NEDJEMMET

This time I have struggled a bit in finding out who "Nedjemmet" was, thinking she was a priestess or a Goddess. Non of that: "Met" in ancient Egyptian language means "statue" and the album title refers to the statue of Prince Nedjem which was found in Karnak. The hyerogliphs on the statue, I understand, mention the "Goddess of Sacral Ecstasy and Sexual Pleasure" whose nameis Qadash. In brief, I think that this album is about the Egyptian version of the Tantra sexuality.

"Female Creative Principle" is a dark ambient track based on a keyboard layer with chords and percussion which remind to Vangelis. The minor chord is sometimes transformed into major by increasing the third by a semitone during the decay. I really like it. The ambient side of Senmuth is in my opinion his best.

"Symbols of Eroticism and Fertility" has ethnic instruments which create a sound similar to a cymbal with fast bongos in the background, then the main theme of the track arrives. I don't know if "eroticism" is a correct word and don't think that this music can be used for a love or even a porn movie soundtrack. It's still ambient but very approachable and unusually light for the Senmuth's standards, probably because there are more major than minor chords. Nice melody, too.

"Lake Of Flowers and Garden Of Birds" starts without percussion. A sort of "cetra" plays few notes over a dark layout and the congas which soon arrive add peace instead of noise. This track has a far-eastern flavor and is unexpectedly relaxing, something not very common with Senmuth, birds included.

"The Cult Of Goddess Birth" continues with the slow-tempo dark ambient mood but it's less interesting than the others. If one is new with Senmuth it can be ok, but there is plenty of this stuff in the over 100 albums released by this super-prolific artist.

"Goddess of Sacral Ecstasy and Sexual Pleasure" is about the Goddess, not the sexual pleasure. The music has something mystical, but this is everything but unusual in Senmuth's music. The instrument which may be an Egyptian violin, that instrument with one string only typical of modern Egyptian folk (at least this is how it sounds like) is an unexpected highlight.

"Bewitching, Stealing Qetesh" has a slow tempo which adds a touch of weirdness to he music which is driven by what can be a guitar effect. Qetesh is a different transcription of Qadash. Good track also this.

If "Met" means "statue, "Merut" in hyerogliph means "love", so "Nedjemmerut" means "the love of prince Nedjem". With a lazy tempo with ethnic sounds, this track is not much different from the rest of the album. Still good enough, but there's too much stuff of the same kind all together.

The Kalaziris of the following track was a women's garment, a sort of long mantle which could have been "sexually actractive". More melodic than usual is another good track, but Senmuth is better when dark.

"Iusaas, She Comes in Greatness" is a different Goddess with similar characteristics as Qadesh. She is from Heliopolis and belongs to the cult of Aton-Ra while Qadesh is from Karnak and more ancient. Honestly this track doesn't do much for me, but it's because it's too similar to the rest of the album and at this point we have already had more than 40 minutes of it.

The violin of "Divine Concubine" even pushing the music more on the ethnic side has a revitalizing effect. Also percussion is back and without modifying the general mood which pervades the whole album brings that bit of difference which makes possible distinguish one track from another. The congas interlude is very appropriate and helps bringing the attention back.

"Fertilisation Ritual on an Altar of Min" has a faster tempo and more compulsive percussion. Min was the God of procreation, so the one who naturally comes after Qadesh, I think. This is one of the most interesting album's tracks.

"Final Sacred Symplegma of Temple Divas" has made me wonder a while about the meaning. It's a Latin word derived from Greek which indicates an entangled complex group....in few words a gangbang. From this subject one could expect some parossistic rhythms to give the idea of an orgy, but this is another quiet ambient track, a good one too. Just to demonstrate that sexuality is here intended for its religious aspects, as well as in Tantra-Yoga practices.

The defect of this album is that's a bit too long, but taken in smaller parts it's all good and this also depends on the kind of attention that one pays to it. Listened to as "ambient" in the background is different than listening carefully for a review. It deserves three full stars, they could have been four with just a little more effort.