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"Provides powerful
ambient music for conjuring spells from the Egyptian Book of the Dead,"
said one well-disposed soul, with another proclaiming an album "saturated with
so many cultural influences and traditions as to make fixity of origin a futile
pursuit, this is music that is made at once for its own sake and for that of all
who listen to it."
The name 'The Divine Simplicity' was inspired by the concept of the 'The
Divine Simplicity' as expounded by the 13th century priest,
of the Dominican Order, Saint
Thomas Aquinas, who developed the comprehensive system of theology &
philosophy know as
Thomism. The name is also the title to the
last chapter in Zone's book 'Beautiful
Machine'.
Released on Potentia (catalogue No.ZONE CD004) in 1994 on CD format only, in
an initial edition of 1000 copies, and distributed through World Serpent
Distribution.
The front cover of the CD booklet depicts an unknown street within the old
part of the ancient city of
Samarkand in Uzbekistan.
 The
CD's rear cover picture was
photographed by Andrew in 1985 when visiting the
Summer Palace of
Peter
the Great in St.Petersburg, Russia, and is of the fountains and golden
statues located within the Summer Gardens,
at the entrance to the palace. This photograph was taken from the third chapter,
entitled 'Golden Rain', of Zone's book
'Beautiful Machine'.
The CD booklet also contains pictures of the White Mosque in
Bukhara, Uzbekistan, and the
Hill of Crosses in Siauliai, Lithuania. All the photographs used in the CD
booklet taken prior to the break up of the old Soviet Union and were chosen
simply due to their sense of grandeur.
Three sections of inspirational text were reproduced within the CD booklet.
The first was taken from
the summary of
Zone's book 'Beautiful Machine', as printed
on the books dust jacket:-
'The Divine Simplicity' allows for absolute
complexity within the utter simplicity of Unity, Unity as seen in all its
diversity and also the underlying Unity of all that appears as diversity.
The second was taken from
Jean Arp's poem 'Breath', which reads:-
 A crystal-sounding sky
displays its whirlwinds of light
on the colorless world of death.
Beauty with a wide invincible breastplate
and glistening limbs
alights before the absurdity of the void.
And a flood of divine light
dashes through the immensity of a breath.
The
third being a part reproduction of the poem 'The
Divine Simplicity' also taken from Zone's book 'Beautiful
Machine'.
The CD itself was printed with a copy of the original picture, from which the
'Beautiful Machine'
project logo was derived. This picture is of the golden mosaic's that adorn
the walls of the
Gur Emir
Mosque in
Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Andrew had visited the mosque back in 1985 and had
been overwhelmed by it's intricate beauty.
The project logo
for 'The Divine Simplicity' is the Potentia Logo itself, which represents the 'Axis
Mundi', or centre of the world, where all pairs of opposites come together.
In this static cross, the place of the interaction of macrocosm and microcosm,
stands man.
The title to the track 'The Wisdom of the Prophets' was taken
from the name of the book regarded as
Muhyiddin
Ibn 'Arabi's most important work, translated from it's original Arabic name
of 'Fusûs al-Hikam'. |
