Nemuer Band – Klára Sedlo: Revival of the Egyptian Book of the Dead

When you think of ancient Egyptian, everyone thinks of painted ones pictures, so-called hieroglyphs, with which the local residents wrote. Apart from that, they also had to come to an agreement verbally. As their conversation sounded, it remained for many years, actually rather not tens, not even hundreds, but thousands upon thousands of years, hidden under an impenetrable blanket of mystery. But it’s very difficult to succeed here now cover up.

An animated journey through the underworld

The ambient folk band Nemuer took a heavy burden on their shoulders. To set the Egyptian book of the dead to music. Fabulous a text that the ancient Egyptians used to explain what was happening when one of them did not wake up until the next day. A project that seems like a heavy burden, he bears bravely and with a vigor that is worthy of admiration. After all, the very name of the band, founded by Czech multi-instrumentalist Michael Zann, refers to the name of an ancient Egyptian deity.

The band’s project is all the more interesting because it is not just a music album. Ambitions aim higher, specifically towards an animated film. “They approached me for cooperation. They decided not to limit themselves to a music album, they wanted to have visual overlap, which I acknowledged with gratitude,” said the academic painter Klára Sedlo, who was fascinated by Egyptian culture from an early age. “To some extent, the visuality of ancient Egyptian paintings contributed to the formation of my artistic handwriting. I love ancient Egypt, who among us did not love it as a childright?” he adds.

And that they would invent the wording of the language and its intonation? Lars of the parish. Although this language has not been spoken for a long time, its secret helped them translated and explained by the renowned Egyptologist Christian Tutundjian de Vartavan. He himself in his book Vocalised Dictionary of Ancient Egyptian revealedas they used to say thousands of years ago in the regions where many Czechs go on vacation to admire the pyramids, ancient palaces and, of course, the “noseless” sphinx.

A bold project

The film should be, as Klára Sedlo admits, half live action, half animated. Accompanied by music authentic musical instruments that are no longer seen or heard today, but thousands of years ago they tinkled the ears of the listeners. However, the visual aspect of the entire project will depend above all on the boundless imagination, indisputable talent and skill of Klara’s fingers. “My oil paintings and paintings serve as the basis for the animated parts of the film“, she confided.

The band recently released their first single stone. The first step towards the realization of an undoubtedly ambitious project. But the rest of the steps on the path to its completion are in the stars – literally. That’s why the band from Prague is trying to make a film that shows promise in the future the dark and mysterious atmosphere of the Egyptian underworldshoot with help the public.