Drummer and composer Vinnie Sperrazza, building on the success of of his 2014 release Apocryphal, presents Hide Ye Idols, his strongest artistic statement to date, released on Loyal Label. Featuring the returning cast from Apocryphal- alto saxophonist Loren Stillman (Paul Motian, Tyshawn Sorey), guitarist Brandon Seabrook (Seabrook Power Plant, Gerald Cleaver), bassist Eivind Opsvik, and producer Geoff Kraly (one half of rising indie stars Paris Monster)- Hide Ye Idols is by turns cinematic, aggressive, melodic, irreverent, joyous, introspective, and underpinned by a dry, generous humor.

The album was recorded at The Bunker in Brooklyn, mixed by Eivind Opsvik, and mastered by drummer and bassist Nate Wood (Kneebody), which makes the album 100% artisanal Brooklyn, NY sonic art. Drawing inspiration from Sun Ra, Squarepusher, the soundtrack to David Lynch’s Eraserhead, Monty Python’s Terry Gilliam, Victorian literature, and trips to the Brooklyn Public Library’s History section, the music’s post-rock textures, improvisation, and electronic explorations all point in a wholly contemporary direction.

Speaking about the band, Sperrazza says “After the first record, I booked as many shows as I could, and consequently had subs on gigs sometimes. It was then that I realized, and we all realized, ‘this is a band’. So we’re Vinnie Sperrazza Apocryphal now and I recognize now that this is our vocabulary, our approach; it’s a group sound, not a sound that can be broken down into ‘this player with that player equals this music’”.

Family, community, passage from childhood to adulthood, nods and glances to those who made the world and those who showed how to live in it- these and more themes make up Hide Ye Idols, a product of two years of hard and focused work from a group of Brooklyn musicians, spearheaded and dreamt up by Vinnie Sperrazza. “Although any artists’ work is inherently personal, this group of songs, in this order, is more personal and autobiographical than any music I’ve made. And I can’t stress enough what a group project this was. Everyone- the band, the engineers, Geoff Kraly, Eivind as a mixing engineer, and Nate Wood- made this music what it is, and it was our unity of purpose that’s made this a strong statement. I’m honored to share it with listeners everywhere.”

01. Sun Ra
02. People’s History
03. Family
04. St. Jerome
05. Bulwer Lytton
06. Hide Ye Idols
07. Valentinus


Produced by Geoff Kraly

All songs by Vinnie Sperrazza (Gridley Tunes ASCAP)

Loren Stillman - alto saxophone
Brandon Seabrook - guitar
Eivind Opsvik - bass
Vinnie Sperrazza - drums

Recorded at The Bunker, Brooklyn NY, November 2015
Mixed by Eivind Opsvik at Greenwood Underground
Mastered by Nate Wood
Cover Design by Espen Friberg

Press:
Downbeat
"Sperrazza has proven repeatedly that he’s a fantastic post-bop drummer. With Hide Ye Idols, he proves he’s also a strong composer with a keen conceptual streak"

All About Jazz
"Cinematic, introspective, irreverent, and leavened by droll humor, Hide Ye Idols is Sperrazza's strongest effort as a bandleader to date. ."

WBGO.org (Nate Chinen)
"The album ranges widely, often hinting at open-form discovery; its opening salvo is titled “Sun Ra.” But the final track is a watery, easygoing swinger, “Valentinus,” that gives Stillman room to air out his beautiful alto sound, before a restrained yet otherworldly Seabrook solo."

Stereogum
"They understand the value of production, too, adding static and light touches of distortion to the music so you know it’s not just four dudes working through tunes in a room, but an actual collective artistic concept at work."

Something Else
"he and his audacious crew once again stretch jazz across multiple red lines and force people to rethink what defines that idiom."