Mortal Prophets, the project of New York City, USA-based John Beckmann, has been featuring on these pages since last summer and in that time I’ve already run the rule over two of his albums. Now I can make it three with his opera HANUSSEN The Enigmatic Clairvoyant.

By Graeme Smith

Feature photo by Cat Chow

John is an artist who always enjoys forging his own path and each of his releases shows a dramatically different side to this sound. Even by his standards, HANUSSEN feels boundary-pushing. It takes the traditional idea of an opera and modernises it while bringing in an experimental twist.

The opera is a biopic of sorts of Erik Jan Hanussen. A Jewish mystic born in Vienna, Austria, he somehow ended up as a psychic advisor to Adolf Hitler. From that privileged position, Hanussen proceeded to fool Hitler through fortune-telling made possible through an informant. It’s the kind of bizarre tale you simply can’t make up, and proves a rich foundation for John’s record.

Electronic layers swirl with atmospheric percussion in the story’s Prologue that sets the scene for its following thirteen acts and Epilogue. We are treated to cosmic etherealness, distorted piano melodies, ghoulish ambiance, and lingering meditations before arriving at a chilling, dischordant climax.

Mortal Prophets is an act like no other, and I’m always delighted when John’s music makes its way to my virtual desk. He certainly won’t be to everyone’s taste, but those with an open mind will get a lot out of what he’s doing, and should be equally fevered with anticipation for his next release.

HANUSSEN is performed by John Beckman on all instruments with vocals from the Dämmerungschor. It was recorded at Lux Astralis in New York, and was mastered by Jonas W. Karlsson and Henkka Niemistö Mastering in Helsinki and Los Angeles.

You can give the album a listen below.