CODEX SERAFINI - GOD'S SPIT

 




Some groups draw inspiration from a literary source; others elevate influence into creative symbiosis. Pace Mark E. Smith and Albert Camus’ novel The Fall (or Nick Cave with Harold Pinter’s play The Birthday Party), the Brighton, UK-based psych rock outfit Codex Serafini do more than take their name from Italian architect and artist Luigi Serafini’s imaginary encyclopedia Codex Seraphinianus. They aim to emulate the work’s fantastical reinvention of the world. Self-proclaimed emissaries from Saturn, they operate under conditions of strict anonymity, performing in red robes and black masks. Although most of the tracks have lyrics, their female lead singer sometimes sings in an invented idiom, as asemic and open to interpretation as the language in which Serafini wrote his codex. Musically, they combine elements of sludge metal, freak folk, space rock, noise rock and psych fusion into a potent brew that can gather in contemplative pools or trickle forth speedily under its own flammable impetus.

Their new live album God’s Spit contains nine songs from the two previous EP releases Invisible Landscape (2021) and Serpents of Enceladus (2020). While the players stop short of complete reinvention, a latent raw heaviness is enhanced. The sax player brought on board to finish Invisible Landscape and a new drummer enlisted during lockdown (“one of Brighton’s best” according to the group) bring a Morphine-style swagger to the pagan folk elements, linking jazz swing to unearthly blues and electrifying the pace of these bizarre interstellar transmissions. God’s Spit was recorded at The Smokehouse, Ipswich during a 16-show UK tour in the winter of 2021 playing with similarly prog/psych-inclined groups Gnod, The Brackish and Guranfoe. Following live stream shows and reduced capacity events that took place with the easing of lockdown restrictions, the recording captures a tighter band inspired by the company of fellow sonic travellers and champing at the bit to reconnect with live audiences.

A UK tour with German space rockers Electric Moon, along with appearances at bigger festivals and supports with Acid Mothers Temple, Helicon, Melt Banana, Ditz and Poly-Math convinced Codex Serafini and their labels Halfmeltedbrain Records and Ceremonial Laptop to focus on getting the Ipswich recording ready for release to mark the closing of a chapter in the group’s early history. The presence of Acid Mothers Temple in Codex’s orbit is apposite. The Japanese psych legends are another outfit that create their own magical cosmos out of reimagined cultural elements placed in surreal juxtapositions. Codex Serafini titles like ‘Organismic Thought’, ‘Mendoza’s Memory’ and ‘Time, Change and Become’ conjure some psychedelic realm born out of a graphic novel collaboration between Carlos Castenada and Alejandro Jodorowsky. Their mysterious costumed vibe and heavy psych rock sound invite comparisons to other cultish outfits such as Californian vegan oddballs the Source Family’s Yahowa 13 project while the desert rock intro to 'Mendoza's Memory' recalls the incantatory phrasing of Tuareg guitar warrior Mdou Moctar. They couldn't be any more outernationalist if they really were Saturnian emissaries - but then again ...

Codex Serafini have a UK tour booked for March and April (see dates below) and a studio album due this year on Riot Season Records.

(C) Text by Jon Kromka 2023



Codex Serafini's God's Spit is out now through Halfmeltedbrain and Ceremonial Laptop and is available on Bandcamp:

https://codexserafini.bandcamp.com/album/gods-spit 

Live:

March 4th - London at Chaos Theory Fest Day 3
dice.fm/partner/dice/event/2xxm6-chaos-theory-festival-2023-day-3-4th-mar-signature-brew-blackhorse-road-london-tickets

And the rest of the UK:

31st March - Ipswich

1st April - Chelmsford

2nd April - Bristol

6th April - Birmingham

7th April - Sheffield

8th April - Rotherham

9th April -Leeds

11th April - Canterbury

12th April - Brighton

14th - St Leonards

15th April - Manchester

https://www.facebook.com/events/1387103892032014





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