Secret Chiefs 3 bring their diverse and far-out musical explorations back to LPR next Tuesday, October 21. The band, who played LPR back in 2011, also just released a new record, Perichoresis, and you can listen to one of its tracks below.
 
Before you delve in, though, we should mention that Perichoresis is technically an album by the Secret Chiefs 3 “satellite band” Ishraqiyun. Here’s some more background on what that entails, via the band’s website:
 
“Described as the Neo-Pythagorean Electro-Folk side of Secret Chiefs 3, Ishraqiyun has already been well represented on SC3 albums in the past. (Book of Horizons, Book of Souls: Folio A, Satellite Supersonic). On Perichoresis, which is comprised entirely of material not found on previous albums, followers of SC3’s live shows will recognize the Ishraqiyun repertoire of mysterious, catchy, original tunes. Historically the most prominent live incarnation of any SC3 satellite band, Ishraqiyun’s music is the stuff composed in ratio-based rhythms and utilizes non-western tunings & instruments (saz, sarangi, esraj etc). After persistently touring & playing this music at inordinately high volume to many adventurous ears over the last few years in over 40 countries, Secret Chiefs 3 now abruptly unveil definitive studio recordings of some of the this daunting repertoire. Of course, SC3 are never content to stay confined to the trodden path, so they have also included a healthy dose of new, previously-unheard tunes (actually half the album).”
 
Listen to “Base Phive Futur Cossacks”:
 

 
And here’s some additional background on the track:
 
“‘Base Phive Futur Cossacks,’ from Song Cycle 2, was recorded mostly recently, although Ches’ drums were recorded in 2008. Originally a dry exercise to coordinate a 7-note scale with non-western tunings with the remaining 5-notes in purely western intonation (a technique also developed in fellow Song Cycle 2 composition Brazen Serpent), ‘Base Phive Futur Cossacks’ found a groove so deep that it eventually encountered the muse, grew wings, took on its own life and flew the coop.”
 
For more check out another Perichoresis track, “Saptarshi,” with some accompanying SC3 tour footage:
 

 
Secret Chiefs 3 play LPR Tuesday, October 21. Get your tickets here.
 
posted by John