The Sounds of John the Revelator – The Revelator Orchestra

I have blogged before about Peter Murphy’s brilliant debut novel John The Revelator which is one of my favourite Irish novels of recent years. The Sounds of John the Revelator is the debut album from The Revelator Orchestra, the spoken word/music ensemble founded by writer Peter Murphy and producer/musician Acko. The album which features musical adaptations of readings from Murphy’s acclaimed novel will be released on November 9 through Jerry Fish’s Mudbug Club imprint, and you can buy a digital copy from iTunes now.

“The Sounds of John the Revelator is not an audiobook,” Peter says. “We wanted the listener to have the same visceral response from our stuff as they would from a record by the Stooges or King Tubby or Blind Willie Johnson.” The duo have created an album that perfectly captures the gothic brooding atmosphere of the book. I love the fact that Peter is creating a universe in which his books are just one element. It’s fascinating and inspiring to me to see artists carry a vision through multiple different art forms.

The Sounds of John the Revelator will be the first of a series of Revelator Orchestra albums, to be followed next year by The Brotherhood of the Flood, inspired by Peter’s forthcoming second novel Shall We Gather at the River (published by Faber in January 2013). The Revelator Orchestra will perform at the Caca Milis Masqued Samhain Ball in Wexford Arts Centre on November 2, and at the Limerick Writers’ Centre on November 17, with more dates to follow. To keep up with Peter’s forthcoming book and album releases you can follow him on Facebook here.

For a taster of the album check out this piece on Soundcloud.

Acko and Peter – The Revelator Orchestra