Deathrock band Egrets On Ergot practice a bit of sorcery in their video for ‘Mangkukulam’

Los Angeles’ Egrets On Ergot are one of those inexplicable incarnations of chaotic and avant-garde artistic expression that are perhaps aptly conveyed by the imagery of birds suffering from the effects analogous to LSD brought on by consuming Ergot spores.

Since they are a California band, you might be inclined to call them Deathrock, but perhaps if they had they been from New York, they would fit similar classifications to that of Lydia Lunch’s Art-punk No-Wave legacy act Teenage Jesus and The Jerks.

Following their self-released EP, Serve Us Tender (which is alleged to have included a hit of LSD in over 100 copies) the band are set to release their 11 track LP Surfeit of Gemütlich this October through Cleopatra Records. The album, like the EP, was produced by Paul Roessler of The Screamers, Nervous Gender, and Nina Hagen Band.

Ahead of the release the band have shared with us their video for the track Mangkukulam. 

The band goes on to explain the magical nature of the record’s introductory track:

“In Filipino folk culture, the Mangkukulam is a practitioner of low magic or sorcery. This song was one of the first few written after finding bass player, Daniel. We were aiming to take the rhythmically tribal drive from a few of our previous songs and concentrate that into a mostly instrumental, dark and ritualistic piece of music. This was the first song featuring the clang of a found metal bar, which is used sparingly on the upcoming LP. Expect more tribalesque toms and a completely instrumental track on the album. We use “Mangkukulam” often as an opening song for live sets, and it felt natural being first on the new record.”

Surfeit of Gemütlich is out October 27th through Cleopatra Records

Pre-Order Here

Also available on ITunes