Secret Archives of the Vatican are a collective of musicians, based across the UK, but with main recording facilities in Croydon, South London. The band was formed in 1988 by Vince Millett, who was joined in the early 1990s by Louis Counter. They were influenced by the clubs of the Asian Underground scene and also by artists such as Transglobal Underground and Bill Laswell. The third core band member is Peter Sharpe, specialising in UK roots dub reggae. Ginger Shinobi has at various times been the band's manager and on-stage DJ.
Contents
The band's music is usually described as Transglobal breakbeat dub science, as it contains elements of many genres: breakbeat, dub, dubstep, drumstep, trip hop, drum and bass, Indian, Arabian and Turkish musical forms and much more.
Band members
Broken Drum Records
Broken Drum Records is the band's netlabel that releases their music and that of their various side projects. A sister label, BDR Dancefloor, was set up in 2011 to release dancefloor-oriented music and is a combination of netlabel and commercial label.
Podcast
Vince Millett produces a regular Secret Archives of the Vatican Podcast, which showcases the collective and other artists’ music. The focus is on music with a non-Western influence.
BBC Introducing
Secret Archives of the Vatican were featured on BBC Introducing in May 2012.
Discography
The band began releasing music in 1996.
Compilations
Artwork
Aside from their music, Secret Archives of the Vatican are known for their distinctive cover and web artwork.