Best album art ever?
Wow! Head-chief Trey Spruance always seems to do this to us; makes us wait for ages, and then unleashes a whole barrage of new stuff at once (see the amazing slurry of 7″‘s produced last year).
First up, the new album (pictured above), which will be available as a limited 12″ vinyl (and non-limited CD), is the bands take on the Italian ‘Giallo‘ horror-soundtrack genre:
“The first thing to note is that Giallo cinema music has the distinction of having been graced by nearly all the great masters of Italian film music in general: Bruna Nicolai, Stelvio Cipriani, Ennio Morricone, Goblin, Pierro Piccioni etc. And though this area of “B cinema” certainly has its appreciators, one still-underplayed element is that when considering the music, Giallo’s harmonic language was developed by brilliant people who, by current musical and aesthetic standards, set the bar very high. For any of us wannabes to share in the magic of this lost artform, we have to bring a bit more more to the table than some vintage amps & keyboards and vague undeveloped musical ideas based only in hipster aesthetics. Because if you ignore the deeper intricacies of the music theory at work, the orchestration, the arrangement, etc., you’re really only asking to make an ass of yourself (which is likely anyway no matter what you do). But the usual thing is to sample stuff or simply borrow themes from the masters and to then repackage them in a new “updated” context. Well, in a climate like that we should emphasize that Le Mani Destre Recise Degli Ultimi Uomini is quite simply an album of original compositions.”
I actually cannot wait to hear this, as I am a huge fan of both the Secret Chiefs, and the Giallo style. SC3 have been pulling some truly spectacular musical masterpieces out of minds recently, and these two worlds colliding can only be a great thing!
Buy Buy Buy!!
But hold up, that is not all. Annouced earlier this year, we are also being treated to a live DVD from the band. Now, if you read my review of their recent London show (still can’t get over the fact that it took 12 years for it happen mind you), you’ll know that the live experience is just as mind-blowing as the recorded:
“…this DVD does justice to a group whose live energy usually exceeds the recorded medium. Renowned for their ultra-elaborate CD productions, Secret Chiefs 3 has also garnered a reputation for the power and immediacy of their live shows. Their fanbase has swelled in recent years and grown accustomed to this live incarnation (the Secret Chiefs 3 bootleg scene is thriving), and they demand an official release! Not just some audience-hand-cam and stereo-mic-job thing, this DVD boasts a pro six-camera shoot with live sound mixed by Billy Anderson, with the multi-channel outs mixed for DVD by Trey Spruance and Randall Dunn (producer of Earth, SUNNO))), Kinski, Wolves in the Throne Room, etc). And it comes with a really nice six-panel gatefold digi-pack with original artwork.”
I’m going to get my hands on these asap, so expect reviews soon!
Ken Eakins
Please support artists like the Secret Chiefs 3 by going direct to the source and buying their work directly from them. Both of these items, and loads of other cool releases, are available from the amazing Mimicry Records online store.
A slurry is a mixture of urine and excrement.
A flurry is a great deal of activity.
Tsk.
I am of course hiding my childish excitement behind a churlish facade. Discovering that this was out made me punch the air like Tom Cruise . I can’t believe its been 5 years since Book of Horizons.
My sentiments (and bodily reactions) precisely, Daddy Tank!
PRE-ORDER!!!!!
Post-Order !!! … Its out ! Mine is in an envelope in a plane somewhere over the ocean. Or in a fat sweaty mans pocket. Or maybe in an In tray at WoMWorld. But soon it will be mine…
Perhaps it is in Trey’s sweaty pocket as he takes off on tour today.
At any rate… soon, soon!
Trey doesn’t sweat. If he does sweat then he sweats ambrosia or honey.
I spoke to Trey after the London show, in a low ceilinged, non ventilated bar with way too many people in it, for which he wore a cloak over his clothes (which included big boots) with the hood up for the whole show…I can confirm he definitely sweats!
can he fly?
where’s my album trey ?