Hekske*The House Witchtapes

The rāga saga is a series I have started to act as a cultural collectiva of my favourite artists from all over, Each raga is an array of melodic structures with musical motifs, considered in the Indian tradition to have the ability to "color the mind" and affect the emotions of the audience and this journey (raga) comes straight from Belgium by the lovely @hekske

Hekske's taste in music is one of the most beautiful, she has been a great support in my musical journey and I am too excited to share this latest podcast in this series featuring Heks. This set is something to fall in love with, supremely smooth vibes, subtle tunes from all across which will mellow you down, it really is special
Lots of love for you my shy little witch as always, thanks for the beauty you spread along your path. xo ॐ
Please go follow her page for more such tunes from her and her friends <3
https://soundcloud.com/hekske

for the full tracklist, head to www.facebook.com/spiritualdeeptech/ 
please dont forget to like the page <3

Follow Hekske

rāga : 02 • Hekske

Witchtape #21 | Guest Wizz : CharliEM.

On a drizzly spring day, a lone wizard got lost in a big forest.  He sensed immediately that this was not an ordinary forest.  The most beautiful flowers were blooming everywhere and the birds were not shy at all.  Some birds even landed on his hand when he stretched it out.  This is not unusual for wizards as they have a strong bond with nature, but when he looked carefully at these two owls sitting on his hand, he realized they belong to an endangered species which were believed to have disappeared from the wild in this part of the world.  Now the wizard was absolutely convinced that this must be one of these forests which is being protected by a witch.  He had already heard stories from other wizards that witches were making a comeback in recent years, yet he had never seen one of these elusive creatures with his own eyes.  And – looking at the pristine state of this forest – this must surely be a very powerful and experienced witch, and probably pretty old.  The wizard didn’t have high hopes of spotting the witch, as they are known have excellent hiding skills.  So he simply savored the sheer beauty of this garden of Eden…
As the wizard strolled through the pristine forest, he saw something unusual from the corner of his eye.  When he realized what he was looking at, his heart skipped a beat.  Standing in a small glade was a young woman with long brown hair and immaculately white clothes.  She was so absorbed in her work - picking mushrooms with graceful moves - that she didn’t notice the wizard.  Actually, witches can move around freely in their forests without being circumspect, as they can count on an extensive network of spotter owls to raise the alarm whenever a human enters the forest.  In most cases, the intruder doesn’t get deeper than 200 meters into the forest before being intercepted and chased out.  Yet on that day, not a single bird had raised the alarm.  Even her faithful Belgian shepherd dog, although he had immediately spotted the wizard, decided wisely to stay calm and moved to the other side of the witch, distracting her a little bit.  As the wizard slowly came closer, he heard the witch sing softly with a sweet voice.  Yet he couldn’t see her face yet.  But it was clear she was very young, maybe even still a teenager (although it’s being told that It’s impossible to estimate the age of a witch).
Then things happened in quick succession… a twig snapped under the wizard’s foot.  The witch immediately looked up.  It was a sight the wizard would never forget.  For an instant they looked into each other’s eyes.  The bright green eyes of the witch were even beyond mesmerizing.  During a split second, the wizard got a glimpse of the universe behind these eyes.  He was speechless after seeing all this beauty, while the witch was so stunned and overwhelmed by contrasting emotions that she couldn’t utter a single word.  Then she glanced briefly at her dog with a really angry face (to which the animal immediately responded by lying low with flat ears while showing his most innocent face).  And finally, she collected her thoughts and ran away.  Within seconds, she had disappeared into the thickets with an astonishing nimbleness…
(story continues in Witchtape #23)

Connect with the artist : 
https://soundcloud.com/charlie3m
https://www.facebook.com/charlie3m/
https://charliem3.bandcamp.com/

This podcast is the result of pure love of music and is for promotional use only.  No commercial intentions.

Witchtape #21 | Guest Wizz : CharliEM.

Hi,
It’s a great pleasure for me to announce Aaristos as new guest wizz, the Germany-based DJ with Greek roots, who is a true magician in blending the typically German ethereal electronic sounds with the peerless depths of Greek mysticism.  When listening to this set for the first time, my mind slowly drifted away to the Meteora region in North-West Greece, with its unique complex of ancient monasteries perched on top of giant rock formations (some of which tower 400 meters above the surrounding valley).  In the 9th century, the first ascetic hermits arrived in this area and settled on top of these boulders, living a life in solitary contemplation above the clouds and only meeting sporadically during their recurrent hermit get-togethers.  In the ensuing centuries, the hermits were replaced on the rocktops by orthodox monasteries, which could only be reached by wooden ladders or even ropes.  This was only for the brave as these ropes only got replaced ‘when the Lord decided so’.  At its peak, there were over 20 rock-top monasteries, of which 6 are still operational at this moment (4 for monks and 2 for nuns).  My inner hermit can’t wait to join one of these skyborne monasteries, but only after listening one more time to this set from Aaristos…

Connect with the artist :
https://soundcloud.com/aaristos
https://www.facebook.com/AaristosMusic/

Photo credits :  Prosign

Witchtape #28 | Guest Wizz : Aaristos

Witchtape #29 | ‘El bosque oscuro’ by Arkadiusz

That day the little witch walked through the forest for her daily inspection round. She felt intensely happy when she saw all these species of plants and animals thriving and blending into a unique ecosystem – something which was far from being the case on the day she arrived in the forest as a child, now 10 years ago. Yet there was one part of the woods which wasn’t doing well. It was also the only section of the forest where there were traces of past human activity : concrete bunkers, trenches and craters. A peaceful being like a witch couldn’t understand what had happened, but surely some fierce fighting must have taken place there. While nature was gradually reclaiming this area and the bunkers became overgrown with moss, recovery was slow and the witch sensed the presence of some dark energy. There were still no flowers or bird’s nests or rabbit holes in that particular area. She was especially worried about the little oak tree which she planted a few months earlier in the middle of this dark section. This little tree is full of potential as it is destined to live for 1000 years and over time become one of the mother trees of the forest ecosystem, yet at that moment it was still small and fragile. But that day her attention was caught by some unusual activity around the little tree. It turned out to be a group of badgers who were digging frenetically several burrows in the ground. This filled the young witch with joy, as these were the very first badgers she ever saw in her forest. And she had heard a lot about their reputation : badgers are very peaceful when left alone, but they’ll defend themselves ferociously when they’re under threat. Even wolves avoid trouble with badgers.
The witch cautiously approached one of the badgers and greeted him politely. The animal immediately blew his whistle and within seconds all badgers converged in front of the witch, 11 in total. They seemed to know that there was a witch protecting this forest and they were very friendly towards her. The badgers explained that they wanted to settle in this forest and the witch showed her gratitude towards these ebullient animals. They even allowed her to play and cuddle with them. After a while she asked what they were digging and the leader of the badgers replied that they were constructing a sett. The witch had never heard of this word, and the animal explained that this is an elaborate system of burrows and tunnels and they are planning to use it for the next few decades. The little witch noticed that the burrows formed a near-perfect circle around the little tree and she made clear to the badgers that this tiny oak tree is destined to become a very important mother tree. When she pointed towards the tiny tree, the 11 badgers looked synchronously at it, and then synchronously back at the witch and the determined look on their faces made it clear that nothing or nobody would ever be allowed to harm that little tree. And the witch knew they would defend it with a ferocity which only badgers can harness.
And from that day onwards, the witch would come and visit the badgers every day as they continued expanding their sprawling underground complex, while the little oak tree grew everyday a little bigger in the safest place of the forest, right in the middle of the sett…
(story continues in Witchtape #31)

Connect with the artist :
Arkadiusz [Afterhour Sounds / KollektiV LiEBe e.V.]
https://soundcloud.com/arkadiusz-dmytrow
https://www.facebook.com/arkadiusz.official/?ref=tn_tnmn
https://soundcloud.com/afterhour-sounds
https://soundcloud.com/kollektiv-liebe

Photo credits :  Ondrej Prosicky

Podcast 2018

Witchtape #29 | Guest Wizz : Arkadiusz

Witchtape #30 | Guest Wizz : Azar

It was that magic moment just before sunrise in the forest.  The little witch was already awake but in no hurry to get up as she was listening to all the beautiful songs the birds were singing to welcome yet another glorious autumn day.  The birds were a bit more excited than usual, as the following night there would be a full moon.  The young girl always felt thrilled on full moon nights but she couldn’t explain why, as she was all alone in her forest and had never met another witch in her whole life.  At that moment she couldn’t fathom that this was about to change on that very same day.
It started with the arrival of a couple of crows later that morning.  Of course, the witch has a great love for all species of animals, but she has a soft spot for crows as they form couples which stay together for life (and beyond).  To her great surprise, the crows were conveying an invitation for the little witch to attend a witch coven.  This filled the girl with excitement as she had never attended such a witchs' get-together.  So (after giving a rest and some food to the crows) they flew together to the forest where the coven was about to take place.  Of course witches can fly although it’s a myth that they need a broom for that.  Actually, she rarely flies and when she does, she always stays within the boundaries of her forest.  So this flight was a real adventure for her and she was spellbound by all the beautiful landscapes which rolled past, while a fresh wind blew through her long brown hairs.  She noticed they left the plains and flew over a range of hills before finally landing in the center glade of a majestically beautiful forest, where two other witches were waiting for her.  One witch was middle-aged and the other one was really old.  Witches never talk to each other, so they greeted in silence, just smiling to each other before they came together in a big hug, where tears flowed freely.  The elder witches were really happy to meet this promising young witch for the first time.  After a while they sat down near a camp fire and sang some old songs with their soft voices.  They were sitting so close to each other that their bodies touched each other.  The little witch closed her eyes and felt how she became absorbed by the combined energy field of the three witches, and it felt as if the 3 women merged into one single being for a few moments.  The young witch tuned in to her middle-aged sister witch and sensed that she had suffered quite a lot as she had to endure 2 major wars and needed to hide far away from the humans during these dark years.  After that the girl tuned in to the old witch and felt how she was dragged into the murky depths of an incredibly distant past, centuries back in time when witches were still being prosecuted by humans.  After briefly feeling the pain of these horrible events, the girl felt all of a sudden very peaceful as the 3 witches united again in a tender group hug.  All 3 of them felt so happy and complete now that they finally had found each other.  Yet that was only the start of an incredible series of ceremonies…
(story continues in Witchtape #32)

Connect with the artist :
https://soundcloud.com/ramosraul
https://soundcloud.com/lughatalrouh

Witchtape #30 | Guest Wizz : Azar

Witchtape #32 | Guest Witch : Samsara

(Story continued from Witchtape #30)
The little witch was just too excited to participate in the very first witch coven of her young life, in the presence of two elder witches.  It was even the first time she met with other witches but within minutes she already felt a strong bond uniting the three women.  
At one point, the eldest witch led the other two into her forest, where they collected herbs, berries, flowers, mushrooms and even minerals.  Back at the center glade, the two experienced witches started brewing some kind of soup in a small cauldron, using all the ingredients they had picked in the forest.  A few hours later, the brew was ready and it turned out to be some kind of ink, and the two senior witches looked at the young novice with a conspiring smile on their faces.  They started singing a mystic song with a soft voice, while gently helping the young witch out of her clothes.  The girl was so much at ease in the presence of her 2 sisters witch that she didn’t feel shy at all.  The eldest witch took a crow’s feather, dipped it into the freshly made ink and drew a mysterious symbol on the girl’s left hand, then another one on her forearm, continuing on her shoulder before repeating the same ritual on her right arm.  Meanwhile the other witch drew a series of symbols on the feet and legs of the little witch.  The girl sensed that these symbols were very powerful and she had a tingling feeling at the spots which had been painted, while the other women continued drawing lines and elaborate shapes all over her body, before the eldest witch added a finishing touch by drawing a delicate symbol on the girl’s forehead.  After completing this ritual, the young witch looked at all these symbols all over her body.  She had never seen anything like this and didn’t have the slightest clue about the deeper meaning of all these mystic signs.
After finishing with the young novice, it was time to paint flash tattoos on the middle-aged witch.  The old woman gave a feather to the girl.  She didn’t explain anything but encouraged the little witch to draw just something.  The girl hesitated as she didn’t have the slightest clue what to draw, but after a while she found the courage to touch the skin with the tip of the feather, and she quickly noticed that the feather seemed to know which shape to draw and her hands just followed the movements of the magic pen, while it drew symbol after symbol on the witch’s skin.
Finally it was the eldest witch’s turn to get a paint job, and the young witch was amazed how easy it was to draw all these symbols as she just needed to tune in to the energy of the feather.  At one point she loosened her grip on the pen but then it immediately stopped moving.  That moment she understood that this magic pen only works when it is being held firmly by a real witch.
After completing the third witch, they all looked at each other and observed all these mystic symbols.  The little witch noticed that all 3 women were covered in exactly the same way and she felt more than ever connected and with her 2 new soulmates.  She felt incredibly energized and she even had the impression that all these symbols on her skin were glowing softly, especially the one on her forehead.  At that moment, she couldn’t realize that this was only the start and she would soon get a taste of the real power of these symbols…

Connect with the artist : 
https://soundcloud.com/samsarazuerich
https://www.facebook.com/samsarazuerich
https://soundcloud.com/thethirdeyefusion

Photo credits : Navistock

Witchtape #32 | Guest Witch : Samsara

(Story continued from Witchtape #32)
The little witch was shivering from excitement.  The thrill of participating in her very first witch coven was so overwhelming.  Barely 6 hours ago she had even never met with another witch in her whole life, and now she found herself in the loving presence of two elder witches.  And she was still grasping the deeper meaning of all these mysterious symbols the other witches had painted all over her body.
The young witch felt really energized while all these symbols made her body tingle from top to toe.  She noticed that the eldest witch had closed her eyes and seemed to be in some kind of trance.  Clearly, for her the symbols were even more powerful as she has been working with these for centuries.  She started chanting some ecstatic mystic songs.  These were so powerful that the little witch got goosebumps all over her body.  After a few minutes, the old witch sat down in lotus position and the other 2 witches did the same, sitting down on the soft moss, so close to each other that their knees touched.  Their hands found each other automatically, forming a circle.  The young witch felt a strong energy entering through her hands and spreading all over her body, while at the same time she felt this energy passing over to her sisters witch, and the symbols all over her body started to tickle more and more.  She even had the impression that these mystic signs started to glow.   When she opened her eyes, she was surprised to see that the symbols on her feet and legs were lighting up with a deep red glow.  To her amazement she saw the same thing happening with the other women too, yet every witch seemed to glow in a different shade of red.  The symbols on the middle-aged witch emitted a crimson glow, while the signs on the eldest witch’s legs were lighting up in a mysterious carmine red hue.  The elder witches looked at the girl’s legs and were visibly curious about her shade of red, which turned out to be a really bright scarlet glow.  The senior witches were visibly impressed by the young girl’s intense and pure energy.  After a few minutes, the red color started to fade simultaneously for all 3 witches.  Despite all this energy flowing through her body, the little witch felt very relaxed and not the least bit in a hurry to know what would come next.  At one point she noticed that all three witches were breathing at exactly the same rhythm, inhaling and exhaling simultaneously.  Then she felt how the area deep inside her pelvic region started to get very warm.  This irresistible energy gradually became stronger and stronger.  First deep inside, and after a few minutes she felt the symbols in this area glowing with increasing intensity.  It was a strong yet soothing energy which slowly spread to other parts of her body.  The three witches opened their eyes simultaneously and admired their colors.  Naturally, the elder witches were eager to know which new color the young witch had brought into the group and they were pleasantly surprised by the bright orange glow, as intense as lava flowing out from deep under the surface.  After a while the intensity of the colors diminished while the eldest witch sensed that the novice was getting tired.  They helped her lying down on the soft moss and covered her with a blanket, while the girl drifted away in a blissful sleep.  As the previous time that they had seen a young witch was already over a century ago, the elder witches couldn’t stop looking at the new recruit.  They felt so rejuvenated that they couldn’t stop giggling while they touched and played with her long brown hair, bringing back memories of days gone by (the hair of young witches is of an indescribable softness).  The young girl didn’t notice anything, as she drifted deeper and deeper into her own dreamworld, where nobody could follow her…
(To be continued in Witchtape #35)

Connect with the artist : 
https://soundcloud.com/oscar-mederos
https://www.facebook.com/omederos

Witchtape #33 | Guest Wizz : Oscar Mederos

Witchtape #36 | Guest Wizz : zOnkh

Hi,
My new guest wizz comes from a really unusual place, in the middle of Siberia and so remote that the nearest ocean is thousands of kilometers away. Yet, this special place has its own mini-Ocean : the Baikal Lake. There’s not much doubt that this is by far the most special lake on this planet. First of all, it’s so big (31000 sq kilometers) that my little home country would just fit into it. More amazingly, at 1642 meters it’s the deepest lake on this world.  And at 35 million years, it’s by far the oldest lake on the earth. It is so vast that it contains 20% of all freshwater of this planet. And on top of that, the water is so pure that at some places you can see the bottom from the surface when it is 40 meters deep. This purity is also reflected in the appearance of the ice (which covers the lake in the Siberian winter), as it is incredibly transparent.
This place is so remote and so special, that i love to call it ‘Middle-Earth’, a hidden landlocked continent which is cut off from the rest of the World by mountains, deserts, marshes and ice fields.
And the Baikal lake can also boast of quite a few magical natural phenomena, like glowing orbs floating above the water, which have been spotted several times by fishermen.  Scientist believe that this can be explained by the self-ignition of natural methane gas, but the people living in the area are convinced that these are actually the spirits of the lake.  And some years during the winter, satellites have observed large circles on the ice, sometimes up to 7 kilometers across.  This is actually a huge bubble of slightly warmer water, spinning around like a liquid cyclone around one of the many submerged gas volcanoes.
Obviously, this remote place is so special and unique that it inevitably has an effect on the spirit of the people who live near this lake, and they are among the proudest and most special people on this planet (also in part due to the fact that they are descendants of nomadic ancestors).
And when listening tot his podcast, don’t forget that the maker is living in the middle of the Siberian Winter at this moment, which means the temperature never climbs above -20°C for months in a row and plunges to -30°C (on an average night) or even below -40°C (on really cold nights).  Yet, the cold will never touch the hearts of the wonderful inhabitants of Middle-Earth…
Enjoy! 
Hekske

Connect with the artist : 
https://soundcloud.com/zonkh
https://soundcloud.com/baikalnomads

Photo Credits : ‘Ice crystals of the labyrinth on lake Baikal. Russia’ by Kirill Sergeev

Witchtape #36 | Guest Wizz : zOnkh

Witchtape #38 | Guest Wizz : Mr. Bento

(Story continued from Witchtape #37)
The little witch jumped up from excitement while here heart started to throb.  She had just sensed that her wizard was nearing her forest, coming back from an epic 8-month trip to his ancestral grounds in Africa.  And now she was running as fast as she could through the fresh snow.  Young witches can run very fast and even her trusted dog had trouble keeping up with her.  Within minutes, she had reached the edge of the forest… and there he was.  She stopped at a distance of 3 meters from the wizard, and both lovers just stared at each other (like most witches and wizards, they have a peculiar way of greeting each other).  The wizard was overjoyed to look once again into the peerless depths of her bright green eyes, while the witch immediately noticed that his skin had become bit darker from the African sun, and his beard a bit greyer and longer.  But most of all, she sensed that his wisdom had increased immensely during his trip to the land of his ancestors.  They kept on staring at each other for minutes, until all of a sudden the witch looked away and ran into the forest.  The wizard followed her and the mood became really playful, with the two lovers soon throwing snowballs at each other (as a new variant of their usual fireball-throwing teasing game).  Soon the woods were filled with her playful giggles and his loud laughter, while she jumped from tree to tree with the agility of a squirrel.  The wizard had trouble following the lightning-quick movements of the witch (after all, she is over a century younger) but this was all play…  Meanwhile the birds and animals followed the ebullient couple from a safe distance, making sure not to disturb the 2 lovers while at the same time they didn’t want to miss one second of this gayful spectacle…
(to be continued in Witchtape #41)

Connect with the artist : 
https://soundcloud.com/mister-bento

Tracklist : 
Makina - Balvanera
Enno Voss - Straits II
Enno Voss - Eventually
Steffen Kirchhoff - Ari
Landhouse & Raddantze - Efterar (Steffen Kirchhoff Remix)
Castello Branco - Coragem (Cosmic & Damiao Remix)
Harri Agnel - Fade Away
Flowerpowder - Sekt On The Beach
Geplantes Nichtstun - Schilfeule
Tikki Masala - Sarvamangalam Remix
Universildo - Pru Etnico (AIWAA Edit)
~~Muno - Afrooh
Universildo - Pru Etnico (AIWAA Edit)
DJ Pangani - Kokoro (Cajita Remix)
Rachid Taha - Ya Rayah

Personal message from the artist : 
"This mix is dedicated to my B'ham brother Samir, whose favourite track by Rachid Taha went into the mix. Hope you enjoy, Sam."

Witchtape #38 | Guest Wizz : Mr. Bento

Witchtape #39 | Guest Wizz : Edu Buscholl

That winter day started like any other day in the life of Bernd, saying good morning to all his colleagues before starting the engine of his bulldozer and getting ready to clear the roots and trunks of the trees which his co-workers had felled the previous day.  These were beautiful beech and oak trees, many of them over a century old.  Bernd was a little bit sad when he saw all these majestic trees being dismembered and waiting to be loaded onto a truck and transported to a wood factory.  This forest is doomed and must disappear, to make place for an open-air coal mine.  Actually, Bernd likes to go for walks in the forests of this area on Sundays, sometimes in the very forest he was helping to bring down now.  He even has fond childhood memories when he was still playing in these woods… but that was decades ago.  But that day Bernd had a job to do so he started clearing the remains of the forest with his earth-moving machine, barely paying attention to the hair-raising sound of wood being ripped apart and roots being torn out of the ground.  Bernd was in such a good mood that he even started singing an old song from his childhood days.  But the pleasant atmosphere came to an abrupt end when all of sudden a beautiful young woman in immaculately white clothes was standing in front of his bulldozer.  Bernd immediately hit the brakes and the behemoth grinded to a halt just inches away from the girl, who looked him straight in the eyes with hypnotizing green eyes and a stone-cold face.  She was young and beautiful, yet her frigid gaze made him feel distinctly uncomfortable and even sent shivers down his spine.  The girl was just standing there in silence with her arms crossed.  There was nothing menacing about her, but it was clear she was not going move one inch and if the bulldozer wanted to move forward, it would be over her dead body.
At that moment the girl looked to the right.  Bernd looked into the same direction and saw a dystopian wasteland as far as his eyes could see.  Then the girl looked to the left, and Bernd saw a lush green forest bathing in a soft sunlight, with birds singing everywhere and all of a sudden he also heard children’s voices shouting ‘heyyy granddad’.  Bernd couldn’t believe his eyes… he realized he was looking into his future and the little boy and girl he saw there, were his still-to-be-born grandchildren.  The man was still confused and looked at the forest girl, who pointed with one arm to the right (where there was still that lifeless wasteland) and the with her other arm to the left (to the lush green forest with the playing children), while looking at Bernd with an expression as if she wanted to say ‘now what do you choose?’.  And Bernd had made up his mind, slowly climbed out of his bulldozer and embraced his grandchildren.  He wanted to look back and say thanks to the mysterious girl, but she had already vanished into thin air.  Without regrets, Bernd walked away from the bulldozer in the company of his two grandchildren, into the unspoiled green forest, and he swore he would never ever destroy mother earth again…

Connect with the artist : 
https://soundcloud.com/edu_buscholl
https://soundcloud.com/kollektiv-liebe

Save the Hambach Forest… and all other forests of this planet!!
https://hambacherforst.org/ 
#HambiBleibt

Witchtape #39 | Guest Wizz : Edu.Buscholl

Witchtape #40 | Guest Witch : Paboona

(Story continued from Witchtape #34)
It was already well past midnight on this full moon night and it had been a long and intense day for the little witch.  Barely 18 hours ago she had never seen another witch in her whole life (as she had been living all alone in her forest since her early childhood), but now she found herself in the loving presence of two elder witches while attending the very first witch coven of her young life.  It was getting a bit cold and the eldest witch had just lit up a campfire (with a few magic sparks).  Slowly the little witch – who had been really tired after this long day filled with mystic ceremonies – was starting to feel warm again.  She looked up at the full moon (which was really bright and yellow that night) and almost instantly she felt the subtle moon energy run through her whole body.  She experienced it in every cell and even had the impression that she was so fully charged that her long brown hair was standing upright (which wasn’t the case, but that’s how it felt).  Suddenly she heard some rhythmic music.  She looked around and noticed that the other witches didn’t seem to hear it.  Then she realized the music was only present in her head, yet touched her soul deeply.  Her body kept on heating up and she started to feel a bit uncomfortable in her clothes… until all of a sudden she reached her boiling point, jumped up, shook off all her clothes and started to dance in a state of ecstasy.  The two elder witches looked at this spectacle with amazement… and smiled briefly at each other while they observed the young girl going wild.  Clearly, this little novice was making progress much faster than expected, blossoming open from a shy reclusive girl into a real fiery witch in a matter of just a few hours.  And for the first time she was even leading the witch coven, as a forebode of things to come.  Of course the elder witches didn’t stay still for long… they also got up, shucked off their clothes as well and joined their little sister in her ecstatic dance, which would go on for many, many hours until finally the moon would disappear behind the horizon to make room for a particularly glorious sunrise.  When the first rays of sunlight touched their skin… the witches stopped dancing and the eldest witch started to sing an age-old sweet song with a soft voice.  She was soon joined by the other elder witch and even the young witch started to sing in harmony with her two sisters… singing effortlessly without realizing that nobody had ever taught her how to sing that song…
(To be continued in Witchtape #59)

Connect with the artist :
https://soundcloud.com/paboona

~Mbuki Mvuki~

Witchtape #40 | Guest Witch : Paboona

(Story continued from Witchtape #41)
On a cold and sunny winter day, the magic forest woke up under an immaculately white snow carpet, which seemed to wake up all the forest dwellers from their winter slumber, and this included the witch herself. And just on that beautiful day, her wizard finally returned to the forest after an epic 8-month pilgrimage to the lands of his ancestors in Africa. Like most witches and wizards, they have a peculiar way of greeting, and instead of hugging and kissing each other straight away, they started a game of hide-and-seek in the snow-covered woods, which lasted for hours, with the giant venerable wizard not standing a chance to come anywhere near the nimble young witch. After a few hours, the girl decided that the teasing had lasted long enough and finally they were united, exchanging the most tender kiss the forest had ever seen. It was a breathtaking sight with the little witch in her immaculately white dress being united with the giant wizard, whose black clothes blended well with his pitch-dark skin, which had even become a few shades darker by the African sun. After a few minutes, they started to move slowly, while still hugging each other tenderly. It was the start of an elegant dance, with the wizard taking the lead while the black-and-white couple danced through the forest. The animals (who were watching this spectacle from a safe distance) had never seen the witch in such a sweet and docile mood, while she surrendered completely to the charismatic wizard. Meanwhile, the dance became faster and faster, and the couple was whirling around the trees, their bodies dissolving into a black-and-white blur. They were spinning so fast that it looked a bit like a dervish dance, while the couple stayed glued together and the long brown hair of the witch swirling around into all kinds of directions. A few minutes later, they were spinning so fast that they generated a snow tornado, and finally the only thing the spectators could see, was a whirlwind racing through the forest, while a strong wind started to blow through the woods, making all the animals and birds scramble for cover. And just when the tornado had grown into a deafening roar, it stalled in the middle of a clearing. The roar subsided and the snow tornado dissolved into a million snowflakes, which gently hit the ground. Finally, through the snow, the black and white colors of wizz and witch became visible again. All of a sudden the spectators realized that the couple had lost their clothes somewhere in the process and were buried waist-deep in the snow carpet, completely frozen in a close and tender black-and-white embrace, fused into one motionless living statue… The animals had never seen anything like this and held their breath…
(To be continued in Witchtape #44)

Connect with the artist :
https://soundcloud.com/deepfilip

Witchtape #42 | Guest Wizz : Deep Filip

https://soundcloud.com/doubljuh
https://soundcloud.com/deep_storys

(Story written by The Doubljuh, English translation below)

Es war einmal ein weiser alter Zauberer. Er hatte einen langen Bart, der ihm bis zu den Knien reichte. Aufgrund eines missglückten Zaubers war dieser jedoch nicht schneeweiß, sondern Regenbogen-bunt. Deshalb hatte es der alte Greis schwer in der magischen Gemeinschaft. Beim alljährlichen Treffen im Kanutenwald war ihm dieses schwerwiegende Missgeschick passiert. Der alte Zauberer wollte bei der Zusammenkunft einen mystischen Trank brauen, der schon über Jahrtausende nicht mehr hergestellt wurde. Dieser Trank sollte die Kraft haben, zerstörte Landstriche binnen weniger Sekunden in den prächtigsten Farben erblühen zu lassen. Doch bei der Herstellung stolperte er und schüttete sich das Gebräu in seinen Bart. Dieser wurde sofort kunterbunt und kein Gegenzauber dieser Welt konnte diese Wirkung umkehren. Fort an lachten sich die anderen alten wiesen Männer schlapp, wenn sie den bunten Bart sahen.
Über die Jahre wurde der Zauberer mit dem kuriosen Bart immer schwermütiger. Ein weißer Bart ist für Männer seiner Zunft eminent wichtig und ein unerlässliches Merkmal. Seine Laune wurde immer schlechter und in seinen Gedanken zog Bitterkeit ein. Genauso wie das Herz erkrankte auch der Wald in dem er wohnte. Die Tiere des Waldes machten sich große Sorgen und trafen sich eines Tages zu einer Konferenz. Zuerst waren sie ratlos, bis das verrückte Wildschwein auf die Idee kam ein großes Fest für den Zauberer zu veranstalten. Die anderen Tiere stimmten zu und begannen sofort mit der Vorbereitung für die große Veranstaltung.
Der Zauberer saß wie immer auf einen alten abgestorbenen Baumstumpf und blies Trübsal, als er plötzlich in der Ferne eine Trompete hörte. Sie spielte eine fröhliche Melodie, die ihm irgendwie bekannt vorkam. Er stand auf und wollte die Quelle des Geräusches ergründen. Nach einiger Zeit fand er die Tiere des Waldes auf einer Lichtung. Dort angekommen bildeten die Tiere einen Kreis um den verwirrten Mann sangen für ihn. Tränen liefen alsbald über seine Augen, als er erkannte, dass die Tiere das alles für ihn machten. Der Mann mit den bunten Bart ließ sich auf den bunten Reigen ein und lachte, tanzte, scherzte und feierte mit den Tieren „all night long“! Pure Freude erfüllte das Herz des Zauberers und wie ein Wunder verwandelte sich der Wald in wenigen Sekunden in ein blühendes Paradies... und so hatte der Zauber letztendlich doch noch gewirkt und wer weiß, vielleicht war das auch das Geheimnis des Zaubers.

***

There once was a wise old wizard. He had a long beard which looked like an average wizard’s beard, apart from the fact that it was rainbow-colored instead of snow-white.  This unusual color was due to a mishap involving an ill-executed magic spell, which happened at the annual meeting in the canoe forest.  That day he attempted to brew an old magic potion to regenerate destitute forest areas within seconds and make flowers bloom in the most magnificent colors.  But unfortunately he fumbled and the brew poured over his beard, which became very colorful in a matter of seconds.
And to add insult to injury, there was no known antidote which could reverse this effect.  From then on, the poor wizard was the laughing stock of the magic community.

Over the years, the wizard became more and more melancholic.  A white beard is eminently important to men of his stature.   Like his heart, the forest in which he lived also fell ill.  The animals decided to do something to help the wizard and decided to organize a big surprise party.
When the wizard found out, tears rolled over his cheeks when he realized that the animals were doing it all for him.  The man felt revitalized and laughed, danced and celebrated with the animals "all night long"!  Pure joy filled his heart, and miraculously the forest transformed into a thriving paradise in just a few seconds.  And so the spell had finally worked…

Witchtape #43 | Guest Wizz : The Doubljuh

Witchtape #44 | Guest Wizz : Mușză

(Story continued from witchtape #42)
On a cold but beautiful winter day, the snow-covered forest was shaken up by the surprise arrival of the wizard, who returned from an epic trip to his ancestral lands on the African continent.  This meant that witch and wizard had finally been reunited after an 8-month separation and this unleashed a force the forest had never seen before, with both lovers swirling around the woods like a tornado which ended abruptly at dusk time, with witch and wizard being frozen in a petrified embrace, buried waist-deep in the snow.  The animals of the forest had never seen such a thing before and held their breath.  At first it wasn’t clear whether the couple was still alive or whether they had irreversibly been transformed into lifeless statues.  But it was clear that they had been locked into a frozen tender embrace, the witch’s pale skin contrasting completely with the wizard’s pitch-dark skin.  An eerie silence descended over the woods, while the last rays of sunlight faded away and the forest plunged into complete darkness on a moonless night.  The vibrant woods had never before been this silent, while all the animals were hoping to get a sign of life of the interlocked frozen lovers.  Then an owl heard the faint sound of a distant heartbeat.  Soon afterwards all the forest dwellers heard this beating sound too, even the ones who lived at the far end of the woods.  And slowly the heartbeat split into two pulses, a slower stronger beat and a faster, slightly weaker pulse.  The animals quickly guessed that these were the heartbeats of the wizard and the witch and soon they even felt tremors going through the ground and the trees with every pulse.  The whole forest seemed to be vibrating at the speed of both heartbeats, which seemed to run faster and faster, but stayed asynchronous.  That night, none of the animals were able to sleep as they were all resonating with the beating sounds which were echoing back and forth throughout the whole forest.  After midnight, these rhythmic beats got mixed with the sounds of falling drops of water.  It took a while before the animals realized that the winter cold was giving way to spring warmth and that the snow on the branches of the trees was melting rapidly.  This continued the whole night, while the heartbeats sped up and slowed down periodically.  It was only at daybreak that the pulsating sounds faded away and the forest became completely silent.  The animals were eagerly waiting for the first rays of sunlight because they sensed that the appearance of their surroundings had changed dramatically.  And finally, when the sun rose above the horizon, all the forest beings could see that all the snow was completely gone, and was replaced by a magic carpet of colorful flowers.  At that moment a lone bird started to sing and in a matter of seconds he was joined by all the birds of the forest, creating a deafening cacophony of songs which lasted a few minutes and ended as sudden as it started.  Only after that, the animals became curious about the witch and the wizard.  To their great relief, the two lovers were not frozen anymore - although they were still locked in a tender embrace while lying on the soft moss, while his hand stroked gently through her long brown hair.  The animals deemed it appropriate to give the couple some privacy and in any case, soon the animals’ attention turned towards their own priorities, and so the forest became filled with a chaotic bustle of birds frenetically building nests all over the place, rabbits digging new holes in the ground and owls searching for the most suitable hollow trees, while the air filled with a variety of fresh flower scents.  After a long and cold winter, spring had finally arrived…
(story to be continued with Witchtape #45)

Witchtape #44 | Guest Wizz : Mușză

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https://soundcloud.com/hekske
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<3 hub & sweet hekske...

Distance with Time 112bpm 2

hekske

hekske - deep & smooth #90

Witchtape #45 | Guest Wizz : BΛB

(Story continued from witchtape #44)

The first day of spring started with a glorious sunrise, with all the birds singing their most beautiful songs and flowers of all colors blooming all over the forest.  It was hard to believe that this place was still covered under a thick snow carpet a mere 12 hours earlier.  The sunrays revitalized all the animals with fresh energy, and the - usually quiet - woods became filled with a chaotic bustle of birds frenetically building nests everywhere, rabbits digging new holes in the ground and owls searching for the most suitable hollow trees, while the air filled with a subtle mixture of fresh flower scents.  After a long and cold winter, spring had finally arrived… with a bang.
The witch and wizard were completely oblivious of this frenzy as they were simply enjoying each other’s company while relaxing on the soft moss, hiding in plain sight from all the forest beings who were way too busy to pay any attention to the happy couple, who had been reunited after an 8-month separation during the wizard’s epic pilgrimage to the land of his ancestors on the African continent.  The only animals who were keeping them company, were the snails - who happened to be on the way to their spring residence near the little stream which they could hear already, which meant they would reach it in 4 weeks’ time.  
Both witch and wizard were in a completely relaxed mood, while they snuggled a bit closer to one another, listening to each other’s heartbeat.  At one point the wizard noticed a pulsating pink light deep inside the girl’s chest, and he realized he was looking at her witch’s heart.  Although he already had witnessed many things in his long life, he had never seen such a purity before.  And right at that moment, his own heart became visible as well as a reddish-pinkish pulsating glow through his dark skin.  Even the snails interrupted their annual dash to the little stream and looked in amazement at this colorful spectacle.  Instinctively, the wise wizard laid his hand on the witch’s belly, where his fingers soon intertwined with the slender fingers of the witch.  They stayed in that position for quite a while, until all of a sudden something magical happened… a very faint and fast pulse started to light up through the pale white skin of the witch’s underbelly… with an unique shade of pink which the world had never seen before.  The snails stretched their antennae to the limit, just to make sure they had seen right.  And yes, soon they were smiling at each other and hurried to the little stream so that they could announce the great news to all the other animals of the forest without wasting a second.
Which meant the witch could keep her little secret to herself for yet another four weeks…

(to be continued in Witchtape #51)

Connect with the artist :
https://soundcloud.com/jimmy_k
https://soundcloud.com/lughatalrouh
https://www.facebook.com/LughatalRouh

Recordings

Witchtape #45 | Guest Wizz : BΛB

Witchtape #46 | Guest Wizz : Nico Tober

For most people, by far the most memorable activity from their school years is the customary foreign trip in the final year of senior high school, which feels more like some kind of pilgrimage or rite of passage.  In Belgium this trip is generally a tour of Italy or England.  But this is the story of a truly extraordinary school trip, to a country which doesn’t exist anymore, visiting cities which have by now changed beyond recognition.  This is part 1 of the story of a visit to a lost world… East-Germany before the Wall came down.

‘Before that school trip to the German Democratic Republic, I had absolutely no idea what to expect.  In those Cold War days Europe was sharply divided in 2 blocks, with capitalist democracies in the West and communist regimes in the East.  These were two completely separate parallel worlds and in the West we didn’t really know how life was like on the other side of the ‘Iron Curtain’.  We never saw TV programs or listened to music from the so-called ‘Eastern Block’.  The only time we got a glimpse of that hidden world on TV was during sports events, like athletics or swimming.  The - mostly female - athletes never smiled and won nearly all the events… and we all sensed they systematically used performance-enhancing drugs, so we all hated them.  
All these countries were repressive dictatorships which did not tolerate any dissent and tried to brainwash the population continuously, while most essential goods were scarce and many people tried to flee to the West… which was almost impossible since the communist regimes constructed an almost impenetrable fence over the full length of the border, with the Berlin Wall being the most famous section of this ‘iron curtain’.  In the TV news there were regularly reports of people being shot and killed by the border troops when trying to flee to the West.  
And it was towards this very border that I was heading together with my schoolmates.  It was a pleasant (but long) bus ride over the state-of-the-art highways of West-Germany all the way to one of the rare German-German border crossings, named Wartha-Herleshausen.  The mood in the bus changed gradually as we came closer to the Iron Curtain, and we were all curious (and a bit tense) to see the heavily fortified border, which included an electrified barbed-wire fence surrounded by land mine fields and guard towers.  And that’s the place where the bus (carrying 60 Belgian school girls) ground to a halt on that cold April day in the year 1987.  We knew that the border controls were notoriously strict, but it would even be worse than expected… (more details in the next episode).
The passage of the border would be the distinctly uncomfortable start of what would become an intense and unforgettable ‘rollercoaster of emotions’ tour around that parallel universe on the other side of the iron curtain… spreading peace & love from West to East and back…’
(To be continued in Witchtape #47)

Connect with the artist :
https://soundcloud.com/nico-tober

KataHaifisch : 
https://soundcloud.com/katahaifisch

photo credits :  Chockdee Romkaew

Traktor Rec

Witchtape #46 | Guest Wizz : Nico Tober

Witchtape #47 | Guest Wizz : Daniel Steinfels

For most people, by far the most memorable activity from their school years is the customary foreign trip in the final year of senior high school, which is so much more than a simple trip and feels more like some kind of pilgrimage or rite of passage.  In Belgium this trip is generally a tour of Italy or England.  But this is the story of a truly extraordinary school trip, to a country which doesn’t exist anymore, visiting cities which have by now changed beyond recognition.  This is part 2 of the story of a tour by bus through a lost world… East-Germany before the Wall came down (story continued from Witchtape #46).

Wartha-Herleshausen was one of the rare German-German border crossings during the Cold War.  Leaving West-Germany was just a simple formality, but entering communist East-Germany would turn out to be a prolonged struggle.  The checkpoint on the East-German side of the No Man’s Land was located in the middle of a desolate and windy plain, where trees had been removed in order to make it impossible to hide anywhere.  We felt really uncomfortable in this inhospitable place and we even couldn’t count much on the reassuring presence of other people or vehicles.  Our bus stood there for 1,5 hours (during which we were not allowed to leave the bus) and during that time only a handful of vehicles crossed the Iron Curtain in either direction.  This was in sharp contrast with our return through Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin a few days later, which was actually a pretty busy place, but this remote border crossing simply felt like the most isolated place on the planet, full of mean-looking soldiers carrying guns (which is a thing we never saw in Belgium) and we knew they were trained to shoot and kill all citizens who were trying to flee to the West, which happened quite often all over the German-German border.  All the (usually very chatty and giggly) school girls fell completely silent in the middle of this intimidating place and the worst moment was when 2 border guards entered the bus and checked each and every passenger.  The standard check included a 15 second ice-cold stare straight into the eyes of each of the terrified school girls, during which the – seemingly emotionless - border guards seemed to check whether you were really the same person as on the picture of your passport.  I was really terrified by that stone cold gaze, and even now – over 30 years later – I still get shivers down my spine when thinking back to these awkward seconds.  We were all treated like enemies of the state and in our youthful innocence, none of use realized that a bus full of adorable 17 year-old schoolgirls actually was an irresistible charm offensive which would hit the local youth much harder than we could ever imagine.  We simply couldn’t fathom that we were actually undermining the state by spreading a simple message of peace, love and freedom just by our mere presence.  All this would slowly dawn to us in a few days’ time, during our subsequent passage through Dresden and East-Berlin…
(To be continued in Witchtape #63)

Connect with the artist : 
https://soundcloud.com/steinfels
https://www.facebook.com/daniel.steinfels.music
https://soundcloud.com/danielsteinfelsmusic

Witchtape #47 | Guest Wizz : Daniel Steinfels

We are back with a special podcast for you 🔊🎶💞 

🧙‍♀ @hekske 😍 The Bibi Blocksberg of the Downtempo-Scene 😍 jinxed us with her super sweet deep mix "Notre Cœur Fait Boum" 💓💥
Her mysteriously mixes are always good for a surprise and with this set she made a great present for us because it´s exactly the kind of music we want to share with you 💞🎶
The Belgian DJane created the podcast-series The House Witchtapes which is indispensable for our community. 
What connects us too is the love for the nature and especially the forest 🌲🌳
For that reasons we are so happy to welcome her at the Kollektiv.Liebe family.

In this sense: ☮🤗🌈🦄&🧙‍♀

Hekske:
https://soundcloud.com/the-house-witchtapes

Hekske ❋ The House Witchtapes:
https://soundcloud.com/hekske

Kollektiv.Liebe Podcast:
soundcloud.com/kollektiv-liebe/sets/kollektiv-liebe-podcast
www.facebook.com/kollektivliebe/

Hekske

Hekske - Notre Cœur Fait Boum | Kollektiv.Liebe Podcast#67

Witchtape #49 | Guest Wizz : Sounds Of Deep Culture

The sage looked in awe at the majestic snow-capped mountain range which towered above him.  It looked absolutely impossible to climb these rugged mountains, yet his trusted guide owl made it clear that their path was going straight through this icy realm.  The epic journey of the sage had started one year earlier in South-East Asia, and on the way he had encountered a great number mystics and ascetics on his path, first crisscrossing the Indian subcontinent before spending several months in a Buddhist monastery in Tibet.  After that - as always following the directions from his faithful guide owl - the sage headed to the Northwest where he first crossed the vast and remote Tibetan plateau and endured the scorching heat of the inhospitable Taklamakan desert until he finally reached the foothills of the intimidatingly high Tian Shan mountain range.  After several days of climbing in misty conditions, he finally rose above the clouds and got an excellent view of the most elegant and majestic mountain peak he had ever seen, the Khan Tengri, a 7000 meter white giant which is located near the three-country point between China, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.  The summit looked like a near-perfect pyramid and was even more beautiful than the Matterhorn in Switzerland.  The name ‘Khan Tengri’ means ‘King Heaven’ and that’s a well-deserved name, as looking at this giant felt for the sage like a supreme mystic experience and he clearly felt the force of the mountain deities and even the awesome force of the universe.  Despite the biting cold and the thin air, the sage soon reached a meditative state of bliss which lasted for several hours.  
It dawned to him that this majestic mountain marked the halfway point of his epic trip from South-East Asia to an enchanted forest in North-Western Europe.  After crossing the mountain pass, he descended towards Kazakhstan which was completely different from the barren high-altitude deserts which he had crossed during the last few months.  Actually, as he reached the lower altitudes, he found himself in the middle of a pleasant lush green landscape full with colorful flowers, crystal clear streams and deep-blue mountain lakes.  This hidden corner of Central-Asia simply felt like paradise on earth.  The local people looked quite different from the people on the Chinese side of the mountains and they clearly had both Asian and European blood running through their veins.  It was the first time that the sage felt that he was nearing his final destination in North-West Europe, although it would still take him over one year before he would finally reach the enchanted forest… (to be continued)

Connect with the artist : 
https://soundcloud.com/soundsofdeepculture
vk.com/soundsofdeepculture

Cover picture :  ‘Panorama of the Tian Shan mountains’ (credits : Krishna Wu)

Witchtape #49 | Guest Wizz : Sounds Of Deep Culture

https://t.me/diaryfool
https://instagram.com/v34rags?igshid=NGExMmI2YTkyZg==

Hekske*The House Witchtapes

Ban_Der