2023: The Yearly Review of Rearview
Wow! Another one… Another intense year passed by. What the hell happened? Well, let’s see…
It began in a really great way, as my book Source Magic – The Origin of Art, Science & Culture was published early on in the year. It’s a fairly logical follow-up book to both Reasonances (2014) and Occulture (2018) as it’s an anthology of essays and lectures; and, I should add, to 2024’s similar book In-between the Lines. The book was well received, and I was on so many podcasts I can definitely not recall all of them. I’m very happy that I list them as they come out! (Check’em out here.)
Vanessa and I were both published in Tumzantorum no 3, and that made me happy. Rumor has it I’ll be in the forthcoming issue, too, with an essay on talismania.
After that followed a monograph that also made me really happy: Chimera Obscura – Selected Exhibitions 2003-2014. I love going through my old photographs in general, and in this case it was extra fun as the included images have all been exhibited around the world. Nice to see them together again, and also as a kind of joint taster of the many photo books to come.
I recorded some occulture-related video lectures and put them up on Vimeo, as usual. But Vimeo has made less and less sense to me as it costs a pretty penny to be there, and my films make basically no money. So up to YouTube they went instead, and bye-bye Vimeo. I made a special page on YouTube for substantial things like talks and lectures so they will be easy to find.
My book of aphorisms and pensées in Swedish, Dagfjärilar, was published in the spring, and it also made me happy.
A musical onslaught began anew this year, with the beautiful CD release of White Stains’ Singleminded Dualisms. It’s the first of many records to be released by the great Polish label Zoharum. Digitally/Online all new releases will be handled by Highbrow Lowlife, and they can be found all over the Digisphere, and of course at our Bandcamp, too.
More on music: White Stains & Psychic TV’s classic album At Stockholm (1990) was re-issued digitally, as was Cotton Ferox’ debut album First Time Hurts (2002), and the follow-up (with Thee Majesty), Wordship (2004). A box set containing At Stockholm was also released by Vinyl On Demand, but in a very small edition (sold out!).
A new CF release was also released: Spiral Assembly Lines, which anthologizes singles, EPs and rare tracks. Plus a unique album called Dark Sexorcism (which is actually by both White Stains and Cotton Ferox), and… a re-issue of CF’s classic A Mega Golem Official album (2011).
Vanessa and I pulled off one more volume of Magic Monday posts (no 2 to be exact) and decided to call it We May Need to Call on Our Cosmic Friends (Magic Monday 2). So much magic in one and the same book! The Magic Monday posting proceeds every Monday on our Patreon. Business as usual, and one anthology a year is the idea… Come join us!
On that note, V and I also held a four week class c/o Morbid Anatomy on cut-ups and magic, and it was a whole lot of fun. My essays used in this context will be published in my forthcoming book, In-between the Lines (2024).
My photo book Temporarily Eternal – Photographs of Genesis P-Orridge 1986-2018 was issued in a hardbound edition, and it looks and feels great in every way.
Towards the end of the year, I started posting more fiction and pensées at my web site, and that will continue. As you receive this newsletter you are very likely subscribed via my web site. Thank You! But please also let your friends and foes know what a great hub for amazing things it is, and that they get a monthly newsletter automatically if they sign up at the site.
Speaking of sites, I also updated the Trapart web site. Now it feels fresh and fun again, and I have added many new authors and books to the Trapart catalog this year. Don’t miss out!
Writing-wise, I wrapped up my magical autobiography in the spring. It will be published in October 2024 as Meetings with Remarkable Magicians – Life in the Occult Underground. It has been an exciting process to write this book, and I look forward to having it out there for others to read and be inspired by.
On an end note, I’m not going to comment on the state of the world. Suffice to say that what seem to be irrevocable end times can hopefully at least be filled by some degree of intelligence and magic concocted by a few enlightened people. I hope to remain one of them, and hope that you will, too. Maybe we can leave some good stuff behind for those who will eventually carry on?
That said, I wish you a really Happy New Year!
Carl Abrahamsson, Vimmerby, December 28th, 2023
P.S. Of course there was some pretty noteworthy culture around. We saw many a film and read many a book! I listed some faves in a separate post here recently that might whet your appetites.
P.P.S. Photo by Vanessa. (As I write this, it is actually our seventh anniversary. Congrats & even more love to us!)
