June 2006
Happy Solstice! We tip the chalice towards our brothers and sisters celebrating Litha, Alban Hefin, Day of Sayyidna Yahya al-Sabi-yun, Sankt Hans. A day of rejoicing and of tears, coincident with a rarely exalted Moon.
Commencing Arc of Descent, mid 2006 (Year of Yang Red Fire Dog), Year of Changes at Mimicry Recordings.
Secret Chiefs 3.
Yes, seemingly dormant for long periods, this dragon is about to begin to whip its tail like never before:
A slew of SC3 related 7" records slated for Fall.
Anticipating the Secret Chiefs 3 "Book of Souls", this Fall we will be putting out several 7" recordings --- these will include offerings from SC3 satellite bands, the Electromagnetic Azoth. Ishraqiyun, UR (at least three, maybe four of them!) and Traditionalists. These recordings will NOT be on the upcoming SC3 album (except for an alternate version of one song, maybe a second), and will be limited to 1000 copies each! We'll try not to slay you too bad on the price just for the 'rarity'; but they'll be on good vinyl and printed extra nicely, so they won't exactly be cheap either. A lot of this shit will NEVER be available on CD. We seek to respect and promote the 7" medium as never before! So no, the material here is anything but "throwaway", as sometimes is the prevailing habit.
A SC3 retrospective CD with bonus rare tracks etc. gears us up for "Book of Souls".
Gearing up for the "Book of Souls" release will be a retrospective CD of SC3 music over the years, called "Path of Most Resistance", which will feature selections from the previous albums and some rare tracks and video. Not neccesarily essential for hardcore fans (except for the bonus material), but it will definately be useful to introduce new listeners to the daunting output of the SC3 (finally an answer to "which one should I start with?"). It's also going to be a good promotion Nucleus on the cusp of the SC3 next mega opus.
In all, around around eight SC3 related releases slated for Fall, and it's just the beginning!
Take a peek at what's in store for 07 here:
Book of Souls, early 07. Also hitting ground in early 07 will be the new UR album. (It's actually closer to being bagged than the SC3!!!) An Ishraqiyun album is also getting close.
Bang! A Masada release for Zorn from Secret Chiefs 3 is tentatively slated for May.
That's right...
And before anyone asks about Holy Vehm, and Electromagnetic Azoth full lenghths, the answer is "yes" -- recording began on those last June. After completion of SC3 and UR, final work will commence in full on those in late Fall.
Still waiting on musician availability for a SC3 mini-tour of the eastern U.S. this Fall. Cross the fingers! The West Coast tour w/Sleepytime in January definately went spectacularly, and it'd be good to make it happen again in that band-member configuration once more before the shapeshifting Draconian Chiefdom wrests itself off the Pole, tearing the Tzimtzum a new Borea in Septentrion 07. What we mean is that the SC3 will definately be on the road behind the new album (early 2007) in a myriad of configurations -- you'll want to keep an eye on this website to know which one(s) are headed your way...
Eyvind Kang:
Another Fall 7" release (we're not fucking around with this!): Hallelujah -- we have an Eyvind Kang one on the way!
Eyvind's 7" will feature live performances of orchestral compositions: one side was recorded in Italy with a large orchestra & with Kala Ramnath soloing on violin (!!); and the other was recorded in Seattle with Jessika Kenney (voice) soaring an unforgettable melody over a more eclectic rock / orchestral ensemble -- this is some of Eyvind's strongest stuff, no joke!
*passes out*
