Video Artist Cosmotropia de Xam (Mater Suspiria Vision)

MATER SUSPIRIA VISION feat. How I Quit Crack - Opera Infernale (Picnic at the Atomic Rock 2012 Video Edit) from Mater Suspiria Vision on Vimeo.

Cosmotropia de Xam is the visual architect and director of the films which accompany the enchanted, spectral music of MATER SUSPIRIA VISION, a collective in which he plays a central role. He has also made films for several other experimental artists, including his own 'Videodrome Reality' project.

His films, some times incorporating performances from regular collaborator Carmen Incardine, are visual poetry - camera movement, costume, make-up, stills photography and editing techniques are all important in CDX's cinematic approach.

Having recently released a 1-hour film (also starring Incardine), entitled 'Inside The Clock Of The White Rabbit,' CDX has made some interesting choices in his work technologically, in this instance shooting on 8mm film. In this video (for MATER SUSPIRIA VISION feat. How I Quit Crack - Opera Infernale), footage from the 1 hr film is previewed, giving the viewer hints of what is in store - CDX lingers on surfaces which reflect and distort his subject, filming Incardine in the midst of natural beauty, looking fragile and otherworldly, yet also empowered and super-natural.

MSV are one of the artists widely credited with creating 'witch house.' Although witch house as a musical movement is often stereotyped as being clasutrophobic and dark in atmosphere, CDX's films for MSV are full of illuminatory and tonal shifts, the interplay between brightness and shade, between monochrome and vivid, natural colours. His videos bring out the natural, spiritual side of MSV, and manage to both compliment and contrast the sounds.

He is equally versed in collage and remix techniques, incorporating rediscovered and found footage into his video for fellow Phantasma Disques act PWIN ▲▲ TEAKS, overlaying various channels and textures in the mix of visual material, and timing it all exqusitely with the movement of the music. It is this ability to work with visual textures and approaches which sometimes overlay, at other times distort, but always make strange the camera's subject matter that make his films so hypnotic - this, and his feel for the movement and motion of music.

Given that he has experimented with longer films, live footage, and a huge variety of visual techniques, de Xam seems like someone to keep an eye on the years to come - it will be interesting to see where his experimental techniques lead him next, and a pleasure to see him choosing which stories to tell.

Cosmotropia DeXam's Vimeo Channel


Mater Suspiria Vision's Vimeo Channel


Inside The Clcok Of The White Rabbit - a film by Cosmotropia De Xam (buy from  Phantasma Disques)

Mater Suspiria Vision's music at Phantasma Disques


* Correction and apology: Yesterday Shallow Rave published a post by Bram E. Gieben (Texture) saying CDX's videos were removed from YouTube for infringing copyright. This was completely incorrect - they were in fact removed due to containing elements of nudity. Bram apologises for misrepresenting CDX and MSV in this way, and hopes his public apology and retraction will go some way towards making up for it.

\m/ Meh-tolll vidz \m/

I spent far too long last night watching old school metal videos on Youtube, so much that I ended up dreaming about metal-y thing in my sleep. It was worth it though as I discovered some priceless gems I would like to share.

I hadn't heard Saint Vitus before, but I will be hella checking them from now on. They were one of the very first doom/stoner metal bands. Their primary influences were Black Sabbath and Black Flag, which says it all. The sound's not great on this but as a performance video it's awesome:



On a slightly more ridiculous tip, but no less entertaining for that, is this 7 minute epic video for Candlemass' "Bewitched". A bit less rough and ready than Saint Vitus, with a more operatic feel and a knowing sense of humour, it's worth sticking with this video all the way to see the "doomdancing" and also the coffin-surrounded-by-headbangers moment too.



There's a metal doc floating around on Youtube too called "Get Thrashed", which is a great primer for the US 80s (mostly) West Coast thrash scene, covering as it does Anthrax, Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and more. It's disjointed as it's not been uploaded in full, but worth seeking out in its fragmented form. Here's a a segment on Exodus:


I came to these clips in a roundabout way after looking up Heavy Metal Parking Lot, and then moving on to the Decline of Western Civilization Part 2. Both these docs are on Youtube in full, and come highly recommended.

Optimo Playlist

It's the last ever Optimo tonight! Sob!! But hey, now you too can relive the glory days from the comfort of your own home, with this handy "Optimo Playlist" on Youtube.

You will now never have to leave the house on a Sunday night. But, always remember kids, it's just not as good as it used to be.