CLAYPOOL AND LENNON GET REAL
Primus bassist and GOASTT musician team up for second magical mystery.
Les Claypool and Sean Lennon have reunited as The Claypool Lennon Delirium to release South Of Reality on February 22 via ATO. The nine-track recording mixes psychedelic sounds with satirical social commentary. It was self-produced and mixed by Claypool at his own Rancho Relaxo studio.
Lead song, the six-and-a-half minute Blood And Rockets, pays tribute to American rocket engineer Jack Parsons who was also a leading member of Aleister Crowley’s occult group, Ordo Templi Orientis. Says Lennon, “The end bit [of the song] is in 5/8, which I thought was funny because a pentagram has five points. It cuts to the section when, in my mind, he’s crossing the threshold from this reality to another dimension.”
Another track, Boriska, takes musical inspiration from 70s pop-proggers Klaatu and tells the true story of a Russian child who claimed he was a Martian in a former life.
“I think we excel at encapsulating wild stories in song,” says The Ghost Of A Saber Tooth Tiger musician. “I think that partially comes from working with Les because so many of his songs are very funny stories about very odd people, like [Primus track] Wynona’s Big Brown Beaver.”
The pair have described South Of Reality as the “organic extension” of their 2016 debut Monolith Of Phobos. It follows on from last year’s covers EP, Lime And Limpid Green.
The Claypool Lennon Delirium play three live shows in California in late December with more dates expected in 2019.
For full details, see www.theclaypoollennondelirium.com.