Rocket Probes – December 2020 Playlist

GNOD – They Live
(First track to be revealed from the gnew Gnod compilation, culled from rare and unreleased music from 2008-2011)
GNOD

Various – Psych Against Cancer II (Vol 1 & 2)
(Massive collection of songs including tracks by Anthroprophh, Autotelia, Sex Swing and Flowers Must Die...all for a good cause)
Vol1
Vol2

The Utopia Strong – Ninth Art
(Third in the series of these Utopia Strong self released albums)
The Utopia Strong

Head Drop - Stay Another Day (The Final Kiss)
(Reading's finest cover East 17 for Double Dot Dash charity comp)
Head Drop

Azna de L'Ader – Zabaya
(Bit of a mess at times, but great fun and killer fuzz)
Azna de L'Ader

Dropdead – Dropdead 2020
(Thanks to Jimmy martin for intro'ing us to this bucket full of noise)
Dropdead

Phile – Marauder
(Psyched analogue techno)
Phile

Melanie De Biaso – And my heart goes on
(The stoned hip-hop ending is perfection)
Melanie De Biaso

Crazy Doberman – Illusory Expansion
(Killer jazz noises)
Crazy Doberman

Shjrunken Heads – Neolithic Dog
(London jams)
Shjrunken Heads

Byron Westbrook – Electric Blued 
(Great tuareg sounding noisescapes on Hands In The Dark)
Byron Westbrook

Highway Robbery – For Love or Money
(70s ROCK!!)
Highway Robbery

Alison Cotton – Only Darkness Now
(Luscious album of immersive folked drones)
Alison Cotton

Omega – Tűzvihar
(Hungarian fuzz from '69)
Omega

Craven Faults – Enclosures / Erratics & Unconformities
(Getting lost in a synth world)
Enclosures
Erratics & Unconformities

Mohammad Reza Mortazavi – Ritme Jaavdanegi
(Persian via Berlin grooves – thanks to Paddy for the Gnod)
Mohammad Reza Mortazavi

Haikara – Jälleen on Meidän
(Finish prog recommended by Pharaoh Overlord)
Haikara

Jeff Parker – Fusion Swirl
(Really great groove n' drone track)
Jeff Parker

Oh Sees – Panther Rotate
(Some good stuff on this new album of experimental jams)
Oh Sees

El Grupo Folclórico - Tamba
(Crazy rhythms)
El Grupo Folclórico

American Cream Band – I am an Arrow
(Stoned sax-wah jam)
American Cream Band

Lord Tusk – Paradise Awaits
(Dark dance floor sounds)
Lord Tusk

Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza - Niente
(Follow-up to The Feed-Back album...you liked that, you will love this)
Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza

Supersister – No tree will grow
(Droned rock)
Supersister

Black Curse – Endless Wound
(Incredible album of psyched death)
Black Curse

Daniel Avery / Alessandro Cortini – Enter Exit
(Fuzzed kosmische sounds)
Daniel Avery / Alessandro Cortini

Andrew McGibbon – Northern Gothic 
(Foggy Moby Grape sounds from now)
Andrew McGibbon

TOMAGA – Schleissen 5
(Perfection as always)
TOMAGA

Shiver – San Francisco's Shiver
(Power trio wah-rock from '72)
Shiver

Upupayāma – Upupayāma
(Really nice Kikagaku Moyo by this Italian outfit)
Upupayāma

Harold Budd – Darkstar
(RIP)
Harold Budd

Listen to our updated Monthly Rocket Probes Spotify Playlist here:

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Read J. Zunz fave albums of 2020 via Son Of Marketing

It says:

We asked to different musicians, producers, bloggers, journalists, label owners to make a short list of their best albums of this year. This is the list curated by J. Zunz, the solo project of Mexican artist Lorena Quintanilla, better known for her work with the duo Lorelle Meets The Obsolete. Three years after the debut album Silente, she has released her second full-length Hibiscus, out via Rocket Recordings and Commando Vanessa...

Read the list (that includes Pharaoh Overlords mighty album '6') here: Son Of Marketing

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Seasonal 40% off Rocket sale – for one week only!

At the start of the year, who would've thought the only way to experience a live event from your favourite bands would be sitting in a room (possibly on your own) listening to one of their albums as loud as your neighbours could cope with it. Rocket HQ has been doing their fair share of imaginary gigs this year but frankly I think we can safely say we can't wait to get out & 'feel' the live experience again, after all who doesn't want the sensation of frenzied vibrating air molecules & pulsating lights rushing over you again?

So as a 2nd best experience which nonetheless we value greatly too, we hope to bring some recorded Christmas delight to your worn out ears. And as a huge thank you we are offering 40% off our available Rocket Stock on our Bandcamp store for the whole of Christmas week starting Christmas Day and ending New Years Day.

So fuck 2020, end it on a high in 'a reality you can rely on' & disappear in smoke.

Discount code: 'fuck2020' from 9am tomorrow (25th December).

Rocket Bandcamp

On a personal note, both John & Chris would like to thank you all for your continued support this year.  At times it's been more challenging than ever, some things have happened this year we never foresaw & it all feels stronger as a community.  As a Label  we strive hard to try and bring you the work of a magnificent wide ranging roster of bands that we are very proud of with hope they can all get to perform again next year.

So even if everything  we do isn't to your taste, we value your open mindedness in what feels like quite a closed minded outside world at times & therefore hope we help in some way to lift your experience beyond.

We have also compiled a special playlist of tracks taken from each Rocket release that came out in 2020. You can listen to via the Soundcloud or Spotify link below:

Soundcloud   Spotify

Thanks

John & Chris 

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Watch stunning PETBRICK live session for FACT Magazine

Back on the 19 October, PETBRICK headed over to '180 The Strand' in London to film a very special 'distanced' live session for FACT Magazine. 

Watch all 30min+ of the live show plus read a short interview with the band here: 

FACT Magazine

The band were so eager to be able to get out and actually play live again – this incredible footage clearly shows the duo's explosion of pent-up energy that was brewing after months of lockdown.

All the 'eye-popping' visuals were expertly put together by Laima Leyton who was also involved in the filming on the day.

Thanks so much to FACT for making this happen, plus for the fantastic editing to create this stunning piece of film. It truly documents PETBRICK at the top of their game, reaffirming the duo's unequalled energy and absolute uniqueness of their sound.

PETBRICK's debut album 'I' –plus their remix album and recent EP 'Pet Sounds' can be bough/listened to here: 

Bandcamp

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V13 interviews Pharaoh Overlord

They say:

Finland’s Pharaoh Overlord Discuss Isolation, Inspiration and Working with Aaron Turner on New Album ‘6’

Over here at V13, we love music that is a bit more adventurous, so when we were pitched the opportunity to speak to Finnish band Pharaoh Overlord about their new album, 6, we jumped at the chance. (Oh, and read our full album review here too.)

Taking influence from a raft of sources ranging from Italian electro-pop to Kraftwerk, 6 is out now via Rocket Recordings. We recently spoke with the duo of Tomi Leppänen and Jussi Lehtisalo to find out more about the recording, their experiences through lockdown, and working with longtime collaborator Aaron Turner (Sumac, Old Man Gloom).

Thanks for your time, how is life treating you at the moment?

“Life is good, we have a lot of projects together and are already making a new Pharaoh Overlord album as well at the moment.”

Your new album 6 is out now. It’s been an album inspired lyrically by separation. Was this the original inspiration or were they themes triggered by the global pandemic?

“When we started making the album the pandemic was not going on yet, so we didn’t have any pre-conception at all. But, as the situation changed, Aaron seemed to pick it up and bring in some themes regarding the pandemic.”..

Read the rest here: V13

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Pharaoh Overlord 'Amazing Radio' takeover

Pharaoh Overlord are taking over Amazing Radio on Tuesday 22nd December from 2pm...

What they say:

"Finish legends Pharaoh Overlord will be taking over Amazing Radio on Tuesday 22nd of December at 2pm! Fresh off the back of their amazing new record '6', expect an eclectic mix from these monsters of experimental rock."

More info here: Amazing Radio

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Freq reviews Pharaoh Overlord

They say:

I liked Pharaoh Overlord’s last release, but this newbie is on a whole different level. They’ve turned down that motorik dial a touch, to let in a banquet of euphoric synth work wrapped in a barrage of skewed disco flavours.

A groovesome cocktail easily demonstrated by “Path Eternal’”s Giorgio Moroder romp, Jussi Lehtisalo and Tomi Lepännen’s vapourising keylines and smeared transits slips and slides, their wares suitably effects-shadowed and dynamically diced. They are joined by Sumac’s Aaron Turner, whose growling Laibach-like gravel of a vocal completes the picture in an unusual pairing that avoids the tiresome clichés of both dance and doom to create something genuinely original. Yeah, it might not be to everybody’s taste, but I’m loving it.

The bronzed EBM wah-fed gothika of “Arms Of The Butcher”, with its incredible washy guitar, circles and chiselled glistens that cavort a plenty. The layering is fab too, a crafted emphasis that runs the album’s entire length, sends your eyes into a psychedelic spin whilst giving your nerve centres a cool kosmischhhhe kiss...

Read the rest here: FREQ

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More 'End of Year' love for Rocket releases

Here's a few more Rocket release inclusions in 'Album of the Year' lists:

The Quietus (Tracks of the year)

$hit & $hine - Hillbilly Moonshine

Sex Swing – Valentine's Day At The Gym

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Louder

Sex Swing – Type II

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What Hi FI

Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs – Viscerals

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Backseat Mafia

J. Zunz – Hibiscus

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Echoes and Dust

Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs – Viscerals

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Fuzzy Sun

Kooba Tercu – Proto Tekno
Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs – Viscerals
Sex Swing – Type II

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Brooklyn Vegan (Steve Von Til)

Deafbrick – Deafbrick

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God is In the TV

Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs – Viscerals
J. Zunz – Hibiscus

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Sister Ray

Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs – Viscerals

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Cast The Dice

Sex Swing – Type II

-

The Sleeping Shamen

Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs – Viscerals

-

Avopolis

Kooba Tercu – Proto Tekno

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Destroy Exist

Pharaoh Overlord – 6

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Fragmented Flanuer

Deafbrick – Deafbrick
Och – II
Autotelia – I
Sex Swing – Type II
Pharaoh Overlord – 6
Urdog – Long Shadows: 2003-2006

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Raw Vibes

Och – II
Autotelia – I
Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs – Viscerals
Pharaoh Overlord – 6
Shit and Shine – Malibu Liquor Store
J. Zunz – Hibiscus

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The Quietus announce subscribers only GNOD/JK Flesh collab EP

What they say about the release: 

The Winter Solstice Session is here with bastions of the underground Justin Broadrick and GNOD working together for the first time and this is pretty much a definition of a dream come true for John Doran

Now that I’ve had to pretty much permanently banish myself from tQHQ - I’m living in Wiltshire with my immediate family and an elderly, sheltering mother while remaining unable to drive - I’m struggling to imagine a time where I’ll ever return to our office to work. But absence makes the heart grow fonder and the brain grow softer.

Every time I think of all the London offices we’ve shared - and the word office is being pushed way past breaking point in some of these instances - my primary memory is now of laughter. Some of it joyful; some chemical and maniacal; some of it to the point of tears of hilarity; some in order to avert another kind of lachrymal incident; some perhaps quite unhealthy, like sets of wind up joke shop chattering teeth, clacking about along the edge of an abyssal cliff top before pinging off senselessly into the fathomless gulch below.

But there has been much laughter nonetheless and this is key to the Quietus aesthetic for better or worse and not just the feckless stupidity some no doubt see it as.

Luke and I have long since been engaged in a battle to make each other laugh with outlandish ideas if only to distract ourselves from terrifying technical misfires that happen to the creaking zeppelin of the Quietus behind the scene on a weekly basis, the threat of legal action, looming VAT bills, the shrinking of our ad revenue by 95% in an 18 month period and so on. But to be deadly serious, it’s long since been a creative strategy for us...

Read the rest here: The Quietus

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Crypt Guard reviews Koob Tercu's Proto Tekno

They say:

After last year's stellar 'Kharrüb', Kooba Tercu returns with another batch of capricious sonic delinquents. Rambunctious in nature and with an affinity to alarm-like noise, gripping rhythmics and enticing layering, 'Proto Tekno' makes for a gripping listening session. Gnarly synthesizers and sawing basslines prance upon urban percussive vandalism on 'Cemento Mori' whereas 'Filter Feeder' feels like a representation of a 21st-century jam. The collective led by Johnny Tercu constructs experimental transmissions on a platter of African rhythms and humming electronics, sonically reflecting on the shortsighted laissez-faire attitude of homo sapiens. 'Proto Tekno' is the descent into a groove-driven cornucopia of feedback-drenched unctions with an oddly danceable afterglow.

Read the piece here: Crypt Guard

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J. Zunz album Hibiscus is Filter's No.1 Album of the Year

Great to see J. Zunz's brilliant album Hibiscus getting more justified praise with this prestigious No.1 Album Of The Year  award by Filter Magazine.

See the full list here Filter Magazine

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DEAFBRICK is Cvlt Nation's No 1 'AVANT GARDE Album Of 2020'

They say:

Petbrick is duo Igorr Cavalera and Wayne Adams, and they make music that is almost pure noise, synth-driven sonic soundscapes that tickle your ears even as it threatens insanity. Deafkids is a Brazilian three-piece that mixes raw punk with acid-infused percussion and chanting. These two forces decided to join hands and make an album together and yes, it is as fucked-up as you already think it is, and more. Some tracks, like “Primeval I,” are simply atmospheric, deadly and sinister, snaking their way into your ears and down your spines, making your legs dance whether they want to or not. These tracks set the stage, get the psyche ready for what is to come and what you are swallowing. Hypnotic is a good word for them, but they are more deadly than that, seeing as they actively engage the listener to move beyond passive acceptance into insidious participation. Then you get tracks like “Forca Bruta,” which simply feel like you’re being shotgun-blasted in the skull over and over again. This track just tears you open, gutting you with speedy, industrial shears, running you over and kicking your corpse. 

See the full rundown here:  Cvlt Nation

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Best of Rocket Recordings 2020 playlist

We have compiled a special playlist of tracks taken from each Rocket release that came out in 2020. 

You can listen to via the Rocket Soundcloud page or via Spotify:

Soundcloud      Spotify

We are extremely proud of our releases this year, hope you have enjoyed some of them too, what has been your favourite? 

You can buy and listen to all our releases here: Rocket Bandcamp

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2020 – what a year!

2020 has been quite a shit year for many – it really has thrown up some challenging moments for everyone. So we just want to thank you all for your continued support of Rocket and our bands this year, so to all of you who have bought our releases, we thank you greatly! Also a massive thank you to Bandcamp as without their 'non revenue' Fridays this year would have been by far even trickier one. And to our bands, well done for adapting and doing what was needed during these testing times...normal service WILL resume!

Chris/Johnny.

Buy/listen to all these releases via the Rocket Bandcamp

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Sex Swing's Type II in Loud and Quiet's AOTY list

Great to see Sex Swings monster album in Loud and Quiet's Album of the Year list!

See the full rundown here: Loud and Quiet

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J. Zunz announces live show

Really excited to hear that J. Zunz has announced a streamed live performance on 30th January. We have been so looking forward to seeing Lore perform these amazing tracks live!

Club The Mammoth/Swamp Booking promoted show will be streamed live via Dice FM, tickets can be bought here: Dice FM

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J. Zunz in conversation for Supersonic

J. Zunz is joining a special online discussion for Supersonic Festival, info on the site reads:

Supersonic x Swamp present… Sounding Out Intersectionality

Friday 15 January 2021, 19:30 GMT

Live stream via YouTube here
https://www.youtube.com/user/SupersonicFestival

–

Together with Swamp Booking, we're delighted to share with you the third instalment of the series entitled 'Sounding Out Intersectionality'

This time, we hear from Stephanie Phillips (Big Joanie, co-founder of Decolonise Fest), Shannon Funchess (Light Asylum) and Lorena Quintanilla aka J. Zunz. Hosted by journalist, Jasmine Ketibuah-Foley.

During this talk we’re aiming to explore intersectionality from the perspective of the musician, learning from these three formidable artists how their experiences converge, impact and informs their creative output.

For more info on the artists: https://bit.ly/SSxSwamp_talk3

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Listen to Iggor Cavalera live mix for Vinyl Factory

Have a listen to this latest live mix Iggor has made for Vinyl Factory that contains lethal doses of J. Zunz and Kooba Tercu.

And don't forget to buy Petbrick's banging debut album 'I' here: Bandcamp

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Psych Against Cancer compilations

Psych Lovers is an incredible 'forum' on Facebook that celebrates the current global psych scene and psychedelic music from the past.

This forum is incredibly influential and they have put together a mammoth 2 volume compilation to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support – each comp contains 80+ tracks.

Included is music from Anthroprophh, Sex Swing, Autotelia and Flowers Must Die amongst many big names from the current world of psychedelic influenced music, download here:

Psych Against Cancer Vol.1

Psych Against Cancer Vol.2

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Against the Silence interviews Kooba Tercu

The interview is in Greek, but you can see/read it here: 

Against the Silence

Kooba Rercu's 'Proto Tekno' ltd LP can be bought from here: Bandcamp 

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Gonzai reviews Pharaoh Overlord's '6'

They say:

Rarely in the history of music classifiable by gender or alphabetic letters, a group has done much to fall wigs historians, all clad in fetal position listening to the new album of these Finns seem to stop at nothing, not Satan or ridicule. Somewhere between the synthetic apocalypse of Saint John and the soundtrack of a war film by Francis Ford Coppola where soldiers in black down jackets would bombard 1980s Italy with Mayhem records, "6" sounds like an incredible torgnole.

It's a question like that, but has anyone ever thought of suing John Carpenter's son? Cody, his first name, he does not deserve to be charged with abuse of age his father, for all the atrocities he is currently registered to him? While John, the Patriarch of 72, finally seems ready to play the role of a zombie in the 45 season The Walking Dead,we expect the third volume of "Lost Themes" bringing together the Carpenter father and son (it looks like the name of a butcher's shop in Lille) for next February. Imagine a tube of toothpaste squeezed to the bone by a dog without the mutant, and you get a fairly accurate view of what happened to the music of John Carpenter without images: a geriatric monstrosity where even the Yamaha synths demonstrators shout at ugly...

Read the rest here: Gonzai

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Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs 'Viscerals' pops up in more End of Year lists

Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs 'Viscerals' has been included in Louder Than Ware and The Quiettus: Comfortably Numb albums of the year.

This is what they say:

Louder Than War
Gargantuan riffs, demonic vox and an uber-cool vibe that distinctly references past masters yet still manages to sound totally fresh. Viscerals is the sound of impending doom and the perfect soundtrack the shitshow that has been 2020.

The Quietus
The last 12 months were supposed to be the biggest year yet for Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs. They were all set to take another foot up the ladder of venue sizes (while still keeping it real with dates at The Cluny, of course). They'd lined up their first US dates and were ready to dazzle American audiences with riffs, roars and Newcastle FC shorts. More mags and websites were covering them than ever before. Graham Norton was being groomed to have them on his chat show instead of booking Harry Styles every week. Then - SPLODGE! - someone got coughed on by a bat bat bat bat bat bat bat and Pigs were consigned to remain in the North East like Paul Gascoigne if he'd never signed to Spurs. Released just as Lockdown Phase I kicked in, Viscerals was a potent mixture of skull-cavingly heavy rock, mega metal, intense anxiety, sweat, sludge and (to channel Liars for a second) BLOOD! BLOOD! BLOOD BLOOD! Crank it all the way up to 11, screw a red lightbulb into the socket, dial the thermostat to 'Level Sauna', ask a tall housemate to stand in front of you while holding a plastic glass and it'll feel just like the gigs gigs gigs gigs gigs gigs gigs that fate so cruelly denied us.

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Celebrating Bandcamp Friday for December

Today is the last 'Bandcamp Friday'!!

So as previously, it is a great time to buy some Rocket albums and shirts - here's some of our latest releases we wanna shout about:

GNOD – Easy to Build, Hard to Destroy 2LP/CD
Double Ltd edition LP compilation on Pink/Black splatter of rare and unreleased GNOD tracks from 208-2011

GOAT – Requiem (Single LP edition)
Ltd Edition repress on 'Blue Flame' vinyl of this Rocket classic album, only 200 copies!

Hills – Frid LP/CD
300 copy ltd edition repress on Green & Blue Forest Splatter with gatefold sleeve

Urdog – Long Shadows: 2003-2006 LP
Ltd edition Ice Black splatter vinyl version of this incredible retrospective compilation

Pharaoh Overlord – 6 LP/CD
Immensely epic album '6' on 'Snake Bite' Yellow vinyl edition

Paisiel – Unconscious Death Wish LP
Stunning second album, ltd Red/Black 'colour-in-colour' vinyl

Anthroprophh – Toilet Circuit 7" EP
Repress on yellow vinyl due to speed of first pressing sold out – expected to go the same way

GOAT – Commune (Silver edition) LP
Ltd edition Blue Swirl vinyl and new silver artwork

J. Zunz – Hibiscus LP
Ltd Blue/White swirl vinyl

Autotelia – I LP
Ltd 'Weird Green' vinyl

GOAT/Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs/GNOD Tshirts
Reprints of classic GOAT, Pigsx7 and GNOD tshirts available – the perfect presents for Xmas!

+ there are loads of other great albums, shirts and posters to pick up from the Rocket or individual bands Bandcamp stores:

Bandcamp

Thank you for your support as always!

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Listen/read about a Pharaoh Overlord playlist for Son of Marketing

They say:

Pharaoh Overlord are the Finnish duo comprised of Tomi Leppänen and Jussi Lehtisalo. They have released a new album called 6 which is out now via Rocket Recordings. According to the press release, the new work is a cataclysmic clash with bewitching results. The band first channelled their love of krautrock-damaged monomania into synth-driven motorik soundscapes on 2019’s “5“, yet this new exploration is a step way beyond into a chilly and captivating electronic panorama.

Beholden to the melodies and textures of Kraftwerk yet also the cinematic austerity of EBM and the effervescent pulse of classic Italo-pop, it’s further abetted by fierce and corrosive vocals from longtime collaborator and Sumac/Old Man Gloom seer Aaron Turner, which stand atop these futuristic serenades not unlike the fevered delivery of a dystopian hellfire preacher.

Listen below and check the playlist with the tracks which inspired their music. It includes Magma, Yes, Popol Vuh, Polvo and many more.

Read the rest here: Son of Marketing

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GNOD set to release album of rare and unreleased tracks recorded between 2008 & 2011

GNOD have announced a new album called ‘Easy To Build, Hard To Destroy’ – a 2LP/CD compilation of tricky-to-find, obscure and unreleased material from the heady early days of the band, all released on vinyl for the first time. 

Watch the retina burning video above created by Rocket's John O'Carroll for the previously unreleased track 'They Live' – a just shy of 10 minute psych-out that marries the droned repetition of Spacemen 3 and the punk urgency of early Stooges.

'Easy To Build, Hard To Destroy' can be preordered this Friday (as part of #bandcampfriday) on ltd edition 2LP 'Pink/Black Splatter via the link below. There will also be two other ltd edition 2LP versions on 'Blue' and 'Black' vinyl. All versions come in a gatefold sleeve.

Preorder ltd 2xLP and CD (from 4th December)

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“We just wanted to jam really and see what happened” reasons Paddy Shine of GNOD fourteen years on from their inception in Salford, and no keener to court mystique now than he was then. “That led us down the road of constructing a vibe or an atmosphere for playing live. We played a lot of squats, house gigs and parties in the early days. We lived in each others pockets - shared ideas, books, films etc. We just got on one. Some heads came along for the ride. Good times.”

This momentum gathered quickly into a band with formidable psychic power, captured in style on ‘Easy To Build, Hard To Destroy’ - a compilation of tricky-to-find, obscure and unreleased material from the heady early days of the band, all released on vinyl for the first time. It’s the sound of an uncompromising devotion to rapture through noise and repetition, a portrait of a band whose anarchic approach and raw intensity any other outfit would be frankly terrified to follow onstage. Captured in the hypnotic rhythmic drive and intimidating atmospheres of tracks like ‘They Live’ and ‘Inner Z’ (both only previously available on Myspace) is a mantric energy which take a jumping-off point from the Krautrock, Japanese rock and underground American psychedelia the band were hammering at the time, as well as the droogy nihilism of The Stooges debut. Yet these feral experiments reach far beyond into a headspace that acknowledges no boundaries, rock orthodoxy or genre constriction.

Revelatory drone-dirges of a Swans/Spacemen 3 stripe here blossomed into dubbed-out abstractions, as on ‘5th Sun’, Shamanic trance-states inspired by the like of Sunburned Hand Of The Man and Sun Araw propelled the band through improvisatory voyages that they themselves frequently couldn’t recall after the event. “I always dug repetition in music” reasons Paddy. “Repetition is great for long dance floor jams or subtle head squelchers. Repetition helps with the telepathy we developed when playing.” Indeed, listen to the primal roar of the 2009 live recording ‘Deadbeatdisco!!! Pt 2’ (originally released on cult US label Not Not Fun) and you can hear this approach reaching its apotheosis, as well as the sound of Shine’s guitar being smashed to pieces as violent chaos reigned all around him.

Misconceptions of a religious agenda apparently followed GNOD around during this period, yet if there was something cult-like about this hive-mind cum pirate-ship, there was nothing more sinister to it than the eternal positive “We’d meet people who were interested in playing with us and we always said yes” reckons founder member Chris Haslam, “If they were serious about it and came to rehearsal, they’d be in. Most weekends from Friday to Sunday we were in the rehearsal room together, experimenting with equipment, setting up mad pedal chains, plugging things into other things and just plain old jamming. Sometimes the direction of the music would be due to circumstances - a new piece of equipment, a broken collar bone, a new band member; would influence the direction of the music as much as any conscious decision to move into a certain musical direction.” 

“We’re always searching for new music, new thoughts, new experiences” says Chris “That drove us a lot in the early days, and still does.” A full decade, countless enlightened minds and scores of ruptured speaker cones later, the GNOD journey continues unabated - onward to fresh creation and new annihilation.

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Fragmented Flaneur reviews 'Long Shadows: 2003-2006' by Urdog

They say:

I only ever visited Providence, Rhode Island, once; for the briefest of times, when driving from New York up to Provincetown (on Cape Cod) for a rather wonderful winter holiday. We stopped for a lunch break, and I had the first of many clam chowders during that memorable holiday. I remember it to this day because it was the first time our baby son was able to sit in a high chair at the table and, because of this, Providence has been a place that has resonated with me more than somewhere I’ve only spent a couple of hours in perhaps should.

That was in 2007, by which time the band Urdog had already been and gone… a band that has also passed into the annals of time, to the extent that I certainly had not been previously aware of them before Johnny and Chris from Rocket Recordings brought them to my attention. They were formed in Providence (hence my story) in 2003, and lasted only three years; a veritable lunch stop in terms of the history of music… yet one that deserves to be recollected and dwelt upon.

You can read the full story of how Rocket have come to release this retrospective on vinyl here, and I am very glad that they did because this is an absolute gem of a collection which deserves a much wider audience...

Read the rest here: Fragmented Flaneur

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Platten Tests reviews Pharaoh Overlord's 6

They say:

Everything has to be correct. That was already the case in ancient Egypt. If it had been up to Pharaoh Overlord, there might even have been a fire extinguisher on the wall of the pyramids on every landing. What could you hear while putting them on? Jussi Lehtisalo and Tomi Leppänen from Finland have an idea. Admittedly not one that has never been there or that cannot be traced back to their earlier bands such as KXP or Aavikko: Like many of their compatriots, the two have a preference for steamy heavy and stoner rock on the one hand and herbaceous electronics on the other. And also on their previous albums - see above - everything was correct in this regard. But Pharaoh Overlord wanted more - and quickly got Aaron Turner on the microphone.

At the sludge institutions Isis, Old Man Gloom and Sumac, he provides, among other things, what could be described as a powerful male voice. Originally he was only supposed to refine a few pieces on the sixth Pharaoh Overlord album, well, until his growls became a determining element of "6". It may not be a revolutionary trick to interpret motorized space rock, EBM and synth wave with the stylistic and substantive insignia of one of the toughest guitar music genres - but the way Pharaoh Overlord pull through this improbable to bizarre crossover is simply overwhelming. Every blow from the armed machines, every acidic reef primer, every malicious hacking of the lead organ is as sure as the fangs of the aggressive snake creature on the cover...

Read the rest here: Platten Tests

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New Hills 'Frid' LP colour repress variant + CD version announced

After the huge demand for the Hills 'Frid' repress (which sold out in hours last Bandcamp Friday) we've added a new limited version of the gatefold repress.

One of the finest psych bands to come out of Sweden, 'Hills' recently announced a special ltd edition repress of their third and last studio album 'Frid'. 

The repress, was initially only available on 'Fire Splatter' vinyl (200 copies Now SOLD OUT) & the 'Blue' vinyl (400 copies) via your local record shop on release next year. But now in addition we are adding an extra 'Green & Blue Forest Splatter' (300 copies to the public) & a new run of CDs which will also be available on release too.

Preorder 'Forest Splatter' version from this Friday as part of this months Bandcamp Friday: 

Rocket Bandcamp

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Hills are part of a rich scene from Sweden which also including friends and Rocket Recordings label mates Goat, Josefin Öhrn + The Liberation, Flowers Must Die, Och etc . This collection form the new chapter in a tradition of Swedish psychedelia that found its origins in late-'60s and early 70's freakouts and mind-melts by the likes of Baby Grandmothers and Älgarnas Trädgōrd - not to mention the unholy trinity of Pärson Sound, International Harvester and Träd Gräs och Stenar - before being developed by the likes of The Spacious Mind and Dungen in the last two decades. These inspirations make their mark on 'Frid' by journeying inward, via mantric repetition and hip-shaking pulsations as on the ten-minute monolith, ' Och Solen Sankte Sig Rod', yet they can also lurch into the unknown via the fuzz/wah odysseys of the aptly monikered 'National Drone' and the ceremonial exhortations of the closing 'Death Will Find A Way.'

Frid has been out of print for several years now, so this gives fans and the curious the chance to immerse themselves in this wonderful and classic album.

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Two Rocket albums in Drift Records AOTY list

Thanks to the great Drift Records for including these two Rocket albums in their Albums Of The Year list:

Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs – Viscerals
Shit and Shine Malibu – Liquor Store

See the full rundown here: Drift

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Louder than War reviews and interviews Pharaoh Overlord about '6'

They say:

There’s definitely less electricity from Pharaoh Overlord inside of their latest, 6, but having less guitar focus results in more stress on the sounds of synthesizers creating a space.

Tomi Leppänen and Jussi Lehtisalo describe these changes saying: “With album 5 we started to make the music more synthetic and electronic, based on the lineup change we made from six persons to two. With this album we didn’t have a specific musical concept in mind, it had more to do with the question about how to perform the songs live.”

At the same time, while getting to some new musical landscapes, the founders of Pharaoh Overlord decided to put a bit of dissonance, something very untypical which led to their collaboration with Aaron Turner. Former member of ISIS, and the driving force behind SUMAC/Hydra Head Records notes that: “This was a great record to work on as it came at a time where I was lacking my own direction and needed somewhere to focus my energy.”

It’s quite hard to focus on a compositional structure listening to the combination of synthpop ambience and Turner’s deep hoarse growling. Very untypical combination. And also, very difficult to find the balance of things without having a layers of distorted guitars – like Skinny Puppy during The Process-era or Antichrist Superstar did...

Read the rest here: Louder than War

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GOAT announce special 'Single LP Edition' repress of 'Requiem'

Following the recent vinyl reissues of GOAT's first two albums World Music and Commune the band are now repressing their third album 'Requiem'.

This latest ltd edition reissue features updated sleeve artwork, two different ‘Flame’ vinyl pressings and a special 'reworked tracklist' for a refined ‘single’ LP listening experience.

The album will be available to preorder on 'Blue Flame' vinyl from this Friday as part of #bandcampfriday:

Rocket Bandcamp

There will also be a ltd 'Red Flame' vinyl sold via your local record shop.

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Swedish collective GOAT continue to conjure their trademark fusion of psychedelic rock and worldbeat in understated fashion on Requiem. The Korpilombolo act’s third LP finds the troupe developing their modern mysticism and electrified ritualism into further transcendent realms with expanded instrumentation and a newfound sense for the hypnotic.

Beginning with ‘Union of Sun and Moon’, a bucolic scene of dulcet group vocals and chirruping birds is burst open with vivid exchanges of flutes and acoustic guitars. GOAT’s union with the cosmos is keenly felt throughout Requiem, informing the chanted hook of ‘I Sing in Silence’ (“I am your sister / you are my brother / we have each other”), which gently billows over caressing highlife guitar interplay. The group’s prowess as a legendary live act holds true across the record, pulling the listener deep into the buoyant fray of ‘Trouble in the Streets’ and ‘Try My Robe’. Jubilant dances unfold before the eyes, so close as to render GOAT’s sonic animism almost palpable. 

The steady bubble of Requiem reaches boiling point with the epic closer ‘Goatfuzz’, a near-seven minute coda of restraint and release carried across a fuzz-heavy swagger. Erroneously dubbed their ‘folk album’, GOAT succeed in tapping into the true quality of folk music with Requiem: the exchanging of stories and ideas through the universal language of grooves.

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Rocket Probes – November 2020 Playlist

Urdog – Ice on Water
(Psyched out, wah infested first track to be revealed from this incredible bands up-and-coming retrospective compilation)
Urdog

Pharaoh Overlord – 6
(This magnificent album has finally been unleashed and it is has barely left the stereo since it first landed into our inbox – it is a banger!)
Pharaoh Overlord

Kooba Tercu – Proto Tekno Remixed
(Includes remixes by GNOD's Nagra Branca and Shit & Shine)
Kooba Tercu

Various – Baba Yaga's Hut Compilation 2020
(Exclusive tracks by Petbrick, Kooba Tercu, Flowers Must Die and many other great artists)
Baba Yaga's Hut

Anthroprophh – German Oak
(Great new album by the mighty Anthroprophh)
Anthroprophh

Julius Gabriel – Eyes In Orbits
(Sonic immersions by Paisiel man)
Julius Gabriel

Afterwardness – Afterwardness
(Nice repetitions)
Afterwardness

Richard Pinhas - Quentin Compson
(New Drones))))
Richard Pinhas

Hey Colossus – Dances/Curses
(Great new album by HC full of ear-worms)
Hey Colossus 

Chico Hamilton – Abdullah And Abraham
(Nice bit of cosmic jazz grooves courtesy of Cherrystones)
Chico Hamilton

Nina Simone – Blackbird
(Killer track from Miss Simone)
Nina Simone 

Dorcha – Honey Badger
(Great collection of eclectic sounds on the ever great Box records)
Dorcha

Philwit & Pegasus - Elephant Song
(A weird sounding Can and Beatles mash-up)
Philwit & Pegasus

The Revolutionaries – Kunta Kinte (dub plate mix)
(Heavy sounds)
The Revolutionaries

Ece Canlı - Animancia
(Nice folked repetitions from great album on Lovers and Lollipops)
Ece Canlı

Quakers – II The Next Wave
(Smokin')
Quakers

Necrot – Mortal
(Centrum certified death metal)
Necrot

Zia Mohiuddin Dagar – Dhrupad - Raga Pancham Kosh / Malkauns
(Raga immersions)
Zia Mohiuddin Dagar

Nest Egg – Dislocation
(Good album of noisey motorik grooves)
Nest Egg

Gazelle Twin – & NYX - Fire Leap
(Wicker Man vibes)
Gazelle Twin

High Tide – Futilist's Lament
(Classic psyched rock from '69) 
High Tide

X_X – No Nonsense
(Anthroprophhh's Gareth Turner threw the light on this slice of art punk from 1980 for us)
X_X

Sign-up to our 'updated monthly' Rocket Probes Spotify Playlist here:

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Pop Matters reviews Pharaoh Overlord's '6'

They say:

Rocket Recordings has become the home of much of this generation's psychedelia. And psychedelia of all kinds, be it the elusive anthemic electronica of Teeth of the Sea, the extreme noise injections of Gum Takes Tooth, or the minimal improvisations of Paisiel, an abundance of extraordinary releases have come through the label. It is now the turn of Finnish psychedelic aficionados Pharaoh Overlord to step into the fold, unleashing the latest entry in a prolific discography with 6.

For Pharaoh Overlord, maximum impact is achieved when worlds collide. In the case of 6 , the focus is split between a melodic electronic edge and an extreme, metallic vocal rendition. The soothing waves of synthesizers and the catchy basslines of "Path Eternal'' crush on top of the processed vocals creating havoc when they meet. Yet, these seemingly dancehall rhythms have a most disturbing underbelly, one that becomes more apparent as 6 unfolds. "Arms of the Butcher" crafts an intricate ambiance filled with sonic illusions and mind-melting distractions...

Read the rest here: Pop Matters

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XS Noize interviews Aaron Turner about the PHARAOH OVERLORD album

They say:

Recently released “6” became one of the most unusual records for both Pharaoh Overlord – Finnish electronic duo and Aaron Turner, who’d collaborated with Tomi Leppänen Jussi Lehtisalo as their featured vocalist on the record. Dan Volohov asked Aaron Turner, the founder of ISIS\SUMAC\One Man Glood\Hydra Head Records to share his opinion of the tracks on “6” and explain their meaning to him.

Path Eternal
Regarding the birth of new beings, the inborn innocence and love of all. Also, regarding the possibility for rebirth for those of us who have been bruised by life (everyone), in need of healing (also everyone), and for enacting the ritual of rebirth (for those that are willing to undergo the process). Inspiration for this one derived from Killing Joke and Beherit amongst others.

Arms of the Butcher
There is a surplus of angry energy I’ve accumulated in my life. Unable to process it by healthy means in my younger years I’ve needed to find other pathways for it as an adult. So instead of becoming a serial killer or venting my rage at my undeserving family, I’ve found active and productive ways of redirecting that energy. I have not listened to much industrial music in my life, but my vocals here were my interpretation of what might transpire within that musical realm...

Read the rest here: XS Noize

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Norman Records announce exclusive Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs – Viscerals vinyl

Norman Records have announced an exclusive Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs – Viscerals vinyl. 

The Blackened Blood (half black/half red) edition is a limited edition of 300 and can be bought from here: Normans

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Buzz Magazine reviews Pharaoh Overlord's '6'

They say:

When two genres collide, the result can often be catastrophic… but this is not the case with the sixth album from Finland’s Pharaoh Overlord [pictured], a duo of Jussi Lehtisalo and Tomi Leppanen (both also of fellow experimental Finns Circle) joined by American metal vocalist Aaron Turner. Its apt title conceals unlikely hybrids: this is Jean-Michel Jarre meets Slipknot, or Tangerine Dream meets In Flames, or Earthstar meets Lamb Of God with a touch of ATB.

Yet as much as 6 echoes the past, it sits firmly in the present. The music is hypnotic, the vocals are psychotic but somehow rather than jarring or startling the listener, they blend. Almost. Written at the start of the pandemic, 6 offers a lyrical response to separation and isolation but the sound is surprisingly uplifting. I couldn’t decipher most of the words but could easily listen to this multi-layered offering to the god of Krautrock on repeat for the beat alone.

Read the piece here: Buzz Mag

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Four Rocket albums in The Quietus's Albums of The Year

Nice to see four Rocket albums in The Quietus's Albums of The Year...

Sex Swing – Type II
Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs – Viscerals
Shit And Shine - Malibu Liquor Store
Pharaoh Overlord – 6

All feature in a great list...and massive congratulations to Hey Colossus for getting the prestigious Number 1 slot!

See the full list here: The Quietus

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