You all probably know Polonius as the ill-fated busybody in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the father of Ophelia and Laertes who — spoiler alert — was stabbed to death by the titular Danish prince while hiding behind a tapestry. Only less well known is Polonius’s penchant for soundtrack work, here providing the sonic backdrop for the “adventures of The Golden Mystic,” detailed in the 2018 sci-fi/fantasy short Anaxia (directed by Weston Razooli).
Actually, they’re two different Poloniuses. Try not to get them confused.
The modern Polonius is a less-ill-fated busybody haunting the Golden Mystic’s steps. Anaxia is a 1970s fantasy adventure throwback, a paean to the sword-and-sorcerer tales of heroes, villains, and epic quests. I haven’t seen it. But I’ve seen Conan movies and stuff like Legend, so I get the gist. Polonius also gets the gist, and it’s not just because the longest tracks here, the ones he lingers on the most, are the obviously titled “Hunter-Prowler (Tracking in Oskexis)” and “Golden Mystic’s Harp Canticle: Pixie Exodus.” Well, it’s because of those too — just imagine what those tunes sound like! (You don’t have to wonder long, because you can listen to them below.)
It’s also because his idea of a score happens to line right up with the subject matter. Like a warped VHS copy of Anaxia, the film’s soundtrack discharges through tube-amp speakers, burbling and warbling its melodies and arpeggios directly into your imagination. Polonius has self-styled his music as “sciencefiction archeomiragical time travel,” and I don’t think you really have to dig any deeper into what that means — let it float there, in the moment, and grasp a section (or all) of it, then dive face-first into the swirling Anaxia seeing-pool. Be overcome by its magic myst and ritual rhythms. Let the adventure begin for you as well.
Just don’t hide behind the curtains, or whatever, as you go.
(Fairy)tape’s on ArteTetra! Get one.
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