Les Claypool and Sean Lennon are back together as The Claypool Lennon Delirium for the second time since their debut album, Monolith of Phobos. The new EP, Lime and Limpid Green, is set for release on August 4th of this year via ATO Records. The new album will feature only covers of songs written by Pink Floyd, The Who, King Crimson, and others.

The pair released a video for their cover of Flower Travellin’ Band’s “Satori” in anticipation of their August album release. The video follows a claymation eyeball as it bounces up and down on top of what must be a brain, in rhythm with the accompanying music. As the pace picks up and the guitar riff gets more complicated, the eyeball jumps on top of a pair of fingers that help it keep up. The fingers morph into a hand as the rhythm quickens even further, until the hand begins to flap as if it were a wing, taking the eyeball into flight. The eyeball repeats this process throughout the verses, interrupted at the end each time by crashing repeatedly through a series of doors that explode into fingers that jump out every which way.

Other facial body parts, such as ears, mouths, teeth, and noses eventually float in proximity to the eyeball, forming something that resembles Mr. Potato Head, only if he had no head. The mouths sing the words of the song as the other body parts move in rhythm with the music. In the video’s climax, severed fingers amass around the eyeball, creating a one-eyed, two-legged, walking monster. The monster takes a few steps before the camera launches through its one eye, into a kaleidoscope of similar eyes, before taking us through the forehead of a meditating clay figure, who in turn begins to float. It becomes clear by the end that the body of the video takes place within this meditating figure’s mind. The video for “Satori” surely cements The Claypool Lennon Delirium’s branding as a psychedelic rock group.

The two artists, especially Sean, have been active in a number of different ways since the release of their first album. Lennon works on and off as a co-producer for the psych-pop group, Moonlandingz, which released its debut album in March of this year. Lennon heard the group play just after they had formed and has been a big part of their production ever since. Lennon also released a song he had written with Carrie Fischer, in March. While he and Fischer wrote “Bird Song” together, Lennon recruited Willow Smith for its recording after Fischer passed.

Les Claypool recorded a song in May of 2016 with Death Grips, titled “More Than The Fairy.” Claypool’s familiarly rigid and trebly bass notes are ever present in this feverish track. Claypool, along with his band Primus, released a book titled “Primus: Over The Electric Grapevine: Insight Into Primus and the World of Les Claypool” in 2014. The book is an oral history of Primus compiled by Greg Prato, a music journalist who has written for Rolling Stone. The book features interviews from band members and unreleased images.

The upcoming EP features for covers by the duo; Pink Floyd’s “Astronomy Domine”, The Who’s “Boris The Spider”, King Crimson’s “The Court of the Crimson King” and Flower Travellin’ Band’s “Satori.” It is set for release on August 4th, and will be available digitally or on vinyl.

Track Listing:

01 – “Astronomy Domine” (Pink Floyd cover)
02 – “Boris The Spider” (The Who cover)
03 – “ The Court Of The Crimson King” (King Crimson cover)
04 – “Satori” (Flower Travellin’ Band cover)

Release date August 4th via ATO Records.

Photography credit: Marv Watson