From the depths of the Egyptian underworld emerges Repelling Apophis, our brand new music video that resurrects one of humanity’s oldest ceremonies against darkness itself.
🐍 Join us tonight for the premiere — we will be there in the chat:
This piece marks the next chapter of our art-music film Going Forth by Day, which brings the Book of the Dead to life through a series of interconnected music videos. Repelling Apophis recreates a five-thousand-year-old ritual, in which red ceramic pots were ritually destroyed to repel Apophis — the serpent embodiment of darkness, chaos, and evil.
The video combines painter Klára Sedlo’s animated oil artworks with live-action scenes performed by Michael and Katarina Zann. While the animation follows the Sun God Ra’s boat and the gods’ confrontation with Apophis in the underworld, the live-action sequences mirror the divine struggle through a ritual reenactment. Acts such as piercing or burning papyrus inscribed with the serpent’s name directly affect the battle unfolding in the animation — reflecting the ancient belief that during such rites, performers could be temporarily possessed by the gods themselves.
Musically, Repelling Apophis features authentic ancient Egyptian instruments — sistrum, harp, flute, and lyre — combined with vocals sung in reconstructed Ancient Egyptian, created in collaboration with Egyptologist Dr. Christian de Vartavan. The lyrics are directly taken from ancient spells from the Book of the Dead, with English subtitles accompanying the video.
"I think most people don’t realize that we still fight darkness, chaos, depression and all kinds of evil as ancient Egyptians did, but just with different means. While some rituals were of violent nature, we miss its symbolic power that has a healing effect on our psyche. I believe Repelling Apophis has that same purifying quality — a reminder that even today, we need ways to face the chaos within."
— Michael Zann
We’d love to hear your thoughts on the video — leave us a comment on YouTube, and we’ll do our best to reply to all your questions.
Watch Repelling Apophis on YouTube: