I’m going to be completely honest with you and tell you that I’m not entirely sure what I just watched, but I need more of it. Like, a lot more. Circle of Sighs were pitched as “Sun Ra meets SunnO))),” alongside a list of free jazz and Afrobeat influences. There are also mimes. Functioning as a collective, the members of Circle of Sighs contribute what they are able to at the time and they move from there.
It might seem like we’re selling Circle of Sighs to you as a joke, especially after you watch the surreal trailer the collective put together for our premiere today, but we are absolutely not. While the ideas presented are off the wall and avant garde, the musicians and performers are extremely skilled at their instruments; it’s not a simple thing to combine two relatively-disparate genres in a complex manner and still make it palatable, but Circle of Sighs do just that in the clip Decibel is premiering today.
The trailer for the group’s upcoming Circle of Sighs Performs an Invocation album (and accompanying Blu Ray) bleeds into an excerpt from the DVD. If you’re still following at this point, you owe it to yourself to tap in and experience Circle of Sighs. It’s definitely the most unique thing you’ll experience all day.
Upright bassist Collyn McCoy has a bit more insight to offer into the process:
“We’re quite aware of the risks inherent to mixing humor with ‘serious’ music. For instance, if Frank Zappa hadn’t been singing about farts, he’d be universally regarded as one of the greatest composers of the 20th Century.
“On the other hand, there’s something truly cringe-worthy about performative earnestness. And you see a lot of that these days.
“So musically we take ourselves seriously but the overarching ridiculousness is definitely of the self-aware sort. I’d like to think we follow the Kraftwerk model. People mistakenly assume that Germans don’t have a sense of humor. Not true at all. Germans are HILARIOUS. You just have to accept that they’re not TRYING to make you laugh. They aren’t seeking your approval. The humor is just there.
“Which brings me back to farts. Singing about farts is a very American sort of humor. We prefer the type where you let one rip, stone-faced, stoic, not drawing attention to it at all, even as its putridness wafts through the air burning everyone’s eyes. That to me is goddamned hilarious.”
If you like what you hear and see, you can get it in various formats via Pillars of Creation on April 21.
