Nam-Khar & Vortex – Nag-Hammadi (Album – Winter-Light)
Genre/Influences: Tribal, Dark-Ambient.
Format: Digital, CD.
Background/Info: Two recognized projects from the German Dark-Ambient/Ritual scene joined hands for this conceptual work inspired by the famous Nag Hammadi scriptures. The concept has been adapted into eight cuts.
Content: “Nag-Hammadi” is mainly driven by slow Tribal percussion recovered with obscure sound atmospheres. You’ll notice passages with ghost-like whispering vocals. A few parts are only into Dark-Ambient featuring field recordings.
+ + + : This album reflects certain minimalism and the Tribal approach reminds me to Rapoon. I think it’s not a coincidence that Robin Storey did the mastering of the work. I like the slow cadence of the Tribal percussion, but I especially like the way the tracks have been progressively built up. The few whispering vocals inject an obscure, haunting, and ominous sensation.
– – – : Even if the tracks have been progressively built up some passages are just a bit too long during.
Conclusion: “Nag-Hammadi” sounds like a fully accomplished work between two artists. I hope this is not just an occasional project which has released a one-time production.
Best songs: “The Temptation”, “The Gospel Of Thunder”, “The Gospel Of Thomas”, “The Dancing Flame”.
Rate: 8.
Artists: www.facebook.com/Nam-khar-115680475169685 / www.facebook.com/Vortex.music.official/
Label: www.winter-light.nl / www.facebook.com/winter.light.1
“Nag-Hammadi” was released on 25 February 2022 through Winter-Light. Nam-Khar contributed Peter Prochir on sounds, electronics, loops and drums and Konchok Gyaltsen on analogue and digital electronics, programming, drums and percussion. Vortex contributed Marcus Stiglegger on vocals, additional percussion, sounds and field recordings and digital electronics, and Carsten Bergemann on analogue electronics and sounds. Robin Storey of Rapoon mastered the album and Patricia Schoonenberg produced the artwork.
Listen to “Nag-Hammadi”:
About Nam-Khar
Nam-Khar is a German ritual ambient duo made up of Peter Prochir and Konchok Gyaltsen, working with drums, percussion, loops and analogue and digital electronics. The project draws on Tibetan Buddhist ritual practice, which the name and several release titles reflect.
The Dutch label Winter-Light has issued most of the project’s work. Side-Line reviewed Nam-Khar – Secret Essence / Sangwa Dupa in September 2018 and Nam-Khar – Sur Chöd in June 2020. “Nag-Hammadi” was the duo’s third release for the label.
Vortex is the German project of Marcus Stiglegger and Carsten Bergemann, with earlier releases through Tesco Organisation, :Ikonen: Media and Cyclic Law. The two acts began working together in 2020 around the Nag Hammadi scriptures, a collection of early Christian and mainly Gnostic texts found near the Egyptian town of Nag Hammadi in December 1945. Nam-Khar later returned to Winter-Light for another collaboration, reviewed as Alone In The Hollow Garden & Nam-Khar – Antariksha in March 2024.
Support Side-Line
More people read Side-Line than ever, and there is still no paywall and no advertising. Readers pay for it instead - from $5 a month.
Why we ask
Advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news organisations we have not put up a paywall, and we refuse to add annoying advertising, so we need to ask for your help. Side-Line’s independent journalism takes time, money and hard work to produce, and we do it to push the artists we like, who are equally fighting to survive.
Handled by PayPal.
I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.
