Secret Chiefs 3 is an instrumental rock

Instrumental rock

Instrumental rock is a type of rock music which emphasizes musical instruments, and which features very little or no singing.Examples of instrumental rock can be found in practically every subgenre of rock, often from musicians who specialize in the style, most notably Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Link...

 group led by guitarist/composer Trey Spruance

Trey Spruance

Preston Lea Spruance III or "Trey Spruance" is an American composer, producer, and musician, perhaps best known as the leader of the multi-genre outfit Secret Chiefs 3 and for his work as guitarist and keyboardist with Mr. Bungle...

 (formerly of Mr. Bungle

Mr. Bungle

Mr. Bungle was an experimental band from Northern California. The band was formed in 1985 while the members were still in high school and was named after a children's educational film. Mr. Bungle released four demo tapes in the mid to late 1980s before being signed to Warner Bros. Records and...

 and Faith No More

Faith No More

Faith No More is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed originally as Faith No Man in 1981 by bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist Wade Worthington, vocalist Michael Morris and drummer Mike Bordin. A year later when Worthington was replaced by keyboardist Roddy Bottum, and Mike...

). Their studio recordings and tours have featured different line-ups, as the group performs a wide range of musical styles including surf rock, Persian, Arab

Arab music

Arabic music or Arab music is the music of the Arab World, including several genres and styles of music ranging from Arabic classical to Arabic pop music and from secular to sacred music....

, Indian

Music of India

The music of India includes multiple varieties of folk, popular, pop, classical music and R&B. India's classical music tradition, including Carnatic and Hindustani music, has a history spanning millennia and developed over several eras. It remains fundamental to the lives of Indians today as...

, death metal

Death metal

Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....

, film music, electronic music

Electronic music

Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...

, and various others. The Secret Chiefs 3 toured with Les Claypool

Les Claypool

Leslie Edward "Les" Claypool is an American musician and writer, best known as the lead vocalist and bassist in the band Primus. Claypool's playing style on the electric bass mixes tapping, flamenco-like strumming, whammy bar bends and slapping.Claypool has also self produced and engineered his...

 in Spring 2008 and the Oddity Faire in 2009 and 2010.

Satellite bands

In 2007, it was announced 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. The seven bands are The Electromagnetic Azoth, UR, Ishraqiyun, Traditionalists, Holy Vehm, FORMS, and NT Fan.

The albums Book of Horizons

Book of Horizons

-Personnel:* Trey Spruance — guitars , keyboards , percussion , santur, rabab, banjo, saz, sheng, synthesizer, sampler, soundscape, Foley sound effects, electroacoustic treatment, vocals, producer, engineer* Mike...

(2004) and Satellite Supersonic Vol. 1

Satellite Supersonic Vol. 1

Satellite Supersonic Vol. 1 is a compilation of Secret Chiefs 3 songs. All but one of the songs are by the Secret Chiefs 3's satellite bands UR, Ishraqiyun and Electromagnetic Azoth, making the album the third digital recording to feature such releases. Some of the songs were previously released as...

(2010) were conceived as compilation album

Compilation album

A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...

s 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 on their own. So far, three of the satellite bands have had tracks featured across a series of four 7" singles

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

 and Traditionalists have delivered a full-length album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

.

UR

UR has released two EPs — Kulturvultur / Drive and Circumambulation / Labyrinth of Light — and a split EP with The Electromagnetic Azoth titled The Left Hand of Nothingness / Personnae: Halloween. Spruance describes the band's music as "suprasensory surf"; the band's musical style combines surf rock with Persian, Arabic

Arab music

Arabic music or Arab music is the music of the Arab World, including several genres and styles of music ranging from Arabic classical to Arabic pop music and from secular to sacred music....

 and Indian

Music of India

The music of India includes multiple varieties of folk, popular, pop, classical music and R&B. India's classical music tradition, including Carnatic and Hindustani music, has a history spanning millennia and developed over several eras. It remains fundamental to the lives of Indians today as...

 musical elements. UR has also covered movie themes such as "Halloween

Halloween (1978 film)

Halloween is a 1978 American independent horror film directed, produced, and scored by John Carpenter, co-written with Debra Hill, and starring Donald Pleasence and Jamie Lee Curtis in her film debut and the first installment in the Halloween franchise. The film is set in the fictional midwestern...

" and "The Exodus".

Fans have speculated that all songs by Secret Chiefs 3 bearing the "Book T" prefix (for instance, on Second Grand Constitution and Bylaws

Second Grand Constitution and Bylaws

Second Grand Constitution and Bylaws: Hurqalya is the second studio album by Secret Chiefs 3. It was released in 1998. The remastered version contains the bonus track Zulkifar II.-Track listing:#"The Rose Garden of Mystery" - 2:37...

) are the work of UR, "Book T: The Exodus" being the only title confirmed so far. All of the Book T songs contain elements of surf rock, thus fitting Spruance's description of the band.

Ishraqiyun

Ishraqiyun are a seven-piece band with an instrumentation including dhol

Dhol

Dhol can refer to any one of a number of similar types of double-headed drum widely used, with regional variations, throughout the Indian subcontinent and nearby regions. Its range of distribution in India and Pakistan primarily includes northern areas such as the Assam Valley, Bengal, Gujarat,...

, saz

Saz

Saz can be a nickname for the given name Sarah, or may refer to:* Saz , a family of Iranian and Turkish stringed musical instruments* Sameh Zakout, rap artist* saz, the ISO 639-3 code for the Saurashtra language...

, rabab, esraj

Esraj

The esraj is a string instrument found in two forms throughout the north, central, and east regions of India. It is a young instrument by Indian terms, being only about 200 years old. The dilruba is found in the north, where it is used in religious music and light classical songs in the urban areas...

 and drums

Drum kit

A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....

. Their music has been described as an "acultural, neo-Pythagorean

Pythagorean

Pythagorean means of or pertaining to the ancient Ionian mathematician, philosopher, and music theorist Pythagoras. See:-Philosophy:* Pythagoreanism is a term used for the esoteric and metaphysical beliefs purported to have been held by Pythagoras....

 enterprise into heavy electro

Electronic music

Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...

-folk

Folk music

Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....

" borrowing heavily from Turkish

Music of Turkey

The music of Turkey includes diverse elements ranging from Central Asian folk music and has many copies and references of Byzantine music, Greek music, Ottoman music, Persian music, Balkan music, as well as more modern European and American popular music influences...

 and Central Asian

Music of Central Asia

Central Asian music encompasses numerous different musical styles originating from a large number of Asian cultures. Central Asian music most often uses the pentatonic scale....

 music. The band stands out due to their frequent use of complex time signatures. So far, Ishraqiyun have released no material outside the Book of Horizons and Satellite Supersonic albums.

Traditionalists

The sixth Secret Chiefs 3 studio album, Le Mani Destre Recise Degli Ultimi Uomini (June 2009) features music exclusively from the satellite band Traditionalists. The Mimicry Records web store describes the band as "decidedly walking in the footprints of the Great Masters of cinema music". The 2009 album is a score to an imaginary giallo horror film, inspired by the work of several Italian film composers, such as Ennio Morricone

Ennio Morricone

Ennio Morricone, Grand Officer OMRI, , is an Italian composer and conductor, who wrote music to more than 500 motion pictures and television series, in a career lasting over 50 years. His scores have been included in over 20 award-winning films as well as several symphonic and choral pieces...

 or Goblin

Goblin (band)

Goblin are an Italian progressive rock band known for their soundtracks for Dario Argento films ....

.

Holy Vehm

The Mimicry Records label desk describes Holy Vehm as a "ultra-death metal

Death metal

Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....

 grind

Grindcore

Grindcore is an extreme genre of music that started in the early- to mid-1980s. It draws inspiration from some of the most abrasive music genres – including death metal, industrial music, noise and the more extreme varieties of hardcore punk....

 band". The band features John Merryman of Cephalic Carnage

Cephalic Carnage

Cephalic Carnage is an American grindcore band formed in 1992 in Denver, Colorado. The band comprises vocalist Lenzig Leal, guitarists Steve Goldberg and Brian Hopp, drummer John Merryman and bassist Nick Schendzielos...

 on drums, Jesse Quattro, Jessica Kinney, and Unhuman on vocals, and Trey Spruance (credited as "The Enemy") on bass, guitar and sampling. According to Spruance, the band's music "employs Boulez-ish atonal serialism, played in dastgah tunings

Dastgah music

Iranian/Persian Traditional Music is now modernly classified into the Dastgāh System. This system is a modal system, in the fact that it utilizes distinct modes of music, in this case seven...

". So far Holy Vehm have only released two songs on Book of Horizons but Spruance announced in an 2008 interview that he plans to release a full-length Holy Vehm album for The End Records

The End Records

The End Records is an independent record label, founded in 1998 in San Diego. Founder Andreas Katsambas initially wanted to bring attention to some underground bands he admired. In 2002, The End moved to Salt Lake City, when his wife took a job at the University of Utah. The label moved...

.

Philosophy

SC3's music, album artwork, liner notes, and lyrics feature theological and philosophical themes influenced by Henry Corbin

Henry Corbin

Henry Corbin was a philosopher, theologian and professor of Islamic Studies at the Sorbonne in Paris, France.Corbin was born in Paris in April 1903. As a boy he revealed the profound sensitivity to music so evident in his work...

, Shahab al-Din Suhrawardi

Shahab al-Din Suhrawardi

Other important Muslim mystics carry the name Suhrawardi, particularly Abu 'l-Najib al-Suhrawardi and his paternal nephew Abu Hafs Umar al-Suhrawardi."Shahāb ad-Dīn" Yahya ibn Habash as-Suhrawardī was a Persian...

, Aryeh Kaplan

Aryeh Kaplan

Aryeh Moshe Eliyahu Kaplan was a noted American Orthodox rabbi and author known for his "intimate knowledge of both physics and kabbalah." He was lauded as an original thinker and prolific writer, from studies of the Torah, Talmud and mysticism to introductory pamphlets on Jewish beliefs and...

, Julius Evola

Julius Evola

Barone Giulio Cesare Andrea Evola also known as Julius Evola, was an Italian philosopher and esotericist...

, René Guénon

René Guénon

René Guénon , also known as Shaykh `Abd al-Wahid Yahya was a French author and intellectual who remains an influential figure in the domain of metaphysics, having written on topics ranging from metaphysics, sacred science and traditional studies to symbolism and initiation.In his writings, he...

, Hakim Bey/Peter Lamborn Wilson

Peter Lamborn Wilson

Peter Lamborn Wilson , is an American political writer, essayist, and poet, known for first proposing the concept of the Temporary Autonomous Zone , based, in part, on a historical review of pirate utopias...

, Seraphim Rose

Seraphim Rose

Seraphim Rose, born Eugene Dennis Rose , was an American hieromonk of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia who co-founded the St. Herman of Alaska Monastery in Platina, California. He also translated Orthodox Christian texts and authored several polemical works...

, and many others. More on the Secret Chiefs 3 philosophy and influences can be found in the Web of Mimicry Museum Without Walls and the SC3 Myspace page.

Band members

Spruance formed the band in the mid-1990s with fellow Mr. Bungle members Trevor Dunn

Trevor Dunn

Trevor Roy Dunn is an American composer, bass guitarist and double bassist.Dunn came to prominence in the 1990s with the experimental band Mr. Bungle. He has since worked in an array of musical styles, notably with singer and Mr...

 on bass and Danny Heifetz

Danny Heifetz

Danny Heifetz is an American musician of Jewish descent usually living in Sydney, Australia. He is primarily a drummer and percussionist, but also plays trumpet...

 on drums. Some of the many musicians who have since recorded or toured with SC3 include violinist Eyvind Kang

Eyvind Kang

Eyvindur Kang , only child of Charles Shin-Chul Kang and Kristjana Gunnars, is an American composer, violinist, tuba, and erhu player...

, percussionist William Winant

William Winant

William Winant is an American percussionist.In addition to his work in contemporary classical music -- notably performing Lou Harrison's compositions—Winant has worked in a variety of genres, including noise rock, free improvisation and jazz. Notable collaborators include Glenn Spearman, Thurston...

, drummer Ches Smith

Ches Smith

Ches Smith is an American musician whose primary instruments are drums, percussion, and vibraphone. He writes and performs music in a wide variety of contexts, including solo percussion, experimental rock bands, and small and large jazz ensembles....

, bassist Shahzad Ismaily, former Mr. Bungle member Clinton "Bär" McKinnon

Clinton McKinnon

Clinton "Bär" McKinnon is an American musician, perhaps best known playing saxophone in seminal San Francisco based band Mr. Bungle....

, and Estradasphere

Estradasphere

Estradasphere was an experimental band that originated in Santa Cruz, California during the late 1990s. The band, which in its last incarnation was based in Seattle, consisted of 6 multi-instrumentalists from a variety of musical backgrounds trained in disciplines ranging from classical music and...

 members Timb Harris

Timb Harris

Timb Harris is a violinist, best known for his work with the eclectic Santa Cruz-based band Estradasphere ....

, Jason Schimmel

Jason Schimmel

Jason Schimmel is best known as the guitarist and co-founder of the eclectic Santa Cruz band Estradasphere. He is also involved with Don Salsa, Secret Chiefs 3 and the Santa Cruz White Album Ensemble. He can also play the banjo and piano. He is well known for his versatile playing style,...

, and Tim Smolens

Tim Smolens

Tim Smolens is an American bass player, most notably a contributor to the artistic output of bands such as Estradasphere, Secret Chiefs 3, and Fishtank Ensemble, primarily as a bassist and songwriter...

. Musicians tend to float in and out of SC3, so the concept of "current" and "former" members isn't entirely applicable.

Below is a list of past and present members, guests and collaborators:

• Trey Spruance
  Trey Spruance
  Preston Lea Spruance III or "Trey Spruance" is an American composer, producer, and musician, perhaps best known as the leader of the multi-genre outfit Secret Chiefs 3 and for his work as guitarist and keyboardist with Mr. Bungle...
  
   — guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  s (electric guitar
  Electric guitar
  An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
  
  , bass guitar
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  , baritone guitar
  Baritone guitar
  The baritone guitar is a variation on the standard guitar, with a longer scale length that allows it to be tuned to a lower range. It first appeared in the classical music realm...
  
  , microtonal
  Microtonal music
  Microtonal music is music using microtones—intervals of less than an equally spaced semitone. Microtonal music can also refer to music which uses intervals not found in the Western system of 12 equal intervals to the octave.-Terminology:...
  
   guitar, 12-string guitar, sympitar
  Sympitar
  A Sympitar is a modern form of guitar combining functional aspects of the guitar and the Indian sitar. This instrument has a unique feature: there is a graphite channel which guides a series of "sympathetic" resonating strings through the neck from the bridge up to the headstock...
  
  , Pythagorean
  Pythagorean
  Pythagorean means of or pertaining to the ancient Ionian mathematician, philosopher, and music theorist Pythagoras. See:-Philosophy:* Pythagoreanism is a term used for the esoteric and metaphysical beliefs purported to have been held by Pythagoras....
  
   guitar), keyboards
  Keyboard instrument
  A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
  
   (keyboard
  Electronic keyboard
  An electronic keyboard is an electronic or digital keyboard instrument.The major components of a typical modern electronic keyboard are:...
  
  , electric piano
  Electric piano
  An electric piano is an electric musical instrument.Electric pianos produce sounds mechanically and the sounds are turned into electrical signals by pickups. Unlike a synthesizer, the electric piano is not an electronic instrument, but electro-mechanical. The earliest electric pianos were invented...
  
  , acoustic piano, tack piano
  Tack piano
  In music, the tack piano is a permanently altered version of an ordinary piano, in which tacks or nails are placed on the hammers of the instrument at the point where the hammers hit the strings, giving the instrument a tinny, more percussive sound...
  
  , clavinet
  Clavinet
  A Clavinet is an electrically amplified keyboard instrument manufactured by the Hohner company. It is essentially an electronically amplified clavichord, analogous to an electric guitar. Its distinctive bright staccato sound has appeared particularly in funk, disco, rock, and reggae songs.Various...
  
  , organ
  Organ (music)
  The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
  
  , celesta
  Celesta
  The celesta or celeste is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. Its appearance is similar to that of an upright piano or of a large wooden music box . The keys are connected to hammers which strike a graduated set of metal plates suspended over wooden resonators...
  
  ), percussion (dumbek
  Goblet drum
  The goblet drum is a hand drum with a goblet shape used mostly in the Middle East, North Africa, and Eastern Europe....
  
  , shaker, tambourine
  Tambourine
  The tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....
  
  , glockenspiel
  Glockenspiel
  A glockenspiel is a percussion instrument composed of a set of tuned keys arranged in the fashion of the keyboard of a piano. In this way, it is similar to the xylophone; however, the xylophone's bars are made of wood, while the glockenspiel's are metal plates or tubes, and making it a metallophone...
  
  , daf
  Daf
  A daf is a frame drum used as a musical instrument in popular and classical music. The term daf is used in Iran / Kurdistan for a large drum that has a series of four interlinked rings in the frame. Daf is mostly used in Middle East, Iran, Armenia, Pakistan, Turkey, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan and ...
  
  , etc.), santur
  Santur
  The santur is a Persian hammered dulcimerIt is a trapezoid-shaped box often made of walnut or different exotic woods. The Persian classical santur has 72 strings. The name santur was first referenced in ancient Persian poetry...
  
  , rabab, banjo
  Banjo
  In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
  
  , mandolin
  Mandolin
  A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
  
  , zither
  Zither
  The zither is a musical string instrument, most commonly found in Slovenia, Austria, Hungary citera, northwestern Croatia, the southern regions of Germany, alpine Europe and East Asian cultures, including China...
  
  , tar
  Tar (lute)
  The tār is a long-necked, waisted Iranian instrument. It has been adopted by other cultures and Azerbaijan. The word tar itself means "string" in Persian, though it might have the same meaning in languages influenced by Persian or any other branches of Iranian languages like Kurdish...
  
  , cümbüş
  Cümbüs
  The cümbüş is a Turkish stringed instrument of relatively modern origin. Developed in the early 20th century by Zeynelabidin Cümbüş as an oud-like instrument that could be heard as part of a larger ensemble. In construction it resembles both the American banjo and the Middle Eastern oud. A...
  
  , saz
  Baglama
  thumb|180px|Cura and bağlamaThe bağlama is a stringed musical instrument shared by various cultures in the Eastern Mediterranean, Near East, and Central Asia....
  
  , carillon
  Carillon
  A carillon is a musical instrument that is typically housed in a free-standing bell tower, or the belfry of a church or other municipal building. The instrument consists of at least 23 cast bronze, cup-shaped bells, which are played serially to play a melody, or sounded together to play a chord...
  
  , dulcimer
  Dulcimer
  Dulcimer may refer to two types of musical instruments:* Appalachian dulcimer, a fretted, plucked musical instrument which is also referred to as a "mountain dulcimer", "lap dulcimer", "hog fiddle", "fretted dulcimer" or simply "dulcimer"...
  
  , autoharp
  Autoharp
  The autoharp is a musical string instrument having a series of chord bars attached to dampers, which, when depressed, mute all of the strings other than those that form the desired chord. Despite its name, the autoharp is not a harp at all, but a chorded zither. -History:There is debate over the...
  
  , trumpet
  Trumpet
  The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
  
  , sheng
  Sheng (instrument)
  The Chinese sheng is a mouth-blown free reed instrument consisting of vertical pipes.Traditionally, the sheng has been used as an accompaniment instrument for solo suona or dizi performances. It is one of the main instruments in kunqu and some other forms of Chinese opera...
  
  , synthesizer
  Synthesizer
  A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
  
  , sampler
  Sampler (musical instrument)
  A sampler is an electronic musical instrument similar in some respects to a synthesizer but, instead of generating sounds, it uses recordings of sounds that are loaded or recorded into it by the user and then played back by means of a keyboard, sequencer or other triggering device to perform or...
  
  , programming, Foley sound effects, electroacoustic treatment
  Electroacoustic music
  Electroacoustic music originated in Western art music during its modern era following the incorporation of electric sound production into compositional practice. The initial developments in electroacoustic music composition during the mid-20th century are associated with the activities of composers...
  
  , vocals
• Lucas Abela — power drill
• Dave Abramson — drums
• Laura Allen — vocals
• Anonymous 13 — viola
  Viola
  The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
  
  , vocals
• Jennifer Cass — harp
  Harp
  The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
  
  
• Matt Chamberlain
  Matt Chamberlain
  Matthew Chamberlain is an American drummer, producer and sound engineer. He is currently based in Los Angeles, California.-Early life:...
  
   — drums
• Paul Dal Porto
  Idiot Flesh
  Idiot Flesh was a band formed in Barrington Hall, a student co-op at the University of California at Berkeley. They formed in 1985 under the name Acid Rain, and their demo album "We Were All Very Worried" was released as a cassette-only edition in 1987...
  
   — sitar
  Sitar
  The 'Tablaman' is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages...
  
  
• Mike Dillon
  Mike Dillon (musician)
  Mike Dillon is a percussionist, vibraphonist, bandleader, vocalist and songwriter born in San Antonio, Texas. He is a member of Critters Buggin, Les Claypool's Fancy Band and Garage A Trois...
  
   — vibraphone
  Vibraphone
  The vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family....
  
  , tabla
  Tabla
  The tabla is a popular Indian percussion instrument used in Hindustani classical music and in popular and devotional music of the Indian subcontinent. The instrument consists of a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres...
  
  
• Rich Doucette – sarangi
• Toby Driver
  Toby Driver
  Toby Driver is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and artist, best known for his work as the frontman of the experimental bands maudlin of the Well and Kayo Dot....
  
   – bass guitar
• Trevor Dunn
  Trevor Dunn
  Trevor Roy Dunn is an American composer, bass guitarist and double bassist.Dunn came to prominence in the 1990s with the experimental band Mr. Bungle. He has since worked in an array of musical styles, notably with singer and Mr...
  
   — bass guitar, vocals
• Phil Franklin - drums, percussion
• Laurie Goldstein — cello
  Cello
  The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
  
  
• Jesse Greere — vocals
• Timb Harris
  Timb Harris
  Timb Harris is a violinist, best known for his work with the eclectic Santa Cruz-based band Estradasphere ....
  
   — violin
  Violin
  The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
  
  , viola, trumpet
• Danny Heifetz
  Danny Heifetz
  Danny Heifetz is an American musician of Jewish descent usually living in Sydney, Australia. He is primarily a drummer and percussionist, but also plays trumpet...
  
   — drums, percussion (riq
  Riq
  The riq is a type of tambourine used as a traditional instrument in Arabic music. It is an important instrument in both folk and classical music throughout the Arabic-speaking world...
  
  , zil
  Zil
  Zills, also zils or finger cymbals, are tiny metallic cymbals used in belly dancing and similar performances. They are called sājāt in Arabic. They are similar to Tibetan tingsha bells....
  
  , tambourine
  Tambourine
  The tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....
  
  , shaker, dumbek), trombone
  Trombone
  The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
  
  
• Kris Hendrickson — autoharp
  Autoharp
  The autoharp is a musical string instrument having a series of chord bars attached to dampers, which, when depressed, mute all of the strings other than those that form the desired chord. Despite its name, the autoharp is not a harp at all, but a chorded zither. -History:There is debate over the...
  
  , vocals
• Bill Horist — prepared guitar
  Prepared guitar
  A prepared guitar is a guitar that has had its timbre altered by placing various objects on or between the instrument's strings, including other extended techniques...
  
  

• Shahzad Ismaily — bass guitar, percussion (dhol
  Dhol
  Dhol can refer to any one of a number of similar types of double-headed drum widely used, with regional variations, throughout the Indian subcontinent and nearby regions. Its range of distribution in India and Pakistan primarily includes northern areas such as the Assam Valley, Bengal, Gujarat,...
  
  , mridangam, ghatam
  Ghatam
  The ghaṭam is a percussion instrument used in the Carnatic music of South India. Its analogue in Rajasthan is known as the madga and pani mataqa "water jug"....
  
  , zil, etc.)
• Eyvind Kang
  Eyvind Kang
  Eyvindur Kang , only child of Charles Shin-Chul Kang and Kristjana Gunnars, is an American composer, violinist, tuba, and erhu player...
  
   — violin, viola, cello, erhu
  Erhu
  The erhu is a two-stringed bowed musical instrument, more specifically a spike fiddle, which may also be called a "southern fiddle", and sometimes known in the Western world as the "Chinese violin" or a "Chinese two-stringed fiddle". It is used as a solo instrument as well as in small ensembles...
  
  
• Fatima Khanoam – santur
• Jai Young Kim — keyboards, B3 organ
• Jessica Kinney – vocals
• Kevin Kmetz
  Kevin Kmetz
  Kevin Kmetz is an American guitarist and shamisen player. He is best known as the front man of the shamisen-based rock band, God of Shamisen. He has also recently become a full member of Santa Cruz, California eclectic band Estradasphere along with fellow God of Shamisen member Lee Smith...
  
   – shamisen
• Ursula Knudson – bowed saw
• Peijman Kouretchian
  Girth (band)
  Girth were a avant-garde metal band from Seattle, Washington. Dave Webb and Peijman Kouretchian began the band in 2003.-Girth duo:...
  
   – drums
• John Wayne Law – bass guitar
• Matt Lebofsky
  Matt Lebofsky
  Matt Lebofsky is an Oakland, California based multi-instrumentalist and composer. Growing up in New York he studied piano/composition with Arthur Cunningham from 1978-1988. As a performer/composer he is currently active in several bands such as , MoeTar, Secret Chiefs 3, , , , and . He is also a...
  
   – keyboards
• Clinton "Bär" McKinnon
  Clinton McKinnon
  Clinton "Bär" McKinnon is an American musician, perhaps best known playing saxophone in seminal San Francisco based band Mr. Bungle....
  
   — saxophone
  Saxophone
  The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
  
  , flute
  Flute
  The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
  
  , keyboards, percussion
• John Merryman
  Cephalic Carnage
  Cephalic Carnage is an American grindcore band formed in 1992 in Denver, Colorado. The band comprises vocalist Lenzig Leal, guitarists Steve Goldberg and Brian Hopp, drummer John Merryman and bassist Nick Schendzielos...
  
   – drums
• KT Pierce – vocals
• Jesse Quattro – vocals
• Jason Schimmel
  Jason Schimmel
  Jason Schimmel is best known as the guitarist and co-founder of the eclectic Santa Cruz band Estradasphere. He is also involved with Don Salsa, Secret Chiefs 3 and the Santa Cruz White Album Ensemble. He can also play the banjo and piano. He is well known for his versatile playing style,...
  
   — acoustic guitar, fuzz guitar, cümbüş mandolin, vocals
• Monica Schley – harp
• Shamou — percussion (darbuka, riq)
• Ches Smith
  Ches Smith
  Ches Smith is an American musician whose primary instruments are drums, percussion, and vibraphone. He writes and performs music in a wide variety of contexts, including solo percussion, experimental rock bands, and small and large jazz ensembles....
  
   – drums, congas
• Tim Smolens
  Tim Smolens
  Tim Smolens is an American bass player, most notably a contributor to the artistic output of bands such as Estradasphere, Secret Chiefs 3, and Fishtank Ensemble, primarily as a bassist and songwriter...
  
   — bass guitar, upright bass, cello, contrabass
  Contrabass
  Contrabass refers to a musical instrument of very low pitch; generally those pitched one octave below instruments of the bass register...
  
  , cello
• Adam Stacey
  Adam Stacey
  Adam Stacey is an American musician/composer best known for being in the bands, Estradasphere, and Secret Chiefs 3.Born in Los Angeles, California in 1981, he began playing the accordion at a very early age but eventually became more known as a keyboardist. During high school, he joined many bands...
  
   – clavinet
• Hans Teuber — flute
• Gregg Turkington
  Gregg Turkington
  Gregg Turkington is an Australian-born U.S. comedian, best known for his stand-up comedy character, Neil Hamburger. He has also participated in a number of avant-garde and post punk bands...
  
   – vocals
• Unhuman – vocals
• William Winant
  William Winant
  William Winant is an American percussionist.In addition to his work in contemporary classical music -- notably performing Lou Harrison's compositions—Winant has worked in a variety of genres, including noise rock, free improvisation and jazz. Notable collaborators include Glenn Spearman, Thurston...
  
   — drums, percussion (frame drum
  Frame drum
  A frame drum is a drum that has a drumhead width greater than its depth. Usually the single drumhead is made of rawhide or man-made materials. Shells are traditionally constructed of bent wood scarf jointed together; plywood and man-made materials are also used. Some frame drums have mechanical...
  
  , tabla, marimba
  Marimba
  The marimba is a musical instrument in the percussion family. It consists of a set of wooden keys or bars with resonators. The bars are struck with mallets to produce musical tones. The keys are arranged as those of a piano, with the accidentals raised vertically and overlapping the natural keys ...
  
  , vibraphone, shaker, glockenspiel, gong
  Gong
  A gong is an East and South East Asian musical percussion instrument that takes the form of a flat metal disc which is hit with a mallet....
  
  , tubular bell
  Tubular bell
  Tubular bells are musical instruments in the percussion family. Each bell is a metal tube, 30–38 mm in diameter, tuned by altering its length. Its standard range is from C4-F5, though many professional instruments reach G5 . Tubular bells are often replaced by studio chimes, which are a smaller...
  
  , kanjira
  Kanjira
  The kanjira, khanjira or ganjira, a South Indian frame drum, is an instrument of the tambourine family. It is used primarily in concerts of Carnatic music as a supporting instrument for the mridangam...
  
  , timpani
  Timpani
  Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
  
  , cymbal
  Cymbal
  Cymbals are a common percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys; see cymbal making for a discussion of their manufacture. The greater majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a...
  
  , bell
  Bell (instrument)
  A bell is a simple sound-making device. The bell is a percussion instrument and an idiophone. Its form is usually a hollow, cup-shaped object, which resonates upon being struck...
  
  , zil, hammered dulcimer, etc.)

As Secret Chiefs 3

Albums

• First Grand Constitution and Bylaws
  First Grand Constitution and Bylaws
  First Grand Constitution and Bylaws is the first studio album by Secret Chiefs 3. It was released in 1996.-Track listing:#"Ana'l Haqq"- :22#"Adept Chamber of the Magian Tavern – Altar to the Master Chief"- 1:11#"Inn of 3 Doors"- 1:22...
  
  (Amarillo, 1996; remastered: Mimicry, 2000)
• Second Grand Constitution and Bylaws: Hurqalya (Amarillo, 1998; remastered: Mimicry, 2000)
• Eyes of Flesh, Eyes of Flame
  Eyes of Flesh, Eyes of Flame
  Eyes of Flesh, Eyes of Flame is a live album by Secret Chiefs 3, recorded August 18, 1998 and rereleased in 2007. Recorded live at their performance at Slims in San Francisco on August 18, 1998, this CD features the 1998 touring incarnation of Secret Chiefs 3, Trey Spruance, Danny Heifetz, Eyvind...
  
  , live album (Mimicry, 1999)
• Book M
  Book M
  Book M is the third studio album by Secret Chiefs 3, released in 2001. The album is centered around the theme of the Holy Grail, and the artwork consists of several layers of ciphers and alchemical symbols.- Track listing :...
  
  (Mimicry, 2001)
• Book of Horizons
  Book of Horizons
  -Personnel:* Trey Spruance — guitars , keyboards , percussion , santur, rabab, banjo, saz, sheng, synthesizer, sampler, soundscape, Foley sound effects, electroacoustic treatment, vocals, producer, engineer* Mike...
  
  , first part of the Book of Truth trilogy (Mimicry, 2004)
• Path of Most Resistance
  Path of Most Resistance
  Path of Most Resistance is a compilation album of music by Secret Chiefs 3, released in 2007 by Mimicry Records. The album features original compositions from Trey Spruance as well as covers of compositions by Ernest Gold, Ananda Shankar, RD Burman, Tommie Connor, Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks....
  
  , retrospective and rarities album (Mimicry, 2007)
• Xaphan: Book of Angels Volume 9
  Xaphan: Book of Angels Volume 9
  -External links:*[ Xaphan: Book of Angels Volume 9] at Allmusic...
  
  , arrangements from John Zorn
  John Zorn
  John Zorn is an American avant-garde composer, arranger, record producer, saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist. Zorn is a prolific artist: he has hundreds of album credits as performer, composer, or producer...
  
  's second Masada
  Masada (band)
  Masada is a musical group with rotating personnel led by American saxophonist and composer John Zorn since the early 1990s.Masada is as much a "songbook" as a group, comprising more than 500 relatively brief compositions...
  
   songbook (Tzadik
  Tzadik Records
  Tzadik Records is a record label based in New York City specialising in avant-garde and experimental music. The label was established by the eclectic composer and saxophonist John Zorn in 1995; Zorn is the executive producer of all Tzadik releases...
  
  , 2008)
• Satellite Supersonic Vol. 1
  Satellite Supersonic Vol. 1
  Satellite Supersonic Vol. 1 is a compilation of Secret Chiefs 3 songs. All but one of the songs are by the Secret Chiefs 3's satellite bands UR, Ishraqiyun and Electromagnetic Azoth, making the album the third digital recording to feature such releases. Some of the songs were previously released as...
  
  , new songs and rearrangements of songs on several 2007 EPs (Mimicry, 2010)

Singles/EPs

• The Legendary Paper Project, split 7" promo also including Mr. Bungle
  Mr. Bungle
  Mr. Bungle was an experimental band from Northern California. The band was formed in 1985 while the members were still in high school and was named after a children's educational film. Mr. Bungle released four demo tapes in the mid to late 1980s before being signed to Warner Bros. Records and...
  
  's "Platypus", packaged with US vinyl copies of Mr. Bungle's Disco Volante
  Disco Volante
  Disco Volante is a 1995 album by the band Mr. Bungle. It is by far the most experimental of all their productions, as it picks up inspirations from a wide variety of musical styles, including death metal, techno, '50s space age pop, musique concrète and Italian avant-garde...
  
  LP (Warner, 1995)
• The Theatrum of Suprasensory Universes Vol. 1, Australia tour 7" (Amarillo, 1998)
• Zulfikar II/Zulfikar III 7" (Mimicry, 1998)

DVDs

• Live at the Great American Music Hall
  Live at the Great American Music Hall (DVD)
  Live at the Great American Music Hall is a DVD of Secret Chiefs 3 performing live at the Great American Music Hall on June 3, 2007. The DVD contains performances of seven previously unreleased Secret Chiefs 3 songs as well as several songs from their previously available repertoire.-Tracklisting:-...
  
  (Mimicry, 2009)

Planned releases

• Book of Souls, second part of the Book of Truth trilogy
• Third part of the Book of Truth trilogy

As satellite bands

Albums

• Traditionalists: Le Mani Destre Recise Degli Ultimi Uomini
  Le Mani Destre Recise Degli Ultimi Uomini
  Le Mani Destre Recise Degli Ultimi Uomini is the sixth album by the heavily conceptual American band Secret Chiefs 3 . The album is a paranoiac soundtrack to an imaginary Giallo horror film...
  
  (Mimicry, 2009)

Singles/EPs

• The Electromagnetic Azoth / UR: The Left Hand of Nothingness / Personnae: Halloween 7" (Mimicry, 2007)
• Ishraqiyun / The Electromagnetic Azoth: Balance of the 19 / Ubik 7" (Mimicry, 2007)
• UR: Kulturvultur / Drive 7" (Mimicry, 2007)
• UR: Circumambulation / Labyrinth of Light 7" (Mimicry, 2007)
• Ishraqiyun / FORMS: Saptarshi / Radar 7" (Mimicry, 2011)

External links

Official

• Secret Chiefs 3 official website
• Secret Chiefs 3 at Web of Mimicry

Free live recordings

• Free Bootleg of Secret Chiefs 3 Live at Tralf Music Hall, on March 12, 2007