Colin Edwin (Porcupine Tree), Jon Durant release “Semazen” music video
World-renowned bassist Colin Edwin (Porcupine Tree, Metallic Taste of Blood, Ex-Wise Heads) and guitarist/composer Jon Durant have released a music video for “Semazen,” taken from the duo’s collaborative instrumental release Burnt Belief. Stream the “Semazen” video on YouTube today at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKDdZ8um-G0&feature=youtu.be.
“The video concept follows from the theme of the album–questioning one’s belief systems, and letting go of superstitions,” said Durant, who also filmed and directed the video. “The woman in the video, after longing to be free of the shackles that have been placed upon her, is able to shed her inhibitions and live the life she wants to live.”
Burnt Belief was released on December 21, 2012 through Alchemy Records. It is available on iTunes, CDBaby, Burning Shed and Amazon.
Burnt Belief has since entered the CMJ Top 200 for radio additions, checking in at #12 for the first week of January. The record also topped the CMJ RPM chart for the week.
Burnt Belief marks the second time that the two musicians have worked together since Edwin contributed bass to Durant’s 2011 release Dance of the Shadow Planets. It was recorded at three studios, two in the U.S. and one in the U.K., with Edwin and Durant exchanging digital files over the Internet. Additional musicians were later brought in, with Jerry Leake (“Cubist,” Natraj, Club d’Elf) on percussion and Geoff Leigh (Ex-Wise Heads, Henry Cow, Hatfield and the North) on flute.
Perhaps best described as a post-rock concept album, Burnt Belief draws from ethnic, ambient and electronic elements to create a cohesive and emotional album, inspired by a fundamental, universal question. The album considers the polarization between religion and science, while highlighting the dissonance between belief and reality. Burnt Belief deals with issues of intellect, fundamentalism and fanaticism, set to an ambient and progressive aural landscape.
Blending electronic rhythms and acoustic elements, the musicians wove soundscapes from unique sources – synth, 12-string and cloud guitar textures, melodic fretless bass, prepared piano and Middle Eastern hand percussion – along with searing lead guitars, to tell a series of instrumental stories. Burnt Belief takes the listener on an immersive journey, with repeated listens revealing new layers and tones to the depth of the subject. While the album is intended to be a complete experience, the centerpiece comes with the dual attack of “Balthazar’s Key” and “Uncoiled,” just over 20 minutes of compelling sounds that, according to Durant, “kick enough booty to make anyone sit up and take notice.”
The title of the album was inspired by Edwin’s reading of social psychologist Leon Festinger’s When Prophecy Fails, an account of a doomsday UFO cult in the 1950s. According to Edwin, “It got me thinking, what are all beliefs really about and where do they come from?” – a question that Durant had also been interested in for some time.
Source: www.facebook.com/BurntBelief
