Arcaskathel

Holy Similaun pairs with the writer Archipel for “Arcaskathel”, an attempt to probe the holes of perception occurring in the neurodegenerative induced loss of memory. “Arcaskathel” is an interstitium, a somatic study of phonetics. In little less than 40 minutes, electronic, minimal and noise elements are blended with classical Japanese tunings and non-linear time manipulations, all articulated by Archipel’s muscular and diffracted world of words. The result is a synaesthetic guide for a not necessarily existent - musical or verbal - dictionary. Soundwise, “Arcaskathel” forces the listener into a sense of confusion, where emotions are constantly denied by the impenetrable collapse of memory. The two artists rely on a common ground made of childish-like words and delicate, yet subtly eerie melodies, which evoke foggy memories of a bygone childhood. They slip seamlessly into harsh, dissonant, and almost spat out unintelligible vocals, counterpointed by heavy bass and noisy electronics. This is the agonizing powerlessness of synaptic failure.