| Background: | group_or_band |
| Secret Chiefs 3 | |
| Landscape: | yes |
| Origin: | San Francisco, United States |
| Genre: | Avant-garde |
| Years Active: | 1995–present |
| Label: | Web of Mimicry, Amarillo |
| Current Members: | See "Band members" |
Secret Chiefs 3 (or SC3) is an American avant-garde group led by guitarist/composer Trey Spruance (of Mr. Bungle and formerly, Faith No More). Their studio recordings and tours have featured different lineups, as the group performs a wide range of musical styles, mostly instrumental, including surf rock, Persian, neo-Pythagorean, Indian, death metal, film music, and electronic music.
The band's name is derived from the "Secret Chiefs" said to inspire and guide various esoteric and mystical groups of the previous two centuries. Spruance has expressed interest in, and drawn inspiration from, various mystical or occult systems such as Sufism, Kabbalah, Hermeticism, and alchemy.[1]
In 2007, it was announced that Secret Chiefs 3 has always been a general name for seven different bands, each representing a different aspect of Spruance's musical and philosophical interests.[2] The seven bands are Electromagnetic Azoth, UR, Ishraqiyun, Traditionalists, Holy Vehm, FORMS, and NT Fan.[3] Spruance has stated that the sound collages of Electromagnetic Azoth serve as the center of Secret Chiefs 3.[4]
The albums Book of Horizons (2004) and Satellite Supersonic Vol. 1 (2010) were conceived as compilation albums featuring the satellite bands under their own names. All bands have appeared on at least one of these albums. Some satellite bands have also released records of their own. So far, five of the satellite bands have had tracks featured across a series of six 7" singles and Traditionalists and Ishraqiyun have delivered full-length albums.
Spruance formed Secret Chiefs 3 in the mid-1990s with fellow Mr. Bungle members Trevor Dunn on bass and Danny Heifetz on drums. Some of the many musicians who have since recorded or toured with SC3 include violinist Eyvind Kang, percussionist William Winant, drummer Ches Smith, bassist Shahzad Ismaily, former Mr. Bungle members Clinton "Bär" McKinnon, oud, gimbre, and bass player Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz, and drummer Kenny Grohowski. Musicians tend to float in and out of SC3, so the concept of "current" and "former" members is not entirely applicable.Below is a list of past and present members, guests, and collaborators:
This is a list of all releases by SC3 and its satellite bands. The column "artist" states under what name the recording is released, not who is credited with the individual songs. Some releases, like the album Book of Horizons, are noteworthy in this regard, because they are released under the name Secret Chiefs 3, but the tracks they contain are each credited to a satellite band, giving the release the appearance of a compilation album.
| Year | Title | Artist | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | First Grand Constitution and Bylaws
| Secret Chiefs 3 | |
| 1998 | Hurqalya (Second Grand Constitution and Bylaws)
| Secret Chiefs 3 | |
| 2001 | Book M
| Secret Chiefs 3 | |
| 2004 | Book of Horizons
| Secret Chiefs 3 | First part of the Book of Truth trilogyIndividual tracks are credited to the satellite bands |
| 2008 |
| Secret Chiefs 3 | Arrangements from John Zorn's second Masada songbook |
| 2009 | Le Mani Destre Recise Degli Ultimi Uomini
| Traditionalists | |
| 2013 |
| Secret Chiefs 3 | Second part of the Book of Truth trilogySome individual tracks are credited to the satellite bands |
| 2014 | Perichoresis
| Ishraqiyun | The satellite band's full-length album |
| 2018 | Malkhut
| Secret Chiefs 3 | Arrangements from John Zorn's Masada Book Three – "Book Beri'ah" |
| Year | Title | Artist | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Path of Most Resistance
| Secret Chiefs 3 | Compilation of previously released tracksThe last three songs had not been released on any other Secret Chiefs 3 album | |
| 2010 | Satellite Supersonic Vol. 1
| Secret Chiefs 3 | Compilation of previously released 7" singles, re-recordings, and new materialIndividual tracks are credited to the satellite bands |
| Year | Title | Artist(s) | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | The Legendary Paper Project
| Secret Chiefs 3 / Mr. Bungle | Split 7" promo including Mr. Bungle's "Platypus"Packaged with US vinyl copies of Mr. Bungle's Disco Volante LP | |
| 1998 | The Theatrum of Suprasensory Universes Vol. 1
| Secret Chiefs 3 | Live EP with material from Australia tour | |
| 1998 | Zulfikar II / Zulfikar III
| Secret Chiefs 3 | ||
| 2007 | The Left Hand of Nothingness / Personnae: Halloween
| The Electromagnetic Azoth / UR | ||
| 2007 | Balance of the 19 / Ubik
| Ishraqiyun / The Electromagnetic Azoth | ||
| 2007 | Kulturvultur / Drive
| UR | ||
| 2007 | Circumambulation / Labyrinth of Light
| UR | ||
| 2011 | Saptarshi / Radar
| Ishraqiyun / FORMS | ||
| 2012 | La Chanson de Jacky / The Western Exile
| Traditionalists | ||
| 2014 | Medium Aevum / Stars and Stripes Forever
| UR / FORMS | ||
| 2014 | Apocryphon of Jupiter / Danse Macabre
| FORMS featuring the Golden State Theater Mighty Wurlitzer | ||
| 2016 | Telstar / The New Daylight (Welcome to the Theatron Animatronique)
| UR | Web-only release | |
| 2017 | THE SYSTEM OF ANTICHRIST / Bereshith
| Traditionalists / Ishraqiyun | Web-only release | |
| 2017 | MUSICA PRACTICA *Geek Pack One*: Bereshith
| Ishraqiyun | Web-only release (alternative mixes and instrument stems) | |
| 2017 | Danse Macabre Superdeluxe
| FORMS | Web-only release (alt arrangements) |