Music Artist: Apoptose

              "Oak" by Apoptose            "Pomegranate" by Kern & Van Pelt

In 1998, German musical artist, Apoptose, visited the village of Calanda, Spain and witnessed the massive drumming rituals that take place there each Easter - a 36 hour drum frenzy that causes the town to tremble. In 2001, he compiled an album from the hours of documentary recordings that were made during his 1998 visit. The result is "Blutopher" . We just acquired the CD and we recommend it to anyone who appreciates the powerful rhythm of collective drums. You listen to this CD and feel you are being transported beyond reality. 

Apoptose' previous release was "Nordland" - music based on the cold, barren landscapes of Iceland. It is beautiful and haunting, using drums and orchestral soundscapes and conjuring up imagery of ancient places.

One of Apoptose' most compelling works however, was his contribution to the musical project called "Infernal Proteus" . Dozens of musicians and bands came together to produce the 4 CD set with 40 exclusive tracks averaging 70 minutes per disc. It covers folk to rhythmic to pop to ambient to electronic and beyond. 

The CD set comes with full color artwork. Each musician focused on a different plant and also created artwork to go with his original music. The artwork is gorgeous. Shown, above, are "Oak" by Apoptose and "Pomegranate" by Kern and Van Pelt.