The Sounds of Khemit label launched last year with a base in Brooklyn and a thread of inspiration running back to Egypt. The imprint has focused on various artists releases, drawing on some of the more interesting producers around the globe to further their message. We caught up with label founder and visionary Wael and label boss Chris Nhii to hear more.
Wael & Chris Nhii - Interview
Wael, Chris, welcome to Minimal Mag.
Wael if I can start with you, in 2021 you founded the exciting new label, Sounds of Khemit. However, from what we understand it is not just a music label though. What is the premise of the concept as a whole?
Sounds of Khemit is a community, record label, Spiritual retreats & media house that is based on the philosophy i wrote in my upcoming book The Manual of Spiritual illumination, that has what I call it “The Manual, the method on how to level up in your consciousness, your awareness to higher states” It contains the 9 pillars on how exactly to do so, and those 9 pillars are the foundations of Sounds of Khemit project, Music is one aspect of these foundations.
You both take on different roles within the label. How do you work together to ensure your vision is realised?
Actually the whole Label is orchestrated by Chris, whom i am so grateful for all the amazing work, I just envision the spiritual and historical side of it, like the story behind the names of the releases along with the energy levels of the names of the tracks. Our work together is always in harmony and mutual understanding and taste.
What is the story behind the name of the label?
Khemit is the name of Ancient Egypt, meaning “the black land.” The name derives from the mud (Arabic: “tamy”) which the Nile river flood brings to the soil every year, causing irrigation and the flourishing of the plants as a symbol of prosperity and abundance in life. From Khemit have come the fundamental esoteric and occult teachings which have strongly influenced the philosophies of all races, nations and peoples for several thousand years. Khemit, the home of the pyramids and the Sphinx, and many other monuments is the birthplace of the hidden wisdom and the legacy of mystical spiritual teachings. From Khemit’s secret doctrines, all nations have borrowed, The Masters of the land of Osiris, Isis, Horus and the great Enneads so freely provided for those who seeked to be illuminated by the precious knowledge that the great masterminds of this land gathered together. Sounds of Khemit mission is to bring light from darkness.
Sounds of Khemit is still in the early days of its journey however it has gained some serious traction in the scene. What does the roadmap for the future look like?
In 2022 we will be having a lot of excitement, starting with the publishing of the Manual of Spiritual illumination, we will also have a presence in ADE this year, we will also release our first phase of NFT (ecofriendly) based membership structure that will give different rewards & perks to all our community in the different aspects of the project moreover we are working on a proof of concept gathering in order to demonstrate the 9 pillars of spiritual illumination.
Benyebe - Solar
All of the releases on the label have beautifully crafted abstract artworks. What is the intention behind this; does it seek to reflect the music, and who is responsible for the visual imagery?
The artworks are all created from our design head Michelangelo Greco (it is his real name) aka the DUDEGRAPH with the initial idea of our partner Row Weber who is threading a lot of creative and business decision in the background. The idea was, as Wael just mentioned basically, to connect the ancient wisdom with the modern world. Michelangelo also worked on the logo and the CI of Sounds of Khemit. The Logo represents Metatron Cube, the mystical cube that represents the energy flow between different points.
All-together I think logo, visuals and content help to fulfil Sounds of Khemit’s mission.
Chris, as Head of A&R at Sounds of Khemit, what do you look for when signing new talent?
It’s really fun to discover new talent. We are on our 10th release now, but we could already release a couple of newcomers. Our concept, to release 3 trackers with we established artists and newcomers really works well for both sides.
Most important for me is as an A&R is, that the artist is true to her/himself. I don’t think that you should produce a specific sound just to land on a specific label. This way you are not going to develop your own sound and stand out. Just try to be creative and innovative. If your music is creative and well produced, you will find a top label for it. That said, the fundamentals of audio engineer should be fully understood. But if I hear a song, which is not quite well produced but has what we are looking for, then I will definitely let the artist know and help out with some tipps. With Sounds of Khemit we pursue a specific type of sound design to match our frequencies. I think this is one of the reasons for our consistency.
You are also a hugely successful DJ and producer yourself under your moniker ’Nhii’. How do you balance your time to focus on both the label as well as your own musical career?
To be honest, it is very time consuming, but as long as it has to do with music I will always love it. At the moment I don’t have the time for things like exercising – but it’s not exciting to me anyway. I’ve read that the brain is most creative when it works on a scheduled routine – I found that to be true and adapted this ever since. So being efficient with your time is probably the most important factor here.
With summer now set in motion, what exciting things can we expect from Sounds of Khemit?
Creating more beauty in our monthly releases along with an upcoming gathering for our NFT (eco friendly) launch.
Sounds of Khemit - Links
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