Tip! *300 copies limited edition* We are about to release the debut LP from Secular Music Group, emerged from the home workshop of Christian Ruggiero, a renowned composer for film and television with a passion for classic recordings and legacy studio technology. He teamed up with long-time collaborator and multi-instrumentalist Yannis Panos to make a record in the old way; as a group of musicians in a room playing live to magnetic tape. This record would channel their shared interests in free-jazz, library music and American minimalism. The group was made whole by the essential additions of guitarist Ted Morcaldi, reedist Greg Lapine and percussionist Tim Walsh.
Each of the players brought several sketches to the sessions, which served as the central point of departure for these improvisations. This record can thus be seen as a truly collaborative effort. Ruggiero payed tribute to a recently departed friend, capturing the proceedings on a vintage tape machine bequeathed to him. The results are deeply inspired, echoing the pastoral grace of UK jazz, the starkness of the European avant-garde, and the inspiriting sounds of the great ‘60s and ‘70s instrumental ensembles, as well as contemporary compatriots mining somewhat similar terrain, such as Hampshire & Foat, Natural Information Society, and Matthew Halsall’s Gondwana Orchestra.