One of the criticisms most often directed at our current western paradigm is that it is spiritually devoid. This is true insofar as there appears to be no clear uniting spiritual principles or archetypes in our day to day language and culture, but appearances often deceive. The realm of spirit is inextricably linked to humanity and cannot be escaped despite the best efforts of the gods of science and organized religions. The archetypes represent the drives and dreams of the collective unconscious. They are the unified, anthromorphisised representations of various currents of transformative energy and techniques for understanding and manipulating reality. They are the guardians and guides on the pathways carved out by magicians, artists and dreamers over time. It is my belief that the spirits our ancestors worshipped and worked with are still with us today: in our blood, our stories and our culture.


The Underworld has traditionally been a place of initiation where the aspirant goes to meet the spirits and gods. Rather than simply a quaint and anachronistic myth I believe the underworld is represented and embodied by so-called underground or fringe culture. Underground culture is the place where ideas, sounds and images that are inadmissible or threatening to the everyday conscious reality are given space to live and grow. Underground spaces must be accessed via some form of secret language or signs and are most often active in dark and hidden spaces. The spirits that indwell these temporary autonomous zones are atavistic in nature, ancient racial archetypes re-interpreted through the lens of the information age. Just as the ancient pantheons contained epic hierarchies of spirits and gods responsible for various aspects of reality, I believe subcultural spirits are accessible through the evolutionary layers of cultural movements. For instance, in its initial emergence Hip Hop was not yet a "God" per-se but a new and undefined convergence of several currents. Like a baby, undefined and full of innocent potential Hip Hop was parented via the spirits of Jamaican Soundsystem culture, Jazz and European "industrial" (turntable appliance as experimental instrument) and electro. As the spirit grew it began to take on more organized and identifiable forms: 4 elements, Particular styles, Language etc. Now a fully fledged cultural god, Hip Hop can be channeled through individuals via their association and embodiment of its defining characteristics. The individuals may then access Hip Hops inherent power and abilities for personal growth or the distribution of cultural memes. This God has since spawned smaller versions of itself (angels if you will) that are responsible for different specific or regional aspects of its growth and work. Thus we get spirits of Crunk, Graphitti, etc all with attendant language and appearance. There is a trade involved of course: the individual gains the Culture Spirits power and allows the Spirit to explore its own possibilities in the embodied world but the individual can become too heavily defined by their association with the archetype; potentially limiting their ability to adapt.


I have explored numerous sub-cultural realms and found for myself some of their powers and pitfalls, and will attempt to evoke them here. It is axiomatic that the gods and spirits are perceived and affected somewhat differently by everyone who contacts them so of course these reflections are my own and are very much open to debate:


Dancehall Reggae:

I have been working with Dancehall for a number of years in various ways (producing, DJ'ing, attending parties) and have found it to be tremendously empowering and healing on a number of levels. Dancehall is concerned mainly with the individual and collective experience of sensual/ sexual pleasure, confidence, wit and rhythmic embodiment through dance and lyrics. Initially I had a hard time dancing to dancehall due to my physical patterns associated with techno / industrial dancefloors. It took awhile but eventually by allowing dancehall "in" I began to react physically from my root as opposed the upper regions of my body. I began to be more conscious of the physical pleasure of dancing and my connection to the crowd and less concerned with my inner mental or symbolic experience. The explicitly sexual and "ego based" lyrical approach and vibe corroded the asexual and heady patterns I had assimilated and I found myself incredibly present, grounded and confident. In addition Dancehall, (despite its apparently a-political stance) is the offspring of the pure rebel music Reggae, itself the spawn of the African Nyabingi drum and early american RnB. Dancehall still retains the defiant celebratory energy of the African diaspora, albeit in a sublimated and sometimes overly aggressive way. This is important as any true underground culture is inherently antagonistic towards false or outdated paradigms. Though empowering and highly enjoyable Dancehall is rife with pitfalls for the unconscious. It is intensely dogmatic as a culture and deals with gender and sexuality in heavily divisive and oppressive ways. This energy can be channeled in order to break down patterns of fear based passivity as well as testing ones relationship to "political correctness" but is often simply ignored (How much Patois do you understand?) or laughed off ( cynicism as a potentially racist reactionary gesture). Dancehall being a manifestation of roots Reggae is heavily intertwined with Rastafarianism and is as a result a vehicle for the energy know as Jah. In my experience this energy is very caught up in the confusing semantic mess of christian dogma and superstition as well as historical inaccuracy. None the less, the essential spirit of "Jah" itself is wonderfully empowering and enjoyable when apprehended as an energy in an immediate and grounded way. Dancehall is, in my opinion, a new mask for certain African spirits far older and more intoxicating than the passive christian programming omnipresent in western civilization. It is capable of re-imprinting negative patterns of sexuality and physicality as well as bringing people together consciously in celebration; a direct attack on oppressive forces.


Industrial Culture:

Initiated by the ritual / performance art group Throbbing Gristle in late seventies London, industrial music was (and is) a new interpretation of folk / trance inducing music utilizing the contemporary surroundings of "the folk": the world of machines. Explicitly electronic and mechanized sounds emphasizing the dissonance and noise of the factory and the city combined with aggressive and transgressive lyrics. Industrial is a fascinating movement due to its intensely amorphous and chaotic nature. Look in the industrial section of a decent record store and you will find everything from pop dance and electro, middle eastern experimental, pure noise, ambient etc. Industrial has retained its essentially chaotic nature by becoming an ethos and vibration that can contain or be combined with any other cultural movement. Granted within the public eye industrial has certain defined characteristics, some of which are representative of its more essential shape. Most people probably associate industrial with bands like NIN, Ministry and various other dark "gothic" electronic rock bands. Industrial is "gothic" insofar as it seems to be spawned of the collective european cultural / magickal tradition but it is not limited to what is currently seen as "goth" culture nowadays. Modern goth culture (especially in N. America) is in an intensely stagnant period right now and in many ways appears to be an inversion of the initial intentions of industrial culture (witness the horror of mall goths or any hot topic store you care to enter) Goth seems to be a culture ripe for re-birth due to its tenacious romantic tendencies and anti-christian ethos. Early Throbbing Gristle performances sent audiences into hypnotic frenzies and intense states of consciousness. Industrial has always been about pushing people sonically and experientially into novel and transformative states and at its best is still capable of catapulting individuals into gnosis. It also retains the positive aspects of european culture: Strength, Romanticism, Perseverance and Technological Innovation. Industrial is at its nexus a highly practical and adaptable spirit of challenge and mutation. Due to its arrival in late seventies UK via the efforts of noted magickians such as Genesis P.Orridge, Peter "Sleazy" Christopherson and others, I believe it to be the musical / cultural expression of the Chaos Magick current.


Hardcore Punk


Along with Hip Hop, Punk is currently one of the major players in the "war for reality" having spread its influence into global mainstream culture. As a result punk as we know it is no longer an underground movement and has become digestible and lost much of its power to effectively transform mass culture. Hardcore still retains a powerful liberatory charge and some practical techniques for the destabilization of false culture and the creation of community. Hardcore picked up where early punk left off and carries the flag of Anarchism and Rebellion proudly, albeit with a lot of semantic and stylistic baggage. HC has become a heavily dogmatic realm, closely guarding the "true" spirit and aesthetic of punk with a intensely judgmental and divisive approach. What is and isn't punk is clearly defined and adhered to within its various sub manifestations (crust, thrash, d-beat, skatepunk etc). HC is also generally seen as lacking a spiritual dimension although there are a few artists pushing this boundary (unfortunately many of them are christian). Because of its aggressive and uncompromising stance HC is incredibly empowering and transformative but is also heavily addictive due to its unconscious conservative undertones. At this point I feel HC is best utilized as a tool or technique enhancing the practicality and intensity of other cultural spirits. It is a stance and an attitude that recognizes the often ignored cultural war against oppression and a channel for passionate aggression and emotion.
I use it like hot sauce to spice up (charge) other more easily digestible spirits and enhance their flavors (spiritual energies).


Dubstep:


Dubstep is the name which has arisen in the last few years to identify music which attempts to re-interperate soundsystem / bass driven electronic music. It has only recently begun to develop noticeable attributes (beyond sub-bass frequencies) and is collectively perceived as having a half step or 2 step rhythmic structure and often wobbling and swelling bass-lines. Dubstep is an offshoot of the Uk based Jungle and 2 step garage movements and retains many of their attributes but is different in a number of ways. Dubstep fascinates me because it contains numerous heretofore disparate cultural notions: Slow yet high energy, Intellectually stimulating yet often simple and physical in its approach, novel and mutable yet firmly rooted in the soundsystem tradition of Jamaica. Dubstep is also the first cultural movement to be intrinsically linked to the internet and as a result has spread globally and mutated faster than perhaps any other cultural spirit ever. I believe Dubstep is currently entering a crisis phase where various interpretations of itself are arising to attempt to define its modes of expression (cultural puberty / identity crisis if you will) and numerous sub-genres seem primed to be born. Wise cultural engineers are aware of this and via experimentation seek to retain its mutability and novelty. Dubstep is walking the razors edge and attempting to be a recognizable and thus contact-able movement without splitting itself into myriad hyper specialized stagnant sub-genres and losing its collective power. I believe it has the power to accomplish this feat as it is an off shoot of post industrial / rave culture (Throbbing Gristle became Psychic Tv, a major influence on the rave movement ) and is an expression of the hybridization of european and african energies a-la Kraftwerk influencing Afrika Bambatta or the Post Industrial African flavored Dub of legendary UK producer Adrian Sherwood. Because of Dubstep's newness and mutable tendencies there are numerous powerful applications available: Dubstep is inextricably linked with the physical experience of the music (bass in particular) and thus includes the body as an essential element. It is also highly meditative thus it allows the mind to experience the music directly whilst remaining embodied and present. It also places value on interaction with the crowd in the tradition of Soundsytem Culture. No longer is the DJ an omnipotent separate consciousness but a figure in services to and inseparable from the crowd. A crowd (especially via the mediation of a skillful MC) show their appreciation for particular tunes and can call for rewinds in order to assert their own power of collective unified choice.

I have dealt extensively with both Metal and The Spiritual Rave Movement in other writings and will direct the reader to them if asked. I have not dealt with numerous other Culture Spirits due to a lack of experience based knowledge or personal resonance. Indie Rock, Free Jazz, Baile Funk, Drone etc. are all interesting and potentially powerful but I have not worked with them or don't know them well enough to comment on their natures.

I tend to treat any cultural spirit as a coconspirator in the battle for the liberation of Humanity. I believe that by approaching these spirits as energies with their own conciousness, will and agenda one can determine the degree of resonance or alignment with them and the evolutionary potential of collaboration. I see myself and my magickal artistic process as the crucible wherein the various subcultural spirit energies can be mixed and channeled into memetic devices (CD's as talismans, parties as rituals etc) for magickal transformation. Working directly with the Old Gods is incredibly powerful and effective but can become compartmentalized in the individual due to their possible associations with other times / places and their position in the current paradigm as purely "spiritual" and thus irrelevant or unreal in modern western reality. Subcultural spirits are very much here-and-now, accessible to those capable of recognizing their energy and symbolic signifiers. By tracing back a culture spirits evolution and ancestry one can access its hidden intention and power: Dubstep from Dub and Post Rave aka Reggae and Industrial aka African Nyabingi rhythm and European Pagan Folk. It is in the melding and hybridizing (breeding if you will) of the cultural spirits via. human experimentation (Art and Magick) that evolution occurs and new sub cultural spirits are "born". The spirits then grow and expand until hopefully achieving mass transformational ability and altering the collective culture of the planet. Once a cultural has achieved this and becomes fully digestible to the majority of the population it loses its evolutionary charge via saturation and omnipresence and the initial spirits of rebellion return to the depths of the collective psyche to ride the next wave of "dangerous" culture in a new guise. The key seems to be to perceive the cycles and to work with the most potent and relevant new manifestations whilst recognizing the impermanence of the masks and being able to stand at a (relatively) neutral position within the cycle. To not become trapped by association with any particular movement. Granted there is much to be said for devotion. By dressing as Shiva the Shaivite gains the powers and knowledge of the god but loses total adaptability. Ive met people who have ridden the collective charge of being so "punk" within their community but as a result are often trapped by this association and stagnate by fully identifying with so rigid a spirit. It is important to respect the cultural spirit as a living entity and thus gain a clearer and more practical perspective of ones relationship with it. The spirits are living here with us now: In darkened pounding warehouses, basement shows and internet forums. They want to work with us (and through us) to transform the world according to their wills and natures. it is up to us to determine how best to work and live with these entities in order to liberate our planet and expand our perceptions.