Carl Abrahamsson's Blog, page 40

”Sacred Intent” is here

 

Sacred Intent gathers conversations between artist Genesis Breyer P-Orridge and longtime friend and collaborator, the Swedish author Carl Abrahamsson. From the first 1986 fanzine interview about current projects, over philosophical insights, magical workings, international travels, art theory and gender revolutions, to 2019’s thoughts on life and death in the the shadow of battling leukaemia, Sacred Intent is a unique journey in which the art of conversation blooms.

With (in)famous projects like C.O.U.M. Transmissions, Throbbing Gristle, Psychic TV, Thee Temple Ov Psychick Youth (TOPY) and Pandrogeny, Breyer P-Orridge has consistently thwarted preconceived ideas and transformed disciplines such as performance art, music, collage, poetry and social criticism; always cutting up the building blocks to dismantle control structures and authority. But underneath the socially conscious and pathologically rebellious spirit, there has always been a devout respect for a holistic, spiritual, magical worldview – one of “sacred intent.”

Sacred Intent is a must read for anyone interested in contemporary art, deconstructed identity, gender evolution, and magical philosophy. The book not only celebrates an intimate friendship, but also the work and ideas of an artist who has never ceased to amaze and provoke. Also included are photographic portraits of Breyer P-Orridge taken by Carl Abrahamsson, transcripts of key lectures, and an interview with Jacqueline “Lady Jaye” Breyer P-Orridge from 2004.

Please note: this book is available for pre-ordering. It will be dispatched approximately February 22nd, 2020.

Standard Edition: 148 x 210 mm, 320 pages, perfect-bound paperback. Price: 300:- SEK.

Hard Edition: 160 x 216 mm, 320 pages, hard-bound with jacket. Limited to 77 hand-numbered copies (nos. 24-100). Price: 500:- SEK.

Psychick Edition: 160 x 216 mm, 320 pages, hard-bound with jacket. Limited to 23 hand-numbered copies (nos. 1-23). Included are also one photographic print of Breyer P-Orridge, taken by Carl Abrahamsson in 2004, and one bonus surprise mystery print. Both prints are signed by respective artists, and are in size 210 x 297 mm. Please note: The Psychick Edition is SOLD OUT.

 

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Backtracking in the fast lane

 

2019 has undoubtedly been of the most intense years of my life. Vanessa and I have travelled like crazy, and most of it has been work-related. No wonder it’s been such a productive and successful year.

In terms of music, this year saw/heard the release of four new and well-received albums: the “My Silent Lips” soundtrack, “O Time Thy Pyramids,” “Nocturnal Meditations,” and “Loyalty Does Not End With Death” (together with Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, on Ideal Recordings). I actually felt I didn’t do much at all, and yet these four darlings forcefully showed up.

Highbrow Lowlife had a great year too. Besides those three first albums mentioned above, there were also four White Stains albums: re-releases of “Misantropotantra” (1992), “Why Not Forever?” (1994), plus “Nefertiti Rising: Live in Gothenburg 2013” (White Stains & Genesis Breyer P-Orridge), and “Singleminded Dualisms 1987-1989” (a collection of vinyl singles). But the crown jewel was undoubtedly Vanessa’s album together with Akoustik Timbre Frekuency: “The Chapel Is Empty,” which is the first of many upcoming physical releases from the Hi-Lo camp.

Book-wise on Trapart, there was Vanessa’s great tome Rendering Unconscious – Psychoanalytic Perspectives, Politics & Poetry; a book that moved and shook the international psychoanalytic community, and acted as a great companion to her amazing podcast of the same name. Please check it out!

Film-wise, there were the releases of “My Silent Lips” (2019 director’s cut), “Cinemagician – Conversations with Kenneth Anger,” “Mementeros,” and “Anton LaVey – Into the Devil’s Den.” There was an increasing number of screenings and attention, which fills me with gratitude and high hopes for 2020.

As for writing, I completed my second novel: The Devil’s Footprint. It will be pitched early in the new year, so that’s very exciting. My first novel, Mother, Have A Safe Trip, was published in Polish just recently, and Vanessa’s “remixes” and cut-ups of the original English edition has been a regular staple at our Patreon base. The writing is very much alive. “2020” usually means “perfect vision” in modern English, and I would say that’s a highly relevant sentiment and attitude when it comes to what’s about to be published next.

One of the most exciting projects in a long time is the book Sacred Intent. It’s a volume that anthologises all of my interviews with Genesis Breyer P-Orridge between 1986 and 2019. This book will be published by Trapart on February 22nd, 2020: Gen’s 70th birthday.

We’ve travelled the world in our search for more of the same and more of the different. We shot film material with Little Annie in Thailand; and with Val Denham in the UK. Both Vanessa and I prepared for wrapping up albums with Val, and albums with Annie are coming up, too! One big happy and creative global family!

We shot the final material for “Anton LaVey – Into the Devil’s Den” in San Francisco and Los Angeles. We had an exhibition of images from “Mementeros” at MOPIA in Zürich, and we also stayed at Bou Jeloud’s house in Joujouka, Morocco, during the Master Musicians’ summer solstice celebrations.

And, I almost forgot, we organised a conference on psychoanalysis and esoteric modernism at Ezra Pound’s castle in Italy, attended by Pound’s 95 year old daughter Mary! And then, winding down in Venice with dear friends…

There are so many people to thank for this wonderful year, so it’ll have to be a very general Thank You! Our loyal patrons at Patreon, and the crowdfunders of the LaVey film, deserve special mention, because they “walked the talk” all the way, and really made a huge difference. Heartfelt thanks to you all!

Only my beautiful wife deserves my special mega-love praise, because without her, nothing would ever be the same. But with her, life is a constant joyride towards the “next level.” Thank You, my love!

A charmed and blessed life? For sure!

In gratitude, and on a very pleasant trajectory,

Carl Abrahamsson

 

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Winter Solstice 2019

 

In this majestic darkness, we remain in silence, waiting for the first rays of solar force. Saving our energy for when it’s required, to shed light on what or whoever tries to hide, and illuminate those who are ready and willing to be fully alive – as we are.

Each turn is a miraculous event, a death and rebirth in the very same breath, the very same moment.

This is not a moment of formulating demands and petty personal wishes. It’s a glorious moment of expressing gratitude to the Sun: life giver, father, mother, son, daughter, force and fire. Thank you, Sun, for shining the light and inspiring us to do the same.

Each living thing owes you its life force. We realise this and are grateful to be children of the Sun rather than muddled shadow creatures, inhibited by their own fear and projections.

We fear nothing and no-one, and we create with and in your force and fire, so that we can radiate inspiration for as long as we live.

Grant us the blessings of health, wealth and length of days, as we move in your eternal cycles.

Invincible Solar Force, welcome back! We salute you!

 

I’m on the MELT Podcast with Chris Snipes

 

”I speak with author, publisher, musician, filmmaker, and magico-anthropologist, Carl Abrahamsson about the connections between art and the occult, the connections between fascism and the occult, magick, dreaming, and the Temple of Psychic Youth.” – Chris Snipes

 

Carl Abrahamsson| Art, Fascism, Occulture, and TOPY

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A psychosexual evocation

 

During the summer, we were invited to take part of Kendell Geers’s beautiful exhibition at Dublin’s Rua Red art center. In part, Kendell’s exhibition was about the infamous Hellfire Club (the Dublin one, specifically), so that of course triggered me quite easily!

I wrote an inspired text about the illusion of space-time, and about how the Hellfire antics live on in us all, as necessary symbols and matrices for cathartic psychodrama.

Towards the end of the exhibition, we were invited to create a performance/ritual in the gallery space. As we had just finished our audiovisual spell “Mementeros,” we decided to use that film as a framework for the performance.

The film was projected on the gallery wall already filled with Kendell’s exciting glyphs. The music consisted of instrumental versions of the soundtrack structures. We then performed a ritual play which consisted of an expansion/elaboration of the text I had written for the catalog (presented here below). I read that text while Vanessa intersected and read her cut-ups of relevant source material. A heavy and heady kind of ping pong!

What started out as a fairly mental exercise turned out to be a proper evocation of forces contained for several hundred years!

While in Dublin, we also went to visit the remains of the beautiful country house where the local Hellfire clubbers hung out. It is of course always easy to project one’s own fantasies upon any fascinating historical structure or site, but this one certainly felt imbued with vibrations from many a revel and ritual throughout the centuries.

All in all, these experiences (Kendell’s exhibition, the intellectual approach to the Hellfire Club, seeing the old site, and performing our psychosexual evocation) were phenomenally enriching and inspiring for future similar excursions and projects. We are very grateful to Kendell Geers and Rua Red for letting us display our work in this way. Art needs to be thought- and emotion-provoking to have basic value, and this visit to the magical isle of Ireland turned out to be an invaluable expansion in which vision merged with wonder, and arousal with satisfaction.

Fire & Brimstone In the Year of Our Ladies and Lords 2019

Enter not here, vile hypocrites and bigots,

Pious old apes, and puffed-up snivellers…

Woebegone scoundrels, mock-godly sandal-wearers,

Beggars in blankets, flagellating canters…

We are walking on hallowed ground today. Breathing in the air of creative tradition. Smelling the fire and brimstone of those daredevils who lay the foundations for our impervious prometheanism. Reflecting rigid and reactionary patterns back at the dusty, moldy Brit rump huggers; provoking the pious by an exaggeration of themselves. Flaunting terrifying mirror images of their unconscious righteous chaos. But right here and right now spewed out in blissful and health-inducing orgies of both body and soul.

There have been many precursors. They are now active cursors, setting the stage for a future that discards whatever is not life-enhancing. Nature rules supreme! That French guy: ”Nature’s single precept is to enjoy oneself, at the expense of no matter whom.” And we’re all crying out in the night: ”Babalon is a fucking formula, goddamit!” Have another swig of Scaltheen, our sacred Infernal Punch, and mock the irreverent reverent and all those dumbed-down fundamentalist occultniks. Our Pope (the real one: Alexander) cries out louder than any of them:

All Nature is but art, unknown to thee;

All chance, direction which thou canst not see;

All discord, harmony not understood;

All partial evil, universal good;

And, spite of pride, In erring reason’s spite,

One truth is clear, Whatever is, is right.

So come join our nocturnal revels at the secret Devil’s Tavern, somewhere in-between the Eagle Tower at Cork Hill and Daly’s on College Green. (Myself, I found my thrill on Strawberry Hill.) We never went away, we’re always right here, and here we’ll remain, pissing on the pious pontiffs and penitents. By the way and when in Rome… Darling Dashwood, beloved, actually flogged the penitents. When they realized the mockery was for real they cried out in Angst: ”Il Diavolo!” Francis laughed so loudly we could hear it all the way to Ireland, inspiring us before, during and after any facts or petit-bourgeois timelines. Then we all laughed together when solid spaces were constructed for all our actions and pleasures. ”Faye ce que voudras, motherfuckers!” engraved forever in the stained glass windows of our minds.

Whispering ”Carymary, carymara…” Our Lady burns, so let’s piss on the smoky rubble. Are you surprised? Blame any technical or human error as much as you want or need to be able to function… This is magic at work. No more, no less. Magic in revenge of our brothers who burned; in revenge of our many sisters who burned. We’re not in any rush though, because we know that mock rituals are rituals too, and amorality is certainly a morality too. Blessed Margaret, Holy Mary… Diligently fucked on Montpellier Hill; orchestrated by Lady Gomorrah and Lord Sodom: the literal party poopers in the dark night of the Irish Soul. Tom Jones and Fanny Hill are for the others, secretly reading and nervously masturbating under covers. But not us. We celebrate life because we can. The privileges of privilege are a sacred duty! We will never uphold any sanctimonious structures for the sake of someone else’s moribound morals. 

Although our Scaltheen tastes revolting in its fad buttery sting, we swig it passionately to celebrate life. If brimstone is feared by the monotheistic mongrels, let’s gulp it down to the very last drop and carouse with the ladies and gentlemen of the night until we can make out no difference between the falling stars of the night sky and our ejaculations of deep-rooted resistance. It is our gods-given right. Even Saint Fornicating Augustine: ”Love, and do what you will.”

Our Eternal Castle of Iniquity is an Invisible Hexagonal Space. No matter what you do or where you are, you are always right in the middle of it. Therefore, back to the proverbial roots, ladies and gentlemen: Rabble Eh spells it out… Gargan Tu As Una Bazzio die TELE MA. Formulas and spells are created in the spur of the moment; ingenious constructions of universes, ass-ociations linked in sticky resi-dew, teaching and touching holy ground in the Dublin of Re Joyce and other luminaries of the letters; the first of which in this context is not the Alpha but the Omega. Spin the wheel of reverted chance; give chance a chance, and do it in the spirit of PENI TENTO NON PENITENTI.

Our Brother Ben Franklin now spins in the reverted chance of his tomb. Peter Lens, are you listening? And our beloved Hogarth’s dog was named Trump. Irony of ironies, hundreds of years later!

Cheers to the defiant, Cheers to the living spirit of this sacred Hellfire Club, and, most importantly, Cheers to us!

Carl ”Friar Beefsteak” Abrahamsson, 1739 AD

 

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On making a statement about the making of a film

 

Making a film about something personal is a different story than making a film about something not so personal. Although that may seem to be stating the obvious, it has been a very tangible insight for me lately. As I wrapped up my film “Anton LaVey – Into the Devil’s Den” I wasn’t only knee-deep in filmmaking but also in my own emotional experience. The need to balance these two aspects was absolutely essential to me. And that is as it should be.

A documentary film is, and has to be, an aesthetic and emotional expression of a highly subjective impression. If it is or claims to be something more or less than that, it is no longer a documentary film. It would be a commercial, a piece of demagogia, or it could even be an attempt at “objective” journalism. And possibly many other things. But it’s only a documentary film of value to me if it is an aesthetic and emotional expression of a highly subjective impression.

The recent work with the LaVey film has given me much amplifying food for thought in this regard. I am thoroughly satisfied with the film, as it is a real documentary according to my definition.

The story is my story, and it is certainly subjective and emotional. It is even amplified by other people who shared similar experiences at LaVey’s Black House in San Francisco. We experienced it, and it affected us emotionally. And that’s how my expression ended up. Sure, along the way I felt tempted to make a “bio pic” of sorts, or to give a more “nuanced” picture by weaving in film school-indoctrinated “contra-punctual” voices. But that would have meant transgressing my original vision (which is very often the most valuable one), and that I simply couldn’t do.

One clarifying moment in this adventure was when a former partner in the project said he didn’t want this to become “just another Carl Abrahamsson film.” Understandably, that got me thinking. I’m happy I made the right decision in that very moment. I cannot (and will not) ever not make a Carl Abrahamsson film.

People can take it or leave it, but eventually this is between me and the film gods. Am I making them happy by adhering to my existential-creative construct? I think so. I feel they are smiling at me and supporting me, and there really is no greater happiness than that.

All that now remains is to make more films. I have already begun. What has affected me, or who has affected me on deep levels at some point, I will always consider making a film about.

Statements about the process of making films are not really necessary, but they can act as pleasant pensées in the midst of that very process; not unlike getting a bit of fresh air.

You should watch the film and make up your own mind:

https://vimeo.com/ondemand/intothedevilsden

Photo by Curtis Harrington’s grave in Los Angeles by Vanessa Sinclair.

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”Into the Devil’s Den” has now been released

 

My latest documentary film, ANTON LAVEY – INTO THE DEVIL’S DEN, has now been released on Vimeo On Demand. There will be more of course: screenings, film festivals, distribution etc. But Vimeo On Demand is a great way to allow people to watch the film immediately. Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

In a good moodswing

 

Each day passes, more or less the same. The world is apparently in chaos and crisis. I am not. So, what can the world learn from me?

First of all, one should mind one’s own business. Don’t step over other people’s boundaries unless you want them to step over yours.

We are only passing through. There is no need to die prematurely by living far too energetically in desperate vanity. No-one really cares; nor will anyone in the future. Just focus on things that give you meaning in the here and now – that’s about as close to any certitude or joy you will ever come.

Realize that you are a sentient part of a sentient nature/ the overall biosphere. If you think you’re on top and somehow separate, the biosphere will correct you until you get it right (or perish).

Never trust anyone who claims there is only one god. That person just hasn’t traveled enough yet. Many of these people also take a pride in their infantile insularity. They should therefore be shunned or re-educated.

Integrate all of these simple pieces of advice, and you will be an active part of a much better world. Thank You! You’re welcome!

 

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In the eye of the storm

 

To what degree should one engage with one’s surroundings and with so called current affairs?

The extreme positions of Pro and Contra can absolutely be satisfactory in the short term. But most often these positions aren’t kept for one’s own genuine benefit but for show.

People who are very Pro or very Contra very much like for that to be known to others. It’s not enough to have the opinion in question – the world also needs to know.

Could it be that opinions – and especially strong opinions – are actually nothing more than desperate signals; signaling a need for acknowledgement? Could it be that some people want attention – negative or positive – to the degree that they adopt a point of view and an attitude that might not even be fully resonant with their genuine self?

That this is true for the Pro angle we already know: people will join an opinion in a group to be able to fit into the group, and thereby find acknowledgment and Zusammenheit (togetherness).

What about the Contra angle? I would say it’s equally true for them, because it is also possible to turn a nay attitude into a yay unity with others of like mind.

If we drift closer to the center, there are more possible facets. A centrist point of view could come from a real centrist ”persuasion,” or from being undecided or fluctuating, or from a mix of them all. The unwillingness to flaunt one’s views is not necessarily because of ”cowardice,” as is often claimed by extremists. It could equally well originate from a deep understanding of the laws of causality; of action and reaction. And an unwillingness to participate in this energy-consuming gridlock.

If one simply solves the problem in question (whether it be political or something else), there is no need for basking in its success or failure, nor for forcing one’s opinions about the problem or the solution upon others who might not have asked for it in the first place.

To be completely isolated from the news (for instance) certainly gives you peace and quiet in your own sphere. But it also decimates the tools you need to optimize your own life. On the other hand, to be fully and actively involved in the news (for instance), and never holding back your own opinions, can definitely make you lose sight of yourself. Any public arena is inherently corrupting and reactive.

The spectator who stands fast in the middle always has the best vantage point, and can act and counteract in the best possible way according to genuine convictions and views; only minimally based on narcissistic and emotionally reactive needs.

Visibility is a complicated trap, as is invisibility. If you really care about getting something done, how important is it that the world knows that you are the one responsible? At what point does narcissism inflict counter-productive damage on the process as such?

If you can be isolated or fully engaged without flaunting it, you will be more respected than if you succumb to the rules of the monocultural, narcissistic reality game. A culture that favors the opinion rather than the actual work is doomed. A culture that favors the person saying something rather than what is said, equally so.

To be fully human means realizing that existential click-baiting is not more important than living life itself. The commodified meta-market is an arena filled to the brim with Orwellian newspeak quicksand. This becomes so perfectly clear in the eye of the storm. Pro and Contra may be fair and fine – and amazingly amusing! – but you will always make the best decision for yourself by yourself.

A healthy and critical attitude should always be encouraged. There may be discrepancies, dissonance, dissent, deceit, dualism, and disagreements along the way. But it’s only when you avoid unnecessary affiliation that you can evaluate and possibly even respect your opponents.

Are they sloganeers, meme-bots or actually real human individuals? And, more importantly, are you a sloganeer, a meme-bot or actually a real human individual?

 

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The Fenris Wolf turns 10, and 30.

 

When my music fanzines Lollipop and Acts of Interstellar Torture had fizzled out by 1988, I could experience acute withdrawal symptoms. I was at this time very interested in both journalism and publishing; both already essential elements of my core identity. So, what to do? Start a new fanzine, of course.

By this time I was also very active in Thee Temple Ov Psychick Youth (TOPY). One of the central tenets of this fine network/ occultural think tank was the active dissemination of information, whether it be high or low; occult or pop.

All of these things merged into the desire to start a new and specifically occultural fanzine: The Fenris Wolf.

Getting material together was not really a problem. I was writing away manically by myself, and the TOPY global network offered many great sources.

Some time in 1989 the first issue manifested itself. With its beautiful blue, screen-printed cover, it looked far more professional than anything I’d ever done before. It sold out quickly, and I swiftly made a second edition (which also sold out quickly).

Then there was issue no 2, which I made as a book. I simply had more material than what a magazine format would allow. By this time, 1990, I had started a TOPY-affiliated company called “Psychick Release PCP.” This became the “umbrella” for various kinds of releases (books, records, videos etc); The Fenris Wolf becoming its cornerstone.

Issue no 2 was also successful, and was distributed through the TOPY network and all the wonderful & kooky occult bookstores that were still around all over the world.

And then issue no 3, which had grown into a 200 page book, followed in 1993. Needless to say, I was very happy about this trajectory and the overall response.

In 1993, Psychick Release folded; as had “first era” TOPY in 1991. This in itself didn’t motivate me any less, but the workload in my new publishing structure, Looking Glass Press, never allowed for me to actively work with Fenris 4 (although I had already started collecting material for it). Wolfie basically went into a slow and long hibernation.

Then… Life! So many things happened! But this, as they say, is another story for another time.

In 2011, I had started a new company, Edda Publishing, together with Swedish artist Fredrik Söderberg. His amazing occult art needed a publishing home, and of course The Fenris Wolf had never really left my mind. A whirl-winding of Fenris work began anew.

The Fenris Wolf issue no 4 was warmly welcomed by old-timers and newcomers alike. Although there were hardly any wonderful & kooky occult bookstores around anymore, the internet compensated for that; allowing people all over the world to purchase copies of this now almost mythical beast of a journal.

This revitalized version made quite a splash, and it was therefore logical to me to repackage the first three issues into one volume as the next project. Which I did. It was wonderful to re-experience that material, which had packed such a punch almost 25 years earlier.

Fueled by enthusiasm, Fredrik and I rocked on with issues 5 to 7 (2012-2014). To me, it was wonderful to see how The Fenris Wolf wasn’t only well received but also how it attracted such great material by truly amazing writers.

At this time of peak publishing, Fredrik wanted to move in a different direction in his life and art. We folded Edda Publishing, and I integrated Fenris in my other publishing company: Trapart Books, Films, and Editions. Issue no 8 then followed in 2016, and no 9 in 2017.

Issue no 10, to be published early 2020, not only marks ten issues but also a 30 year publishing cycle. Even if you magically erase the 18 year interim silence, it still amounts to one issue every three years. Not a bad frequency!

And this is how it will continue: with a new issue whenever the time is right. The howling voice of occulture and magico-anthropology will continue to cast its spells of “delightenment” onto a readership in need of an intelligent joining of the dark dots.

The nine issues so far amount to 2300 pages of thought-provoking material. Although quantity is not necessarily a quality in itself, it still accumulates nicely in a kind of egregorian or mega-golemic way. Each little piece is part of a totality that’s on a magical mission.

You don’t need to read it all to be enthused or inspired. One single chapter can evoke the entire corpus and attitude of The Fenris Wolf. If, however, you indulge in the totality, you will very likely be changed in a most eclectically positive way.

The Fenris Wolf is not necessarily the destructive devourer of the sun at Ragnarök. Wolfie is also the facilitator of the brand new universe; one filled to the brim with wonder, intelligence, magic and delightenment.

Carl Abrahamsson, Stockholm, October 30 2019

The Fenris Wolf is available at:  https://store.trapart.net

 

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