Seattle’s Society of the Silver Cross sets sail with Festival of Invocations, a mystic mélange by Joe Reineke and Karyn Gold-Reineke. Their music meanders through murky realms, where life and death, beauty and darkness, waltz in wicked waltz. With each eerie echo and haunting harmony, they pierce the mundane, tugging at the twilight threads between worlds. This release beckons listeners into a trance, urging introspection and exploration with its powerful pull.
Festival of Invocations, born in the bleakness of Covid, led Joe and Karyn to hope through haunting harmonies. In their Temple of the Trees—a studio resembling a gothic cathedral from another dimension—they meticulously produced the album. Each track was sonically sculpted within this sacred space, designed for this release and their future works. They painted sounds across a grim landscape, layering witchy undertones into their music. The compositions evoke an eerie urgency, as if plucked from The Tibetan Book of the Dead. Each note pulls us into a labyrinth of shadows and light, where the dark and divine dance in spectral splendour.
Their songwriting style merges lush layers of instrumentation with immersive rhythms and chant-like vocals, drawing from the rich textures and tones of India. The ensemble includes 12-string guitar, harmonium, Hammond B3 organ, shahi baaja, rare synthesizers, and drums. The result is a hypnotic blend of melodies, dark undertones, and twisted Americana. With a mix of Eastern mysticism and Western charm, their music conjures a world where shadows dance with light, serenading the soul in harmonic reveries.
Circle Cast Around, mixed by John Fryer (This Mortal Coil), honours the sacred circle—a timeless symbol of unity without beginning or end. Magic and rituals flourish within the circle, where ethereal forces are harnessed: North/Earth, East/Air, South/Fire, West/Water. Guest musician Mike Squires (Peter Hook) lent his expertise, layering a distinctive bass line that cycles throughout. The album’s ethereal echoes and elemental energies dance in a mystical, melodic embrace,
“We selected Circle Cast Around as the opening track…to serve as an invitation to step inside the round for a mystical, immersive journey with us,” says Reineke. “The song emerged from Karyn’s haunting riff on the shahi baaja (an Indian instrument which we fondly call “the baaj”). The idea had been saved as a simple iphone recording a couple years earlier, before it was rediscovered again, and we felt inspired to begin working out an arrangement.”
Setting forth on a journey of release, The Crown delves into the crucible of transformation. Traversing bleak, barren landscapes, it reaches a profound surrender—a sacred rite where earthly burdens are cast into the purifying fire. The song starts with a dissonant yet hypnotic guitar pattern over the heavy drone of the harmonium. Mid-song, the drums strike a military march, while the harmonium and guitar trade roles, symbolizing the transformative nature of life’s experiences.
What are the answers to life’s biggest questions? Reineke found inspiration for When You Know while traveling solo in India. His spiritual teacher sent him to Rishikesh, the yoga and meditation capital, to sit by the holy Ganges and meditate on three questions: Who am I? Why am I here? Where do we go when we die? In that sacred setting, he sought to unravel the mysteries of existence and the eternal enigma of life’s purpose.
They Are Coming explores the human fear of the unknown, the tendency to label the unfamiliar as “others” while hiding behind metaphorical barriers. The song’s progression mirrors an advancing army, gradually building tension as if appearing over distant hills, its pounding pulse driving forward like a relentless locomotive. It serves as a potent commentary on the human inclination toward tribalism and the dire consequences of societal division, a grim reflection of our fractured world.
Garden of Rituals plunges into a reflective reverie. Amidst the garden’s shadows, subtle truths lurk, waiting to be uncovered. It’s an exploration of hidden wisdom and mystical connections, a shadowy stroll through the enigmatic echoes of existence and the eternal dance of dreams and reality.
“…We looped a few parts out to create a framework, then layered in Swarmatron—an esoteric synth primarily used in film scoring that is powered on with a car key as well as a Critter & Guitari Pocket Piano – a small toy-like synth box with retro textures and sequences, some guitar feedback that we reversed in Pro Tools, along with an impromptu poem and other sonically inspired vocals by Karyn….Not only was it really fun to create this song that afternoon while in a state of total creative flow, but it served as an important lesson in non-attachment. By letting go of something that didn’t work, space immediately opened up for something new to come in, and we got to experience what felt like magic working through us.”
By The Millions mirrors the fear and uncertainty at the pandemic’s onset. Faced with a bleak, unknown future, we grappled with isolation and abandonment. The lyrics convey our profound vulnerability, feeling like nameless shadows in a vast, indifferent world. The lumbering instrumental sections evoke a reluctant march, millions trudging one by one, amplifying the eerie solitude amidst a shared ordeal. The song concludes on a hopeful note, steering the tale toward a brighter, more uplifting end.
“Because of the magnitude of the experience for the collective, we wanted the song’s choruses to feel bigger than just the two of us. We decided to create a gang-style vocal to create the effect of many voices walking and singing in unison. To achieve this, we took advantage of the size of our live room at our studio Temple of the Trees for natural reverb and depth. We placed a single microphone at one end of the room, after each vocal take we took one step back until we reached the other side. We ended up with 48 takes of vocals.”
Deepest Sleep dives into the alpha and omega, the cosmic dance of death and rebirth. Hidden magic whispers of rest and renewal through silence. The bewitching melody ebbs and flows, blending the Wurlitzer and Hammond B3 organ in seamless unison, echoed occasionally by a distant piano. Karyn’s contemplative vocals capture the song’s core, embodying its essence and meaning with haunting beauty. It’s a solemn serenade to the cycles of existence. We All Belong to Time muses on our ignorance and the enigmatic nature of time. We’re granted a fleeting existence on Earth, glimpsing just a fraction of the vast universe’s happenings. Then, one unforeseen day, time reclaims us all. The song’s somber reflections remind us of our ephemeral journey, a poignant reminder of our brief dance under the stars before the inevitable return to the shadows.
Finally, the majestic Rajasthan draws inspiration from the majestic state in northwestern India, known as ‘The Land of Kings’ for its resilience through countless battles. The sole lyric, “Rajasthan,” gives the song a hypnotic chant-like feel, echoing traditional harmonium-led Kirtan rhythms. Thundering drums, gongs, hand drums, bells, and shakers amplify its intensity. The ending evokes a dream within a dream, a distant memory gently fading, leaving an ethereal echo of timelessness and tradition.
Listen to the album below, and order here
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