Inside an artificial brain from Johan Nordberg on Vimeo.
Josefin Öhrn + The Liberation – Horse Dance
(Great debut album of kraut, spacerock and electro grooves from this great new Rocket band from Sweden)
Josefin Öhrn + The Liberation
Teeth of the Sea – Highly Deadly Black Tarantula
(Teeth of the Sea return with their fourth and probably best album)
Teeth of the Sea
Carpa Informis – Womb of the wild
(Debut EP by a new Rocket band put together by the unamed Djembi player of Goat)
Capra Informis
Higamos Hogamos – Fuzzy Magesty EP
(Nice 6 track EP of psyched-out, krauty postpunk)
Higamos Hogamos
Sexwitch – Sexwitch
(John described it as Goat meets Josefin Öhrn + The Liberation, which is not that far off)
Sex Witch
Various – PZYK Vol.1
(Liverpool Psych Fest have put together this great comp that features a different version of Cage & Aviary's mix of Goat's Run to your Mama)
Liverpool Psych Fest
Deaf Wish - Pain
(Fun album by Oz band who regurgitate the sounds of the mid-late 80s US underground...fitting they are on Sub Pop!)
Deaf Wish
Funkadelic – Loose Booty
(Great laid back vibes and love the Bernie Worrell keyboards on this one, it just builds and keeps on rolling over you.)
Funkadelic
Dead Sea Apes - Spectral Domain
(New album of instrumental psych/postrock/ from DSA...comes in nice Luke Insect sleeve)
Dead Sea Apes
The Necks - Vertigo
(The Necks 18th album and John owns them all, this one has a cinematic dark shimmering quality, the feeling of moving when you not, maybe their darkest album to date, perfect for paranoid times. )
The Necks
Narcosatanicos - Narcosatanicos
(Punk Jazz Psych, in the bands words a 'negative narcotic experience', thanks to Pelle from the Hills for this one.)
Narcosatanicos
Spacemen 3 - Big City
(Alot of Heads scorned at this when it came out as they were in the Stooges 'Sound of Confusion' camp (which we loved too), but the band to head that way to move on and we really liked the 'danced vibe' to it, you could see it working in the Hacienda as much as on headphones sat at home.)
Spacemen 3
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30 Sept 2015
Backseat Mafia reviews Mamuthones – Symphony for the Devil EP
EP REVIEW: MAMUTHONES – ‘SYMPHONY FOR THE DEVIL'
Mamuthones, in concert with their appearance at Liverpool Psych Fest this past weekend, cement their “Street Fighting Man” credentials with the release of their, ‘Symphony For The Devil’ EP.
As the name suggests, Alessio Gastaldello’s cohorts take the Rolling Stones classic, liberally sprinkle it with their trademark, Italian Occult Psychedelic dust, and serve it up in the shape of a revitalised, deranged disco-chic, magickal beggar’s banquet.
Second EP track, ‘Anylonger’, culled from the ‘Collisions 04‘ sessions with Evil Blizzard, traces faint, multi-rhythmic and lyrical delivery echoes of the Talking Heads’ dysfunctional anthem, ‘Once In A Lifetime’, taking the wigged out, ritualistic sense of unease, to a whole nother (sic) level.
Bristol’s Giant Swan pick up the conductor’s baton and run with it, albeit in a lysergically imbued, primordial zig-zag fashion, for the duration of their 8 minutes and 13 seconds, towers of drone and dub ‘Symphony’ remix, their nightmare dreamscape, conjuring torturous Do Lung Bridge, apocalyptic visions.
‘Symphony For The Devil’ and ‘Anylonger’ are both here given a further utopian visionary, hypnotically minimalist remix jolt, courtesy of, “vinyl purist, gear scientist, lo-fi tech-freak” and “garage techno” maestro, in the guise of “analogue cop” Lucretio.
‘Symphony for the Devil’ EP is limited to 300 copies and is available now from Rocket Recordings.
See the review in Full here: Backseat Mafia
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29 Sept 2015
Get into this reviews Hey Colossus and Mamuthones live sets
Hey Colossus
Just as Evil Blizzard packed out District on day one, Hey Colossus did today. With barely room enough to take a deep breath we are plunged into a ravenous groove. With all eyes on the captivating Paul Sykes the band tighten their grip on the room that they go onto conquer as for the rest of the night everywhere you went you heard friends questioning each other “Did you see Hey Colossus?… No? Bummer!”. You’d be excused for thinking you’d walked in on a private Hey Colossus gig as every member of the audience either arrived, or left as a vocal fan.
Mamuthones
With Spiritualized soon due at the Furnace, Mamuthones are a joyfully left-field alternative. An understandably modest crowd of those too disinterested, ignorant, or simply out-of-it to be drawn to J. Spaceman and co. is dealt the Blade Factory’s most insane blow of the weekend; frenetic, pumping, truly twisted diazepam dance to leave us reeling with unadulterated glee as well as the headliners and their gospel choir ever could.
Read the full review here: Getintothis
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Josefin Öhrn + The Liberation first ever UK show
As announced before, we are releasing the great debut album by Josefin Öhrn + The Liberation called Horse Dance on 13 November and the band are coming over here for their first ever UK show on 18th November
Baba Yaga's Hut Presents:
Josefin Öhrn & The Liberation
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Special guests
DJ: Flowers Must Die
Shacklewell Arms
18th November
Doors 8:00
Tickets £7
Tickets can be bought from here: Baba Yaga Hut
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Caught in the Crossfire say some words about Capra Informis
Capra Informis
‘Womb Of The Wild’
Rocket Recordings
What better way to shake the Monday cobwebs than with news that the djembe player from Swedish psych revolutionaries GOAT has started a side project?
While there’s no denying the solid parallels between this ‘bit on the side’ and their protagonist’s main venture, Capra Informis cast a far darker shadow over their mystic counterparts. A percussive thunderstorm of tribal, primitive beats and lead guitar lines raining down conjure a perpetual sense of foreboding. Sounding like a pagan ritual gone mad – ‘Womb Of The Wild’ comes cloaked, hooded and with sacrificial blood spilled all over the shop.
Womb of the Wild will be released on October 23rd 2015 via Rocket Recordings.
Pre-order the ltd edition vinyl EP here
Read the piece in full here
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28 Sept 2015
Listen to Hey Colossus new album 'Radio Static High' in full over at The Guardian
After playing a storming set at this weekends Liverpool Psych Fest – Hey Colossus have let The Guardian stream their new album 'Radio Static High' in it's entirety before it's official release this Friday.
Listen here: The Guardian
And buy a copy from here: Bandcamp
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Exclusive Rocket mix and interview with Red Bull
Red Bull were so blown away with the Goat show they promoted ealier in the year in Bristol, they approached us to put a mix together from our back catalogue which you can listen to above.
Also, they asked John if he could talk about some of the strangest Rocket experiences John has had ...read his answers here: Red Bull
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27 Sept 2015
Mamuthones – Symphony for the Devil EP out now
Excited to announce that our new Mamuthones EP 'Symphony for the Devil' is out now and you can hear it in it's full and buy yourself a ltd vinyl here: Bandcamp
This E is not available in the shops, it can only be bought via Bandcamp.
Due to the current manufacturing crisis the records aren't back yet but we hope to have them within a week or two!!
We finally got to see Mamuthones play live at Liverpool Psych Fest this weekend and they were amazing, a real special band, so if you got the chance, go and check them out!!
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25 Sept 2015
Watch the video of 'Snapping Undone' from Hey Colossus
Here is the second track revealed from Hey Colossus's stunning new album Radio Static High.
The track is called Snapping Undone and is more proof that this new album is pretty special indeed!!
See what The Quietus say about it here: The Quietus
The album is out on 2 October and you can preorder yourself a copy on ltd red vinyl from here: Rocket Bandcamp
The band play Liverpool Psych Festival this weekend, then head out on tour:
Liverpool Psych Fest. 26/9/15 - Camp+Furnace
Brighton. 01/10/15 – Sticky Mikes
Cardiff. 03/10/15 – Spillers Records (instore, 3pm)
Bristol. 03/10/15 – The Exchange
London. 09/10/15 - Electrowerkz
Nottingham. 10/10/15 - Chameleon Arts Cafe
Worcester. 12/11/15 – The Firefly
Derby. 14/11/15 – Artsmith Gallery
Sheffield. 19/11/15 – Picture House Social
Salford. 20/11/15 – Islington Mill
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The Quietus reviews 'Hills – Frid'
Hills – Frid
Like their fellow psychedelic world-music-aficionados Goat, Sweden’s Hills have one eye on the West, another looking to the East and a third one gazing into another dimension. In fact, Frid’s first track is a little like getting a postcard from your entitled gap-yearing uni pal because halfway through its running time the mega-fuzzing electric guitar (“California was baking, bruv...”) is suddenly replaced by the sound of a single sitar (“we’re now in Delhi, mate... wish you were here!”). The Eastern patterns seep into the next number, ‘National Drone’ (which nation that might be precisely is anyone’s guess), which adds indecipherably echoed vocals and some fully-immersed lead guitar noodling. The ten-minute stand-out track ‘Och Solen Sänkte Sig Röd’ has some nice heady bass, propulsive, Krautrock-ing drums and a Bong-like mad monk doing some mental mantra chanting about how you should look inside your mind or whatever. The monk’s presence continues on the concluding track ‘Death Will Find A Way’, which lies equidistant between George Harrison’s fancy mansion, Amon Düül’s communal crash-pad and a dusty Hindu temple. With certain psych releases it’s unclear whether you’re having your consciousness expanded or being given a geography lesson. Thing is, they’re the same thing, right? Some wizards wear elbow patches.
Read the full piece here: The Quietus
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24 Sept 2015
Josefin Öhrn + The Liberation – Horse Dance is up for presale today on the Rocket shop
Josefin Öhrn + The Liberation debut album Horse Dance is up for presale from today.
Preorder a copy of the ltd yellow vinyl, CD and DL from here:
Rocket Bandcamp.
And listen to the track Sunny Afternoon from the album here:
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21 Sept 2015
Rocket DJ's at Liverpool Psych Fest
As well as Hey Colossus and Mamuthones playing, Rocket are represented by Chris who will be spinning some Records on Friday!!
Tickets for this weekends psych Fest can be found here: Liverpool Psych Fest
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18 Sept 2015
Immerse yourself in our Rocket Recordings 2015 Sampler
2015 is shaping up to be the busiest year in Rocket's 18 year existence and we thought it would be nice to create a Soundcloud sampler to bring together a selection of the amazing stuff we are and have been putting out in 2015.
The tracklist is:
01 Hey Colossus - Hop the Railings
02 Josefin - Sunny Afternoon
03 Gnod - Breaking the Hex
04 Gnoomes - Roadhouse (Edit)
05 Goat - It's time for Fun
06 Shit & Shine - Cowboy Hat
07 Teeth of the Sea - Animal Manservant
08 Capra Informis - Womb of the wild
09 Hills - Death will find a way
10 Mamuthones - Symphony for the Devil (Giant Swan Remix)
So sit back, turn up your stereo and immerse yourself in the world of Rocket!!!
(Then go and buy physical copies here: Rocket Bandcamp) :)
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16 Sept 2015
Introducing: Capra Informis – Womb of the Wild EP
Rocket Recordings are pleased to announce 'Womb of the Wild' the first release by Capra Informis, a new band put together by the unnamed djembi player from Goat.
Listen to the title track 'Womb of the Wild' below
The ltd vinyl EP can be preordered exclusively from here
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Capra Informis – Womb of the Wild EP
Literally translated from the Latin, the name Capra Informis means ‘Shapeless Goat’, a curious turn of phrase given that this project is the work of the nameless djembi player from the Swedish psychedelic warriors monikered with the latter of the two words. Nonetheless, somewhere amidst the hinterland between shape and void, dream and waking, it would appear that some form of transformative process has indeed occurred over the course of the nineteen minutes of their debut EP on Rocket Recordings. Casting a heady and intoxicating spell of nocturnal atmosphere and drone-based abandon, these four tracks set out a shamanic mission both fresh and feral.
Whilst Capra Informis may share some stylistic touches with their main protagonist’s regular band, they also boast a markedly darker approach - the mesmerising percussive onslaught may be present and correct, yet the psychic landscapes and deviant monomania of these four raven-hued trips renders them imposing in their Dionysian debauchery. Moreover, while the one-chord guitar-driven inferno of ‘Womb Of The Wild’ finds kindred spirits in the nihilistic, spiritually-driven like of Dead Skeletons and early Skullflower, ‘Cold and high’ sees glacial synths and garage-birthed organ take the lead on a cinematic twilight voyage not unlike a Kenneth Anger filmscore’s depiction of an ayahuasca ritual.
Throughout, however, the potency and persuasive powers of Capra Informis’ approach cannot be called into question - within these whispered incantations and mantric arrangements lurk dark forces and strange undertakings untold. Yet it remains a rare pleasure to bear witness to this rich collision of fiery intent and fearless third-eye vision. Far from the shadow of their ringleader’s past work. Capra Informis are staking their claim as chimerical warriors with manifold powers, and this four-track sermon marks only the first of their forays into the unknown that promise rich rewards for the far-gone and the intrepid alike.
This EP is the second of the series of 12" Rocket Recordings are releasing that can only be bought via their own shop. Already announced is the new EP 'Symphony for the Devil' by Italian band Mamuthones. The release of the EP is to coincide with their appearance at this years Liverpool Festival of Psychedelia. Preorder the ltd vinyl EP here
Plus the still to be announced a new EP by New Yorks finest Oneida!!
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Hills to play UNHCR fundraiser
Details are:
Live :
URAN GBG
HILLS
THE BROTHERS WARTEL
DEUS EX MACHINAS
DJ 's:
HIGH NORTH REKORDS
COLONY
SCAN DISK
JAZZ IS DANGEROUS
Monday 21st September
Admission: at least 120 : - (or as much as you can and want to contribute )
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15 Sept 2015
'We the beat 'say some words about Gnoomes singles 'Roadhouse (Edit)'
Gnoomes – Roadhouse (Edit)
If you’re in the mood for something a little psychedelic, you’re in luck because the Russian indie-pop band Gnoomes has just released the seriously trippy tune by the name of “Roadhouse.” Soft, focused vocals and a classic array of indie acoustics give this song a dreamy feel that’s hard to resist. Listening to “Roadhouse,” your mind is instantly filled with an analog image of little specs of dust floating in golden rays of sun that dance across the boys of Gnoomes as they lie in a breezy field waiting to do what their band was inspired by- Stargazing. Born out of the human state of Stargazing, these Russian friends created Gnoomes in February 2014 and signed with Lair Records. Since then the boys have released melodic rock singles like this one and are gearing up to release their first LP Ngan! this coming October.
Visit the site here: We the beat
And preorder your ltd splatter vinyl here: Rocket Bandcamp
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Goat and Gnod appear on Liverpool Festival of Psychedelia compilation
With Liverpool Psych Fest under two weeks away (where we have Hey Colossus and Mamuthones playing plus Chris Rocket Djing) the people behind the festival have announced a special compilation album that features Goat – Run to your Mama (Cage and Aviary mix), but a slightly different version to the one that featured on our remix EP's....plus features Gnod's amazing track from Infinite Machines 'Breaking the Hex'.
The comp also features tracks by Fumaca Preta, Mugstar, Jane Weaver, Les Big Byrd, Clinic, Destruction Unit, Lucid Dream and many more
Buy from here: Piccadilly
Plus there are a few tickets left for the festival: LPF
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14 Sept 2015
Listen to Giant Swan remix of Mamuthones 'Symphony for the Devil'
As reported last month, we are doing a series of 'Rocket shop only' EPs and the first is a new release by Italian band Mamuthones called 'Symphony for the Devil' which we announced here
You can now here the amazing remix of the lead track by Bristol psychnoise duo Giant Swan. It is a bit of a monster!!!!
Read what the Quietus have to say about the remix here: The Quietus
Then preorder a copy of the ltd 12" exclusively here: Rocket Bandcamp
Both Mamuthones and Giant Swan are playing Liverpool Festival of Psychedelia in under two weeks time...gonna be an amazing weekend!!!
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Gnoomes interview with Labeling Men
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#MusicMonday: Gnoomes
Gnoomes has been together for just over a year and they’ve already invented their own genre. While their music has been frequently tagged “shoegaze,” a fuzzy alt-rock subgenre that peaked in popularity in the late 1990s, the Russian rock trio has donned their music something slightly different – “stargaze is like a human state, when you’re lying on the grass with your friends, telling funny stories, and watching shooting stars.” I was drawn to their wistful, psychedelic sound when I came across their recent single “Roadhouse” on Clash Magazine. Gnoomes’ debut full-length album NGAN! will be released on October 16 through Rocket Recordings. Read our conversation below, in which you’ll notice their thoughts are almost as dreamy as their music.
Labeling Men: What does Gnoomes mean in English?
Gnoomes: …It’s a kind of thing that appears instantly in your brain and you can’t explain the origins of why it got into your mind…. Gnoomes are your Freudian-superheroes.
Labeling Men: You live and make music in Russia's Ural Mountains, or as you put it to me, "the middle of nowhere." Does being geographically isolated influence your sound? ...
Read the rest of the interview here: Labeling Men
And preorder their debut album Ngan! here: Rocket Bandcamp
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Teeth of the Sea to play Incubate Festival
Great news!!
Teeth of the Sea have been a last minute addition to this years Incubate Festival, they will play Wednesday 16/09, 23.45 at Hall of Fame venue, Tilburg.
Could be your first chance to hear new tracks off their forthcoming album, Highly Deadly Black Tarantula.
More info here: Incubate
And listen to new track Animal Manservant above:
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11 Sept 2015
Sound Injections and The Monitors give their verdict on Sunny Afternoon by Josefin Öhrn and The Liberation
Josefin Öhrn and The Liberation - Sunny Afternoon
It’s rare to come across in such a stimulating psychedelic experience nowadays! Stockholm’s Josefin Öhrn + The Liberation may sing about a Sunny Afternoon but the music itself goes beyond clearness! Raw, energetic, kind of kraut in bone structure but build between in thick walls, thundering guitars, ghostly keys, bombastic drumming with Josefin’s vocals welcome the apocalypse, this one will haunt your senses while you’re hynotized to its sensational groove! Perfection….
See the full piece here: Sound Injections
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It’s fair to say Stockholm’s Josefin Öhrn + The Liberation aren’t lazing on this ‘Sunny Afternoon’; from the rolling toms to the pounding piano keys, this starts at a determined pace and doesn’t let up. Whether it’s enough for them to overtake Goat as the most madcap Swedish group on Rocket Recordings (let alone the truly pulverising new sounds suddenly emerging from their English labelmates Teeth of the Sea) is debatable, but the little staccato burst of distortion that repeats throughout the track keeps it all hung together satisfyingly.
See the full piece here: The Monitors
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Lay Llamas and Gnoomes to play Annihilate Gathering
Great news... Lay Llamas and Gnoomes (their first European show) have been confirmed to play the 'Annihilate Gathering' festival.
Details are:
ANNIHILATE GATHERING
30th October
Leipzig, Germany
More info and tickets from here: Annihilate Gathering
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Exclusive Head Medicine interview with Goat
Head Medicine have had the opportunity to Interview Goat once again...
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The mysterious Swedish psychedelic collective GOAT has emerged once again from the shadows with a new single, "It's Time For Fun" b/w "Relax," the band's first new tracks since the release of Commune last October. Unexpectedly, the limited edition single debuted at #1 on the UK vinyl singles charts, proving that their fans are still as rabid as ever. The new music finds the band in an unexplored tangent -- a more sparse, laid back sound draped over a skittering drum machine. Both tracks start off roughly the same, with a nervous drum machine clicking over a simple repetitive baseline, but they split from there. The A-side, "It's Time For Fun" is a formal Goat track stripped down to the bone with a sparse arrangement of guitar and keys with a simple sing along vocal line, while the single's b-side, "Relax," is a hazy instrumental daydream with added layers of percussion and organ. "It's Time for Fun" has already been integrated into the live Goat set, and has quickly evolved far past the recorded version (it is at the 25:30 mark of their Glastonbury show) while "Relax" stands off to the side on its own as a welcomed anomaly in the Goat catalog.
Head Medicine recently caught up with GOAT to learn more about these tracks, their thoughts on recent live shows, and what lies ahead...
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Read the rest of this great and revealing interview here: Head Medicine
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Anonymous Bash to support Teeth of the Sea at their album launch
Excited to announce that Anonymous Bash, the musical project by Charles Hayward and members of GNOD have been announced to be supporting Teeth of the Sea at their Highly Deadly Black Tarantula album launch:
Baba Yaga's Hut Presents:
Teeth Of The Sea (Album Launch)
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Anonymous Bash (Gnod & Charles Hayward)
Thursday 12th November 2015
Show: 8:00 PM Doors: 8:00 PM
London Fields Brewery | 369-370 Helmsley Place, London, E8 3SB, United Kingdom
Tickets can be bought from here: Baby Yaga Hut
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Anthroprophh to support Acid Mothers Temple at The Exchange
Acid Mothers Temple
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Anthroprophh
19 October 2015
The Exchange
Bristol
Tickets and info here: The Exchange
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Hey Colossus album Launch
We are one month away form this amazing 'Radio Static High – album launch' show!!
Baba Yaga's Hut Presents:
Hey Colossus
Kogumaza
Lower Slaughter
Electrowerkz
Friday, October 9at 8:00pm
Tickets £9 - Door 8:00
Tickets and info here: Baba Yaga Hut
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10 Sept 2015
Sounds Better With Reverb reviews Gnoomes Roadhouse single
Gnoomes – ‘Roadhouse’
Dreamy psych doesn’t get much better than this! After turning our heads with ‘Popol Vuh’ last August, Gnoomes are set to deliver their debut LP ‘Ngan!’ on October 16 via Rocket Recordings (UK). The Russian trio posted ‘Roadhouse’ last month and it’s another stunning song, with an effortless groove and beautiful guitar tones. Gnoomes can do no wrong!
See the full write-up here: Sounds Better with Reverb
And listen to the track here:
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Hey Colossus to play instore at Spillers Records
In celebration of the launch of Hey Colossus's amazing new album Radio Static High – the band are playing an instore at the legendary Spillers Records in Cardiff.
Hey Colossus
Live at Spillers Records
Cardiff
03/10/15
3pm
Find out more here: Spillers
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Backseat Mafia Reviews Hills – Frid
PSYCH INSIGHT – FRID BY HILLS
Hills are one of my favourite bands, and the 2011 album ‘Master Sleeps’ is one of my most played. I love the coming together of dance rhythms with drone and a healthy dose of reverb, a heady mixture that I find myself lost in again and again. However, on first playing the new album ‘Frid’ I was a little disappointed that it sounded quite derivative of its predecessor.
The first track, ‘Kollectiv’ appears to have the same ideas and philosophy behind it…until about three minutes in that is. This is when the sitar kicks in and took me off in a different direction altogether. It is as if the band have given you a moment to acclimatise to their sound again, four years is a long time between albums after all, and then set its course; a course that takes the listener to the heart of a psychedelic/ ritualistic experience that demands the listeners attention and does not let you go until the very last bar...
Read the full review here: Backseat Mafia
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Q Magazine's 'Track of the Day' reveals new Teeth of the Sea song 'Animal Manservant'
Q Magazine's 'Track of the Day' reveals new Teeth of the Sea song 'Animal Manservant'. The track is taken from the bands new album Highly Deadly Black Tarantula out on Rocket on the 6th of November.
qthemusic
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8 Sept 2015
Introducing Teeth of the Sea - Highly Deadly Black Tarantula new album
We are really excited to announce the new release by one of our long term Rocket bands, Teeth of the Sea's new album 'Highly Deadly Black Tarantula'.
Teeth of the Sea - Highly Deadly Black Tarantula
(Launch084)
01 All My Venom
02 Animal Manservant
03 Field Punishment
04 Have You Ever Held A Bird Of Prey
05 Phonogene
05 Phonogene
06 Love Theme For 1984
In the last decade, the iconoclastic four-pronged force of Teeth Of The Sea has traversed from its origins in North London pub gigs and basement rehearsal rooms to far-flung locales that its members could scarcely have considered possible when they first began. Yet this band has never lost sight of its original vision - to reconcile a fearless experimental drive with a primal lust for noise. To exist outside of all or any compromise. Yet never to lose sight of the crucial irreverence of their inception. Their fourth album ‘Highly Deadly Black Tarantula’, in all its malevolent glory, may well be the apex of their mission thus far.
Following in the wake of the release of their mind-melting third album ‘MASTER’’. 2014 was a bizarre and thrilling year for Teeth Of The Sea, taking them to unexpected territory both physical and metaphysical - a re-imagining of the modern-day midnight movie A Field In England saw performances at both Cork Film Festival and Hackney Picture House, and was released on Rocket Recordings on a limited run for Record Store Day. A new audio-visual piece The Last Man was performed at both Cineglobe Festival in Cern, home of the Large Hadron Particle Collider, and at Transilvania International Film Festival in Cluj-Napoca. What’s more, the band travelled to America for the first time to perform in Austin, Texas for SXSW and to Portugal for Milhoes De Festa, as well as finishing the year off with a comprehensive demolition job of Liverpool Psych Fest.
However, as 2015 dawned, the band set about reinventing themselves once again - both returning from the ornate and expansive sounds of ‘MASTER’ to their gnarled roots and pushing firmly forward in search of adventure anew. What resulted was ‘Highly Deadly Black Tarantula’, their most focused and aggressive album yet. Machine-driven yet melodically abundant, the widescreen industrial expanses of this album combine the influence of long-time band favourites like Aphex Twin, Angelo Badalamenti and Throbbing Gristle with new inspiration that spans from Chicago footwork to black metal.
What’s more, it’s a collection as rich in scope as it is powerful in intent. Whilst the pummelling and incisive ‘Animal Manservant’ and the kinetic dancefloor attack of ‘Field Punishment’ maintain an audial assault both concise and corrosive, the monomaniacal ‘Have You Ever Held A Bird Of Prey’ represents a fearless plunge into the experimental deep end. Elsewhere, the bleak cinematic drama of ‘All My Venom’ strikes like hammer to anvil, and ‘Love Theme For 1984’ may be the most richly emotive work the band have yet created.
This is no less than a vital reinvention, abusing technology and warping convention to arrive at a monochrome psychedelia as stylish as it is savage. Yet even whilst ushering in delight and deliverance for both fans of this band and the uninitiated, ‘HIghly Deadly Black Tarantula’- a fearsomely coherent assault of post-everything dementia - sounds like no-one but Teeth Of The Sea.
The amazing album sleeve image is courtesy of photographer Oli McAvoy (olimcavoy)
The amazing album sleeve image is courtesy of photographer Oli McAvoy (olimcavoy)
This album is released on Vinyl, CD and Digital on 6th November 2015
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7 Sept 2015
Introducing 'Josefin Öhrn + The Liberation' debut album 'Horse Dance'
We at Rocket are really excited to announce the new addition of Josefin Öhrn + The Liberation to the Rocket Family.
The band have recorded us a stunning debut album that we are really excited about.
You can listen to the track 'Sunny Afternoon' from the album at the bottom of the post.
Also, you can go and see Josefin Öhrn + The Liberation's first ever UK show at the Shacklewell Arms on 18th November, tickets are available from here: Baba Yaga Hut
The press release reads:
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Josefin Öhrn + The Liberation – Horse Dance
In an era in which ‘psychedelia’ can often mean merely a grab-bag of influences from which wah-wah pedals and two-note riffs are dispensed as signifiers and signposts into a realm of easy accessibility as opposed to gateways to another dimension, it can be a rarity to come across a band who are genuinely fixated on creating alternate realities for the listener. Yet this is exactly how Stockholm’s Josefin Öhrn + The Liberation view their incandescent art, and it’s this sensibility that’s led to the kaleidoscopic spendour of their debut full-length for Rocket Recordings, ‘Horse Dance’.
“It’s a continuum that flows beyond here and now, and psychedelic music seems to be a really powerful way to unveil those deeper oceans of being that are our true home.” reflects Josefin, who forms half the core of the band with Fredrik Joelson. The last twelve months have seem a dramatic rise to prominence for The Liberation (who take their band name from the Tibetan Book Of The Dead) with their EP ‘Diamond Waves’ leading to shows in their homeland with Goat and Les Big Byrd, a nomination for a Swedish Grammy as best newcomer, and rapturously received appearances at festivals like Roskilde.
These adventures have set the stage for a spectacular movement into the unknown from their earlier work. ‘Horse Dance’ is a razorsharp collection of ditties that marry dreamlike radiance with hypnotic rhythmic drive, set alight by a prismatic experimental glow. It inhabits a realm in which a propulsive ‘60s-tinged pop song like ‘Sunny Afternoon’ can be elevated skyward with krautrock-tinged repetition, dub echo and analogue curlicues alike, and one in which a Broadcast-style mantra like ‘You Have Arrived’ can tap into a psychic lineage that stretches all the way from The United States Of America to Portishead’s ‘Third’. Yet whilst ghosts of the like of Laika, Cat’s Eyes and The Creatures may lurk in the darker recesses of these songs, this is a band paying no homage to bygone glories.
The Liberation cite a myriad influences in both their philosophical stance and their aesthetic, from 12th century iconoclasts like Milarepa to 20th century sonic voyagers like Catherine Ribeiro, and from Kandinsky’s abstract expressions of synaesthesia to the avant-jazz of Moondog. Yet at all times their transcendental extrapolations are married to icy and enticing melodic flourishes, making for a revitalising clash between the chic and the transcendental, and a sound as biting as it is beatific. “I definitely think that the human need for altered states - to see oneself from a bigger perspective - is a deep fundamental need” Josefin elaborates. “We’ve been deprived of access to our full nature by a restrictive system where altered states may be the ultimate taboo.”
With ‘Horse Dance’, Josefin Öhrn + The Liberation step into a world where all such restrictions and taboos are null and void, and this journey is already proving quite the spectacle to behold.
‘Horse Dance’ is released on Ltd colour vinyl, CD and DL on 6th November 2015
Preorder the album digitally now and get 'Sunny Afternoon' instantly: iTunes
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6 Sept 2015
GNOD to play World Island Festival in Leeds
Gnod join Acid Mothers, Grumbling Fur, Bo Ningen, Mugstar and many others at Worl Island Festival in Leeds on 30/31st October
Tickets can be bought here: World Island
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Mamuthones live at Soundpark Festival 2015
Here's some footage of Mamuthones playing Fire on Fire live at Soundpark Festival.
Really looking forward to finally seeing them play live at Liverpool Festival of Psychedelia in two weeks time!!!
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Lay Llamas live at the Musiche di Sconfine Festival,
This is a great live version of Lay Llamas – African Spacecraft (2092 Lift - Off, Journey And Landing) recorded live at the Musiche di Sconfine Festival in Cormons, 13th June 2015.
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Team Rock reviews Hey Colossus new album Radio Static High
Hey Colossus – Radio Static High
Currently on a prolific streak, Somerset-rooted, London-based free-form garage rockers Hey Colossus return with their second album this year, a gnarly widescreen audioscape every bit as compelling as its softer-sounding predecessor In Black And Gold. And while hard-driving psych-drone Kraut-psych grind remains key to their brawny sound, the six-piece collective’s musical gene pool has been steadily enriched with punky and dubby elements, serrated riffs and choppy martial rhythms.
Radio Static High contains the usual smattering of lysergically fuzzy guitar churners, from the Floydian title track to the chiming psych-blues of The Mourning Gong. But the standout cuts rise above the heavy fog of stoner-rock nostalgia and slap listeners around the ears: urgent calls to arms like Hop The Railings, with its jittery groove and insolently yelping lyrical refrain, or Honey, a shuddering drone-metal war dance with echoes of Killing Joke.
March Of The Headaches, a propulsive, clanging riff spiked with a dystopian glam-punk vocal, is one of the strangest and strongest tunes these mercurial West Country noiseniks have yet recorded. Nine albums and 12 years into their journey, Hey Colossus have never sounded better.
8/10
Read the full review here: Team Rock
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