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.

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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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KCH is happy to announce a new apparel category! The 'Notable Quotes' collection, developed from follower-based requests of popular quotes by Zeena combined with original background designs. As we're continuously developing our apparel collections, we're grateful for suggestions like this from our customer base. 
Also New: Celebrating the Five-Year Anniversary of the EP Bring Me the Head of FW Murnau featuring the front and back CD covers on a classic front and back T-shirt design.
All shirts offered in a variety of colour choices including classic black. Details about the designs and shirts are in the individual listings (click on images below to go directly to each listing).

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.

The Path is the Goal is a Buddha-Dharma theme that emphasizes the importance of the journey in spiritual practice rather than fixating solely on the destination, such as Enlightenment or Nirvana. The same idea can also be applied to secular, worldly goals.

More than ever before, we live in a world driven by and focused on instant gratification and addiction to the hypnotizing effects and dopamine hits from billions of endless social media streams, news, and advertising, all competing with each other for our attention. ​

These monthly visual meditations nudge us to get off the hamster wheel and reground ourselves in the organic world, to breathe fresh air, to move our bodies, and to contemplate the value and meaning of our everyday lives and spiritual practices and to not dismiss the little things that happen “along the way” as meaningless. The Path is the Goal underscores the gradual transformative process of spiritual practice and life, which cannot be forced or rushed. The atmospheric images contained in this calendar, of different paths, remind us symbolically that there are many spiritual paths to follow, yet we're all reaching the same ultimate destination.

The monthly images serve as reminder to experience the present moment fully and that the effort, motivation, and practices we engage in are as important, if not more so, than the attainment of an imagined spiritual endpoint, or in secular terms, a goal that may change over time or never come to pass, within this lifetime. So it is more important to find meaning and worth in the process (the Path), regardless of the outcome. The outcome works itself out when we're fully engaged in the process!

About the Calendar:
The finely structured, matte surface of Fuji Crystal Archive DPII photo paper (234 g/m²) provides an extremely natural and noble appearance. The matte finish makes it virtually free from unwanted reflection and resistant to fingerprints. Archive quality suitable for cropping and framing after use.
Dimensions: 20.3x30.5cm / 8”x11½”

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.
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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

From Zeena: "Big Thanks to Snow Gallery and Frank Haines, in collaboration with Whaam!, for inviting me to contribute my art to their newest exhibit, VAPOURS OF DELPHI, opening this week! 
Anyone in the NYC area who's interested, check it out!"  ~Zeena

VAPOURS OF DELPHI
Opening Night: Thursday June 6th from 6-8pm

Exhibit runs June 6 - June 29, 2024.

Exhibit will be held at Whaam! Gallery:
15 Elizabeth Street, #113
New York, NY, 10013

Links: 
https://www.snowgallerynyc.com/
https://www.whaamwhaam.com/

Author G. Connor Salter reached out to Zeena for this in-depth interview which extrapolates on the psychological and philosophical underpinnings of her father's choice to name her after the mystical fortune teller character, Madame Zeena, from the novel Nightmare Alley by William Lindsay Gresham.

In the interview, Zeena covers her father's claims to have personally known Gresham, details about his early life history, his brushes with occult and esoteric groups in the '50s and other Noir influences on his early development, which in turn influenced Zeena's early development, making this a richly detailed and insightful exploration into the mind.

The article also features photos of two vintage paperback editions of Nightmare Alley and a movie poster for the 1947 film,  which lived in the kitchen of the Black House (Zeena's childhood home), from Zeena's personal archives.

G. Connor Salter is known for his exhaustive research in and written contributions to scholarly studies of the 1930s-40s literary group The Inklings and by extension CS Lewis's wife Joy Davidman's first husband, Noir author William Gresham. Salter is currently working on the unpublished writings of Gresham to which this interview is a small portion of a larger project.

​Read the full interview here: punknoirmagazine.wordpress.com/2024/05/22/a-conversation-with-zeena-schreck-about-nightmare-alley-by-g-connor-salter/

Zeena's art along with other artists featured and for sale this week at New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA) Miami 2023. All info below.

Snow Gallery
NADA Miami
December 5–9, 2023
Ice Palace Studios
1400 North Miami Avenue
Miami, FL 33136

VIP Preview (by Invitation):
Tuesday, December 5, 10am–4pm

VIP Hour (by Invitation):
Wednesday, December 6, 10–11am

Open to the Public:
Tuesday, December 5, 4–7pm
Wednesday, December 6, 11am–7pm
Thursday, December 7, 11am–7pm
Friday, December 8, 11am–7pm
Saturday, December 9, 11am–6pm

In related news, Zeena's latest album, Transcend which 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' is now available as Bandcamp dowload!

Album cover for Transcend is a detail from a larger piece, 'Ladders,' by Zeena Schreck, (original art sold).

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

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/

“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.​

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/