Following a stay in Calanda in 1998, Apoptose could not forget the impression this festival made, since the primordial power of these archaic rhythms and the magic of the blood that flows from the hands of the drummers touches anyone who has ever witnessed it. The decision was made then to compile an album from the hours of documentary recordings which came into being during this time. However, it was not until the year 2001 that the time was finally right to start the project that in 2002 reached its final form in the CD “Blutopfer”. The title is the German term for “blood sacrifice”.

Already in the past, the film director Luis Buñuel, who was born in this village, and the industrial/avantgarde legend Vagina Dentata Organ have drawn inspiration from the festival of Calanda. On the now long out-of-print cult LP “The Pagan Drums of Calanda”, released in 1985 by Vagina Dentata Organ, the rhythm stood for itself alone and provided an insight into this impressive event. In contrast, with “Blutopfer” Apoptose decided to newly conjure up the unique emotions, images, and trance states that this 36-hour drum frenzy evokes, and also to present a broader cross-section of the repertoire of the village. The partly-chaotic and partly-precise rhythms, which for centuries have annually caused the village of Calanda to tremble during Easter, are in this way now embedded into a dark apoptotic soundscape.

While naturally no sound recording is able to fully reproduce the spiritual power and true dimensions of this tremendous ritual, nevertheless “Blutopfer” opens the door a crack into a world that is far from everyday reality and where nothing seems to exist except for the collective rhythm of the drums.

For more information listen to the CD...