Double-edged and triple-edged swords
I wish you to pierce your heart
Son of the widow
With the charming eyes
with the cat’s eyes
The ancient Greek term Κατάρα (Katára) signifies a curse, a malevolent wish cast upon someone, rooted in vengeance and destruction. It originates from κατά (kata) meaning “against” and ἀρά (ara), invoking the spirit of divine wrath. In Aeschylus’s tragedy Eumenides, the Erinyes, or Furies, are known as “Arai” (Curses), symbolizing relentless vengeance. Meanwhile, θρήνος (thré̱nos) translates to “lament,” capturing deep sorrow and grief. It is a poignant outpouring of emotional pain and loss, deeply tied to mourning traditions, echoing through ancient rituals and human expressions of despair.
Venus Volcanism, born Rena Rasouli on the island of Crete, is an Icelandic-based musician, vocalist, and sound explorer who has been living in Siglufjörður, Iceland for the past three years. She blends dark-wave, post-punk, techno, and ambient music with traditional and polyphonic elements. Collaborating with various artists from the Greek music scene, Rasouli is also a member of several projects, including the Danish/Greek electronic duo V.V.I.A., the Lepidoptera duo, and the Arismari Trio, showcasing her multifaceted approach to experimental and genre-blurring music.
Katara’s Lament is Venus Volcanism’s dark ambient folk interpretation of a traditional Greek song from the region of Crete, which belongs to the category of Rizitika songs. Her delicate voice rides roughened edges, warping under the weight of distortion and soaring on wings of reverb. She lays her drones and pedals down like fog over a field, wrapping the Icelandic chill in whispers of Cretan warmth—ice cracking underfoot, birds migrating through the blue, bells clanging from a distant flock. It’s a clash and communion of worlds, bound by sound. Fans of Dead Can Dance, Steeleye Span, Clannad, Enya and Cocteau Twins will be mesmerized by this astonishing performance.
“Rizitika songs,” she reflects, “hold roots in Cretan earth, sprouting from the western hills to the eastern flats.” Traditionally voiced by men, this tune shifts its sorrow, bending it into a woman’s lament—a raw plea carved from betrayal’s wound, a curse curled on her lips.
Yolanda Mouzakitis conjures a vision, vivid and veiled—a woman draped in red, drifting like a ghost through the green hush of nature. Her heart, bruised and blistered, finds solace among the whispering leaves. She moves with a slow, simmering grace, her presence a wound and a warning. Vengeance pulses from her fingertips, a furious force unleashed on the faithless, a storm cast against all cads of past and present. Her rage ripples through the landscape, turning the air electric, as she breathes life into the quiet earth, transforming sorrow into a searing flame that refuses to flicker out.
“We found that Katara’s Lament held a vivid story on its own from the moment we first listened to it,” says Mouzakitis. “The idea of the curse and a song rooted in Greek culture but reimagined from an experimental perspective inspired us to create this music video, which dives deeper into the complex world of emotions of a human in charge of a curse. The rage, love, and regret are told from the perspective of someone powerful enough to deliver curses. The video conveys all the psychological intricacies of the main character through color, texture, and primal imagery, like shots of nature or bones on sand.”
Watch the video for “Katara’s Lament” below:
Birthed and bound just 32 miles below the Arctic Circle, TISSUE crackles with the cadence of a cold wind’s whisper, its pulse thumping to the beat of nature’s rhythm. Each note nestles into a landscape shaped by field recordings, lifted from Iceland’s craggy arms, where sound springs and shivers in the chill. The word “tissue,” spun from the Latin root texere, tells of a pattern formed, a song sewn. Venus folds and flutters those repeating rhythms—ethereal echoes, slow-breathing synths, and soft arpeggios—into an undulating blend with the natural world’s raw murmur.
Her music has been released on labels like Weaponise Your Sound/Optimo, Submersion Records, Women of V.V.I.A., Natty Wombat Records, Phormix, Meta Moto, Vinylograph, June Records, and Echovolt.
TISSUE is out now via Submersion Records. Listen to Katara’s Lament at the link below, and order here.
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