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Xosar - The Possessor Possesses Nothing

    • Label /
      Bedouin
      BDNLP005
    • Released /
      February 2019
    • Style /
      Techno, Industrial
    • Rating /
      3.8/5
    • Previous
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    Xosar - The Possessor Possesses Nothing Xosar - The Possessor Possesses Nothing

    Xosar explores a weighty techno and industrial sound.

    Xosar - The Possessor Possesses Nothing Since emerging in the early '10s on labels such as L.I.E.S. and Rush Hour, Sheela Rahman's sound has undergone a significant shift. Her initial run of 12-inches as Xosar had a warm, subtly mystical appeal, rooted in melody and built around house structures. But a few years ago, her records went in a darker direction, first with 2014's Psychick Justice, then again with Let Go, an album for Opal Tapes. The swooning chord sequences and hooky basslines of old were replaced by rumbling clouds of dense ambience and snarling gutter techno.

    Since this change, Rahman has been largely self-reliant. The material she's released through her Bandcamp and her label, Gyrocyre, implies a more serious approach than the playful house of "The Calling." Rahman has described Psychick Justice as the soundtrack to an imagined '80s B-movie, one in which the protagonist had undergone "a de-programming regime" to defeat a mind-control system "that suppressed authentic self-expression." That also sounds like a bid for artistic freedom, which she continues to pursue on her latest album, The Possessor Posseses Nothing.

    It feels apt that The Possessor Possesses Nothing opens with a track called "Transmogrification." The strange alchemy of VHS synth dread and high-definition sound design forms a many-layered shroud that stretches across the rest of the album. At times it hovers in a stasis of sustained chords. Elsewhere, as on "A Heart Encircled By A Serpent," it's a trudge through murky synth atmospheres. When the fog clears a little on "Fantasmagoria," an echo of Xosar's past music surfaces in its melodic bassline. But the mood is less uplifting, more seductively bittersweet. "Heavens Gate" is similarly measured. Its trance-like throb foregoes saccharine leads in favour of subliminal immersion, recalling the genre's early '90s origins.

    Rahman crafts a more visceral and nerve-shredding scene on "Pikachu Police State," in which vast slabs of sonic concrete shift and interlock. The pummelling title track is both monolithic and propulsive. Even one of the LP's sweetest melodies, on "The Video," meets an undulating line of distortion and a deathly rhythmic clank. Between the veil of cyberpunk gloom and the richly rendered production, Rahman's latest work is challenging yet far from obtuse. The boldly defined ideas on The Possessor Possesses Nothing suggest she's winning her fight for musical liberation.
    • Published /
      Fri / 1 Feb 2019
    • Words /
      Oli Warwick
    • Share
    • Tracklist /
      01. Transmogrification
      02. A Heart Encircled By A Serpent
      03. Fantasmagoria
      04. Vibration Acceleration
      05. Pikachu Police State
      06. The Possessor Possesses Nothing
      07. Heavens Gate
      08. Realm Ov Chaos
      09. The Video
    0/
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    • Xosar
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      “My goal is to harness the energy of emotion and convey it through music to resonate within the depths of human existence, conjure emotion, and heighten consciousness levels.”
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    News

    • Thu, 29 Nov 2018

      3 comments

      Xosar unveils next album, The Possessor Possesses Nothing

      The LP comes out on Bedouin Records in February.

    • Wed, 10 Oct 2018

      2 comments

      Paris boat club Batofar closes permanently

      The venue has been dismantled after running into financial difficulties, though there are plans for it reopen under a new name in 2019.

    • Tue, 23 Jan 2018

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      Dekmantel reveals lineup for 2018 festival

      The Amsterdam promoter has posted a video that reveals its full programme for this year's edition.

    • Wed, 04 Jan 2017

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      Paris's La Machine Du Moulin Rouge shares schedule for early 2017

      Xosar, Kai Alcé and Abdulla Rashim will all stop by the Pigalle venue in the coming months.

    • Thu, 25 Aug 2016

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      Dopplereffekt make their Australian debut

      Xosar will join the American electro duo in Sydney and Melbourne next month.

    • Fri, 19 Aug 2016

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      Björk, Underground Resistance play Red Bull Music Academy Montreal

      Theo Parrish, Tiga and Tim Hecker will also participate in the month-long gathering.

    • Thu, 14 Jul 2016

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      Bigfoot's Tea Party announces events with Helena Hauff, Xosar, Midland

      The Scottish promoter will host parties in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen over the next five months.

    • Mon, 27 Jun 2016

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      Larry Heard billed for RBMA Weekender in Sydney

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    Reviews

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      Xosar - The Possessor Possesses Nothing

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      XOSAR - Let Go

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      Various - Music For Shut-Ins

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      Xamiga - Unsolved Universe

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      Xosar - Ghosthaus

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      Xosar - Tropical Cruize EP

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