Secret Chiefs 3 is possibly the most fascinating musical project in the world at the moment. The brainchild of multi-musician Trey Spruance, their eclectic music fuses the artist's obsession with Eastern cultures with his love of rock, metal and electronic music. The band's sound ranges from surf rock, Persian, Arab, Indian, death metal, film music, to drum & bass, to noisy tape cut-ups and beyond. The virtuosity at play in the band's work - both live and on record - is unrivalled. Spruance himself plays electric guitar, bass guitar, baritone guitar, microtonal guitar, 12-string guitar, sympitar, Pythagorean guitar, keyboards, electric piano, acoustic piano, tack piano, clavinet, organ, celesta, percussion, santur, rabab, banjo, mandolin, zither, tar, cümbü, saz, carillon, dulcimer, autoharp, trumpet and sheng, while a rotating roster of other gifted musicians (including Trevor Dunn, Eyvind Kang, Toby Driver, Timb Harris, William Winant and many others) complement him with exceptional dexterity. Just check out the live video below to hear how amazing this group sounds. Conceptually they're intriguing, too. Again drawing on Eastern histories and cultures, Spruance claims that SC3 is comprised of seven "satellite" bands that each make up a facet of the whole group: UR, NT Fan, The Electromagnetic Azoth, FORMS, Holy Vehm, Traditionalists and Ishraqiyun. All have a different sound, but all retain the crazily experimental SC3 blueprint. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S74hBpQZ6LU
