Golem Mecanique: medieval instruments meet contemporary music

French multi-instrumentalist, singer, and composer Karen Jebane, known as Golem Mecanique, blends medieval instruments with contemporary music. Her latest album, "Siamo tutti in pericolo" (2025), released on Stephen O'Malley's label Ideologic Organ, takes its title from Pier Paolo Pasolini's last interview. Jebane uses a motorized wooden hurdy-gurdy, loop stations, and tape recorders to create hypnotic, minimal music. She cites influences from literature and poetry, and her work evokes a dark, gothic folk with refined drones. Jebane, also a painter, poet, and ceramist, plans to shift Golem Mecanique toward dark folk and black metal, moving away from the hurdy-gurdy in future recordings. She describes art as shaping the void and music as a non-verbal language that unites strangers. Her most moving visual art experience was at the Musée Soulages in Rodez, where she cried before Pierre Soulages' Outrenoir works. Jebane's formative musical influences include Blondie and Kate Bush, and she recalls a transformative performance at the Echoes festival in the French mountains.