ARABS IN ASPIC
THE MAGIC OF SIN

“Syndenes magi” was the sixth Arabs in Aspic album, and a turning point in their long career. After “Pictures in a Dream” and “Victim of your Father’s agony” the structure of “the new Arabs” was set. They had lots of songs ready to go, but after attending a spectacular King Crimson gig in Oslo they decided that their new material wasn’t up to par, and they had to do better. The next day Jostein Smeby went back home to Trondheim, and wrote what turned into the 12-minute song «Syndenes Magi». He called up cover artist Julia and asked her to write down some keywords for a concept album. She delivered a good dose of keywords about anxiety, which inspired the composition of the rest of the album. The album was originally written in English, but countless attempts to make the vocals blend in with the music failed. Smeby tried to write a verse in Norwegian instead, and there it was. Then, the rest was remade in Norwegian as well. The album was released on Apollon Records in the fall of 2017, and received a lot of international attention, despite having only Norwegian lyrics. Jostein Smeby says: “When it comes to the remix of the album, that is the hardest project we’ve ever done. We were really happy with the record – so if it was going to get remixed, then the result had to be even better. The band wasn’t entirely in agreement about a remix at all, but the composer had some unfinished business regarding English lyrics. I tried singing the original English lyrics again. And it sounded just as bad as last time. What do you do then? Well, you delete all the Norwegian vocals and work until it gets better. Working with the remix and remaster of «The Magic of Sin» has taken more than twice the amount of time than writing, recording and mixing the original version took. “This is the sixth and final reworked & remastered Arabs in Aspic re-releases on Karisma Records, meticulously mastered by Jacob Holm-Lupo (White Willow, Opium Cartel, Solstein) in Dude Ranch Studios. The limited first pressing of the LP version comes in a special tri-fold cover revealing more of Julia Proszowska’s striking cover art made for the album – and if combined with the first version of the “Syndenes Magi” LP, all five panels of the painting will be visible.