Deeply Ordered Chaos

Album: Hidden City (2015)
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Songfacts®:

  • Written soon after the Charlie Hebdo Paris shooting in January 2015, the song alludes to a quote from the British figurative artist Francis Bacon (1909-1992). "The title came from one our greatest painters and visionaries, Francis Bacon, who stated, 'I believe in deeply ordered chaos.' His work and philosophy have had a profound effect on my life," Cult frontman Ian Astbury explained to Billboard magazine.
  • The lyric video was conceived as a response to both the shootings at French satirical magaziner Charlie Hebdo and the November 2015 Paris terrorist attacks. Ian Astbury, who directed the clip with Juan Azualy said. "We chose to depict scenes of wild life and outer space to provide a counterpoint to the wave of violent images we are constantly bombarded with and acknowledge the profoundness of being."
  • Ian Astbury expanded on the song title to Uncut magazine: "I thought it was a perfect encapsulation of where we're at today. The fabric of society is just ripping, and we're watching it."

    He added: "The first line Is,' I'm a European…' , And I was thinking of Iggy Pop's 'The Passenger.'"

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