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First Spin: Lee Bannon’s ‘Caligula Theme Music’ EP

'Caligula Theme Music'

This blog has spent plenty of time piling on superlatives in praise of Lee Bannon (innovative producer on par with Clams Casino, and creator of one of the most slept-on release of the year, so far), so I thought I’d let the Sacramento producer discuss Caligula Theme Music, his free download follow-up to February’s blenderized, post-Dilla glitch freakout, Fantastic Plastic.

Caligula Theme Music began as a experiment — “a way to get over the learning curve” — as Bannon learned the ins and outs of his new MacBook Pro. During a plane ride to Austin, Texas, for the South By Southwest festival, he started what would become the EP, messing around with samples of “Perfume Genius, JMSN, sounds on the plane, in the hotel room, and my own voice.”

As for the title and concept of the record, it has nothing to do with the 1979 Tinto Brass cult classic Caligula, or even “what it says about Caligula in the history books.” The EP is “more about the idea of Caligula,” and uses skittering Lex Luger-lite percussion (“trap-style drums were an important element”) and bleary hums, buzzes, and vocals to convey the decadent Roman emperor’s “ego.” Listen to Lee Bannon’s Caligula Theme Music below. You will be able to download it tomorrow.