Hecate

Rachael Lynn Gabriela Kozak-Salmi (born May 26, 1976), better known by her stage name Hecate, is an American-Austrian experimental industrial and breakcore musician currently based in Vienna.

Her stage name originates from Hecate, the Greek goddess of sorcery.

With a career spanning over 20 years and over 30 releases to her name, she is considered one of the most prolific female producers of dark underground electronic music.

Together with Kareem, she co-founded the independent record label Zhark Recordings in 1996, before parting ways and continuing her share of the label as Zhark London/Zhark International.

The formation of the label was a direct response to the lack of suitable outlets for non-mainstream and underground electronic artists.

With the formation of Zhark Recordings in 1996, two collaborations with DJ Kareem appeared on 7" vinyl titled 'In the Bush' and 'The Payback'. Besides the 1997 cassette-tape-only release 'Pay for Protection' (via Kool.POP), the records served as the first major appearances of her under the Hecate persona.

In 1998, Hecate founded Homewrecker Recordings (a.k.a. The Homewrecker Foundation), an all-female electronic label she described as being "born of want".

From there she proceeded to release her own solo material beginning with 1998's 'Hate Cats' on 12". The following year saw the release of 'Negative World Status', a prominent piece of work released both as 12" black vinyl and a limited edition dark pink vinyl, limited to 500 copies.

The EP was well received, with a UHT article stating: "Pray to die before becomes real what this music is trying to describe you! Masterpiece in the genre!"

The label was put to rest in 2001, with Hecate stating that although she will always encourage female talent in the genre: "you can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink".

The first Hecate full-length LP was released in 2001, entitled 'The Magick of Female Ejaculation' on double 12" and compact disc. While the vinyl edition contained eleven tracks, the CD edition contained a further four bonus tracks. The press release for the LP describes it as "eleven channels on a journey through the female psyche experienced through the eyes and ears of Hecate". With its dominant themes of love, life, sex and death, Hecate listed The Marquis de Sade as being amongst her influences. The ninth track features Rachael/Hecate reading the opening paragraph of de Sade's prolific 1795 story 'Philosophy in the Bedroom' (La philosophie dans le Boudoir).

A string of successful LP and EP releases followed.

Amongst her more controversial works is the 2003 release Nymphomatriarch with Venetian Snares.

The album was constructed of synthesised recordings created during their sexual activities on the road.

Hecate later spoke out about the blatant sexism and erasure of her contribution that she endured in the wake of the release.

Hot on the heels of 'Philosophy In The Bedroom', her next full-length offering 'Ascension Chamber' materialised in 2003.

Another double 12"/CD release, the ten tracks of the album relate to the ten separate sephiroths of the Qabalah. The cover artwork and gatefold painting were created by Hecate herself, being an artist for many years already (see 'As a Multidisciplinary Artist' below). She later confessed that it is one of the few Hecate releases to contain tracks that could possibly be described as "uplifting" due to the seemingly gentle nature of 'Kether' and 'Chesed'. Nonetheless, a review in Terrorizer Magazine praised the continuation of the Hecate sound: "While listening to Hecate's 'Ascension Chamber' you could swear blind that it's being used as a portal for her devious demons to enter your realm and screw with the sounds of the universe.

The depth and structure to the tracks is awesome, you think you can recognise sounds, but then they blend and bleed into another forever transforming and mutating, changing the very essence of the tunes.

Outstanding."

2004 brought forth Seven Veils of Silence, a concept album of sorts described as "a sonic storytelling of Salome".

The album was initially released as a 12" with bonus 7" and later issued on CD.

The album was heavily praised for its use of atmospheric Middle Eastern music and departure from the typical Breakcore genre, with one IGLOO review stating: "It doesn't sound breakcore (sic) anymore, there are only some jungle breaks here and there but they don't affect the dark rarefied atmosphere of the album. There are a lot of oriental influences instead, like horns, chants and percussions, mixed with buzzing bass and clicky electronics. The overall sound is gloomy, menacing and claustrophobic, emphasized by the apocalyptical landscape of the artwork. Seven Veils of Silence defines a genre on its own."

Returning closer to her roots in 2005, Hecate released a limited special mini LP Wholesale Massacre of All Identifiable Replicas on clear 12" vinyl. The sleeve was hand screened both inside and outside along with individual hand numbering. A total of 499 copies were created. Delving heavily into themes of drug abuse and twisted love, William S. Burroughs' 'Naked Lunch' was cited as a loose inspiration alongside her own nights of heavy excess.

Mixing hardcore electronica with elements of heavy metal, her solo releases include the 2006 album Brew Hideous, described by Exclaim! author Laura Taylor as "a hellish soundtrack to an old, real-life horror".

Of all her full-length released, 2006's Brew Hideous appeared to amass the most critical acclaim in dark music media owing to its infusion of electronic music with strong nods to Black Metal.

Even the cover artwork and new logo paid homage to the extremities of the Black Metal genre.

This era also marks the beginning of Hecate's ongoing collaboration with Belphegor.

Centred around the real-life persecution of accused witches – and their subsequent torture and execution – the album's track listing appears carefully ordered to tell a story.

From the ritualistic antics of a witches' coven ('Coven In Heat') to their eventual punishment ('Trial By Ordeal'), 'Brew Hideous' is "A journey into the heart of darkness and a bewildering sustained release of menace" according to Terrorizer's Jonathan Selzer.

Cue Mix Magazine hailed the record as one of her best.

Having previously toured the country in 2008 alongside members of UTEROZZZAAA, yet another invite was extended in 2017 from U Hang No Da.

As a performance artist, she has made appearances in Belphegor's 2010 music video 'Impaled Upon the Tongue of Satan' and Daniel Vrangsinn's 2011 video project 'Taboo'.

Brew Hideous - The Remixes was released in 2011 via Ad Noiseam and featured contributions from White Darkness, Amboss, Vile Enginez and Slutmachine.

Hecate has toured extensively as Hecate, being invited to play in various locations all over the world.

The USA and Europe featured heavily on her touring schedule, alongside opportunities in further regions such as South America and Russia.

As her reputation spread, Hecate was also invited to DJ in Japan.

Her first exhibition was at SMart Café in Vienna, May 2014.

After a period of absence from her Hecate persona, she returned once again in 2017 with two collaborations: 'Absolution' with Instinct Primal and 'Final Planet 666' with Der Blutharsch and the Infinite Hand of the Leading Path.

Outside of the music scene, Hecate also exhibits as a multidisciplinary artist.

Her works include large-scale paintings, illustrations, ceramic sculptures, screen printed clothing and mixed media montage.