They say:
In his memoir Jolly Lad, Quietus co-honcho John ‘Babadook’ Doran muses on the differences between Liverpool and Manchester - cities which are just 35 miles apart but have noticeably different cultural vibes. Doran (who is from Rainhill, near St Helens) posits that Liverpool is more insular and conceived by its residents as an almost abstract notion; Liverpool, he says, is essentially the community that lives there. Mancunians, on the other hand, are attached to the place itself: the buildings, their bricks, the architecture and the industry of their city. Both places have hosted significant numbers of Irish immigrants but the Celtic character has had greater impact on the Scouse personality. Manchester remains relatively Protestant in nature.
As such, Liverpool's musical contributions have been more “warm-hearted, psychedelic, and romantic” (see The Beatles, Echo & The Bunnymen, The Mighty Wah! and The Zutons), whereas Manchester's sound tends to be “urgent, intellectual and dark-hearted” like The Smiths, Joy Division and Simply Red. All this intersects with each city's respective drug culture: Merseyside being principally an LSD and marijuana kind of a place; Manchester more inclined to ecstasy and speed...
Read the full piece here: The Quietus
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They say:
Four years after the release of debut Østro, Lay Llamas return with their second offering Thuban, released on Rocket Recordings. Dwelling in the night sky of the Northern hemisphere, Thuban (named after the Arabic for snake also known as Alpha Draconis, and sometimes as the ‘dragon’s tail’) was the star closest to the North Pole from the fourth to the second millennium BC.
The album has been characterised as much by forward motion as cosmic drift and follows a number of smaller releases on labels such as Backwards, 4 Zero and ArteTetra. With a string of stunning live performances, notably supporting Goat at London’s Roundhouse and Liverpool International Festival of Psychedelia. Yet following the departure of vocalist Gioele Valenti, Thuban is very much Nicola Giunt’s brainchild, involving as many of twelve different musicians with him writing lyrics, singing, producing, mixing and recording at his home. It utilises new instruments from marimba to sax to kalimba to pilot this craft to dimensions unknown. The result has been a step beyond the kraut-damaged psychedelic mantras of Østro into a realm seemingly without boundaries, one in which a pan-global fascination with rhythmic hypnosis and an unquenchable experimental zeal manifests hermetically-aligned revelations aplenty...
Read the full review here: Backseat Mafia
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This will be Flowers Must Die's first show in Finland, and probably their only show this year after the Rocket Twenty event....so not to be missed!
Info/Tickets: Helsinki Psych Fest
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They Say:
10 bands you need to check out at Supersonic Festival 2018
Supersonic Festival co-founder Lisa Meyer talks us through the acts you simply can't afford to miss this year
Originally starting out life as a one-day festival in Birmingham in 2003, Supersonic Festival has grown into one of the world's most important events for new and exciting music. Cherry-picking the finest in experimental music from all over the globe, the festival's line-up grows increasingly diverse with each passing year.
But with so much on offer, it can be a struggle to work out what the festival's must-see bands might be. So, we turned to Supersonic co-founder Lisa Meyer for her guide to the festival's most essential viewing. Here, she guides you through Supersonic's ultimate must-sees:
Gnod
"Literally the best album title ever which came out on great UK label Rocket Recordings: JUST SAY NO TO THE PSYCHO RIGHT-WING CAPITALIST FASCIST INDUSTRIAL DEATH MACHINE. Their music is reflective of the world we’re living in right now and their driving rhythms bring an audience together into one heaving mass, absolutely brilliant live band."
Read the full piece here: Louder Sound
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It says:
Thuban is Lay Llamas 5th album and their second for Rocket Recordings, after 2014’s Østrø. Thuban (the Arabic for ‘snake’) is named after the star closest to the North pole from the fourth to the second millennium BC, just so you know!
The album begins with Eye-Chest People’s Dance Ritual with a loose drum-driven track, overlayed by a lush, spacy vocals driving the melody and an african style guitar break in the centre. There’s someting of the way Karl Hyde (Underworld) treats his vocals that makes me think a Lay Llamas/Underworld collaboration would yield some interesting results.
Holy Worms came out a a single in April this year and has a killer afrobeat rhythm, with retro synths and a phat funky jazz bass. Silver Sun was another single that made it onto the album. It starts like a satellite breaking up on re-entry, and then morphs into a heavy pounding bass/drums combo with a crazy sax solo over the top...
Read the rest here: Echoes and Dust
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Today sees the release of the new Lay Llamas album 'Thuban' in all good record shops.
The album features contributions from GOAT, The Pop Group's Mark Stewart and Clinic. The 8 track album album is the brainchild of Nicola Giunta, and involved as many of twelve different musicians yet with Nicola writing lyrics, singing, producing, mixing and recording at his home, whilst utilising new instruments from marimba to sax to kalimba to pilot this craft to dimensions unknown. The result has been a step beyond the kraut-damaged psychedelic mantras of 'Østro' into a realm seemingly without boundaries, one in which a pan-global fascination with rhythmic hypnosis and an unquenchable experimental zeal manifests hermetically-aligned revelations aplenty.
Buy from here: Bandcamp
or stream here Spotify Apple Music
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Some great reviews have been coming in for the album:
"an album that already promises to be among the best in 2018.” Rolling Stone
"an album that is once again a journey, literally out of time.” 5/5 - Il Mucchio Selvaggio
"the new masters of the Made in Italy psychedelia.” Album of the Month - Rockerilla
"a timeless cosmic rock album.” 85/100 Rumore
"...with Mark Stewart, Clinic and Goat, Thuban is the invocation ritual of a new digital tribality." Linus Magazine
"with no doubt a great record." Buscadero
"a determination to push boundaries." Soundblab
"mesmerises you with its sincere eclecticism and wide sphere of influence." Psych Insight
"a marvellous album." 4/5 – Primal Music
"undoubtedly one of the albums of the year." Dayz of Purple and Orange
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It says:
It’s been four years since the release of Italian-based sonic manipulators ‘Lay Llamas’ sublime debut album ‘Østro’ on Rocket Recordings and since then their sonic manifestations have gone from strength to strength. Since the departure of Gioele Valenti (now with his own band – JUJU) ‘Lay Llamas’ have come solely under the command of Nicola Giunta who has reimagined their collective sound into something otherworldly, melding the rhythmic side of krautrock with afrobeat, neo-psych, electronica, spoken-word and experimental atmospherics. Having put out a number of smaller releases on labels such as Backwards, 4 Zero and ArteTetra, ‘Lay Llamas’ under Giunta’s guidance have played on the live circuit with some heavy hitters from the modern psych scene such as the infamous ‘Goat’ at London’s Roundhouse and effortlessly managing a sonic demolition job of some considerable force at Liverpool International Festival of Psychedelia. Now they have returned to Rocket Recordings to unleash the latest chapter in this fascinating story. Their latest long player entitled ‘Thuban’ is an eight track sonic rollercoaster of unparalleled psychic abandonment featuring contributions from members of ‘Clinic’ and ‘Goat’ along with spoken-word contributions from Mark Stewart of ‘The Pop Group’ fame. ‘Thuban’ gets it’s official release on the 15th June 2018 and is available to pre-order right now on various formats via rocketrecordings.bandcamp.com
Melodic wind strewn instrumentation buffers and whirrs as the opening salvos of ‘Eye-Chest People’s Dance Ritual’ arrive pulling twinkling frequencies with it as swells of synth rise from deep below the mix. Metronomic drum patterns dance repetitively alongside the throb of melodic bass and sequenced electronics as those hazy vocalisations meander into audible range attached to woozy instrumentation and the pull of guitars. Instrumentally sublime, this opening track is deeply captivating and filled with sonic brilliance...
Read the full review here: Primal
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