Serbian avant-garde orchestra The Cyclist Conspiracy struck a nerve at the Weirdo Shrine headquarters from the second we laid eyes on them. The strange moniker was only the tip of the iceberg it appeared as the more we uncovered about this strange and interesting group, the more intriguing things got…
The further we wandered into the Mashallah Plan, the harder it became to find a grip on where we were. Was this ethno folk territory? Psychedelic kraut rock? Avant-garde sax pop? Nomadic Arabian desert blues? Or a little bit of everything all at once? Pretty soon we did not even mind anymore, as all we could be was mesmerised by the angelic voices of the The Cyclist Conspiracy choir…
Surely enough, in 60s style and reminiscent of musicals like Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar, The Cyclist Conspiracy has incorporated a choir of heavenly female voices into their folky fold. It creates an extra outlandish attraction within an already pretty varied melting pot of styles. Proper “world” music in its freest form. Meet The Cyclist Conspiracy!
In line with their enigmatic moniker and collective stage presentation, The Cyclist Conspiracy answered their questions as a group entity. Who are they? What are they on about? Where do all those worldly and otherworldly influences come from? We asked, and found the answers we were looking for…
Hi guys, how are you? Can you introduce the band to the Weirdo Shrine audience?
Fine, thank you. We are the Cyclist Conspiracy, the (anti) world orchestra. We were formed as an informal project in 2014 within the Society for the Development of Alchemical Studies “Vasko Popa” and nowadays we are a musical troupe consisting of seven male and female souls.
Where do you live, and how would you say it influences your music?
We live in the Balkans, on the fringes of the Empire, or more precisely in Serbia, a liminal space between the East and the West. Our country, as well as the whole region, has a very rich historical background and has witnessed numerous catastrophic and miraculous events – the Ottoman conquest, the vampiric plague, and the birth of Barbarogenius, to name a few. All these events tended to shape cultural and crosscultural dynamics in a unique way – so our culture was always a synthesis of various influences and a very primordial basis of our own. This, in general, goes for the rest of the Balkans as well. The Balkan is, in spite of the exotic picture most of the people outside it might have, a birthplace of tragedy. The tragedy that was born out of the spirit of music, of course. No wonder “the song” and “tragedy” sound almost the same in Greek.
What can you tell me about the creation of Mashallah Plan? Most of the songs were originally released on an EP, weren’t they?
Yes, they were. The EP was supposed to be a teaser but it took us more time than expected to do the proper album, obviously. Also, we recorded the EP in an improvised studio, with very modest equipment so it didn’t really sound the way we wanted. Three songs from the EP will re-appear on the album (“The Great Staurocycle”, “Virility”, and “The Blood of the Lamb”) simply because they were part of the story from the beginning and they make whole only with the rest of the songs on the album. It was a long process and sometimes I had a feeling that it was almost out of our control – that the album was this separate entity with its own schedule, regardless of what we wanted. Luckily, everything ended up well. Actually, even better than we expected, since we’ve been super lucky with the labels too – Davide and Subsound have been extremely nice and supportive.
In what way was the novel by Svetislav Basara responsible for the band name? And (why) should we all read it?
“The Cyclist Conspiracy” is actually an English translation by Randall A. Major. The original Serbian title, “Fama o biciklistima” is a pun that refers to Fama Fraternitatis, a Rosicrucian manifesto from the 17th century. So, sometimes I like to describe it as Robert Anton Wilson’s/Robert Shea’s “Illuminatus!” trilogy from the Rosicrucian perspective 😊. Joking aside, the book is one of the Serbian (post)modern classics and it tells a Borgesque story about a secret brotherhood that recognizes the bicycle as the last invention in accordance with God’s will (because the man produces the labor in his own sweat) and thus renounces all the technology and the modern world. But it’s crazier than you think. This typical postmodern playfulness was brought to another level and there are all kinds of references and characters intermingling throughout the book, from Vladimir Solovyov, Kemal Ataturk, Stalin, Sherlock Holmes, and Freud to Faulkner, Situationists, Artaud, and Paul Virilio, creating this unexpected network of correspondences. The cyclists themselves do some pretty crazy things as well, like smashing clocks, waging an occult war against Nazis through their dreams, or enjoying mystical dinners with the “Nightmare Chicken” as the main dish. It’s funny, it’s witty, it’s deadly serious and tongue-in-cheek at the same time, and it just fills you with this wonderful fanaticism 😊. And fanaticism is a necessary thing if you want to create art, as Laibach pointed out years ago – so we named ourselves after the book and this concept gave us a brand new playground to pursue our musical, esoteric, philosophical, and other interests.
I love the way the album sounds super eclectic, like there is a strong folk vibe but you cannot really pinpoint which part of the world it originates from…can you help us out? Which parts of the world have influenced you musically?
Definitely a lot of North-West African and Middle Eastern music, as well as some Byzantine choral music. However, they were just “incorporated” into the rock form although some of the songs were written in a manner that distantly resembles modal music. Actually, we prefer the word “synthesis” instead of “syncretic” or “eclectic”, it gives a clearer picture of what we are trying to do. It is like an alchemical process, you must be aware of the nature of the elements you are experimenting with, their origin, the way they correspond with each other, and above all – the fact that your final goal is a synthesis of the given elements, not the experiment for the sake of experimenting. It’s not an easy process and it often results in failure and frustration but when everything falls in its place it becomes a true blessing. “Mashallah Plan” represents just one aspect of the band and the traditional/folk influences are actually much wider. We have this general curiosity about traditional music that spreads to different parts of the world. Also, we are deeply rooted in Balkan music and we already had a few releases in “Cyclomanges” series dedicated to rebetiko.
What about lyrically? What message does the album convey in general?
Music has been considered to be the highest form of art since Ancient Greece and we worship it as such. So we really wanted to put the emphasis on the music that creates the story in its own language without too much lyrical content blocking it. We also really hate to write the lyrics, it’s such a pain in the ass 😊. On the other hand, we tend to use certain symbols or certain signs on the map, to put it so, that can generate meaning. For example, “Mashallah Plan” refers to “Marshall’s Plan”, “master plan”, and Marshall guitar amps at the same time so there are definitely some anti-imperialist and crunchy overtones to it 😊. However, the album tells a very personal story about a spiritual journey. Originally, “Mashallah” is an expression in Arabic and it means something like “what God has willed has happened”. It’s obvious that we are going through a very difficult period of human history and “Mashallah Plan” was our search for hope. Everything starts with a man riding a bike (and thus crucifying himself from the bird’s perspective), away from civilization and towards the desert, and ends with Simorgh, the ultimate bird itself. The latter is a direct reference to “The Conference of the Birds”, a mystical Sufi poem from the 12th century by Farid ud-Din Attar . “Deneb” also carries this bird symbolism – it is a star in the constellation of Cygnus (The Swan) with a very long cultural history. So basically, it’s all about birds, as always 😊.
Which contemporary bands do you listen to on a regular basis?
I can never get tired of Secret Chiefs 3 and Killing Joke, for sure. I love Circle very much too, Diminished Men had a couple of really cool releases… I saw Poil/Ueda live a few months ago and have been obsessed with their latest record since then. There is this amazing Russian psychedelic prog-pop act I discovered a few years ago, Inna Pivaras and The Histriones, they are absolutely brilliant. USSSY are also awesome. I also listen to some local bands like Ab Re, Crno dete, Lenhart Tapes, Hotel Makedonija, Dunavski Buzukije – there is a pretty interesting underground scene in Serbia and all of these bands have a very distinctive sound which is, in one way or another, influenced by traditional or urban folk music.
What are your future plans?
We are currently working on “Back to the Hermetics and Martial Arts Vol 1.”, a collection of songs that was shaped during the “Mashallah Plan” era but couldn’t fit the album musically and conceptually. Actually, it’s totally different compared to “Mashallah Plan”, the songs are shorter and more cinematic, they flirt with all kinds of genres, and have a certain “Faustian” quality – they are definitely less “solar” and darker than the “Mashallah Plan” stuff. So, we hope to enter the studio again in early 2024. We also plan to play live as much as possible. The first concert will be in Belgrade in early November and then probably more gigs in Serbia and the region.
What should the Weirdo Shrine readers do immediately after reading this interview?
I don’t know. Whatever they think is the right thing to do, I guess. Anyway, if they don’t have better things to do they can always check the first three volumes of “The Music of the Secret Society that Owns Belgrade” on Inverted Spectrum Records. There are some great bands and authentic weirdos there. The fourth volume will be out soon so keep an eye on that too! Thank you for the interview!
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