The Brvtalist is pleased to premiere a new track from Acolytes of Yama. The London-based collaborative project between musician and producer Flaminia and shamanic singer and creative director Benas BAR, “Blood Moon” comes off the duo’s debut EP, Torn Up From The Roots (Metempsychosis). The EP is a statement celebrating the feeling of being lost and not belonging. An invitation to explore, inquire and question and an encouragement to cut off the roots, to go and look for more.

We were immediately drawn in to the project’s powerful mystic presence. Three divine works of electronics whose bloodline traces to a familiar yet unknown ancestry. With percussion which march us toward uncharted and exotic new realms.

The full EP is out March 26th and you can pick it up on Bandcamp. Ahead of the EP’s release, we asked Flaminia a few questions about her recent travels with Benas BAR, the concept of the record and what’s coming up next. Find our Q&A below.

The Brvtalist: Before we get to the release, you recently returned from an extended time away from London. Tell us a little bit about your trip.

Flaminia: I have been living in London for almost 7 years and life here can get quite intense.

Last November, Benas - the shamanic singer of the EP - and I decided to take a break and we left to start exploring India for a few months.

I felt the need to just live without having any plan or schedule to follow. I wanted to be present in the moment, to take the time to really know myself, to explore, to live new adventures.

Is hard to go deeply into yourself when the environment that surrounds you is always the same as you get comfortable and stop evolving. Sometimes you need to put yourself into a completely new situation, out of that bloody comfort zone. The only way to know who you are is to be open to new possibilities every day and choose who you are gonna be by facing new scenarios.

TB: How did the project of Flaminia and Acolytes of Yama materialize? Did you set out with a certain sound/idea in mind?

F: The project started very spontaneously, in a time I was trying to explore a different sound from club music.

I was going through a bit of a difficult phase of my life, with lots of changes going on and I started seeking a sound that I was hoping would help me feel more grounded.

For the same reason, I started exploring sound meditation. At that time, Benas, already a very good friend of mine, was collaborating on a series of gong baths in London. I got really into those events and started going there regularly. I was already meditating daily for a few years, but doing it with the help of sound opened completely new doors in my consciousness, allowing me to reach much deeper meditative states.

It then came quite natural for me to try to use those beautiful sounds in my productions and in my live sets. I fell in love with the tones of the gongs and even bought a few gongs that I now sample to create dark and deep atmospheres. Benas in the meantime was also training in throat singing, so we tried to combine the two things together and it seemed to work.

We just spent nights jamming and singing together and in a couple of months, we had more than 15 tracks done. We discovered we get along very well music-wise and decided to give a name to the project and start releasing the music.

TB: Your music has a very powerful spiritual element. Tell us about the concept of the release and a few things that inspired it.

F: The concept of the release is definitely inspired by my recent travels, or better by the reason behind the decision to travel. All the tracks were created at the time that Benas and I decided to leave London - and a part of our lives - behind.

It was a very interesting moment that allowed us to go deeper into knowing ourselves. And leaving behind a part of myself, helped me grow into the person I am today.

The EP is dedicated to finding the courage to take the leap and celebrating the feeling of being lost and not belonging to one place, rather than fighting them away because of fears. Cause eventually it’s that feeling that is going to help us move into the next stage of our life.

TB: You are also a touring DJ. What elements of your music or influences do you try to bring to your dance floor driven sets?

F: The element that I always try to bring to the dance floor is telling a story through the music. I try to build up a set with a certain idea of where I want the listeners to get at a specific point in time. I think my sets are definitely hard, but I always try to keep an emotional element in them.

And I like to drop tunes that I hope will open different “doors” in people’s mind. I had some of the deepest revelations and insights on a dance floor and music has been the tool to drive me there. I think the beauty of music is to allow people to be connected with oneself and with others. That’s what I took away from my club experiences and that’s what I am trying to give back to the audience.

TB: What's coming up next?

F: I want to keep on working on shaping my sound until the point where it allows me to express fully what I feel - not sure that will ever happen, but it’s kinda what I aim for.

I will also be pushing my label Metempsychosis, by releasing more of my own music as well as that of other artists I believe in.

I have some music that I’ve been working on with End Train. As we run Metempsychosis together, we have always been very connected artistically, have a very similar vision of life and of the industry and now we are back in the studio together. I am very excited to put it out!

A new project I am very excited about, is also a new collaboration with my good friends Tapefeed. Last year we decided to try to create together a new sound, something to push us out of our comfort zone artistically. I am really really really happy with what we got and we are planning to present that soon.

And I have other few interesting releases coming out, but still TBA :)

Thank you for having me