“Never fails to surprise, intrigue and uplift.” Fragmented Flaneur
“Atmospheric to the max.” Electronic Sound
"Intertwining bewitching electronics with emotional tumult." Backseat Mafia
"A sonic experience that needs to be heard to be believed." The Sleeping Shaman
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We are over the moon to finally be able to share J. Zunz new album 'Del Aire' that is released today on ltd edition yellow vinyl and via all streaming sites:
In case you were not aware, J. Zunz is the solo project by Mexican artist Lorena Quintanilla from Lorelle meets The Obsolete, Del Aire is Lorena's second album for Rocket, following 2020's album Hisbiscus.
J. Zunz is starting a huge European tour next week and we implore you all to go and see her perform:
29 June / BE / Antwerp / Het Bos 30 June / DE / Mannheim / Der Mannheim Kult 02 July / IT / Padova / Yucca Festival 03 July / IT / Torino / LivingRoom 04 July / FR / Lyon / Le Sonic 05 July / FR / Paris / Supersonic 07 July / UK / Bristol / Rough Trade 08 July / UK / Newcastle / Cobalt Studios 09/10 July / UK / Birmingham / Supersonic Festival 12 July / UK / Birkenhead / Future Yard 13 July / UK / Manchester / The Peer Hat 14 July / UK / London / The Victoria 15 July / UK / Ramsgate / Music Hall 17 July / DE / Bremen / MS Loretta 19 July / CZ / Prague / Underdogs 20 July / CZ / Rožnov pod Radhoštěm / Vratnice 21 July / PL / Warsaw / Chmury 22 July / PL / Bydgoszcz / Mozg 23 July / DE / Dresden / scheune Blechschloss 24 July / SK / Bratislava / Kulturak klub 26 July / HU / Szeged / Jazz Kocsma 27 July / AT / Graz / Cafe’ Wolf 28 July / SI / Ljubljana / Gromka 29 July / AT / Innsbruck / PMK 31 July / BE / Kortrijk / The Pit’s
The album is released in the on the great Feeding Tube Records in US.
Without trying to always sound like a stuck record, we are sad to announce that the LPs have been delayed due to the ongoing chaos in vinyl manufacturing. We do hope they will only be delayed by a couple of weeks max – and we definitely hope Alison will have copies to sell from her merch table from the start of her summer dates.
Alison has also just announced a string of European dates in October, the full list of shows now reads:
June 25 Coventry ~ Just Dropped In
July 03 Feanedock ~ Timber Festival 06 Leeds ~ Wharf Chambers 07 Glasgow ~ Hug & Pint 08 Preston ~ The New Continental 09 Manchester ~ The Gullivers 10 Sheffield ~ Bishops’ House 15 Bristol ~ The Crofters Rights 16 Chelmsford ~ Hot Box
August 27 London ~ Raw Power Festival
September 07 Berlin ~ Kiezsalon Festival
October 01 Lyon ~ Sonic 02 Geneva ~ Cave 12 04 Milan ~ Teatro Linguaggio 05 Graz ~ Cafe Wolf 06 Prague ~ Punctum
“Disturbing, ugly and seductively compelling, Strange Desires is a near perfect end of days soundtrack” The Wire
"Unflinching in their confrontation." The Fat Angel Sings
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Holy Scum, the four piece band featuring Mike Mare (Dälek,) Peter J Taylor (Action Beat), Chris Haslam (GNOD) and Jon Perry (GNOD) have today released their debut album 'Strange Desires'!
We sound like a stuck record, but sadly the LPs have been delayed due to the ongoing chaos in vinyl manufacturing. We do hope they will only be delayed by a couple of weeks at max – we have managed to get copies to the band for their tour that are underway at the moment.
You can still preorder the LP via Bandcamp or from your local record shop:
10 June / London Electrowerkz 11 June / Birmingham Centrala 12 June / Manchester White Hotel 13 June / Newcastle Cluny 14 June / Bristol The Lanes 16 June / Glasgow Bloc+
"A head trip through relaxed ambient sounds that come on like Mixmaster Morris’ Irresistible Force getting down with Tangerine Dream." The Arts Desk
"International Treasure is a triumph." Prog
"It’s not ambient and it’s not Krautrock – but International Treasure finds the 3 musicians drawing on elements of both to conjure something magical, something mystical." Aural Aggravation
"Castalia – the unadulterated feel good hit of the summer." The Quietus
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The Utopia Strong's new album 'International Treasure' is released today!
We are sad to say that the LPs have been delayed due to the ongoing chaos in vinyl manufacturing. We do hope they will only be delayed by a couple of weeks – and we are trying our utmost to get copies to the band for their dates that start on the 16th June. CDs are available in shops now.
You can still preorder the LP or pick-up a CD via Bandcamp:
See Utopia Strong at one of these up-and-coming shows: (Note Birmingham date change)
June 16 / Strange Brew / Bristol June 17 / The Garage / London (Supporting Magma) June 18 / The Garage / London (Supporting Magma) June 19 / Band On The Wall / Manchester (Supporting Magma) June 24 / Glastonbury Festival (Glade Stage) June 29 / South Street / Reading June 30 / Green Door Store / Brighton July 01 / The Cornish Bank / Falmouth July 02 / New Lion Brewery / Dartington July 03 / Junction3 / Cambridge July 20 / Arts Centre / Colchester August 18 / Glasgow / Stereo August 19 / Manchester / Carlton Club August 25 / Southampton / The Joiners August 26 / Cardiff / Clwb Ifor Bach August 26-29 / Krankenhaus Festival / Cumbria September 23-24 / Carcassonne / Convenanza Festival October 15 / Hare & Hounds / Birmingham
Cotton’s album renders traditional music in uncanny colours with influences from her native north-east England.
Alison Cotton has long wuthered on the wilder fringes of folk music. She played the viola in folk-rock revivalists the Eighteenth Day of May (signed to Joe Boyd’s Hannibal label) and still performs in the Left Outsides, her duo with husband Mark Nicholas, casting traditional music’s spirits and sounds in uncanny colours. Her recent solo work has been even more eerie and filmic, a mood her latest album sustains, tightly lacing her voice and harmonium around influences from her native north-east England.
The album begins with an incantation in miniature: Murmurations Over the Moor. For 77 seconds, Cotton’s vocals are layered in unison, harmoniously, then discordantly, twisting and dissembling folk scales. The Last Wooden Ship, a long piece inspired by the lost shipyards of Sunderland, follows; later, 17th November 1962 recalls a forgotten fishing-boat disaster. In both, harmonium drones suggest dying foghorns, Cotton’s voice morphing into a solemn siren of the sea.
That Tunnel Underground Seemed Neverending, inspired by old mining cultures, twists the metallic sound of viola strings into industrial echoes, then Violet May arrives like a lost Roud ballad, full of stark, slight lyrics about departing mothers and longed-for reunions that never come. It holds a deep sense of long-suffered, almost resilient loneliness.
Cotton claims Nico as an influence – and the icy textures of The Marble Index certainly lurk around her work – but strong, too, is her connection with the work of American musician Dorothy Carter, founder of the Mediaeval Baebes, whose work meshed medieval, traditional and experimental textures. Cotton may expand folk’s raw emotions into more avant garde territories, but they still feel possessed by a blood-red muscle memory that goes back centuries.
"Complex psych-pop to its deliciously sweet limit." 8/10 Backseat Mafia
"Eye opening, mind-stretching and ear-blowing all at once." 4/5 Narc Magazine
"High quality ‘pop’ is hard to find... a delight to hear it achieved so convincingly here." The Sleeping Shaman
"Gooey psychedelia and deranged sci-fi pop that has echoes of the Kinks on the shrooms." Sun 13
"A sonic journey filled with this raw and vivid aggression."Circuit Sweet
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Today sees the release of Rubber Oh's debut album 'Strange Craft'.
You can buy the album via the Rocket bandcamp or from your favourite record shop – Rough Trade also have an exclusive Pink And Grey Splatter vinyl for sale:
June 03 / London/ The Lexington June 04 / Newcastle/ The Cluny 2
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Rubber Oh’s debut album ‘Strange Craft’, is a deliriously tuneful sci-fi tinged psych-pop. Mapping out a retro-futuristic trajectory that stretches from the wide-eyed travails of the late-’60s through to the hard-edged mind expansions of the 21st century, this collection of warped interstellar voyages is intent on taking the scenic route across the cosmic continuum.
The album took shape initially in snatched hours around Sam Grant from Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs regular job as studio engineer at Newcastle’s Blank Studios. While Sam performed the majority of the music, he had some help from friends and acquaintances including Beth Jeans Houghton [Du Blonde] as well as a couple of Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs members.
The incredible cover art for Strange Craft was created by the very talented 3D artist Santi Zoraidez.
Basil Kirchin – Silicon Chip (More great music unearthed by Jonny Trunk – check the whole comp) Basil Kirchin
Laddie Bolocko – 97-99 / Live & Unreleased 1997-2000 (Like many of you we expect – been lapping up these two collections of avant rock sounds) Laddie Bolocko