Hello, I’m Asenath Blake, the witch you met once in the forest of dreams, remember? I’m coming back to you with a new dungeon synth project called Gwenwyn.

Where did you come from and where are you going?

Before me, I was not; after me, I will not be. Between these two absences from myself, I try to become aware of what this curious epiphenomenon means, of the possibilities and responsibilities it involves, of the luck that comes with the inconvenience of being born.

What preoccupies your mind these days?

I would like to know the names of all the plants, animals and stars, to be moved by my loved ones, to see the moon finally meet the sun and to laugh at the terrible and delicious fear that this world gives me.

Name a favourite taste, touch, sound, sight and smell.

I like the taste of the last fruit of the season which, on the palate, is like a melancholic goodbye to the time that has just passed.

I like the touch of cold, wet lips of the undines that playfully kiss our legs we bathe in the streams in summer.

I like the whispering of the hills as they speak in their thousand year old sleep and murmur their stone secrets.

I like the tracks left by animals in the forest which, despite our impression of being alone, assure us of an invisible presence.

I like the smell of blossoming trees that have just been struck by lightning and whose flowers are like candles in the night.

Describe one of your most vivid dreams or nightmares

My earliest memory is a dream memory, or rather a nightmare one. I was at the swimming pool and the city was being attacked by Cyclops who were destroying everything in their path. Buildings were collapsing and fire was spreading everywhere. I must have only been three or four years old when I had this vision, which is rather strange because I was far too young to have any cultural knowledge of these titanic and mythical beings.

Have you ever had an uncanny experience?

Many! I have come to see the supernatural as simply what happens in the blind spot of the natural. My attention to these peripheral, liminal movements has led me to want to work with and incorporate them into my art. This is what people call magic, although the term is overused by either too pompous or too frivolous usages.

How does your sense of place affect the way you express yourself?

It takes time to tame what the ancients called genius loci, the spirit of the place. To do this, you have to see the seasons go by there, listen to the diffuse sounds that make up its voice, taste the local products to understand what goes on underground. Only rootedness invites you to an inner journey that I much prefer to a spatial one. Music is the flying broom on which I invite you to follow me in these imaginary escapades.

What has particularly touched or inspired you recently?

For my latest dungeon synth album entitled The Hexing Jar, I read a lot about traditional pharmacopoeia and ethnobotany because I wanted to use the art of poison as an underlying theme for this work. I also got my hands dirty because theoretical knowledge without praxis is worthless. No one can claim to be truly interested in cooking by simply reading recipe books.

Tell us a good story, anecdote or joke.

This is the true story of a man who was fed up and wanted to remedy his problem with a powerful magic ritual. His request was simple: he wanted to finally have peace and sex. After the police had arrested him on the public highway drawing cabalistic figures with his own blood, he got more or less what he wanted. He was committed to a mental institution where he was the target of non-consensual touching. Be careful what you wish for.

Asenath Blake

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