Secret Chiefs 3

Born in San Francisco in the mid-1990s around guitarist and composer Trey Spruance, Secret Chiefs 3 developed an experimental, largely instrumental music where adventurous rock, surf music, references to Persian and Indian musics, extreme metal, electronics and film-score writing intersect. The project took shape with Trevor Dunn and Danny Heifetz, both also alumni of Mr. Bungle, and has operated as a fluid, variable‑lineup ensemble in studio and on stage, featuring musicians such as Eyvind Kang, Ches Smith and Shahzad Ismaily. The trajectory of Secret Chiefs 3 can be traced through records like First Grand Constitution and Bylaws (1996), Hurqalya (Second Grand Constitution and Bylaws) (1998), Book M (2001), Book of Horizons (2004), Xaphan: Book of Angels Volume 9 (2008), Book of Souls: Folio A (2013) and Malkhut (2018). From the 2000s onward, Secret Chiefs 3 also formalized the idea of several satellite ensembles—such as Ishraqiyun, Traditionalists, UR and Electromagnetic Azoth—each highlighting a specific facet of its musical language. This organization explains the diversity of the repertoire performed by Secret Chiefs 3, ranging from microtonal compositions and complex rhythmic pieces to atmospheric textures and detours into musical traditions reinterpreted within a contemporary framework.