Witch Prophet - Gateway Experience
Heart Lake Records
Released May 1, 2023
Gateway Experience is the highly anticipated follow-up release to Witch Prophet’s critically acclaimed concept album DNA Activation. The Ethiopian/Eritrean Toronto-based artist’s sophomore album was shortlisted for the Polaris Prize, and named the top album of 2020 by Cups N Cakes. Witch Prophet has once again created a concept album, but instead of considering connections to her culture and family, Witch Prophet focuses internally on her brain, and ruminates on the connections between her Temporal Lobe seizures and music, dreams, psychic abilities, god, and out-of-body experiences. This concept shifts Witch Prophet’s spell-casting in a more cerebral direction, so she’s invited a number of powerful collaborators to add their flavours to the cauldron, including Begonia, Zaki Ibrahim, DillanPonders, O.B.E, and SATE. Tying her mind-altering experiences to the CIA Gateway Experience, Witch Prophet carries the listener on an all-encompassing magical journey. Working again with producer and wife SUN SUN on Gateway Experience, the new album naturally revisits the sounds of DNA Activation and solidifies their collaborative trademark mantra-r&b, hip-hop & jazz infused style, but the increasing variety in SUN SUN’s production* allows for Witch Prophet’s vocals and songwriting talents to shine even more brightly.
Gateway Experience opens with Witch Prophet repeating “This is a dream…” as more and more layers of dreamy vocals join the mix, adding in thoughts like: “I am you and you are me… I dream everything I see…”. From the top, Witch Prophet is letting listeners know that they are in for a trance-inducing mix. The album continues with the aptly titled “Dreaming” (co-produced by SUN SUN & Junia T) featuring the sultry, smooth featured vocals of Zaki Ibrahim and a crisp neo-soul hip-hop beat reminiscent of Badu’s “Didn’t Cha Know”. The album continues with another standout, “Bird’s Eye View” ft O.B.E. These opening tracks invite the listener into a smooth, laid-back setting, but it isn’t long before the symptoms of Witch Prophet’s seizures introduce other effects… and a scan through the tracklist shows that while these experiences can lead to incredible out-of-body experiences, they also come with overwhelming and sometimes terrifying effects (“Dizzy”, “I’m Scared”, “Fire”, “Save Me”). Witch Prophet touches on these experiences with soulful vocals over the back-to-back horn-filled hip-hop tracks “Dizzy” and “Aura”: “Got me dizzy, dizzy, dizzy. Fall on my knees. Dizzy, dizzy, dizzy. Begging and pleading, don’t take my breath away… Life flashes past my eyes, and before I know it, I’m hypnotised…”, and “It’s a warning, watch your back, it’s about to attack… I got this feeling I can’t control, deep in my soul, ringing in the ear, it’s a warning, overwhelming fear, it’s a warning, dreams reappear, it’s a warning, it’s a warning…” These two tracks are most similar to DNA Activation, layering mantra-like vocals with hip-hop beats and bold, expressive trumpet by Tara Kannangara.
Before you start to think Witch Prophet and SUN SUN are relying on old tricks, the album drops into the piano/vocal focused “I’m Scared”, shining the spotlight solely on Witch Prophet’s stunning vocal control and ability to transmute emotions. The track opens with a simple piano melody as Witch Prophet questions her mind and her fear of the unknown: “I’m scared of what lies ahead, unknown mysteries in my mind I see, where do I go when I close my eyes?” She later pleads for support and safety as gorgeous strings and layered vocals add lift and comfort, “Hold my hand, take my heart, keep me safe in your arms…cuz I’m scared of what lies ahead.” This vulnerable track is a highlight on an album full of highlights. There aren’t enough words to write succinctly about the remainder of this album, including the fiery singles “Memory” ft. Begonia, and “Energy Vampire” ft. DillonPonders. You could probably also just listen to the album closer “God Universe Magic (GUM)” ft. SATE on repeat and be satisfied for years… but instead, I highly recommend you dig into the depths of Witch Prophet’s brain with this exceptional release, and do not hesitate to experience her magic in person whenever she comes through your city.
- Gregory Torwalt
*producer of Gateway Experience, SUN SUN, released her sophomore album, No Friends in Toronto, in April 2023. The album features Witch Prophet, DillonPonders, Lex Leosis, among others. Find Gregory’s Pick of the Week album review here.
