Introducing Cryptomnesia

The first promo has arrived for Cryptomnesia, the virgin release by El Grupo Nuevo De Omar Rodríguez López- a collaboration between Mars Volta members Omar Rodríguez López, Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Juan Alderate, with Zach Hill and Jonathan Hischke of the band Hella.

This LP was recorded about two years ago, which lends heavy credence to speculation that a follow-up to Cryptomnesia is already in the planning stages, if not well into production already- not to mention that the promo’s title is Cryptomnesia I.

Rodriguez-Lopez has stated that the album will be “heavier” and “mostly guitars,” and the song snippets hold true to that statement, sounding like a funkier De-loused In The Comatorium but with more straightforward lyrics and an ever-so-slightly more accessible hyper-Latin jazz-infused maelstrom beneath it. 

One of Cedric’s more decipherable phrases in the piece is I won’t get tourette’s if you don’t get tourette’s- a somewhat fitting declaration, given the several vulgar occurrences in the clip’s 1:13 running time- a relative first for Cedric, whose lyrical undecipherables are just as recognizable as his inimitable vocals.

For those who aren’t familiar with Zach Hill’s work, a good example of his percussive blizzardry can be found in this unaired Vans commercial from a few years back. It’s a breathless four and a half minute pummeling, featuring only Hill, his kit and the ocean rocks he set up on. If the one-shoed performance doesn’t kick your ass, you better check your cynicism gauge.

While the standard definition of Cryptomnesia is “inadvertent plagiarism,” there’s a deeper meaning to the word that seems a bit more applicable: hidden memory. The term was coined a century ago by psychology professor Théodore Flournoy and is used to explain the origin of experiences that people believe to be original but which are actually based on memories of events they’ve forgotten. It seems likely that most so-called past life regressions induced through hypnosis are manifestations fueled by cryptomnesia.

Apply that as you will, but in a word, we’re excited.

The album will drop on May 5th with a vinyl release exclusive for Indie Record Store day on April 18th. Presale news and more info coming soon.

Update:  The following press release, posted earlier today offers a great deal more clarification on the project- including a full album tracklist:

El Grupo Nuevo De Omar Rodriguez Lopez- Cryptomnesia

Cryptomnesia is the first release in a series of three albums recorded in 2006 by EL GRUPO NUEVO DE OMAR RODRIGUEZ LOPEZ. Despite the name of the group, Rodriguez Lopez is quick to point out that THE MARS VOLTA remains far and away his top priority. EL GRUPO NUEVO… is differentiated from the guitarist’s other namesake projects by his selection of players, specifically Zach Hill (HELLA) on drums, Jonathan Hischke (HELLA) on synth bass, and Juan Alderete de la Peña (THE MARS VOLTA) on bass guitar. Additionally, Cryptomnesia features the vocals of guest frontman Cedric Bixler Zavala on eight of the album’s eleven tracks. Rodriguez Lopez completed the album in 2006, shortly after finishing THE MARS VOLTA’s Amputechture. Cryptomnesia’s tracks are a decidedly heavier affair than that album, a conscious decision on his part to switch gears from writing horn arrangements and complex instrumentation for an octet; it is, therefore, comparatively stripped-down and aggressive, with Hill’s presence injecting a dose of chaos and inertia that are a keystone of the EL GRUPO NUEVO… sound. Bixler Zavala’s vocals, tracked in 2008 after two years of his dwelling on the enormity of the recording, are certain to send even the most casual of listeners running for their lyric sheet. The ever-prolific Rodriguez Lopez continues to set the bar higher and higher for himself. EL GRUPO NUEVO DE OMAR RODRIGUEZ LOPEZ has been the stuff of rumors for three years; Cryptomnesia proves more than worth the wait.

A special limited advance vinyl offering of only 3,000 copies will be made available exclusively to Indie Retail in honor of Record Store Day on April 18th. Album will see it’s official release on cd, vinyl and digital everywhere on May 5, 2009.

Track Listing

1.TUBERCULOIDS
2.HALF KLEPTOS
3.CRYPTOMNESIA
4.THEY’RE COMING TO GET YOU, BARBARA
5.PUNY HUMANS
6.SHAKE IS FOR 8TH GRADERS
7.NOIR
8.PAPER CUNTS
9.ELDERLY PAIR BEATEN WITH HAMMER
10.WARREN OATES
11.FUCK YOUR MOUTH