Johann
Heyss, musician/writer, was born in Brazil and started working with music
in the early nineties, when him and guitar player Guilherme Jardim formed
with percussionist Henrique the trio Johann Heyss & As Relíquias Digitais.
Johann then started developing his style of composing, full of magickal atmospheres,
surreal images, Oriental and Brazilian harmonies and rhythms, erotica and
spirituality, all that filtered through electronic instruments and his peculiar
vocals. Guilherme Jardim played the synth-guitar and Henrique complemented
the drum machines with his earthly percussion. After rehearsing for a year,
they recorded the tape "Speed New Age", also the name of the live show they
performed in Rio de Janeiro and Niterói. After some time, each of them followed
different projects, and Heyss' project was a solo career, as well as writing
books on magick, esoterica, poetry and essays. Between 91-97 Johann developed
his solo work, producing with composer/keyboard player Raul Rachyd the tapes
and live shows "Música das Esferas", "Imerso Ancestral", "Open Mind" and "De
Mysteriis". In 1996 Johann signed with Record/Nova Era (http://www.record.com.br)
his first book, "Iniciação à Numerologia" -published in U.S.A. by Red Wheel
Weiser Books (http://www.weiserbooks.com)
in 2001, translated by Heyss as "Initiation into Numerology"(http://www.amazon.com).
In 1998 Johann Heyss moved to New York, where he lived for a year. There he
compiled the best songs of the tapes he produced with Rachyd to produce the
CD "Look Carefully" (download: http://www.fiberonline.com.br).
To promote the cd, he performed in different states such as New York ("S.O.B.'s"
and "Baby Jupiter") in the U.S.A. and Rio de Janeiro, Paraná, Minas Gerais,
Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina in Brazil, during the year of 1999, when
he returned to Brazil. The year of 2000 was dedicated to the promotion of
his second book by Record/Nova Era, "O Tarô de Thoth" (http://www.record.novaera.com.br),
and the production of his third book, "The Book of Numbers", signed by Red
Wheel Weiser and scheduled to release in the Spring of 2002. By that time,
Johann started programming and arranging songs all by himself (up to "Look
Carefully" this task was mainly done by Rachyd, while Johann guided the conceptual
part). The first result of such all-solo work (with the collaboration of Fabio
L. Maia on the guitars, and Lady Acid, Sérvio Túlio, Rogério S. and Simone
do Vale on the vocals), were the songs for "AL A.H.A.", a second album that
was not released as a cd, but actually on the Internet as mp3s (download:
http://www.novamusica.com.br),
and performed in Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte as the live how "Mindkiss",
which collected songs from "AL A.H.A." He also composed a soundtrack for his
books on numbers, "The Sound of Numbers" (http://www.radioleletrola.com),
unreleased, and contributed with programming and lyrics to the album "Underwater",
by Polystyrene. And now Johann had just finished "Psychosamba" ( send U$ 6.50
to Alexandre Gomes Soares, Caixa Postal 100153, Niterói, RJ, Brasil. Please
email johannheyss@johannseyss.s5.com,
to confirm the operationand and buy it now), 11 tracks of samba and Brazilian
music experiments. Psychedelic and macumba, plastic baiões, techno batuques
and somber sambas, putting up a different flavor to tropical beats. Nowadays,
Johann prepares a new live act and a new book on numbers ("The Numbers of
Love") as well as a short novel about vampires ("Caim is Back, a project developed
by Heyss and Fábio L. Maia) and a translation for an Aleister Crowley's book.
