Titicacaman Records CAT#22
Earthling Hymns of Christmas Past
by The Royal Orchestra of Titicaca (2016)
featuring Bepo “Ricochet” Armstrong and The Monster Choir of Alturas
BUY : amazon | iTunes | bandcamp
“Ranging from a post-punk melancholy to art of noise effects to occasionally pure vocals and acoustic accompaniment that surprise in their unexpectedness, the 10 songs (four of the 14 tracks are short connective interludes) are consistently imaginative in their arrangements, generally fun and definitely a different take on holiday music… an alternative—perhaps a tonic to some—to the treacle that all too often passes for holiday cheer.”
Read the full review by Jim Trageser, San Diego Troubadour, December, 2016
Every holiday season, we melt and cringe at the old carols being fed to us through multiple dimensions, they confuse us, they embrace us then slap us, they’re brainwashers rocking an empty crib, they’re also classic songs which make us smile and trigger floods of memories, good and bad. The child’s eyes glitter, the grinch mocks inside then the promise of ice cream silences him, yes, the grinch is definitely male and Christmas is full of lies. The lies become truth too old and tangled to unravel, yet the Saturnalia season seems to be part of our genetic code, no matter what you call it, what you claim the holiday is about, all humans can agree that the end of the year, the holiday season, is an ideal time to indulge the senses and hopefully revel in pure, deep love, the greatest gift the season can bring.
How Earthling Hymns of Christmas Past came to be is a story full of profound questions, full of white light, happy highs and tedious toil, not devoid of pleasantries, janitorial duties and inspired sonorous eloquence, plus the act of removing all instances of Jesus from the lyrics, replacing his name with words like love and consciousness was surprisingly satisfying and effective, good will to all life under the banner of life. Sacrilege? No, a modification, a test. These songs have been around long before us and will be around long after we pass, they are in the public domain, they are material to reinterpret, they are part of our evolution as a species, one Christmas at a time.
Among the new interpretations we have: Jingle Bells, sporting steel toe boots treading nimbly on snow, a mad hatter’s parade; Bepo’s charm and humor surfing Deck the Halls, hooligans in tow; Silent Night as spiritual psychedelic country sludge; Joy to the World as a post apocalyptic hymn, calling for every heart to prepare to bloom, the war is done. The Royal Orchestra of Titicaca‘s interpretation of Go Tell It on the Mountain sings consciousness is born! Space ship sounds included. It is one answer to the question: what is one event that would inspire us in the here and now to go tell it on the mountain? A very good question, the orchestra responds: let’s imagine, first contact with benign alien beings who land on Earth and trigger a new phase of consciousness, an assurance we’re not alone in the Universe, they share their otherworldly knowledge with us and set in motion a new age of enlightenment… go climb a mountain, megaphone in hand.
The Royal Orchestra of Titicaca, Bepo “Ricochet” Armstrong and The Monster Choir of Alturas are Marcelo Radulovich and his multiple personalities. The orchestra and choir are also Chris Conner and Scott Sayre who contributed their immense talents to various tracks. Earthling Hymns of Christmas Past is a wet album, rich and resonant, colorful, melodious, paced, bubbling with good will, love and creativity, it is music for camp fires, windy nights and stimulating conversation. We at Titicacaman Records are happy to bring to you this collection of Christmas songs with the hopes they will offer a fresh perspective and a welcome alternative to seasonal sounds.
Read an article about the album:
“Marcelo Radulovich did not seek to make history with his ambitious new album, ‘Earthling Hymns of Christmas Past,’ but he may have done just that.”
George Varga, San Diego Union Tribune (12/15/2016)
More reviews:
http://werksman.blogspot.nl/2016/12/the-royal-orchestra-of-titicaca.html
“…The Royal Orchestra of Titicaca, set things straight with Earthling Hymns of Christmas Past, an album of reinvented religion-free reinterpretations of played-to-death seasonal tunes.”
http://lieinthesound.de/2016/12/der-klingende-adventskalender-2016-tuerchen-22/
“The album Earthling Hymns of Christmas Past turns into a fantasy of salvation in which extraterrestrial enlightenment bring. It is a radical concept which surpasses religion without wanting to renounce the joy of a festival.” (Translated by Google)
Physical copies available through us. $10 (USA dollars via Paypal) includes shipping & handling in the continental USA.
CREDITS
Chris Conner: trumpet on tracks 2, 5, 8, 10 & 14; vocals on tracks 2, 3, 5, 6, 10, 12 & 14; percussion on track 13
Scott Sayre: trombone on tracks 2 & 8; melodica on tracks 8, 9 & 13; keys on tracks 5, 12 & 14; percussion & kalimba on track 13; vocals on tracks 3, 5, 6, 12 & 14
Marcelo Radulovich: all other instruments and voices
Recorded/produced/designed by Marcelo Radulovich at Titicacaman Studio, 2016
Titicacaman Records CAT#35
Earthling Hymns of Christmas Past (Remix 2021)
by The Monster Choir of Alturas (2021)
BUY : bandcamp
Recognizing components in the sum of components offers insight, the larger work broken down into pieces. In this 2-song digital vinyl 7” fugazi, the producer shares the warm naked body of voices in unison and harmony, the humble mumble of interpreting what are called Christmas classics.
The Monster Choir of Alturas inhabit and permeate a patch of mountain frozen grass, leafless trees asleep in the cold. Their trickle of sorrow rings loud as fiends round up virgins to sacrifice, as headaches control the hot, palpable attack of sun beams, as eating snow becomes the norm, a trickle offering of the calming effect in lullabies.
Tenderness, damn straight, like The English Beat.
And, as Alex from “A Clockwork Orange” would say: joy to the world and all that cow.
CREDITS
Chris Conner: vocals
Marcelo Radulovich: vocals
Scott Sayre: vocals + piano
Recorded/produced/designed by Marcelo Radulovich at Titicacaman Studio, 2016-2021
CONTACT TITICACAMAN Studio Services: EMAIL | PHONE: 760.944.3321