Moon Duo at Lido Berlin / Tuesday, 28.03.2017

Meaning all things magick and supernatural the root of the word occult is that which is hidden, concealed, beyond the limits of our minds. If this is occult, then the Occult Architecture of Moon Duo’s fourth album – a psychedelic opus in two separate volumes released in 2017 – is an intricately woven hymn to the invisible structures found in the cycle of seasons and the journey of day into night, dark into light.

Offering a cosmic glimpse into the hidden patterning embedded in everything, Occult Architecture reflects the harmonious duality of these light and dark energies through the Chinese theory of Yin and Yang. In Chinese Yin means “the shady side of the hill” and is associated with the feminine, darkness, night, earth. Following this logic Vol. 1, embraces and embodies Moon Duo’s darker qualities – released appropriately on February 3rd, in the heart of winter in the Northern Hemisphere.

Yang means “the bright side of the hill” and is associated with the male, sun, light and the spirit of heaven and as such Vol. 2 explores the light and airy elements of Moon Duo’s complex psyche, and will be released in the spring as the darkness of winter is replaced by the appearance of new life.

Written and recorded in their hometown of Portland, Oregon, the two-part epic reflects the hidden energies of rainclouds and sunshine and the deep creep of Northwest forests along with their effect on the psyche, inspired by the occult and esoteric literature of Mary Anne Atwood, Aleister Crowley, Colin Wilson, and Manly P. Hall.

According to guitarist Ripley Johnson, “the concept of the dark/light, two-part album came as we were recording and mixing the songs, beginning in the dead of winter and continuing into the rebirth and blossoming of the spring. There’s something really powerful about the changing of the seasons in the Northwest, the physical and psychic impact it has on you, especially after we spent so many years in the seasonal void of California. I became interested in gnostic and hermetic literature around that time, especially the relationship between music and occult qualities and that fed into the whole vibe.”