Ongs Hat Compleat - Official Soundtrack

Polypores

July 28, 2025

ARG / Electronic / Ambient

The soundtrack to the audiobook version of Ong's Hat: Compleat - by Joseph Matheny with Sequoya Kennedy. Includes a PDF version of the text. Back in the early 1990's, a conspiracy theory/urban legend was doing the rounds on internet messageboards, about a group of scientists and mystics who opened a portal to an alternative dimension in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. In Ong's Hat:Compleat, the creator of this fascinating piece of living, infinite art, Jospeh Matheny, talks to podcaster and AI wizard Sequoya Kennedy about it's intentions and origins, and all manner of highly weird shit that happened in the process. It’s a tale that intertwines early AI, paranormal encounters, emergent phenomena, and the nascent Internet culture of the late 1980s and early 1990s. The story is a rich tapestry woven from diverse cultural threads: Psychedelic and avant-garde art movements Punk rock and industrial music scenes Experimental theater and method acting Hermetic magick and beat literature The Esalen Institute’s influence Philip K. Dick’s literary works This narrative is a modern spiritual quest, blending these eclectic elements into a compelling journey. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I’m super-thrilled to be involved with this, as a big fan of both Matheny and Kennedy’s previous work. Those who are watching carefully might remember that Matheny’s Ong’s Hat project was a big inspiration behind my album “There Are Other Worlds”, so it really means a lot to be onboard. The soundtrack was created using a modular synthesizer I put together for the occasion, relying on a number of techniques including (but not limited to) chaos, random generation, feedback loops, tarot, the I Ching, cybernetic systems, trance, self-generation, mind-altering chemicals, The Gateway Tapes, and automatic writing, I hope some of you will check this out, it’s a fascinating story, weirder than most fiction, and somehow still self-perpetuating... Check it out here: https://josephmatheny.com/ongs-hat-compleat/ (Also available on Amazon/Google Play etc) I'd highly recommend either paperback or audiobook "Ong's Hat: The Beginning" as a good place to start. Or the audiobook/podcast "This Is Not A Game" by Marc Fennell - which offers a good intro to the whole thing,