Reviews of Helchemy
Just came across a couple of reviews of Gydja's Helchemy collected on Afe Records site.

From Gothronic, reviewed by Bauke Vanderval of The Law-Rah Collective (not sure about the Wiccan reference):
Before me is a whole stash of releases by the Italian label Afe Records. An independent label run by Andrea Marutti for the incrowd of the ambient, experimental drone scene better known as Amon or Never Known.

One of the new releases is from his hand, but at this moment the CD "Helchemy" by New Zealand artist Gydja is playing. Gydja is a one-woman project from Abby Helasdottir. An Icelandic name hailing from New Zealand, that can only mean extreme isolationism and that is exactly what fits the release - albeit with loads of ritual aspects. Next to that Abby is also active as Clear Stream Temple who released the CD "XVI" on Cold Spring Records.

The two tracks which are both around 25 minutes bear the illustrous titles "The Spirit of the Earth With Venom Intoxicate" and "The Black Sea, the Black Lune, the Black Soll". Hearing these titles you already know there will be poetic, magickal and ritualistic sounds. And that turns out to be quite fitting: ambient soundscapes with sudden moments of harmony, disharmonic atonal miniatures and meditative structures for inner peace.

This album is a perfect auditive guidance for rituals of witchcraft or magick. Limited to 100 copies and as there are way more Wiccans and Thelemites in this world, it would be wise not to wait too long with your purchase.
 

From Chain DLK (psychedelic crepuscular trips are us):
In a scene mostly crowded of male artists, Abby Helasdottir shows the basic idea that dark ambient/experimental music is exclusively male oriented is a bullshit, and this release also demonstrates the concept female musicians may have this or that characteristics is false.

As we've already said, this musician from New Zeland deals with dark ambient from the music to the layout and if you're looking for some supplementary hints I'd say this doesn't belong to the category of "I'll scare the shit out of you" dark-ambient releases, it's an heave trip for sure but it's a psychedelic crepuscular trip that presents some really melodic interventions that change the whole atmosphere of the two long tracks here included.

It looks like some sound source of this release comes from some old tape experiment she did during the late nineties and someway the global feel of the most obscure passages could suggest it, but if that puts forward the equation: "old sounds equals retro music"... forget it.

The interesting game of heavy passages and melancholic quasi-sacral movements is mainteined also in the second track of this work, here you've more outspoken keyboards sounds that twist the shape of the scenario but the style is really similar to the music of the opening suite.

I know you may not agree with me but I think Gydja's music fits really well with definitions such as "ecstatic", yes, "dark and esthetic" and considering she's far from those mono-drone recordings where you feel like bored to death after a few minutes, I'm sure you'll appreciate the way she maintained her composition dynamical by moving different elements and atmospheres during the length of every track.