lonely genre. Transcend has some of these aspects of “alone-ness” yet it is hardly lonely. The album places an emphasis on the self, but acts as a companion in the process – a guide. The listener’s journey with Transcend may be as an individual, but the album provides a presence, ensuring the listener is not by themselves. Transcend also invites internal exploration, which is the opposite of other ambient varieties that prompt external exploration.

Transcend contains three tracks: “Ascent,” “Parting Clouds,” and “Gone Beyond.” The track list may be small but the runtime is substantial, coming in at over fifty minutes of music. If one takes the names of the three titles along with the album name, visuals of climbing a mountain are conjured up. Going a step further and bringing in an element of a silent film score (as Zeena had done with the aforementioned Bring Me The Head Of F. W. Murnau), transforms the listening experience into an aural version of a bergfilm. Transcend is a three act mountain film without the visuals, yet rife with both movement yet contemplation, depicting the overcoming of obstances, be them physical or psychic. 

Act one, “Ascent,” is the initial mountain climb. The ambiance has a calming “awww” to it, but slowly as the song progresses, a breathing pattern begins to emerge, before becoming dominate over halfway through the song. The song’s breathing has two functions: to invite the listener to partake in breathing exercises, but also to convey the sense of exertion as one climbs the album’s metaphorical mountain. 

Act two, “Parting Clouds,” is the resting song. The listener is sitting on an outcropping, seeing the land through wispy clouds, taking in the imagery and a respite on their journey. There is the simile of a string instrument that flutters in the song, adding an essence of alpine folk. The final act, “Gone Beyond,” is a mirror of “Ascent,” with the heavy breathing surfacing again like a train starting to gain momentum. Though the song is the album’s last, it is the next step in the listener’s journey as they resume their quest up the mountain, into the sky, and beyond. 

The cover art of Transcend is a part of a larger piece titled Ladders that was created by Zeena. The imagery of the ladders, of course, invokes the feeling of going “up,” which ties into the theme of the album. However, the shadow play of the ladders, that they all appear to be going in different directions, with one even bent, generates a German Expressionist cinema vibe to the piece (Cabinet of Dr. Caligari-esque). Such evocations can be found a-plenty in Zeena’s prior album, Bring Me The Head of F. W. Murnau, which also tie into the bergfilm vibes of the album as well.

In Oh, the Places You’ll Go! Dr. Seuss quips “You’re off to great places, today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, so get on your way!” Though the passage is whimiscal, its text is certainly appropriate for Zeena’s Transcend. There is a concept to conquer, be it a literal or metaphoric mountain – or something else, for the betterment of the self. Transcend is the soundtrack for that journey, with a great place (spiritually, mentally, or something else), waiting at the summit. 

If you want to learn more about Transcend or the other music works of Zeena check out the links below.
  • Bandcamp Product Page for Transcend
  • Zeena’s Official Website
  • My article on Zeena’s Bring Me The Head Of F. W. Murnau
  • My article on the Zaum of Zeena

​--by Nicholas Diak, June 19, 2024

[Reposted by T.M., 24. June 2024]
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Summer Solstice Greetings with New Music Video to Radio Werewolf Old Classic: BARBAROSSA

20/6/2023

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A Very Big Thanks to Indie Filmmaker Courtney Sell for creating this Magically Charged New Music Video for the Radio Werewolf Classic Song BARBAROSSA!

Summer Solstice is upon us and what better way to celebrate the transitioning season from pastel Spring to Summer bonfires than with the legend of the flame-bearded Barbarossa?!
​Embedded below is a new video of the 1991 Radio Werewolf song commemorating Summer Solstices of yore, in which we envision the long-sleeping Emperor Barbarossa awaking yet anew.
May your Summer Solstice be marked with renewed energy to facilitate spiritual awakenings and psychonautic victories!
-Om Vajrasattva Hum-
Zeena


Barbarossa is from the album Love Conquers All (1991).
Music composition, keyboards, vocals: Zeena Schreck. | Lyrics, fanfare, vocals: Nikolas Schreck | Percussion: Christoph D. | Video: Courtney Sell. 

​Limited quantity of vintage original Love Conquers All CDs from the first pressing in 1991, available HERE.

[Posted by T.M., 20. June 2023]
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Bonus Interview with Zeena for Rock is Lit; Spiritual Practices In Music

8/6/2023

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Christy Hallberg shares bonus content from her interview with Zeena!

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From Rock is Lit:
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"So much of Zeena’s art converges with her spiritual practice. This is definitely true of [her latest album] ‘Transcend’. To celebrate the release of this amazing album, have a listen to this outtake from my interview with her from Episode 22 where Zeena talks about her new album ‘Transcend’, the use and power of Medicine Buddha mantra for spiritual and physical healing, energy transference and mantras as a means for energy transference, approaching Medicine Buddha in the spirit of receptivity and experimentation, the importance of having compassion—even for negative forces—and more.
​Zeena has been on the podcast a few times, and each time our conversation tends to branch out and take on a life of its own, which means I always have some bits that don’t make it into the regular episodes, many of which wind up as stand-alone mini-episodes, like this one." -Christy Hallberg

Direct link to the bonus interview from Episode 22: ​
https://www.christyalexanderhallberg.com/podcast-vault-feed/zeenaschreckandmedicinebuddha

Direct link to the original interview in the second half of Episode 22, in which Zeena talks about the power certain songs have in spiritual and magical practices, with relation to the plot of Rob Errera's novel Hangman's Jam:
https://www.christyalexanderhallberg.com/rockislitpodcast/roberreraandzeenaschreck

Direct link to order Zeena's new album Transcend:
https://zeenaschreck.bandcamp.com/

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Zeena's New Solo Album 'Transcend' Just Went Live & Ready to Order

4/6/2023

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'Transcend' ready to order at

https://zeenaschreck.bandcamp.com/album/transcend
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“If you have strength of character, you can use that as fuel to not only be a survivor but to transcend simply being a survivor, use an internal alchemy to turn something rotten and horrible into gold.”
~Zeena Schreck

The three lengthy pieces in 'Transcend' totals nearly 52 minutes altogether, affording the listener ample meditative journeys of contemplation and sonic catharsis, ending with an exhilaratingly triumphant sense of dashing through space and time, releasing the ballast of all pain and suffering, emerging as a Victor.

The succinct titles focus on specific Buddhist themes, directing the mind toward wider and deeper understanding of ones own spiritual path and experience.

The album's official release, June 4th, 2023, is Saga Dawa Düchen, a date of immense Buddhist importance commemorating the birth, enlightenment, and Parinirvana of Buddha Shakyamuni.

'Transcend' debuted at Snow Gallery NYC on June 3rd, 2023, for their third exhibition in a series, 'Movement of the Triangle,' inspired by Kandinsky’s 'Concerning the Spiritual in Art.'

The exhibition also marks the first time originals of Zeena's visual art are shown together with works of her late godfather Kenneth Anger.

Album cover for Transcend is a detail from a larger piece, 'Ladders,' original art by Zeena Schreck on display at Snow Gallery until end of July, 2023.

Credits:
released June 4, 2023

Recorded in Berlin, Germany.

Sound Engineer: Robert Mayson, NYC.

Promo videos of the album linked below, by Courtney Sell.

Album is in digital download format only.​

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Zeena's New Album 'Transcend' Debuts June 3rd at Snow Gallery NYC!

31/5/2023

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NEW MUSIC by ZEENA

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Zeena's second solo album 'Transcend' debuts at Snow Gallery NYC on June 3rd, 2023, as soundtrack for their third exhibition in a series, 'Movement of the Triangle,' inspired by Kandinsky’s 'Concerning the Spiritual in Art.' The exhibition also marks the first time originals of Zeena's visual art are shown together with works of her recently deceased godfather Kenneth Anger.
 

All good things come in threes: 

The three lengthy pieces in this album total 52 minutes altogether, affording the listener ample meditative journeys of contemplation and sonic catharsis, ending with an exhilaratingly triumphant sense of dashing through space and time, releasing the ballast of all pain and suffering, emerging as a Victor. The succinct titles focus on specific Buddhist themes, directing the mind toward wider and deeper understanding of ones own spiritual path and experience.

*The album's official release is June 4th, 2023, on the day following its debut at Snow Gallery NYC and a date of immense Buddhist importance, Saga Dawa Düchen, the anniversary of Buddha's Enlightenment and Parinirvana.
*Pre-order the album Transcend prior to the official release date to get the first track; email notification on the release date will give you the link to the rest of the album.

Album cover for Transcend is a detail from a larger piece, 'Ladders,' original art by Zeena Schreck on display at Snow Gallery until July 2nd, 2023.

Recorded in Berlin, Germany.

Sound Engineer: Robert Mayson, NYC.

Promo videos of the album by Courtney Sell.

Album is in digital download format only.

For full gallery description of the exhibition and other artists featured, click on the below images or visit: https://www.instagram.com/snowgallerynyc/

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New Interview with Zeena about the Magical Power of Certain Music

2/3/2023

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Sonic Magic with Zeena

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In this week's 'Rock is Lit' podcast episode #22, Christy Alexander Hallberg invites Zeena back to the show to explain how and why certain music can have profound effect when composed and/or performed in combination with spiritual and magical practices. 
To listen, open the link at-->
Rock is Lit, Episode 22 with Zeena Schreck 

Speaking of magic and mysticism in music, this Friday, March 3rd, Bandcamp is waiving the artists' fees on all music sales! If you haven't already, this Friday's a good day to purchase Zeena's music, as well as your other favourite artists at Bandcamp!
You can also follow Zeena's Bandcamp to get notified of upcoming new music releases!
​

[posted by t.m.]

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New Review of Zeena's 'Bring Me the Head of F.W. Murnau'

16/11/2022

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Big Thanks to AFRICAN PAPER:

German online music magazine African Paper posted a great review of Zeena's 'Bring Me the Head of F.W. Murnau". Scroll below for the English translation of the original German language review.
Digital downloads of the album are at Zeena Schreck Bandcamp.
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English version:

Perhaps one has to be well-travelled to realize that they're one of those people who don't settle for the illusion of home - I'm talking about an illusion here insofar as the ideas you have about your own life, that are always illusory in a certain way - you can or want to let those illusions in. The famous silent film director Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau wrote to his mother from Tahiti, where he was shooting his last film Tabu, that he only felt homesick to a limited extent, because no country, no house, no person's companionship could really give him any sense of home. He became particularly aware of this on the island at the other end of the world, which he felt bewitched by.

The compact but intense sound collage-like album, which Zeena Schreck - formerly of Radio Werewolf - composed about a fictional post-biographical episode surrounding Murnau, with accompanying videos by a certain Tnopud Salocin, begins with an excerpt of this letter, appropriately framed by the sounds of tropical tides and delivered in a slowed down, androgynous voice. The haunting tale that forms the backdrop to the music is about the abduction of the director's head from the cemetery in Stahnsdorf near Berlin - something that some may think is an urban legend but that actually happened a good ten years ago, and so the master's homelessness outlasts his physical life.

A feature of the album is the constant blending of the director's life and work. “Ill Omens”, whose melange of alienated, perhaps sampled instruments is reminiscent of a slightly sepia-toned grey, could be a congenial score for the bizarre skull robbery, and yet the tension, the coarse-grained and flickering humming and hissing, after which only the death bell remains, is reminiscent of many a film scene from Murnau's oeuvre. "A Drive up the Coast" is like a peaceful little miniature [fairground]: organ and waltz rhythm evoke a carnival atmosphere, and when you hear the sound of rain and the honking of a vintage car toward the end, you might even think of California, where Zeena herself spent her early years.

While the first three tracks have an effect of a soft introduction, the rest of the compositions get more to the point. With ritualistic percussion by drummer Hisham A. Bharoocha, hand drums and rattles, odd reverbs and orchestral quotes, "Tabu," which contains lyrics from the film of the same name, is a furious celebration of the dark side of the exotic, and contains in Zeena's recitation the warning to respect the eponymous taboo. In “The Phantom Bridge”, which draws from a pivotal scene from Murnau's best-known film Nosferatu, the voice sweeps like murmurs through a room, flanked by dusty bright bells. In a whisper, the voice tells of unknown places and things, but also of life leaving the body, while water ripples in the background. For anyone familiar with Zeena's background in Vajrayana Tantric Buddhism, entirely different dimensions might open up here, in the vampire's quotes.

In the final track, “Endlich Daheim”, which opens with the rattling of an old film projector, and whose lyrics are by Zeena herself, the whole spooky story about the open grave is revealed, in which the director seems to have actually found his home, decades after his physical death.

“Bring Me The Head Of F.W. Murnau” is a beautiful, concise piece of music that wraps the aura of old, fantastic film scores in a delightfully experimental guise, and at the same time doesn't seem implausible for a second. All this and the appreciation of the master is in no way disturbed by the fact that the signature of the musician herself is always present and sometimes becomes explicit through small and not so small hints. The already mentioned echo of a faded fairground somewhere in Karloffornia and the reference to tantra could also be purely coincidental and a projection of the reviewer. Less so, however, is the title which refers to an early Radio Werewolf release (and indirectly to another classic film, Bring me the Head of Alfredo Garcia) - but at that time it was about the head of an unpleasant journalist.

When past and present, life and afterlife, one's own and the other's are intertwined in this way, it becomes clear once more how illusionary the perceptions of time, space and what one takes for the self are in the end. The fact that you can still feel Zeena and the world of Murnau throughout is not a contradiction in terms. -admin/African Paper 
​[Original German Version HERE.]
[posted by t.m.]
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Centennial Celebration of F.W. Murnau's Classic Film Nosferatu

3/3/2022

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Celebrating the 100 year anniversary of F.W. Murnau's classic film Nosferatu:

Beginning Friday 4th of March, Bandcamp is waiving their artist fees for 24 hours - a perfect time to order Zeena's first solo release, 'Bring Me The Head Of F.W. Murnau: A Ghost Story in Six Acts,' available at Bandcamp in both digital download or in a digipak CD limited edition (including download code). 

About the Album:
After a long career in collaborative music activities, this is Zeena Schreck's first entirely solo recording project, placing the collector value of this project in historical context. (To order from Bandcamp, click here or on the picture below.)

Released on March 11, 2020, 'Bring Me The Head Of F.W. Murnau: A Ghost Story in Six Acts,' was inspired by news reports that the director's head had been stolen from his grave in Berlin. 
The tone poems in this recording are sonic necromancy, reflecting the transition from the end of Murnau's worldly life to what his disembodied consciousness may have experienced in the afterlife. Many of the intricate sounds heard in these tracks were captured in field recordings at Murnau's former residence in Berlin and at his grave site in Stahnsdorf, Germany.
All music and vocals composed and performed by Zeena Schreck.

​Genres: Ambient, Avantgarde, Electroacoustic, Experimental, Minimalism, Sound art, Soundscapes, Tonkunst, Tone poems.
  • There are now only eight CDs left of the original, limited signed and numbered edition. 
  • The limited edition also come with a download code and a 5.47" x 4.21" (13.9 x 10.7 cm) post card sized flexi-magnet of the album cover.
  • Numbers of the signed limited edition which are still available are #82-89.
  • Aside from the limited signed & numbered edition, there are also normal sealed (unsigned) copies available.

For more details on the backstory, and the making of the recording, here's an in-depth interview with Zeena by Nicholas Diak about this recording.

To order, click the picture below .

[posted by Thomas]
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Last of the limited, signed edition of Bring Me the Head of F.W. Murnau: #82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89!
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Sacred Legion Debut Album 'Silent Lineage'

4/6/2021

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​From Zeena:  

“Big Thanks to my dear friend Fabiano Gagliano of the band Sacred Legion for adding me in the acknowledgments of their fantastic new debut album 'Silent Lineage'! At Fabiano's request, both the band name and album title came to me through a divination for the purposes of “christening” the newly formed band. And the rest is history, as they say!
​[Scroll down for my review!]
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Though 'Silent Lineage' is their first album, these well-seasoned musicians have decades-long experience in previous European-based Deathrock and Punk bands. Specifically, Fabiano Gagliano (also a visual artists) is formerly of Chants of Maldoror, Mirko is formerly of Human Disease, and Tony Volume is formerly of Idol Lips. The lads hail from Italy, yet Gagliano, in keeping with the necromantic and nostalgic themes of the album, conjures vocal qualities of deceased cult singers like Marc Bolan, Syd Barrett and Benjamin Orr. The original music in this album reflects an eclectic mix of '80s genres from deathrock, classic goth-rock and post-punk. Yet the music also hints of '70s influences like glam rock, prog rock, early neo-martial and industrial music with choice bits of sampling from cult films that film buffs will enjoy. The stark and mysterious cover art is Gagliano's creation. All lyrics are contained within the CD booklet. An excellent debut for this great new band!

My best wishes and blessings to all involved!
Omnia·Vincit·Amor

~Zeena”
Check it out at batcaveproductions.bandcamp.com/album/the-silent-lineage

Released by Bat-Cave Productions 
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Zeena Interview Feature & Cover Story for Derailed Magazine!

5/4/2021

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Exclusive in-depth seven page interview with Zeena in the April '21 edition of Derailed, a new magazine for cynics, renegades and survivors of the unimaginable, describes the article: "The Artist Discusses Inspiration, Early Life & 'The State of Suchness.'"
"
My leaving my birth country wasn't just about my family. It was about the country itself. It's about what I went through with that national witch-hunt, the whole experience." -Zeena Schreck

To read online, go to Featured Story in the April 2021 Issue.
Order the print edition at:  ​www.derailedmagazine.com/
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Zeena on the cover of the April Edition of Derailed Magazine
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NEW Review and Interview: Zeena Schreck and her solo debut Bring Me the Head of F. W. Murnau, by Nicholas Diak

5/8/2020

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Many thanks to Nicholas Diak for this fantastic review and exclusive interview with Zeena about her new music! [Re-posted below from the original at Heilige Tod - Interdisciplinary Analysis of Neofolk Music.] 


Bring Me the Head of F.W. Murnau can be purchased digitally at Bandcamp or in physical format at this site.

​Review and Interview: Zeena Schreck and her debut Bring Me the Head of F. W. Murnau   
Tuesday, August 4, 2020 by Nicholas Diak

During the summer of 2015, the skull of German silent film director F. W. Murnau was stolen from his tomb. Remnants of wax from lit candles present at the scene spurred the hypothesis that occult work was afoot while the macabre nature of Murnau’s stolen skull drew parallels to his legendary horror output, in particular his influential expressionist film, Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922).(1)
​

    Shortly thereafter, inspired by the event, multimedia artist Zeena Schreck announced a “sequel to Radio Werewolf’s mystical, musical piece Bring Me the Head of Geraldo Rivera” that would be appropriately titled Bring Me the Head of F. W. Murnau.(2) Five years later, Bring Me the Head of F. W. Murnau (BMTHOFWM) was released in March of 2020.
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   BMTHOFWM marks the first studio release proper of Zeena performing music solo. Prior to this EP, Zeena had been a part of many musical collaborations and projects, such as Radio Werewolf, and had released some of her live ritual performances, such as her appearance at Wave-Gotik-Treffen, on compilations and YouTube. Per Zeena in regard to releasing a concept album instead of an album of her ritual performances:

“I definitely have future recording plans which will be in the areas of dark ambient and ritual music. [T]his first solo release was experimental in the sense I'd never done such a precise theme as concept album like this before. I like working within specific parameters though. Even in past recordings, when it might not seem obvious, I've almost always had in mind a particular framework within which to create the music. But this album was much more of a specific theme than I would normally do.”(3)

    BMTHOFWM certainly has a thematic laser focus, concentrating on Murnau and some of his films, while capturing a certain silent film aesthetic, though paradoxically, with sound. Zeena pulls this feat off – a silent film with no images but instead with sounds – by incorporating elements of field recordings, minimalist-industrial, exotica, spoken words, and incantations, in conjunction with the brilliant German expressionist/Caligari style artwork that emblazons the release’s cover art that evokes some of the classic horror posters of the era.

    Though Murnau is the subject of the EP, the filmmaker did not have a strong influence on Zeena at the beginning of the project:

“[Murnau was] not a huge influence. It was only his films Nosferatu and Faust that I had known and really liked since childhood, when they'd play on late night TV. I knew he'd worked with the occultist artist/architect Albin Grau on the sets for Nosferatu but working with an occultist doesn't automatically make you one. There is also the tie-in of my last name being the same as the actor who played Count Orlok, Max Schreck, in Murnau's most famous film Nosferatu. I'd also remembered the scandalous rumors about his untimely death that my godfather Kenneth Anger wrote of in Hollywood Babylon, rumors which, by the way, I've since learned weren't true. But aside from these things, I hadn't much knowledge of his life prior to embarking on this project. I know far more about him now.

Originally, I'd planned that this [release] was only going to be a single; not more than a two-track novelty piece inspired by a quirky event. But then, as I began researching more about Murnau and put flesh on the bones of this project, certain metaphysical portals started opening up. More material for more tracks developed than could be narrowed down to just a single. Yet I didn't want this to be a full album either. So, the logical middle ground was to make it an EP.”(4)

    Through the process of researching Murnau, Zeena also visited the director’s home and his grave, gathering field recordings that would be incorporated into the compositions of BMTHOFWM:

“[I] intermingled various sounds from both locations in just about every track except the opening one, ‘Letter to Mother.’ Some of those field recordings were used in a straightforward manner, such as a fox barking, birds singing, the sound of some machinery or a metal gate clanging. Those can be detected fairly clearly enough. But other sounds used, I distorted in the editing to achieve certain auditory effects.

When I visited Murnau's grave, for the photo shoot to the CD, I was focused on getting the photos but hadn't intended on capturing field recordings at the same time. I'd already compiled field recordings taken at the former Murnau house in Berlin, which coincidentally happens to be right in my neighborhood. In addition to that, I'd painstakingly searched for specific samples corresponding to the exact years of Murnau's creative life and his death, such as the sound of the precise year and make of the car he was in when it crashed, leading to his death. Or a snippet of a song that would've been popular at parties in Hollywood that he may have attended. Things like that.
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So, getting back to the cemetery field recordings: It was only by fluke, while taking photos at Murnau's grave, that my camera accidentally engaged the video record. It wasn't until later that day, when downloading my data from the day's shoot, I realized I'd inadvertently gotten some unexpected and pretty interesting sounds while at the grave. Luckily, there was still time to mix those in before the final edit and mastering. For some unknown reason, I've always had strange energy clashes with electronic devices; something's always malfunctioning with them in my case. I've come to expect these ‘accidental’ recordings of environment sounds, with both my audio recorder and my cameras video setting. Whenever it happens, I always discover something interesting, humorous or just uncanny and bizarre that gets added to my sound library. This reveals how much is occurring all the time that we humans normally filter out but which, when cut out of the normal flow of everyday life, can be wonderful auditory meditations. I'm sure that those unexpected sounds at the cemetery made a difference in enhancing an underlying eerie quality to the whole thing.”(5)

    Zeena’s field recordings directly tie into her concept of “sonic necromancy.” These field recordings she gathered communicate an additional essence of Murnau that would not have been present otherwise:

“Sound art differs from conventionally composed music in that soundscapes are generally thought to be like paintings done with sound rather than matter. They may or may not necessarily tell a story. In this case, however, there is story. Between many years of magical ritual practices, as well as early-life theater and film training, which includes techniques in character development, sense memory and improvisation, a fusion of disciplined training in all these areas creates conducive conditions for summoning of the dead. While my magical training and ritual experience is probably more generally acknowledged than my theater training, I mention the latter only in relation to this music project because I'm playing various characters or roles throughout. Whether we are hearing Murnau's own thoughts in the opening and closing tracks, or the female Angel of Death who's come to usher Murnau away from this worldly experience, or the ‘bardo beings’ who inhabit the intermediate state between the end of one life and the beginning of the next. All of those voices are different characters revealing different levels of metaphysical existence and understanding.”(6)

    If BMTHOFWM sounds like a multifaceted release, it is because it certainly is. Though the EP only contains six tracks and clocks in at roughly 18 minutes, it is compact in its sound design, atmosphere, and ambitious scope.

    The first track of the EP, “Letter to Mother,” has Zeena reciting a letter Murnau wrote to his mother against a background of crashing waves. In this track, Zeena channels her aforementioned acting chops, mimicking a deeper voice that would be Muranu. It is a somber recital that sets a melancholy mood that permeates the release.

    Track two, “Ill Omens,” runs with this melancholy with a peppering of something menacing or foreboding. It is a track that is minimal on sound, but high on atmosphere. Closing one’s eyes, one can picture an old film with a scene of tiptoeing through a cave or a dimly lit forest, illuminated day-for-night style, while a Harryhausen-esque monster waiting to emerge from the shadows.

    The third track, “A Drive up the Coast,” chronicles the last moments of Murnau as he died in an auto accident while traversing the Pacific Coast Highway near Santa Barbara in 1931. The track begins jovial, with organ music composed by Zeena that evokes a funfair or a period appropriate party in the background. Sounds of an open car window woosh by before (spoiler alert!) the sounds of accelerations, followed by a scream, tires screeching, and a crash.

    Track four, “Tabu,” is a reference to Murnau’s final film, Tabu: A Story of the South Seas (1931) that was released shortly after his death. An early tiki film, the story depicts two lovers, Reri and Matahi, as they try to escape Reri’s fate of being made into a sacred maiden for their island’s deities. The first half of the song is the most industrial-sounding music on the EP, with some minimalist piston-percussions. The last half of the song switches gears to the exotica genre, with primitive drumming and shakers, that channels the likes of Martin Denny and Les Baxter. Over the music, Zeena, reaching into her experience of performing incantations, recites the same decree that was uttered in Tabu that denoted Reri as forbidden, and not to be touched by any man.

    “The Phantom Bridge” is the EP’s fifth track and this one digs right into the vampiric roots Murnau is best known for. A spoken word track, Zeena recites some of the inter titles from Murnau’s Nosferatu which in turn were taken from Stoker’s Dracula. The music in this track is, as the title suggests, ghostly, with spirituals wisps, shackling noises, tiny bells and chimes.

    The EP’s final track, “Endlich Daheim,” is perhaps the most ambitious track on the album, that not only underscores Murnau’s career, but demonstrates Zeena at her most artistic. Prior songs on the EP has Zeena reciting texts from other sources while “Endlich Daheim” contains both original organ music and lyrics by Zeena, sung in a haunting and beautiful style. A sound of a 1920s projector starting up beings the track with the music proper evoking the feelings of being at a funeral - Murnau’s funeral - with Zeena’s poetry acting as a eulogy.

The end result is that BMTHOFWM is a superb solo debut for Zeena and an excellent experimental release all around. Atmospheric, haunting, and magical, but also cinematic and fully versed in filmic pop culture that it celebrates. Born from a macabre act of stealing the skull of Murnau, the EP easily could’ve embraced grotesquery or morbidness, but instead the CD comes off as sincere. Aside from these observations, Zeena herself had her own goals for the release:

“Well, after a few years of unexpected obstacles, as well as unexpected serendipitous occurrences which led to creating much more material for this than I'd originally planned, I guess the main thing I wanted to accomplish was getting it completed at all! Jokes aside, the fact is, there's still someone out there who has taken and kept the skull from Murnau's grave. This is at the heart of the project. I wanted to pull all of the unusual elements surrounding this case together into one cohesive creative expression. The music in this project is created to facilitate opening the mind to all possible questions surrounding that event, and even to, on a transcendental and metaphysical level, provide even bigger answers.”(7)
​

    Five years after the act, the mystery of who absconded with Murnau’s skull remains unsolved. Of course, thoughts have drifted to Schreck as a possible culprit, which she both playfully and adamantly dismisses: “[S]ince many have already jokingly asked me – let's nip this in the bud right here – NO, it wasn't me!”(8)

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    Sincere thanks for Zeena Schreck for allowing me to interview her for this writeup and providing the images. All images used in this article are copyrighted by Zeena Schreck and used with permission. More information about Zeena and her projects can be found at the following websites and social medias:


Website: https://www.zeenaschreck.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ZEENA.Official.ZeenaSchreck/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zeenaschreck_art/
Bandcamp: https://zeenaschreck.bandcamp.com/releases
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ZeenaSchreckOfficial


Endnotes


    1. Nigel M Smith, “Nosferatu director’s head stolen from grave in Germany,” The Guardian, last modified July 14, 2015, https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jul/14/nosferatu-director-head-stolen-germany-grave-fw-murnau.
    2. “Coming Soon From Zeena Schreck: Bring Me The Head of F.W. Murnau,” Heathen Harvest, last modified July 21, 2015, https://heathenharvest.wordpress.com/2015/07/21/coming-soon-from-zeena-schreck-bring-me-the-head-of-f-w-murnau/.
    3. Zeena Schreck, email message to author, June 16, 2020.
    4. Ibid.
    5. Ibid.
    6. Ibid.


Bibliography
“Coming Soon From Zeena Schreck: Bring Me The Head of F.W. Murnau.” Heathen Harvest. Last modified July 21, 2015. https://heathenharvest.wordpress.com/2015/07/21/coming-soon-from-zeena-schreck-bring-me-the-head-of-f-w-murnau/.
Schreck, Zeena. Bring me the Head of F. W. Murnau. KCH KCHCD01. 2020. CD.
Smith, Nigel M. “Nosferatu director’s head stolen from grave in Germany.” The Guardian. Last modified July 14, 2015. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jul/14/nosferatu-director-head-stolen-germany-grave-fw-murnau.


Posted by Nicholas Diak at 6:58 PM
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