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PHOTOS: Secret Chiefs 3 – The Seattle Residency (5/7/13 & 5/8/13)
Better late than never, I got the Secret Chiefs 3 Seattle residency photos edited. Two days and four amazing sets by this amazing band. Go here for the SUNSET 5/7 SETLISTS (UR & Ishraqiyun) and here for the CROCODILE 5/8 SETLISTS (John Zorn’s Masada Book Two: Xaphan & FORMS).
Note: The new album, Book of Souls: Folio 1, originally announced to come out in May has now been pushed back.
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Secret Chiefs 3 / Web of Mimicry Record Label Site
- Secret Chiefs 3 on Facebook
- My Other Related Reviews~
- SC3 in Oregon 2012 (Eugene & Portland – Feb 2012)
- SC3 @ Doug Fir (Portland – Aug 2008)
- SC3 @ Bowery (NYC – Mar 2007)
- (Timba’s old band) Estradasphere @ 2nd Story (Bloomington, IN – Oct 2006)
- The Sunset’s Site / Facebook / Twitter
- The Crocodile’s Site / Facebook / Twitter
SECRET CHIEFS 3 PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2013 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Secret Chiefs 3 – 2013 SPRING RESIDENCY TOUR
Seattle, WA
Tue May 7, 2013 @ The Sunset
Wed May 8, 2013 @ The Crocodile
San Francisco, CA
Fri May 10, 2013 @ Cafe Du Nord
Sat May 11, 2013 @ Cafe Du Nord
Los Angeles, CA
Sun May 12, 2013 @ Bootleg Bar
Tue May 14, 2013 @ Bootleg Bar
New York, NY
Fri May 17, 2013 @ Mercury Lounge
Brooklyn, NY
Sat May 18, 2013 @ Union Pool
Sun May 19, 2013 @ Union Pool
Chicago, IL
Tue May 21, 2013 @ Schubas Tavern
Wed May 22, 2013 @ Beat Kitchen
Toronto, ON
Fri May 24, 2013 @ The Drake
Sat May 25, 2013 @ The Drake
New York, NY @ The Stone (6 nights, 12 shows)
May 28, 2013
8pm: UR
10pm: FORMS etc.
May 29, 2013
8pm: Tesselations / Magic Squares
10pm: Ishraqiyun
May 30, 2013
8pm: FORMS etc. (expanded set + new material)
10pm: Xaphan
May 31, 2013
8pm: John Carpenter tribute + new material from Forms, UR, etc.
10pm: Tessellation 2: with guests Ches Smith and Gyan Riley
Jun 01, 2013
8pm: FORMS (new material adding Ches Smith, pipe organ favorites etc)
10pm: Ishraqiyun Kenny/Ches double-drum Cthulu mutations.
Jun 02, 2013
8pm: Final SC3 set, best of Stone week recap (with Ches Smith & Kenny Grohowski)
10pm: Masada (adding Gyan Riley to previous ensemble, the whole crew)
REVIEW: Secret Chiefs 3 in Oregon @ WOW Hall & Dante’s (Eugene & Portland – 2/6 & 2/7/12)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
I’ve been a fan of instrumental world/surf/film metal shape-shifters Secret Chiefs 3 for a long time and a fan of Los Angeles-based, Cambodian-pop-fusion band Dengue Fever for a handful of years as well.
SC3 and DF has their own connection. Dengue Fever’s debut album in 2003 was on Web of Mimicry, the label that SC3 frontman Trey Spruance runs. Their connection goes a little deeper still. Dengue guitarist Zac Holtzman
was in Dieselhed with Danny Hefietz (drummer for Mr. Bungle – another Trey Spruance band). Danny is also back drumming with SC3 on this co-headlining West Coast tour.
For this tour, the bands have been switching off their order of performance. I was able to catch both Oregon shows… for Eugene (Mon 2/6), DF played first and SC3 closed. There was no opener, and Dengue Fever went on just before 8:30 at WOW Hall. I have a couple of their earlier records, but never had the chance to see them live. I dug it… pretty fun, and it looked like they were having fun on stage as well.
They played about an hour of Cambodian power pop. Trey Spruance joined them on stage and played guitar and a wicked solo for their final number “1000 Years of a Tarantula”…
DF Eugene 2/6 Setlist: about an hour
- Genjer Genjer
- Seeing Hands
- New Year’s Eve
- Hold My Hips
- Tiger Phone Card
- Durian Dowry
- A Go Go
- Uku
- Pow Pow
- Sober Driver
- Only A Friend
- Cement Slippers
- 1000 Tears of a Tarantula [with Trey]
No Encore
Secret Chiefs 3 came out at about 10pm, donned in long, dark hoods except for violinist/ guitarist Timb Harris dressed in more masked martial arts attire…
This was my third time seeing them, and it was definitely the tightest band I’ve witnessed. They ripped through a blistering set of proggy, world metal. The off-kilter timings, the meticulous instrumentation… all spot on. “Bereshith” is a tune that I think I saw them start the 2007 NYC show with, and I thought it was “off” in NYC. It’s a really odd number, from a timing perspective. This time… they nailed it.
Probably the most strikingly different moment “live vs. studio” was the gorgeous intro/outro to “Exodus.” The intro/outro on the Book of Horizons studio version is a lovely melody played on strings (Eyvind Kang on viola & Timb Harris on violin). For this live setting, Timb put down his violin and played it on trumpet. I looooooove trumpet… and this melody on trumpet about made me swoon…
SC3 Eugene 2/6 Setlist: about 80 mins
- Radar (The Day the Earth Stood Still) [Bernard Herrmann]
- Zombievision
- Personnae: Halloween [John Carpenter]
- Balance of the 19
- Fast
- Bereshith
- RFID Slaverider / Agenda 21 / Codex Alimentarius (Le Mani Destre Recise Degli Ultimi Uomini Medley)
- Sophia’s Theme
- Vajra (Rat Puriya)
- Combat for the Angel
- Tistriya
- Book T: Exodus [Ernest Gold]
- Saptarshi
- Encore: Hurqalya
For Portland (Tues 2/7), I showed up at Dante’s right around 8pm, and the first band wasn’t going on until closer to 8:45. It was U SCO, who I had never heard of before; so I walked to the near-ish Deschutes Pub and had one of the last pours of their Jubel Kriek (their Jubel Ale aged 25 months in a barrel on cherries and with Brettanomyces). They blew their 2nd (and last) 1/6 BBL keg shortly after I ordered. Mmmm… sour beer… after that, I skedaddled back just in time to catch U SCO’s bitchin’ set.
U SCO were helmed by guitarist Ryan A. Miller, who I had just seen a week prior in Eugene opening for a solo bass show from Trevor Dunn (a former Trey Spruance band member as well). Small musical world in a quite vast musical sea. Crazy. Anyway, U SCO was a shredding, avant-garde jazz-metal band – to the best of my descriptions. They’re a three piece made up of Ryan on guitars, Jon Scheid on bass, and Phil Cleary on drums. They also had a guest saxophonist for some songs. They’re from Portland; so I hope I’ll get a chance to see them again. Definitely!
SC3 started setting up right afterwards and hit the stage about 9:45pm… of core of their setlist was the same, but they did throw in a few new ones: “The 15,” “The 4” and “Zulfikar.”
They ripped through a great set once again. They’re such a tight band on this tour – quite stunning. Even when Trey kicked his cord out for about 5-10 seconds during “Halloween,” they didn’t miss a beat. And, once again, Timb’s trumpet intro/outro for “Exodus“… swoon…
SC3 Portland 2/7 Setlist: about 70 mins
- Bereshith
- Radar (The Day the Earth Stood Still) [Bernard Herrmann]
- Zombievision
- Personnae: Halloween [John Carpenter]
- The 15
- The 4 (Great Ishraqi Sun)
- RFID Slaverider / Agenda 21 / Codex Alimentarius (Le Mani Destre Recise Degli Ultimi Uomini Medley)
- Vajra (Rat Puriya)
- Zulfikar
- Tistriya
- Book T: Exodus [Ernest Gold]
- Saptarshi
No Encore
The one gripe with the Portland show… the lighting was pretty poorly matched. They didn’t turn the house lights down until nearing the end of SC3’s first song. Also, the lights in general were behind the band, and they were still too bright if you ask me. For some bands, that’s probably good… but with the Chiefs, the air of mystery and cloaks in darkness adds to the allure of the live show. Don’t get me wrong, it was still an amazing show. I’m just glad I got to catch it in Eugene, too.
I had a long drive home and work in the morning; so I sadly bailed on Dengue Fever’s closing set in Portland. I’m sure it was groovy like the Eugene show. Sorry, but my body thanks me for getting home at 1am instead of 2:30am!
The tour wraps this weekend… but stick around, SC3 are bound to kick something off later in 2012. More 7″ vinyls? More touring? The long-awaited Book of Souls? A Chinese Democracy cover album?
If you missed the tour, I’d HIGHLY RECOMMEND checking out their new schwag… including the new SC3 Traditionalists Le Chanson de Jacky / The Western Exile 7″ split (featuring Trey’s fellow Mr. Bungle band-mate Mike Patton on “Jacky”), the 12″ re-releases of First and Second Grand Constitution & Bylaws, and three bitchin’-design new t-shirts.
many more photos below
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Secret Chiefs 3 / Web of Mimicry Record Label Site
- Secret Chiefs 3’s Social Media Links (see below)
- Dengue Fever’s Site
- Dengue Fever’s Social Media Links (see below)
- U SCO’s Site / Facebook / Bandcamp
- My Other Related Reviews~
- SC3 @ Doug Fir (Portland – Aug 2008)
- SC3 @ Bowery (NYC – Mar 2007)
- (Timb’s old band) Estradasphere @ 2nd Story (Bloomington, IN – Oct 2006)
- (U SCO guitarist) Ryan Miller/Trevor Dunn @ The Goat (Eugene – Jan 2012)
- WOW Hall’s Site / Facebook / Twitter
- Dante’s Site / Facebook / Twitter
Check out more tour dates below.
Next show for me… most likely the David Bazan (Pedro the Lion) house show in Portland on 2/15, unless something pops up before then.
~Dan – np: John Zorn – Film Works XIII: Invitation to a Suicide
SECRET CHIEFS 3 & DENGUE FEVER PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2012 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
SC3 & DF 2012 West Coast Tour Dates
- Jan 24 – Denver CO – Bluebird Theatre
- Jan 25 – Santa Fe NM – Santa Fe Brewing Company
- Jan 26 – Phoenix AZ – Crescent Ballroom
- Jan 27 – Los Angeles CA – El Rey Theatre
- Jan 28 – Santa Ana CA – Constellation Room
- Jan 29 – San Diego CA – The Casbah
- Jan 31 – San Luis Obispo CA – Club SLO Brew
- Feb 1 – Santa Cruz CA – Moe’s Alley
- Feb 2 – San Francisco CA – Great American Music Hall
- Feb 3 – San Francisco CA – Slim’s
- Feb 4 – Sacramento CA – Harlow’s
- Feb 6 – Eugene OR – WOW Hall
- Feb 7 – Portland OR – Dante’s
- Feb 8 – Seattle WA – Neumos
- Feb 9 – Bellingham WA – The Wild Buffalo
- Feb 10 – Vancouver BC – Rickshaw Theatre
Secret Chiefs 3 “Tistriya”
Will Secret Chiefs 3 ever release Book of Souls? Well, if it is to be their “Chinese Democracy,” at least we’ve been getting some new music in the live shows… here’s a new song “Tistriya” from their 2010 show in Slovenia:
~Dan – Jamie Saft – Bag of Shells
Secret Chiefs 3 – 2011 North American Tour (wave 1)
Posted this morning… Secret Chiefs 3 tour dates…
really looking forward to playing the US again!
thanks to bookers and all promoters for making it happen well!
(don’t worry west coast, it’s being planned)
8/31 Hamilton, ON @ The Casbah- 9/1 Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace
- 9/2 Ottawa, ON @ Mavericks
- 9/3 TBA, QC (details in Aug),
- 9/5 Montreal, QC @ Cabaret Mile End
- 9/6 Quebec City, QC @ Le Cercle
- 9/7 Portland, ME @ Space Gallery
- 9/8 Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall
- 9/9 Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground Lounge
- 9/10 Milford, CT @ Daniel Street
- 9/12 Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s
- 9/13 New York, NY @ Le Poisson Rouge
- 9/15 TBA
- 9/16 Ferndale, MI @ The Magic Bag
- 9/17 Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
- 9/19 Washington, DC @ Rock & Roll Hotel
- 9/20 Raleigh, NC @ Local 506
- 9/22 Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
- 9/23 Asheville, NC @ Grey Eagle
- 9/24 Lexington, KY @ Buster’s (Boomslang Fest w/Swans and Sir Richard Bishop)
News about Porcupine Tree frontman Steven Wilson’s next solo album, Grace for Drowning, coming tomorrow…
~Dan – np: Red Hot Chili Peppers – Stadium Arcadium 
Secret Chiefs 3 – Europe 2011
Trey Spruance and the Secret Chiefs 3 haven’t really swung around the U.S. since 2008 (Portland review link… from their last full US tour?). Lately South America and Europe are getting some love. While I’m bummed for no chance to see them as of late, I’m glad they’re active…
SECRET CHIEFS 3 Europe tour
from 16th June to 18th July 2011
Confirmed dates TBA
Booking contact : europe@webofmimicry.com
I think that’s also their first new press photo in a while. If my brain is working correctly, that’s (L-R) Jai Young Kim, Trey Spruance, Ches Smith, Toby Driver Rich Doucette, and Timb Harris. Will we see Book of Souls in 2011? Here’s hoping!!
~Dan – np: Yuka Honda – Heart Chamber Phantoms
Secret Chiefs 3 – Traditionalists: Le Mani Destre Recise Degli Ultimi Uomini
Well, so much for the long lost Book of Souls… Trey Spruance and Secret Chiefs 3 snuck one out under our noses over on the Web of Mimicry message board. The new SC3 album, Traditionalists: Le Mani Destre Recise Degli Ultimi Uomini, is being shipped near the 3rd week of May. 2009. (!!!)
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/secretchiefs3
Sound sample: http://www.webofmimicry.com/label.php?band=sc3
Tracklist
1. Faith’s Broken Mirror
2. Sophia’s Theme
3. What’s Wrong with Cytherea?
4. Mourning In Ekstasis
5. He Hates Us
6. Psychism 1: Cytherea’s Possession
7. Love Spell
8. Agenda 21
9. Subcutaneous Solution
10. Abyss of Psychic Enchantments
11. Subdermal Sequence (Nano-Correction)
12. RFID Slaverider
13. Dionysian Dithyramb (Eros-seed of the Egregore)
14. Zombievision
15. Perfectly Reasonable
16. Psychism 2: Fear is the Great Teacher
17. Abolish Believers by Abolishing Belief
18. Funeral for What Might Have Been (Sophia’s Theme)
19. Codex Alimentarius
20. Putting Forth the Hand to Take
21. Psychism 3: Sow the Wind, Reap the Whirlwind
22. Hypnotopia (Obey your Passion)
23. Nano-correction / Human Migrations / Faith Realizes
24. Chapel by the Sea (a Heart That is Broken and Humbled…)
25. The Strength to Sever
26. Baby Hedone (Harvest of the Egregore)
27. Zombievision 2012
28. The Great Die Off (He Mocks Us All)
29. Cytherea’s Awakening / Martyrdom at Romiou Point / Return to the Foam
30. To Love God is Sweeter than Life (Sophia’s Theme)
Blurb from the webpage
From out of nowhere Secret Chiefs 3 (operating here as Traditionalists, one of the seven ‘satellite bands’ introduced on Secret Chiefs 3’s album Book of Horizons) presents an elaborate “colonna sonora paranoica” — a paranioac film soundtrack. The film is imagined, but the horror is real. This entire project, as you might expect from this band, is a spiralling allegory that extends itself well-beyond its starting-point cliché as a “soundtrack for a non-existent film.” But that’s always been one of those potentially good clichés, in theory anyway. Pursuant to that potential, this particular work remains singularly, decidedly faithful to its sworn genre, the Giallo Horror Film Soundtrack.
At this point, it’s fair to assume we can take the dizzying conceptual maelstrom that comes with anything SC3-related as a “given,” right?
Alright, so we won’t go into that here.But a word on the strictly musical side of things is warranted. 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. The process should be likened to when someone is learning another language and begins to have dreams in that language. It’s the same process in any style of music, really. So to state it plainly, these are original compositions that were dreamt into being in the harmonic language of the Giallo Horror Film Soundtrack. It’s that simple. The point is not to be strictly period-specific, or culturally-specific, but to be psychically specific — caring first and foremost about how to convey things that will affect the psychic state of the listener in the intended way. After all, the point of dreaming in this particular language, with all its sophistication, elegance and beauty, is to go that much more deeply into the territory of nightmare… and um, let’s just say SC3 feel it’s necessary to pursue this particular range of the human experience at this moment.
The album itself is a full orchestral score that fully capitalizes on SC3 stock of musical manpower (Trey Spruance, Ches Smith, Timb Harris, Shahzad Ismaily, William Winant, et al.) and adds to that a broad cast of A-list hired musicians (among them Laurie Goldstein and Hans Teuber). The material runs the gamut; dissonant violent strings receding to beautiful textures with flute and female vocals through echoplex; analog synthesizers, harpsichords and celestas over a tight ’70s-style rock band rhythm section; crazed psychedelic freakouts with major payoffs; church organs granting repose, until tape treatments and a chorus of possessed shrieking voices force the listener to reconsider his position on the existence of Evil… If you can imagine all that produced to the standard found on any other Secret Chiefs 3 release, you’ve pretty much got the idea here.
The album was mixed analog to 1/2 inch tape. LP comes in 180 gram vinyl. CD is a mock gatefold LP, with a printed sleeve. Pure win.
The album title, roughly translated, means “The Severed Right Hands of the Last Men.”
OMG. For me at least… Caveat: Based on the sound sample, it doesn’t appear to be one of Trey’s more “accessible” SC3 releases; so I suppose maybe wait on Book of Souls if you’re not already a fan of SC3 or movie music.
~Dan – np: Circle of Dust – Circle of Dust
Note: This blog does not have a torrent or free download for this album (never have, never will). Support independent muasic and buy this Secret Chiefs 3 record from the band directly at Web of Mimicry.
Scrt Chfs 3
If vowels didn’t exist, this sentence would be idiotic. If vowels also didn’t exist, it would seem that Scrt Chfs 3 were opening for Scrt Chfs 3… or perhaps… Scrt Chfs 3 wr pnng fr Scrt Chfs 3. Gd thng thy d xst…
The Portland show (Oregon… eff you, Maine) of the Secret Chiefs 3 mini tour has openers of the Diminished Men and Secret Chefs 3 (a tribute band who play the SC3-style of world metal/rock with kitchen utensils).
Sunday, August 3rd. Doug Fir Lounge. 3 grt bnds.
Assuming I’m not far away for work, I’m planning on making it up from Eugene for the show.
http://dougfirlounge.com/
http://www.myspace.com/secretchiefs3
http://www.myspace.com/secretchefs3
http://www.myspace.com/DIMINISHEDMEN
Nooch.
~Dan
ALBUM REVIEW: Xaphan, Book of Angels Vol. 9 ~ The Secret Chiefs 3 play Masada Book Two
Got this album in the mail the other day… I’ve four times through it, and since I imagine it will hold up fairly well as far as albums go this year, it deserves the ol’ track-by-track analysis…
Xaphan, Book of Angels Volume 9
The Secret Chiefs 3 play Masada Book Two
Masada Book Two – Background: John Zorn had a fantastic jazz-klez quartet called Masada. It was John Zorn on alto sax, Dave Douglas on trumpet, Greg Cohen on bass, and Joey Baron on drums (sometimes Kenny Wollesen of the Sex Mob filled in on drums). They recorded 10+ studio albums in the mid-1990s, and they played live consistently up until March 2007. They may play a one-off in the future, but their Lincoln Center shows last spring were their final bow, as it were. I saw it, yay! The initial 10 studio albums by Masada are hardish to find (Japanese import label DIW), but they have many live and previously unreleased stuff on John’s own Tzadik Records, like Sanhedrin (below):
Anyway, sometime in the early 2000s, John Zorn started several splinter Masada or Masada-esque groups (Electric Masada, Masada String Trio, Bar Kokhba Sextet). He also wrote upwards of 300 additional Masada tunes that were not to go into acoustic Masada repertoire, but rather go into the “Masada Book Two. ” Different artists get these tunes (in the form of melody sheets of about 16 bars of music), and they arrange and record their version of John Zorn’s Masada Book Two tunes. Favorites in the past have been Marc Ribot, Koby Israelite, Cracow Klezmer Band, Bar Kokhba Sextet, et cetera…
Xaphan Personnel: Trey Spruance: guitars, organs, percussion, synths, autoharp, piano, bass; Timb Harris: violin, trumpet; Jason Schimmel: guitar; Anonymous 13: voice, viola; Rich Doucette: sarangi; Jai Young Kim: B3 organ; Shahzad Ismaily: bass; Ches Smith: drums, congas; with special guests Adam Stacey: clavinet; Monica Schley: harp; and Tim Smolens: cello, upright bass. ie- people from the latest incarnations of Secret Chiefs 3, Estradasphere, Mr. Bungle, Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog, Carla Kihlstedt’s 2 Foot Yard, yadda yadda…
photo credits: Peter Gannushkin / Theremin Noise Club / Jae
The Xaphan Songs: (all written by John Zorn & arranged by Trey Spruance)
- Sheburiel ~ Nice surf/exotica about 30 seconds in, which transitions into a delightful string melody with surf guitar reminiscent of something from the Electric Masada catalog. Overall, this is quite a schizophrenic song, but nice textures… it’s a prelude for what’s to come in the rest of the record.
- Akramachamarei ~ Very much a spaghetti-western-meets-middle-east vibe on this track. I dig it. The title sounds like an interesting mixed drink (something along the lines of okra-infused vodka bloody mary with a sprig of mâche instead of celery). Oh, and if you don’t know what mâche is, well, it’s a delightfully nutty leaf in the lettuce family. So, yeah, spaghetti-western-meets-middle-eastern bloody mary concoctions all around!! And any band naming themselves Okra-infused Vodka, you owe me royalties. OK, back to the music…
- Shoel ~ Conga intro… keys, dub beats, and fuzz-guitar. Nice. Like at least 2-days of stubble on the guitars. Back into clean spag-west guitar… yeah, know, pretty soon, I’m running out of descriptions and adjectives beyond “cool,” “neato,” and “nice tom work, Ches.” I’m not a musician; so that’s the best you get, fools. This is one of my favorite tracks so far.
- Barakiel ~ Slowish, clean guitar entry with some slide, harp, and genteel vocals… moving into a bouncier spag-west guitar, but still with ethereal strings and piano.
- Bezriel ~ Oooo… Trey’s bringing the rock into it. Good interplay between the calm-before-the-storm viola and/or violin with the guitar chunk and vocal haunts. The last half of the track features some more strings and less of the chunk (oh, wait, I lied… it ends with the chunk). :) Another one of my favorite tracks.
- Kemuel ~ Bungle-y circus organ into swirling drum-guitar-vocal passage into a dirty string solo.
- Labbiel ~ Interesting time signature interplay between the guitars and drums.
- Asron ~ Aw geez, I just lost the game. I zoned out to the great music and forgot to write about it. Bad reviewer, bad reviewer. Anyway, back to the music. Nice violin and guitars to end it.
- Balberith ~ Starts with a great melodic bass line with some fuzz/scratch guitar. Ah, the trumpet finally kicks in. Nice stuff, Timb. This could fit on Zorn’s The Dreamers or Electric Masada nicely. That’s a compliment. :) Another one of my favs on this record.
- Omael ~ Add some xylophone, and I’d say the intro to this fits into a Zappa catalog. :) This is a faster-paced song… for the SC3 bellydancer contingent, don’t pick this. Your legs might fall off. This one has some great percussion and more trumpet. I’m getting lost in the sounds, but I’m digging it.
- Hamaya ~ Clean exotica guitar intro, organ, vocal chants (something about tostadas?). Oh, a seemingly (to me) “The Exile” or “Book T: Exodus” strings-n-guitars moment about 1 minute in… nice. Nice melty fade that sucks me back into… g-to-the-d, why is it 84 degrees in my house!? Sometimes I hate renting a house in Oregon that does have A/C. Anyway, a great end to a great album.
I recommend you take some listens on MySpace, Amazon, and iTunes (when they get it)… and support good music if you like what you hear. It’s currently available at Web of Mimicry, Downtown Music Gallery, and Amazon (to name a few). I don’t do the track-by-track treatment on just any record… this is a special record.
Any musical review faux pas above? Eh, I’m not a musician. My ears my have defied me brain, matey. For Secret Chiefs 3 fans, I suppose this more relates to a Ur / Ishraqiyun / Forms / Traditionalists musical offering? I dunno which one moreso than the others. Any thoughts from you WoM boardies?
Fav tracks: Shoel (#3), Bezriel (#5), Balberith (#9), and Hamaya (#11).
Recommended if you like: world music, middle eastern music, progressive music with a bellydance beat, ADHD prescriptions, Secret Chiefs 3, Estradasphere, Mr. Bungle, John Zorn, et al… it’s very much a Secret Chiefs 3 record, but probably one of their more “accessible” ones (as well as being an accessible John Zorn-penned album). User friendly, middle-eastern rock-romp through a mad alchemist’s mind (Trey is a brilliant musician, IMO). This is my favorite in John Zorn’s Masada Book Two series, and that’s saying a lot (I love all 10 of the series thus far).
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Secret Chiefs 3’s Website (pleasing design, not realistic from a PR side of things)
- Secret Chiefs 3 on MySpace
- Web of Mimicry (Trey’s label)
- Tzadik Records (John Zorn’s label, released Xaphan)
- Tzadik on MySpace (unofficial but approved)
- John Zorn on MySpace (unofficial but approved)
- Other key Xaphan players on MySpace… Estradasphere, Ches Smith…
~Dan – np: Susie Ibarra – Drum Sketches
The Masada Book Two Series (to date):
-Eyvind Kang
-Frank Zappa
Amazon.com mp3 downloads
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