About the album Blind Emperor

Through wetland, winters, rubble and fallout come horizons new; civilisation shattered under a vengeful cataclysm, eventually led to dawn from the light of a blighted leader. Every action has a reaction, and those who wish to prosper must first be willing to offer something of intrinsic value. As one empire crumbles, another takes its place. The struggle for a fleeting utopia comes at a cost, and those who strive towards golden gates must trek along a solemn valley. 

The Allegorist

Berlin-based artist, The Allegorist, has been meandering through stories with her purposeful and introspective take on electronic music. Each release explores themes that require joint participation from the listener as they look to flood your mind with images of fabled characters and places through her artistic soundscapes. Her carefully build worlds that straddle sci-fi and fantasy, feeding off of the light and dark dualism are the perfect blend of reflective contemplation and storytelling. 

As a holistic artist, Anna Jordan (The Allegorist) encapsulates a myriad of her talents within her work. Her previous albums, Hybrid Dimensions I. and Hybrid Dimensions II., established her aesthetic and detailed fictitious stories, along with the language 'Mondoneoh', a language to unite all nations. Her latest endeavour, and 4th album, The Blind Emperor, portrays the essence of a mythical land that tells of struggle that will lead to prosperity. The protagonist, Blind Emperor, leads the charge into a brighter tomorrow. Like chapters from a novel, each track allows the listener to be carried by the story. It is an epic, cinematic, choral, ambient techno album. The album combines her depictive, written and musical storytelling with a concept portrayed visually, orally and audibly to deliver another saga in her ever-evolving figments of fantasy. It comes as an entire artistic project, as The Allegorist created the album art, wrote the included story and composed a poem that all combine to tell the tale of Blind Emperor. 

LINKS
linktr.ee/TheAllegorist
theallegorist.bandcamp.com
www.theallegoristmusic.com
linktr.ee/awakenchronicles
linktr.ee/AnnaJordanProject

The Tale of Blind Emperor
Written by The Allegorist

It was once a magnificent avian wetland. An atmosphere of tranquility,
a sharper light shining on hoary grass through the bleak winter are now there. There was both a soothing relief and tension in this silence. The only dirt path with an intense earthy odour was scarcely perceptible and muddy with wet decaying autumn leaves. Last night had been heavy and lowering therefore the hurrying convoy had to stop and settle down here.

Walking back the steamy breath of the horses moulded into a cloud of fog from afar. The black carriage with an imposing presence was lavishly designed. Carefully fabricated, rich and expressive ornamentation decorated the wheels and sophisticated embellishments covered the body. Six sculptures of graphite black cormorants were holding a heavy black drapery fringed at the bottom falling down from the top with a reflection of a greenish-blue. The shiny lacquered surface had a metallic touch although it was said that it was constructed out of wood.

For centuries the shrine had been guarded and now it was only a few days ahead.

The Sacrifice
Poem Written by The Allegorist

„For one empire to rise, another must fall.

For us to reach the highs, through dark holes we must crawl.
For the vision in the deep, we need,

we sacrifice and bleed, to make the leap.„

The Tracks & Video

The opening track, 'Redwinged Phoenix', sets the scene with comprehensive and earnest pads tunneling out of the darkness. The yearning cry and rumbling percussion allude to a rising sensation as if it were breathing new life. Its encompassing synths deliver an eagerness for triumph.

The second track, 'Marching Crowd', has boot-like drums slightly tinged with rubbery acid to give velocity. The focused energy leads to an innate togetherness.

'Blind Emperor' is introduced with sacred sounds and reverenced cries. The hallowed introduction greets icy snares and a deep percussion. It embodies the character, revered for leading with esteem and conviction.

'The Sacrifice' is the lead single from Blind Emperor. It speaks about the challenges in life where a groundbreaking decision has to be made and priorities have to be set. In these moments our undeniable true core becomes visible and there will be no more lies. Sometimes our paths lead through struggle and arduous endeavours and sometimes prosperity and fulfilment follows. The track is based around a choir as it guides the listener through precarious soundscapes while strength is juxtaposed with vulnerability. The choir, made up of many voices, was carefully designed from the artist's voice, singing in The Allegorist's self-intended language called 'Mondoneoh'. Its drawn-out and somber pads divulge into cocooning yet vigorous fidelity.

The lead single, 'The Sacrifice', comes with a stunning music video created by the visual artist Pawel Mielnik and directed by The Allegorist. It depicts treacherous, portentous valleys; however, their hazardous nature leads to a shrine in the form of a captivating head within a mountain. The emotion captured in its liquid eyes is enthralling.

The world premiere screening of The Sacrifice will be at the Nottingham International Film Festival at the Savoy Cinema on the 26th September 2021 and won the Best Music Video Award 2021. It was also officially selected for the Berlin Sci-Fi Filmfest and screened at the Babylon Cinema on the 5th November 2021. ‘The Sacrifice’ was Official Selection and screened at the London Lift-Off Film Festival 2021 and Award Winner of Best Music Video at 4theatre. In 2022 `The Sacrifice` was Official Selection and screened in the category Silver Selection Screenings at the Berlin Music Video Awards 2022.

The penultimate track, 'Moving Forward', is fervorous with a sense of impending chaos. It has beguiling builds with an added punch while staying in line with the riveting sound design. The energy created within it has the listener in liberation but with a focused sense of direction.

Finally, 'War Priests' positions the impending culmination. With sounds that translate to a battle, the track has peaks and valleys that denote a clash of titans. It has destructive elements, steamy stabs, sharp snares and cratering depth. By setting the final scene, it brings clarity and a conclusion to this mythological epic.

The Album & Singles

The Allegorist's 4th album, Blind Emperor, will be released both digitally and on vinyl on The Allegorist's label, Awaken Chronicles. There will be 200 limited edition 12" Heavy Black Vinyl Record (180g) in 350g Outer Sleeve with 2-page inserts. The Allegorist designs the album art, and it is accompanied by a written story and poem, which is also by the artist. The album can be pre-ordered on Bandcamp on the 3rd December 2021 and released on the 25th February 2022. 

There will be two singles leading up to the release. 'Moving Forward' will be available on the 3rd December 2021, while the lead single 'The Sacrifice will be released with its video premiere on the 28th January 2022. A remix of the album is to be expected in May 2022.

The Allegorist about 'Blind Emperor'

"The album Blind Emperor is about the journey, to fight for the truth of oneself, not to bend for the easy, and to find acceptance in the sacrifices and limitations. If you bend for the easy and give up your own truth, you might gain something out of it, but then you have also lost everything already. I think that you have to be in power to work towards your ideas, your truth while simultaneously letting yourself be guided by many elements like knowledge, feelings, and intuition. The right balance of all these elements will lead to the right thoughts, wisdom, and actions. I have explored and told these thoughts in an artistic work, the tale of the Blind Emperor, depicting the mysterious ways of life, musically in an epic, cinematic, choral, and ambient techno album."

"I'm often addressing hope in some form in my art. The first track ‚Redwinged Phoenix‘ is about hope. In this track, I’m telling the tale of a transformation, that can only come through the experience of hard battles. It is not easy to remember where we are going when we face hardship, but our red wings grow in the flames, forging us like a blacksmith and we can arise from the ashes once more."

“The track ‘Marching Crowd’ tells the story of the Blind Emperor’s journey with the crowd towards the shrine, which was depicted as a head in the music video `The Sacrifice`. It describes the atmosphere of a silent, dark, foggy winter, the steamy breaths of horses and people, the odour of dirt and wet stones, the feeling of a growing unease nobody talked about, and the sounds of crows and the crowd marching in line.”

“The Blind Emperor is the main protagonist of the album ‘Blind Emperor’. The idea for the title comes from the philosophical idea that sometimes you have to become blind to the realities of life in order to find the strength within you, to do what seems logically impossible, and is about the journey, fighting for the truth of oneself. The Blind Emperor is driven by the idea of not bending for the easy or giving up her own truth. She is accepting guidance from knowledge, feelings, and intuition and believes the right balance of all these elements will lead to the right thoughts, wisdom, and actions.”

"The Sacrifice is the lead track on the album Blind Emperor. It speaks about the challenges of making a groundbreaking decision and defining what our priorities really are. In everybody’s life, there are moments when we can’t have it all. They might seem at a point as a sacrifice and maybe they really are one. In my opinion, there is something really beautiful about that. Because these are the moments that actually matter and define us as a person, who we really are. Our undeniable true core becomes clear and we have to let fall all the lies."

"Moving Forward is about the drive never giving up, the constant effort to move forward, to learn and grow. Moving forward can be anything, no matter how big or small the steps are. Sometimes we move forward when we take a step back or don’t move at all. Moving Forward is in our hearts, the burning spirit that is alive and keeps us going. The approach to be and stay truthful, to hold onto things that are worth it, no matter how hard. And to be willing to give up on those, which are not. Even if they appear shiny on the outside."

"War Priests is about the last battle in the saga, where everyone unites for the same cause. The main characters of the track are the War Priests, magicians, who gather on the top of the mountains and engage in the fight that takes place below in the valley. The battle is a metaphor for the battles of those I have dedicated my album to, who are wounded and are in need of healing, who are tired and are looking for hope, who are alone and need love, who are weakened and are in need of strength, who have lost meaning and are looking for a light, who despite of all are doing their best, and the War Priests are my army of love and fire.”