Album Review: The Allegorist – Tekhenu

The Breakdown

...Another welcome chapter in 'The Allegorist's' anthology...

– 8.0

The Tale of TEKHENU, for the seekers* Written by The Allegorist

Born in the fast-moving river, she was part of it. The river didn’t cause her to be who she was, but it was her origin in this life. She could have stayed, but a beat in her heart made her fingers tremble; a longing in her spirit for life and a driving force in her mind called her by her name. And so she left to risk, live, explore, and follow the invisible. Today, in the deep silence of the cold midnight, she couldn’t fall asleep. It was all the effort of the journey that kept her awake. Gray fog lay heavy on her mind. Resting her head on a stone with her legs tucked up, her heart was beating in pain, and her limbs felt heavy and tired. All those years spent walking thousands of miles through deserts and winds, climbing up mountains and swimming through seas, learning where to take turns, how to read meanings in the stars, studying maps of various cultures, seeking knowledge of all kinds, and still, now, she was lost. Dreaming of answers within her, she woke in the light of tomorrow, and between the trees on the little meadow wet with dew, the first rays of spring’s sun beamed through.

About the album TEKHENU:

Holistic, soundscape storyteller The Allegorist takes inspiration from the ancient world for her fifth studio album, set for release on her label Awaken Chronicles. A sonic fable titled TEKHENU, it continues the trajectory that the Berlin-based electronic producer and sound-designer has been following since the beginning – conceptualising narrative-heavy LPs centered around mythical lands. Her new works depict a lost protagonist and her spiritual, inward search across ten enrapturing chapters.

As with her previous works, The Allegorist spins a poignant tale around the LP. The 10-chapter album comes with a short story, The Tale of TEKHENU, and every single will be accompanied by a cinematic trailer by Anna Jordan (The Allegorist).

The title of the LP is a nod to the towering monoliths by the ancient Egyptians. Known to most by their Greek-given name “obelisk”, they stand tall around the world and it’s their global dispersion that inspired The Allegorist for the title of the album, seeing it as an allegory of a common bond, a point of connection.

Two years in the making, TEKHENU comes after her warmly-received fourth LP Blind Emperor, a powerful cinematic techno outing. Released last February, it brought blistering battles waged across harsh, hostile terrain. “Blind Emperor is about the journey, and fight for one’s truth,” she explains. “This album jumps ahead through its protagonist and linked characters, exploring themes of human connection, intuition, guidance, evolution, freedom, and acceptance.” Heavily utilising her vocals across all her works, it’s within this LP that we are more fully indulged in her stunning vocal range and deftness in using sound design to contort the vibrations that she fervidly transmits.

TEKHENU’s release will come after The Allegorist drops five singles, the first being ‘Trees of Peace’, a track that explores ancestral lines with shamisen-like chords, wooden and wistful drums, and oriental synths. ‘Born In The River’ follows the enchanting, orchestral opener ‘Whispers Of The Wind’, and it bolsters the intensity with tribal-like breakbeat sandwiched by hallowed chants. Peaceful whirling synths and calming vocals uplift ‘Inner Dialogue’, the LP’s most intimate track which traces the intricate process of decision. ‘Tekhenu’ is the penultimate and it kicks up the pace as the euphoric furor breaks through the sacred cries, dense percussions, and emotive chanting – a concoction set to galvanise a movement, which is apt for a track that touches on the inevitability of human connection in the face of our own individual paths. ‘Barefoot’ closes the LP on a high as it traces the outcomes of discarding the rules and embracing the wildness within us, with swaying synths, rejoiceful vocals, and rhythmic beats driving the listener to give into their innermost self.

Verdict: Deeply atmospheric soundscapes encompassing ethereal synth layers, deep bass and haunting vocals. The pieces reflect the conceptual narrative of the work and plays out the protagonist’s journey as the tracks progress, but as is, with the beauty of interpretation, the listener can also be allowed to break away from the narrative and simply submerge themselves in the emotional drive of the compositions. ‘Tekhenu‘ has a wonderful structure that builds to a crescendo, with the latter part of the album introducing more percussion and denser layers to deliver a breathless finale to the story. Another welcome chapter in ‘The Allegorist‘s’ anthology of sonic adventures.