Mortal Prophets releases new cover EP

New York City-based John Beckmann has always been a shape-shifter known for dismantling barriers between art forms and with his latest incarnation, Mortal Prophets, he takes that instinct further, turning sound into cinema and history into myth. The project is a haunting experiment in sonic exploration, where gospel meets glitch, blues collides with synths and the ghosts of American music are given new, electronic flesh.

Since launching in 2022, Mortal Prophets has developed into an ever-changing collective, a fluid group of collaborators who orbit John’s groundbreaking vision. Guitarist Parker Bryant and organist Beckett Laurent are among the key players helping build this spectral sonic world, where fragments of Americana, dream pop, ambient and minimalism bleed into one another. It’s music that feels ancient and futuristic at once, like finding an old prayer echoing through a digital cathedral.

The project first took form with the debut single “Stomp The Devil” and what followed was a series of singles and conceptual EPs; “New Breed,” “Sleeping In My Bed” and more ambitious releases like HANUSSEN The Enigmatic Clairvoyant: An Opera and Brian Eno In Heaven. Each new work widened the lens, bringing together John Beckmann’s cinematic style with his fascination for reinvention and reinterpretation.

Now, Mortal Prophets returns with Under The Influence, a five-track EP that reimagines the songs that shaped John’s own artistic expression. Going beyond mere covers, they’re full transformations that dive into the molecular structure of each piece. The EP threads together elements of art rock, post punk, Berlin-era experimentalism and no-wave minimalism, reshaping iconic tracks into something both alien and accessible.

Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer” becomes an ambient elegy, its golden glow twisted, folding the wide-open Californian sky into a fragile dream. Brian Eno’s “Third Uncle” is sharpened into a hypnotic, metallic-inflected jam, pulsing with a sense of post industrial panic that reframes the jittery original track into a murky outing wrapped in consuming atmosphere.

On “Sister Midnight,” John drags Iggy Pop’s paranoia even further into the shadows, forming a transportive piece where the buzz of synths and rattle of punchy percussion underpins his hushed vocal performance. With his take on David Bowie’s “Repetition,” he distills it into a minimalist fever dream, its claustrophobia refined into rhythm as the twinkle of sweeping synths and steady downtempo pulse of the beat takes listeners on an absorbing musical voyage. The record closes with an extraordinary take on Bush Tetras’ 1983 single “Too Many Creeps,” reimagined as a mesmeric dance through a decaying downtown, jagged basslines and all.

Rather than freezing its inspirations in amber, the EP dismantles them, dissecting, reassembling and electrifying their remnants until they feel reborn. It’s an incredible display of Mortal Prophets’ knack for deconstructing their influences and piecing them back together in visionary and truly impressive soundscapes. Through Mortal Prophets, John Beckmann has created a project that’s both homage and pioneering journey, offering a cinematic excavation of sound and memory.

Listen to Under The Influence below