Part 1-2 [Side A] comprises the Prelest recordings, for which a strict set of conditions were established: all material should be generated in real-time; the visual element was to be constructed in direct response to the aural component; attention should be directed towards building hypnotic aural/visual stimulus emulating the mystical experience of visionary states.
Part 3-4 [Side B] is a collection of recordings made by Clouds Above Chaos in their respective studios for their own edification and the exploration of their own mental processes.
The artistic intent of the release is to bring into question the validity of using modern methods of signal generation to induce hypnotic and mystical states of consciousness, and whether exploiting the human brains' tendency towards pareidolia and responding to sensory overload by entering into trance is a useful spiritual tool, or if it only leads to a state of spiritual delusion- the definition of Prelest itself.
The listener is invited to temporarily suspend their state of external distraction and listen to the output of these experiments at a volume level just below discomfort, in a state of either visual overstimulation by way of computer-generated geometric visualisations, or having deprived their visual senses entirely by way of sitting in a completely dark room or otherwise diminishing the visual faculty for the duration of the performance.
As an extension of the exercise, utilising a method of focus on the breath is also recommended for the duration in order to further align the experient with the desired field of subjective inquiry.
credits
released October 16, 2020