Sin Eaters

Some time ago I read an article about Sin Eaters, who from medieval times up until the early 20th century performed this service. Invariably undertaken by poor people who felt condemned to hell anyway, they would ritually consume bread (and drink beer) beside the wealthier deceased to symbolically absorb their unconfessed sins and so speed their ascent to heaven. I just spun the idea laterally to a different ritual of blessing and coating a living body in breadcrumbs…why not?

Background

This collection of songs has been gestating for over 30 years!

In the period when Renaldo & The Loaf weren’t together, I built a computer based studio and, sporadically, using MIDI, created a number of pieces between 1991 and about 2005. Being so used to working with David (The Loaf), the absence of a ‘sounding board’ made making creative decisions almost impossible, so the vast majority just languished as unresolved instrumental sketches. Fragments of potential lyric, subject and melody floated about in my head but remained dormant until relatively recently.

In 2003, in an effort to help unlock me, Nolan Cook offered his unmistakable creative input by playing on three pieces I had – he then introduced me to Mike Howlett (of Gong) who invited me to his London studio where we created a sketch mix of a song based on an old tape loop I had made back in the early 80s and the notion of a song describing a hair phobic person. Perhaps as a consequence of life getting in the way the project again fell quiet for some years.

When David and I reconvened in 2006, in order to focus on potential new RATL, I put my sketches very much at the back of the cupboard where they largely remained forgotten and gathering dust until 2017 when I added vocals to a few demos and played them to Walter at Klanggalerie, he persuaded me to complete them. Together with encouragement from David, in late 2022 I felt I had the ‘mind space’ and energy to do just that.

Music Video

In conceiving the cover to the album, I imagined a sort of breadcrumbing ritual performed by 4 strange characters who are represented as The Blessing Man, The Barong (Egg White Man), Spoon Man and Monkey.

I mentioned to Alex (Wroten) in passing – and not too seriously – that a promo video for Blessing Song that featured them might be fun. Alex immediately became excited and offered his directorial skills to help realise this. He went on to then create the storyboard and shot preferences. Filming would be done mainly in the UK but also in the US using green screen.
I played the characters and musicians – it was extremely hot under the lights being wrapped up in my dressing gown (inside out) and wearing masks that often had to be taped onto my head to stay in place. Camera was operated by Jez Stevens who also enabled the production, Clair Wheeler was production assistant for wardrobe and music cues. The breadcrumbed person, actor David Gwaltney, was filmed in the US and incorporated through Alex’s skillful editing and direction.

The church building is in the Hampshire countryside, is Saxo-Norman, and dates from, at least, 1053 – just to clarify the interior shown in the video is not part of it.

Renaldo / Brian

Behind the Scenes