The combination of two of rock's most fearless and experimental musicians seems like a no-brainer -- even more so when considering their pedigrees. In 2015, as his band
the Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger occupied the opening slot for the
Primus tour,
Sean Lennon got to play with
Primus' virtuoso bassist
Les Claypool. An on-stage jam during "Southbound Pachyderm" convinced
Claypool that
John's son could really play, and the pair decided to collaborate on a new project.
The Claypool Lennon Delirium recorded at
Claypool's home studio at Rancho Relaxo near Sonoma, California, crafting an unsurprising sound, considering the duo's origins. Their debut single -- the eight-minute mind-bender "Cricket and the Genie" -- shifts and swerves from style to style, exploring the spaces between psych rock, prog, a little acid, a lot of abstract, and even experimental pop. Their debut album,
Monolith of Phobos, was released in June 2016. In April of the following year, the band released an exclusive four-song covers EP called
Lime and Limpid Green to coincide with Record Store Day. A second full-length album,
South of Reality, appeared in February 2019. ~ Neil Z. Yeung