Laibachanda/politicalpresentAlamut- a brand-new album of original symphonic work based on the novel of the same name, which details a story from 11th Century Persia – released on double vinyl and CD box set viaMute.

The album was recorded byLaibachand the musicians who performed Alamut live at a former Crusader castle in Ljubljana in 2022. The musicians involved include theRTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra, theHuman-Voice Ensemblevocal group from Tehran, theGallina Womens Choir, andAccordiOna, a womens accordion orchestra backed by additional accordion players, conducted by Iranian conductorNavid Goharib.

Alamutis an original symphonic work byLaibachbased on a famous story from eleventh-century Persia, as told by the Slovene writerVladimir Bartolin his novel of the same title published in 1938. The central character isHassan-i Sabbh, the charismatic religious and political leader of the Nizari Ismailis and the founder of a mysterious military formation known as the Assassins, whose name is still feared and respected today. Hassan-i Sabbh is a self-proclaimed prophet who leads a holy war against the Seljuk Empire from his eyrie the castle of Alamut.Alamutlooked at mechanisms of propaganda at the time when Bartol, a Slovenian author, witnessed the rise of Fascism in Trieste, Italy, where he lived.

In Laibachs Alamut, the ideas of radical nihilism interweave with the classical Persian poetry ofOmar Khayyam, the sensual verses ofMahsati Ganjaviblend with minimalist orchestral colours derived from Iranian tradition. Hassan-i Sabbhs propaganda mechanisms are echoed in the industrial principle of the workings of the orchestra and Laibachs unique sound.