Kim Salmon & The Surrealists Are Back.
Kim Salmon of seminal swamp-rockers The Scientists and Beasts of Bourbon is set to release the first Surrealists album in twelve years: the fittingly titled Grand Unifying Theory.
Since then, Salmon has been busy with his other projects, including the alt-country outfit, The Darling Downs (also featuring former Died Pretty frontman, Ron Peno) and the eight-piece instrumental group, Salmon.
It was 2006, however, that saw the reunion of the Surrealists for the Spanish Azkena Festival, with the lineup of Stu Thomas on bass and Phil Collings on drums. It was here that Salmon resolved to reunite the group to make an album and finish what they started in the late 80s. And for Salmon it’s been a long time coming.
"I knew there was something there, and I wanted to hear what could happen. I was really passionate about it. But I knew [making an album] would take time to do. There’s never any point in doing it but to do it right. It’s something I’ve wanted to do since The Scientists did The Human Jukebox."
The reformation tours of The Scientists also prompted Salmon to revisit The Surrealists, explaining that it put him back in touch with what he was trying to achieve originally.
"A lot of the ideas that have been mulling over in my head for a decade and a half have just fallen into place since doing the Scientists tours."
Salmon assures, however, that Grand Unifying Theory is not simply a heap of old songs grouped together. Rather, the material is assembled together with the help of producer, Mike Stranges, into a unifying whole; hence the album title. Salmon explains that it "hangs together" better than anything he’s done previously, likening the listening experience to looking at an expressionist painting.
"You need to look at is as a whole, rather than the individual brushstrokes, to make sense of it."
Recorded throughout 2008 and 2009 over a series of live sessions, Grand Unifying Theory follows on seamlessly from The Surrealists first album, Hit Me With The Surreal Feel. Salmon reveals that that the two albums were recorded in much the same spirit; a move that was very much intentional.
The guts of both albums were recorded live so as to "capture the interaction of musicians". Similarly, both albums were spontaneous affairs, and used the recording process to develop a framework of ideas.
"[Both albums] were the product of us getting together and making a record and capturing a particular time. It’s a really organic process of making music"
Salmon concedes that he much prefers this process of recording that adheres to the jazz ethos of improvisation, a lack of constraints and putting people outside their comfort zones.
"People enjoyed Sin Factory, whereas Hit Me With The Surreal Feel is my personal favourite along with this new album. They’re soundtracks to a bizarre turn of events. It’s autobiographical, not in terms of narrative, but I can listen to it and it can take me back to that particular time in my life."
And not unlike Hit Me With The Surreal Feel, it’s an album that you can listen to over and over again.
"I’m getting too old to make disposable music," he laughs.
As for the future? Salmon will launch Grand Unifying Theory in style in New York to coincide with The Scientists performing at All Tomorrow’s Parties. Here’s hoping we’ll see them in action soon in Brisbane.
Kim Salmon & The Surrealists Grand Unifying Theory is out on Low Transit Industries on March 6th.
By Stephanie Bourke
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