30 Sept 2020

Rocket Probes – September playlist

$hit & $hine – Devils Backbone
(Twisted second single from forthcoming album) 
$hit & $hine 

Paisiel – Unconscious Death Wishes
(38min+ of immersive krautjazz...it's incredible!)
Paisiel

GÅS – Epitaph
(There is definitely something in that Swedish water)
GÅS

Holy Tongue – Holy Tongue
(More incredible magic from Valentina)
Holy Tongue

Holy Scum – Kill
(Gnew GNOISE)
Holy Scum

Moundabout – North Cairn
(Another month, another release by GNOD's Paddy Shine...and another release to fall into, lovely stuff)
Moundabout

Lafawndah – The Stillness
(Like Mkwaju Ensemble meets Jon Hassell and the original Predator soundtrack)
Lafawndah

Créme de Hassan – Malesch
(A playlist regular... a fantastic track of wonderfulness)
Créme de Hassan

Ceresco Union – Ceresco Union
(New(ish) sounds from Manchester...thanks to Paddy for the heads-up)
Ceresco Union

White Manna – Arc
(New psyched jams...on Cardinal Fuzz)
White Manna

Lyubocha – RYYTMA
(Dark repetitions on Opal tapes)
Lyubocha

Banshee – Caw
(A well trodden path, but this lot do it real good!!)
Banshee

SAULT – Stop Dem
(Give the drummer some!)
SAULT

Sri Aurobindo - My Peak Is Too High
(An old'ish classic)
Sri Aurobindo

Aura Noir – Bellingerent 'Till Death
(Norwegian Thrash – courtesy of Centrum)
Aura Noir 

Olivia Mutant John And Wrong Travolta – Let's Get Lhysicap
(New sounds of Avon)
Olivia Mutant John And Wrong Travolta

Warlock – Misa Negra
(Psych rock from mid 70's Spain)
Warlock

Miko & Mubare - Komoma Ya­​-​Ya​-​­Ya
(80's avant pop repetitions – bit of a Normil Hawaiians vibe)
Miko & Mubare

Jesse Draxler – Reining Cement
(Some great explorations in noise on this compilation)
Jesse Draxler

The Monochrome Set - Viva Death Row
(Twisted rhythms)
The Monochrome Set

Nova Express – Topic
(Cheers to Cardinal Fuzz for turning our ears on to this great slab of psyched repetition...features a one time member of The Liberation)
Nova Express

Luke Abbott – Earthship
(Nice Fripp/Eno'esque sounds)
Luke Abbott

Plastic Face – European Domestic Shorthair
(Droning excursions on Hominid)
Plastic Face

Sunn Trio – Electric Esoterica
(Eclectic sounds)
Sunn Trio

Eric B. & Rakim - Paid In Full
(Untouchable...)
Eric B. & Rakim


Follow our updated monthly Rocket Probes Spotify playlist here:


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Introducing Pharaoh Overlord '6'

We are extremely excited to finally share with you the news that Rocket are releasing the next Pharaoh Overlord album. 

 The Finish bands new album '6' sounds like nothing Rocket has released before – hence our ecstatic enthusiasm for this incredible album. It is released on 13th November but you can hear the first single to be revealed, the track 'Without Song All Will Perish' via the link below: 

Without Song All Will Perish 

'6' by Pharaoh Overlord is a cataclysmic clash with bewitching results. The band’s current duo of Tomi Leppänen and Jussi Lehtisalo 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-disco, it’s further abetted by fierce and corrosive vocals from longtime collaborator and Sumac/Isis/Old Man Gloom seer Aaron Turner, which stand atop these futuristic serenades not unlike the fevered delivery of a dystopian hellfire preacher. 

Like a brightly underlit disco dancefloor flashing out a warning of danger, the alchemical force of '6' is equal parts hedonistic rapture and dark revelation. 

'6' is being released on CD and three different vinyl formats. There's the Ltd 'Diamondback' vinyl edition exclusively via the Rocket shop which can be preordered from the link below on Friday 2nd October, as part of Bandcamp Friday. There are also two other versions available in shops, the ltd 'Viper' and 'Snakebite' editions, these two are available via your local record shops: 

The pre-order will go live here on Friday: Bandcamp

 

24 Sept 2020

Mxdwn reviews DEAFBRICK


They say:

The above was found proudly sported on the Roadburn website, alluding to not only the sheer waves of racket that both groups happily oblige in, but also the seeds of their collaboration to come. On Deafbrick, Brazilian acid-noise-punk trio Deafkids have found themselves joining arms with Petbrick, respectively made up of producer Wayne Adams (Big Lad/Death Pedals) and Iggor Cavalera, most notable as the founding drummer of Brazilian metal legends Sepultura.

Brazil finds itself not only being the home for a majority of the musicians involved in the record, but having its rich, percussion-driven style of music injected into the the sound, right off the bat, with the introductory track, “Primeval I.” Bookended by some heavy, fuzz-driven psychedelic chord swells, the ambient calm before the storm is soon interrupted by the blisteringly fast synched guitar and percussion on “Força Bruta,” which goes by way quicker than expected.

Read the rest here: Mxdwn

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Off Shelf interviews J. Zunz


They say:

Created during a time of personal and political upheaval, it can be easy to feel cynical about the trajectory of the world considering the state we’re in some months later on Hibiscus‘s release. However each struggle is unique, not merely a compounded of what came before it, and J Zunz’s sophomore album explores each new emotion and evolution.

The byproduct of additional time and rumination, J Zunz is the solo project of Lorena Quintanilla – more widely know as half of Lorelle Meets the Obsolete. Taking her approach down to the sparse basics allows the songs to brood and build – playing heavily with emotions in the space between sounds.

Off Shelf: How are you holding up? Have you been based in Mexico throughout quarantine?

Lorena Quintanilla: Yes, I’ve been at home in Ensenada. At the beginning of the quarantine I was holding up just fine. I’m used to work at home so I didn’t have a problem. Now after 6 months under lockdown I’m not so sure. I just try to stay positive.

OS: This is your second solo album as J Zunz. Can you talk about what initially led you to want to create music outside of Lorelle Meets the Obsolete?

LQ: I started this project right after we finished an album with Lorelle… Because of different situations I found myself having some extra time. This extra time and some stress messed up with my head and I felt a little lost but at the same time filled with ideas. I had the feeling that having another outlet to develop some music alone would help me out and it did.

OS: Although it happened over a year ago, you talk about how Hibiscus came to you during a time of “personal crisis inside and political crisis outside”. Do you hear the songs any differently now that you’re sharing them with a world that might be more able to relate?...

Read the rest here:  Off Shelf

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Artnoir reviews J. Zunz's Hibiscus


They say:

Lorena Quintanilla has broken away from the duo Lorelle Meets The Obsolete and shows her fight against the feeling of superfluity as J. Zunz . The electronic sounds rise darkly, the reduced palette of sounds is sparse, the texts are full of crises and doubts. "Hibiscus" should not be used for decoration, despite its floral name. The moods that emanate from this album let some plants in the vicinity wither. At the same time, the tracks prove how good going it alone can be.

J. Zunz has turned their frustrations into music, has freed himself from previous shackles and transformed the basic ideas into seething songs without outside opinions. "Four Women and Darkness" occupies a central position in this new career step, with the throbbing bass, the alienated voices, with the mechanically sounding synthesizers. System criticism, dystopia and crumbling futurism can be found in the bars, only with “White Labels” there are deceptive rays of light again.

Not everything is destructive, "Overtime" sways in pleasant melodies, "Júpiter" brings together the infinite space and the limited figure of the human being. And with "33:33" J. Zunz lands furiously on the percussive planet of the species Portishead. Driving, compulsive, far removed from one's own past - an approach that was implemented in the areas of “America Is A Continent”. The goal has been achieved, "Hibiscus" is the result of a change and grabs with its dark sides.

Read the rest here: Artnoir

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The New Noise interviews Deafbrick and reviews their mighty album


They say:

Deafbrick are born from the meeting between two names that have been able to win the interest of the most attentive and curious listeners, namely the Deafkids, composed by Marcelo dos Santos (bass), Mariano de Melo (drums) and Douglas Leal (guitar), and Petbrick, a project that sees Iggor Cavalera at work - obviously on drums - together with the sound manipulator Wayne Adams, who takes care of the electronic part in the broadest sense of the term. After the live that saw the five musicians interact on the Roadburn stage (the Deafkids already talked about it a year ago) the idea was born to meet to leave a lasting trace of the common experience and its potential. From the three days closed in the studio, a work was born which we will talk about exhaustively in the review, what follows is their version of the facts, a real user manual to understand every single facet of this interesting collaboration.

NN: A year ago I had the opportunity to interview the Deafkids and they talked about the experience at Roadburn and the remixes that appeared on Permanent Dystopia. It seems that all this has triggered something lasting, so much so that today we have a record that sees you engaged together. What happened and how were Deafbricks born?...

Read the bands answers here: The NN interview

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The website also has given the album a glowing review:

"A collision between two souls, we would say between past and future or rather a past-future that draws a dystopian scenario and combines human passion and electronic coldness in what we could define a bio-mechanical sound."

Which you can read in full  here: The NN review

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23 Sept 2020

Backseat Mafia say some words about Shit and Shine's latest single


They say:

CRAIG CLOUSE, the artist behind the $hit & $hine name, has partnered with Teeth of the Sea’s Mike Bourne to create an enthralling, pummelling visual miasma for his latest single, “Devil’s Backbone”: you can watch it, below.

Witness the visual spectacle of a roughly hewn flood of distorted footage, all bathed in a violent and ramshackle type aesthetic à la an unknown reel of footage being unearthed, adds to the scorching haziness of the track’s electronic jam.

This precedes the October 9th release of $hit & $hine’s upcoming album, Malibu Liquor Store, which includes “Devil’s Backbone” and preceding single, “Hillbilly Moonshine”...

Read the rest here: Backseat Mafia

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22 Sept 2020

Indie Rocks reviews J. Zunz album


They say:

If we were to look for the etymological definition of "hibiscus", we would find that of a small shrub -or flower-, coming from distant lands like India. Small manifestations of nature, diagrammed in the flora of an overwhelming polychrome. Ornaments from a Middle Eastern garden, inviting hummingbirds to drink their golden blood. However, the Mexican artist Lorena Quintanilla appropriates the word to give it a new meaning: exit, gloom and anxiety.

Hibiscus , the new LP of his solo project J. Zunz , collects the best (or worst) episodes of hundreds of dire nights of insomnia and relief, to translate them into a dense, dark electronic sound that, at first, causes repellency. Words are lacking, but they are not necessary. Music is the right channel through which the energy of that sadness reaches us in the same or better way than in soulless verses.

In retrospect, if his solo debut was "Silent", the new work is louder, more personal, and also, of course, even more experimental. It is the overwhelming example of what is called surrendering to creative need. In those spaces, there is no room for inhibition. Lorena does it completely naturally and with a more than acceptable quality....

Read the rest here: Indie Rocks

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The Tinnitist reviews Sex Swing's Type II


They say:

You know those skinny little Scandinavian sissy-boy metal bands? The ones with the corpse paint and the studded leather outfits who try to act all scary? I suspect the British brawlers and bruisers of Sex Swing could wipe the floor with the lot of them and not break a sweat. Assuming those church-torching pussies even had the balls to take them on in the first place. Which they don’t — and surely wouldn’t once they heard the firm’s fearsome and ferocious sophomore album Type II. Between the unstoppable momentum and swaggering menace of their low-slung grooves, the imposingly noisy wall of grinding guitars and bass, the distorted, broken-megaphone sound of their vocals and their impenetrably dense no-fi production, these seven relentless displays of attitude, aggression and antagonism are the musical equivalent of being slowly stalked by a feral predator. Or at least various members of Swans, Stooges and PigsX7. But with a saxophone. Duck and cover...

Read the rest here:  The Tinnitist

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21 Sept 2020

Metalstorm reviews DEAFBRICK


They say:

It was only a matter of time before Deafkids collaborated with at least one Cavalera.

It isn't Max Cavalera as much as I wish he would eventually make his way on a Deafkids record. Instead we get the second best Cavalera in form of his brother, Igor. He is mostly known for having been the drummer of Sepultura, and later of Cavalera Conspiracy, but something told me that he is a bit more versatile than just being a metal drummer when I found out that he drummed on the latest Ladytron record. Already being familiar with Deafkids and knowing that they would collaborate with a band called Petbrick, I had a similar moment finding out that Igor Cavalera was a member of that band as well. Now I am not yet afraid that he will start popping up doing drums in a bunch of projects I come across the same way Mike Portnoy does, but it was still a bit surprising. Regardless, Petbrick is a duo of him and Wayne Adams, who seems to be the one member most involved in noise rock projects, none of which I'm familiar with yet. Deafkids, you should know them by now.

Read the rest here: Metal Storm

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Listen to Julie's Haircut's compiled mix for Frame

Here is a mix compiled by Nicola from Julie's Haircut for Frame

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The Sleeping Shamen reviews GNOD & João Pais Filipe – Faca De Fogo


They say:

Mancunian noise psych legends Gnod first met João Pais Filipe at the Milhoes De Festa music festival in Barcelos in North Portugal, initially intrigued by a gong he’d made in the shape of a skateboard which formed part of an exhibition. The genesis of the collaboration epitomes the spirit of improvisation with three days of rehearsals forming the basic bare bones of the tracks, while an incendiary live show explored this even further. Eventually this was recorded over four days in João’s metal workshop with minimal overdubbing.

Faca De Fogo is being released by Rocket Recordings, not only home to Gnod but also such luminaries as Pigs X 7, Sex Swing and Kooba Tercu, all of whom I’ve reviewed for The Shaman. The cover is suitably psych as you’d expect and features the four elements, earth, air, fire and water, all of which tie into the album’s tracklisting. Faca De Terra (earth) which opens is the longest track on the album and is something of a percussive delight. The earth element is especially appropriate as there is something earthy and organic about the music. I could envisage a hippy type commune dancing round the fire at Stonehenge or Glastonbury (before it became hyper commercial), it’s a track that connects the listener to the natural world. A lovely atmospheric opener...

Read the rest here: Sleeping Shamen

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Birthday Cake for Breakfast reviews DEAFBRICK


They say:

‘DEAFBRICK’ is a collaboration between two bands who don’t fit into existing styles. There’s PETBRICK, the London-based duo Iggor Cavalera and Wayne Adams, and there’s DEAFKIDS, the Rio De Janeiro-based trio of Douglas Leal, Marcelo Dos Santos, and Mariano Sarine. PETBRICK are heavy music made with no guitar. Adams plays moody, distorted synths over Cavalera’s complex, energetic drumming. DEAFKIDS started out as a heavy hardcore band but quickly became something much more interesting and genre-defying, incorporating elements of psychedelic music, noise rock and genuine noise, and polyrhythmic percussion from Brazilian music. Both bands make music that sounds like no one else, music that is fully their own. Now they’ve joined forces.

Both these bands are very creative and resist summary, so I’m omitting a lot by boiling them down, but I think doing so helps to get at how their collaboration works: at the heart of their sound, PETBRICK are an aggressive high energy rock band that makes you want to move, while DEAFKIDS are a heavy experimental drone band that invites you to a trance state through layers of noise collage (it’s similar to what hypnotists sometimes call sensory overload induction – while they play harsh music, it can be oddly comforting, like a weighted blanket made of sound). ‘DEAFBRICK’ draws on all of these elements, but combines these musicians’ artistry into something genuinely unique to their collaboration...

Read the rest here: BCFB

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Sounds From The Darkside reviews Kooba Tercu


They say:

Are you ready for the modern age in which hypersheep will be our foremost enemies? No? Well, you better read on anyway because Kooba Tercu latest is not to be missed. 

Although members of Kooba Tercu partly come from London, the band is mainly seen as a collective that hails from Greece. Kooba Tercu sprouted from the mind of the Athens-based Johnny Tercu a decade ago. In a way he created a sanctuary for musicians who are busy with other music endeavors but every now and then come together in Kooba Tercu to jam together various forms of kraut, stoner, African rhythms, noise and psych. These jams are fueled by the difficult Greek social-economic issues and thus are known for their viciousness but also hold hope for the future. On their third record, Proto Tekno, the band looks to the future by addressing the struggles between culture and nature, underdevelopment and technology, opposition and connectedness. This philosophical approach is nicely visualized on the album cover. Still for us it’s mainly the music that counts so let’s check what Proto Tekno’s 8 tracks sonically has to offer...

Read the rest here: SFTD

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17 Sept 2020

Record Turnover say some words about GÅS


They say:

Gås is a new band from Sweden and have a single out soon on UK label Rocket, where they’ll be joining Swedish bands like Goat and Hills. Like Hills, they play a heavily fuzzed-out prog rock, but with a sound that smacks of 1970 and bands like Aguaturbia or Six Feet Under. There’s also a distinct British tinge to “Epitaph”, which is out next month but already sold out. Think Skin Alley or Andwella’s Dream – in fact the b-side “The North Wind Blew South” is a cover of a Philamore Lincoln track originally released on 1970. Naturally, there’s also a connection to some of the Swedish “progg” bands that usually sang in Swedish, like Charlie & Esdor.

Read the rest here: Record Turnover

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16 Sept 2020

Fragmented Flaneur reviews DEAFBRICK


They say:

I mean what the fuck are you supposed to do?

I didn’t have a lot of hope coming into 2020 as we slid further into the arms of a right wing embargo cult that preferred to mire us in a pointless culture war in the name of ‘independence’ and ‘national pride’… with every slice of the corporate knife meaning more of our lives become monetised…

Then before we know it we’re confined to our homes… limited in our movement… reliant on those very people that we abhor to make decisions and provide the vital public services that all of a sudden become critical… I mean what the fuck ARE you supposed to do?

For many of us 2020 has all the appeal of a rancid boil that needs to be lanced… we need an outlet we need to see our frustrations explode… into anything really… we need to exfoliate our lives in an era where every indoor public space has become some sort of mask-wearing dystopia…

We just want to explode!

What… I hear you wondering… has this got to do with this album…

Because I write about music I very rarely get to hear an album for the first time on vinyl… I receive the promo files and get to hear those first… With Deafbrick, however, I never got to do this… so when it came I found a rare hour when I was alone in the house… turned the amp up and let it rip…

Read the rest here: Fragmented Flaneur

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Cvlt Nation reveal video for new $hit & $hine single 'Devil's Backbone'


The lovely people at Cvlt Nation have just revealed a brand new $hit & $hine video for 'Devil's Backbone' – the second single to be released from their forthcoming Rocket album 'Malibu Liquor Store'.

The new album is released on 9 October and you can watch the incredible video (created by Mike Bourne from Teeth of the Sea) here:

Cvlt Nation

Our Rocket shop preorder of the ltd edition 'Malibu Liquor Store' LP has sold out but you can preorder the Blue/Red Swirl vinyl via your local record shop.

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Craig Clouse - the Austin-based sage of the aurally unclean also known as $hit & $hine – has been busily channelling a lockdown-birthed psychic landscape into this mighty ‘Malibu Liquor Store’ album.

$hit & $hine cares not for your definitions of psych or dance music, and he’s never more comfortable than when transcending and annihilating both generic headspaces with casual ease and cheerful panache. Instead, these heat-damaged jams mark a spectral collision course between infectious glitch-heavy groove and an appropriately Texan acid-flashback aesthetic - a world in the last fifty years of culture are reflected and refracted back ad absurdum.

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14 Sept 2020

Onda Rock reviews Sex Swing's Type II


They say:

New piece of the creative chaos that is ennobling the record production of the most difficult year of the last twenty years, Sex Swing integrate the mosaic of the most uncompromising rock language with a noise-rock project that makes the ears water, transmutes brutality into carnal poetry and panics all those who are convinced that minimalism is the most transgressive and cool sound language of the current generation.

It is difficult to imagine in today's panorama a more intense and creative noise-rock album than “Type II”. Songs like "Betting Shop" are like a magma that rises and grows up to incorporate rock'n'roll, psychedelia, punk, hard, metal, but above all fears and alienations that gush out like fireworks, leaving an emotional void between the more powerful post-Stooges.

Each song makes use of sound stratifications that renew and modify the concept of sonic maximalism, keeping at bay the cacophonic distortions of the shocking jam-rock normality that stir the crescendo of "The Passover", or trying to disrupt the rough and hypnotic Korn style riffs / Kyuss making them even more raw and aggressive, up to a thrilling final apotheosis. To this sublimation of rock'n'roll catharsis contribute not..

Read the rest here: Onda Rock

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In Phase interviews J. Zunz


They say:

Last month saw us cover J. Zunz’s rework of Pigs x7’s track Hell’s Teeth in our Track of the Day series, an incredible piece of work. 

This week we caught up with J. (Lorena) and discussed her songwriting process, love for analog gear, the importance of great working relationships in the creation process and more! 

Corey: So, I noticed that you currently live in Ensenada, Baja California, México. That seems like a world away from Rocket Recordings and Sonic Cathedral Recordings whom are obviously UK based. Compared to your experience with Captcha, do any issues arise from the distance and time zones, or is it actually quite easy to plan tour dates, flights, album promotion etc. in the digital age?

J. Zunz: There hasn’t been any issue at all from my side, both labels are super well organised, very professional and they have tons of experience. I just try not to disappear from them and to answer every email as soon as I can. I’m also very lucky that I have always had a booking agent in Europe and UK, so everything is easy and smooth. Prior every tour, we just have to sort out some details like the flights, merch printing, van rental etc.

Even with the distance factor and the extra expenses, I think it has been easier for us to tour Europe and the UK than the US. Let’s see how it goes with the new work visa in the UK.

Corey: I saw that you said you had been working on the album since last year. I’m wondering if this was whilst writing / touring with Lorelle Meets the Obsolete? If so, was it fairly easy to decide what songs were solo songs and what were band songs? I’m also interested in where you were writing and if that had any significant effect on the shape of the album?...

Read the rest here: In Phase

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John Robb interviews Kavus and Steve


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11 Sept 2020

Iggor DJ set for Vinyl Factory


Listen to this special vinyl dj set with added modular improvisations by Iggor he did for the Vinyl Factory...tracklist is:

1. Gasparotti – Instantanea .3 (Dio Drone Records)
2. Medium – Eluvium (Zuckerman Museum of Art)
3. Deafbrick – O Antropoceno (Neurot Records)
4. Vatican Shadow – Archbishop 911 (Hospital Productions)
5. Paisel – Cause Yourself to Rise, Gong (Rocket Recordings)
6. O/H – Poverty Line (Lies Records)
7. Gnod – Stick in the Wheel (Rocket Recordings)
8. Bad Girl – Cosmi (Dio Drone)
9. Merzbow – TD3 (Relapse Records)
10. Nosferatu – The Plague (Silva Screen Records)
 
Read more here: Vinyl Factory

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Lot's of love for Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs new video for 'Hell's Teeth'


Yesterday we revealed Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs new video for latest single Hell's Teeth, created by the animated talents of Lucy Dyson – and here's some love for it:

DIY Magazine

Backseat Mafia

Outburn Magazine

Stereoboard

Under the Radar

Discovered Magazine

Mystic Sons

Latest album Viscerals can be picked up here: pigsx7.com

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Fragmented Flaneur say their appreciation of Paisiel's Unconcsious Death Wishes album


They say:

When I wrote about Paisiel’s previous, self-titled, album (here) I was particularly struck by its easy eclecticism. I enjoyed how the Portuguese-based duo (João Pais Filipe & Julius Gabriel) moved seamlessly between musical styles in a way that was just so deep and fulfilling. Indeed, I thought so much of that album that it made it onto my ‘Essential’ list for last year.

Since that release Filipe has put out an excellent record with Manchester experimentalists GNOD (Rocket Recordings, here); and Gabriel a superb, more jazz-oriented, album on Creative Sources Recordings (here). But it’s when they come together that I find them to be at their most captivating.

The two apparently met back in 2014, following a chance encounter in a record shop where they found that they shared musical ideas, and while drums (Filipe) and Saxophone (Gabriel) are perhaps not the most natural of starting points for experimental music… they have certainly managed to produce something again here that fells very accomplished and organic.

This is essentially one long improvised track, and I’m commenting here on the uninterrupted digital version rather than the slightly edited one that will appear on the vinyl release. It begins with a long drone and seagulls, adds a rather marvellous and soporific organ after around four minutes before going stepping up into some crazy fragmented fiesta a few minutes later. Once again I am struck by the eclecticism on display… and how it works so well together...

Read the rest here: Fragmented Flaneur

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10 Sept 2020

Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs reveal rocking new animated video


Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs share a brand new animated video for their latest single, "Hell's Teeth" made by filmmaker, Lucy Dyson. The track is the third single taken from their amazing album Viscerals which came out in April. Watch the video in all its glory above.

Buy the bands latest album Visceral on ltd LP' and CD – plus back catalogue, merch and gig tickets via here: www.pigsx7.com

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Lucy Dyson says of the video: "When I first heard this song I had the vision that is now the video - just watch, I'm sure you'll agree! It was so much fun to create visuals for this ultimately positive song carried along on a riff that sounds like a straight pipe from hell. It's a heavy rock song that is pretty funny in tone, so I focused on the humour in the lyrics to make these rock monsters that actually seem like nice dudes - like metalheads, they look scary but they always turn out to be chill bros - they just wanna rock together in peace." 

She adds "As apocalyptic as the world may seem, working together, maybe we can still enjoy the ride, (though how we all miss the communion of a big sweaty rock concert!), for the time being, we can at least blast loud music in our cars. Speaking of, the car in this video is a homage to my parent’s 1970s kelly green Ford Falcon, in which as a child, my formative taste for rock n roll was made."

Vocalist Matt Baty explains: "'Hell's Teeth' is an ode to eccentrics, dreamers and outsiders. It's for those who are delirious, those who are bewildered, those who are at odds with the foreboding world that surrounds them but against the tide, find the energy to express themselves and support each other with great love, integrity, empathy and passion. Let's rock!" 

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Astral Noize reviews DEAFBRICK


They say:

For fans of psychedelic, digitised reimaginings of punk, 2019 was defined by two acts – Brazilian trio Deafkids, signed to Neurosis’ own Neurot Recordings, and London duo Petbrick, formed by thrash legend Iggor Cavalera and producer extraordinaire Wayne Adams (of Ladyscraper and Big Lad fame). Both the former’s third LP Metaprogramação and the latter’s full-length debut I were album of the year contenders, sharing a vaguely similar sound and an ethos of resistance, whether it’s against genre boundaries or the societal status quo. 

When the two collaborated at Roadburn that year, their varied influences coalesced into a primal, spiritual performance of mind-altering magnitude driven by driving percussion, formless synth soundscapes, chanted vocals and raw d-beat guitars. In that moment it felt like lightning in a bottle, but with the two acts meeting up in Adams’ London studio later that year to record an eagerly anticipated collaborative album, that bottle has now been packaged and shipped, and you’re gonna want to get a crate in... 

Read the rest here: Astral Noize

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9 Sept 2020

The Chicago Reader say some words about Deafbrick


They say:

Music festivals as we’ve known them may be in jeopardy due to a virus, but festival culture keeps on giving: this summer’s bounty includes Deafbrick, the new album by brain-rattling São Paulo psych-punk trio Deafkids and maniacal London-based electro-noise-rock duo Petbrick, aka musician and producer Wayne Adams and Sepultura and Cavalera Conspiracy drummer Iggor Cavalera. The record grew out of the bands’ friendship, which led to a collaborative performance at the 2019 Roadburn Festival in Tilburg, Netherlands. I was lucky enough to be there and catch about half of their headliner-length set, which merged two fantastically loud, brutally noisy, and uncompromisingly subversive bands; if memory serves, my exact impression was “holy shit.” Deafbrick, which features original material the collaborators recorded at Adams’s studio in London before Deafkids flew home to Brazil, is more than just lightning in a bottle—it’s alchemized into something even better. When your outfit includes two of the most powerful drummers and percussionists in heavy music, you let their talents fly, and right from wordless opener “Primeval I,” Cavalera and Deafkids’ Mariano de Melo (a multi-instrumentalist who recently released a solo album as Sarine) use theirs to suck you into the group’s universe. 

That track’s moody, shimmery synths and fuzzed-out whispers are the proverbial calm before the storm, even as they lead into hypnotic double drums; the next few take you on a sweaty, psychotropic adventure that seems to ping-pong between the cosmos, big-city back alleys, and quite possibly the bowels of hell, seeming equally at home in every environment. The haunting “The Menace of the Dark Polar Night” layers plodding beats and jittery video-game squeals, while “Máquina Obssessivo-Compulsiva” erupts in harsh industrial fury. The group also pay tribute to their DIY and Brazilian roots by adding a hand-percussion-laced groove to a version of prescient antifacist punk classic “Free Speech for the Dumb,” by D-beat pioneers Discharge (whose members join in on the fade-out to offer some “honest feedback” about the cover). Deafbrick is barely contained antiauthoritarian music of the highest order, and it already has me mentally fast-forwarding through this bumpy patch of life on Earth to imagine what Deafkids and Petbrick could come up with on a follow-up. 

See the piece here: The Chicago Reader

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The Sleeping Shamen reviews Deafbrick


They say:

Less a meeting of the minds and more a melting of collective brains, the pairing of Brazil psych-core squad Deaf Kids and London based duo Petbrick (one half of whom being another Brazilian in the form of former Sepultura skin smasher Igor Cavalera) was never going to yield anything less than exciting results. Neither faction has a particular interest in musical boundaries beyond perhaps erasing them. Mutating from their initial collaboration at Roadburn, the conglomerate have harnessed their rambunctious sonic ooze into studio format for an album that sounds like fireworks going off inside the head of an enormous Dalek. These lads do not give a fuck about your hearing. They’re interested in raising your pulse.

Beginning like any good space journey should, the opening Primeval I is like a musical portrait of mission control preparing a rocket for takeoff, building tension and expectation as the immensity of the operation at hand sinks in. When the good ship Deafbrick launches skyward on the aptly named electronics and D-beat attack of Força Bruta, it’s as exhilarating as you’d hope. It feels like a modern re-tooling of the kind of adrenalin boosting industrial/metal bomb blast that late 80s Ministry excelled at (think Flashback). But this is just the start, not the template...

Read the rest here: Sleeping Shamen

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8 Sept 2020

Echoes and Dust reviews J. Zunz - Hibiscus


They say:

As summer dribbled away, dark clouds more befitting of 2020’s mood scampered into place along the British skyline. Concurrent with this meteorological shift arrives J Zunz’s Hibiscus. One half of the hypnotic psychonauts Lorelle Meets The Obsolete, J Zunz (real name Lorena Quintanilla) has eschewed collaboration this time in favour of a deeply personal delve into her own psyche. What emerges is something nuanced, confident, and throbbing with paranoia.

The penultimate track – ‘America Is A Continent’ – is a prime example of the tone that J Zunz is plumping for on this record. A panicked heartbeat of a kick drum tattoos an anxious thud out of the speakers. Her vocals swoop and rattled bones echo off of narrow walls whilst muted bursts of distortion enter without permission. Night rides in with gin-soaked breath, rapidly replacing agoraphobia with something even more appalling...

Read the res here: E&D

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7 Sept 2020

Watch footage from the first and only ever Autotelia show


Here's footage from the first and only ever Autotelia show recorded at the Bunker in Brussels.

You can buy the Autotelia album from your local record shop or from the Bandcamp here: Autotelia

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Listen to J. Zunz latest CAMP Radio show


Here's J. Zunz latest show for CAMP Radio - music is mainly all culled from the contemporary underground scene in México

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6 Sept 2020

20 years ago today


20 years ago today John and Chris were in San Francisco to watch The Heads play a blinding show as part of their one and only US tour – this is the poster Kozik made for the night...not a bad line-up!!

You can actually watch the show it in all it's glory here: 

Heads Live

You may notice Paul is wearing the famous Rocket 'Big Muff' shirt – they were hot off the press that night and this was its first ever public wearing!

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4 Sept 2020

Fuzzy Sun and Raven Sings the Blues say some words about GÅS

They say:

Raven Sings The Blues:
An absolute shredder is handed down from Rocket Recordings today. The label has a knack for unearthing UK/EU heavies and GÅS fits in quite nicely with their stellar catalog. The Swedish band’s first single, “Epitaph” melds heavy fuzz, pounding at the heart with a slight lilt of English prog to it. Aesthetically they’re mashing a bit of Danish sludge rockers Moses with Sweden’s own Charlie & Esdor, though once those vocals kick in I’m getting some Wolf People nods as well. Those English psych-folk tones feel like they might be key here, as the band covers an old nugget, Philamore Lincoln’s “The North Wind Blew South” on the flip. It sets them apart from your average smoke shoveler. A huge debut single that begs to keep an eye on these guys. Get this on the table next to some Goat singles and that new hard hitter from Ball and you’re all set. Physical pre-orders are up tomorrow and the single lands Oct 30th.
See the post here: RSTB

Fuzzy Sun
Now and then Rocket Recordings hits the perfect spot for me and they did exactly that with this Swedish band that I never heard of before. GÅS will release their 7″ on October 30 on Rocket Recordings. The track that is up for a listen is called ‘Epitaph’ and is gorgeous heavy psych with a vintage feel. A truly remarkable track with gorgeous vocals. Check it out now.
See post here: Fuzzy Sun

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DEAFBRICK released today


"A truly thrilling record."
The Quietus

"Absolutely pummelling." Brooklyn Vegan

"Fucking thrilling." The Wire

"Assault on the senses." Revolver


Today sees the release of DEAFBRICK – the debut collaborative album by Deafkids and Petbrick.

The album is available to buy on Red/Black Splatter vinyl ltd 500 copies from your local record shop or from Bandcamp here:

Bandcamp

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The new decade is eight months old, and the only certainty is that certainties have ceased to exist. Yet as we traverse through new and intimidating terrain unfamiliar a short while ago, two collaborators have come together to unwittingly create a record curiously suited to an intimidating and unpredictable new era. ‘Deafbrick’, the multiplication sum of Säo Paulo’s sonic warriors Deafkids and London’s pulverising duo Petbrick is a veritable force against adversity, and less a polite meeting of minds than a fiery collision whose impact and incandescence extend beyond the horizon. 

The project first came to light by way of a collaboration at Roadburn Festival, which in itself was the result of the friendship between Deafkids and Petbrick’s Iggor Cavalera (also of Sepultura/Soulwax/Cavalera Conspiracy) who had met the band in Brazil, “We had so much fun doing the collab and there was a real chemistry between the five of us, so it seemed like a natural progression to actually get into a studio together and write a record.” – reckons Petbrick’s Wayne Adams (also of Big Lad/Death Pedals).

The results run the gamut through a litany of uniformly invigorating audial landscape – this is an arena where Deafkids’ appetite for lysergic punk-damaged tumult and Petbrick’s ventures into dystopian synth-driven soundscapes can happily engage in gladiatorial contest. From the unearthly percussive clangour of ‘Hyperkinetic Mass Disordert’ to the DHR-addled chaos of the paint-stripping ‘Mega Ritual’, every second of ‘Deafbrick’ is infused with malevolent charisma and iconoclastic élan. 

Yet perhaps the ultimate destructive moment of this particular demolition derby comes via a thrillingly monomaniacal take on Discharge’s ‘Free Speech For The Dumb. Not that it necessarily met the approval of Discharge themselves, who make a cameo appearance on the song’s outro. “I asked them to record some quotes saying how much they hated our version” laughs Iggor. “One of them even said that Metallica did a better job. That really freaked me out!”

Metallica, it’s fair to say objectively, do not do a better job.

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Celebrating Bandcamp's 'No Revenue Day' for September


Today is another Bandcamp 'No Revenue' day

So as always, today is a great time to buy some Rocket albums and shirts - some releases we wanna bring to your attention are:

GÅS – GÅS 7"
On Black/Clear 'splatter' or Yellow vinyl with free badge – one for you fuzz wah fans!

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

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

GOAT – Commune LP
Special ltd 'Silver edition' reissue on silver/blue swirl vinyl and new artwork

Deafkids & Petbrick – Deafbrick LP
This is released today – pick-up on ltd splatter LP

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

Autotelia – I LP
Ltd Black/White striped vinyl

Sex Swing – Type II LP
On Ltd edition swirl vinyl

Kooba Tercu – Proto Tekno LP
On Ltd edition clear vinyl

Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs – Viscerals and T-shirts
Latest album on ltd colour vinyl + ltd edition 'Lets Rock' and 'King of Cowards' T-shirts

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

Bandcamp

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3 Sept 2020

GOAT's World Music in this Vinyl Me Please 'The 10 Best Psychedelic Rock Albums To Own On Vinyl'



They say:

Goat - World Music
A largely mythologized outfit, Goat are a collective of mask-clad Swedish musicians who hail from Korpilombolo, a tiny village in Northern Sweden that supposedly - at least according to the band - has a deep-rooted and omnipresent connection to voodooism. Their debut album proper, World Music, comes on like a kaleidoscopic slap in the face of Western elitism, eschewing rock archetypes and embracing non-Western instrumentation and dynamics. Central to the concept of Goat is fluidity; they believe that all musicians of Korpilombolo were Goat, and their line up fluctuates on a near yearly basis - you just hope that Goat’s contempt for Western mediocrity trickles down to their listeners. Astral folk compositions such as the latter third of “Goatman” allow respite from the unabated tribal rhythms that take centre stage, but World Music is by and large a record that uses hypnotic grooves to capture curious ears and throw them mercilessly into the deep end of experimental Afrobeat. World Music is a record in which you sink helplessly rather than indulge in.

See the full list here: Vinyl Me Please

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Introducing the debut release by new Swedish band GÅS


Introducing GÅS...

A new band from Sweden and this, their debut release is the limited edition single simply called GÅS.

Listen to 'Epitaph'– the first track to be revealed exclusively via Psychedelic Baby Magazine:

Psychedelic Baby Magazine

The single can be preordered this Friday (as part of Bandcamp's 'No Revenue Day') on ltd Black/Clear Splatter vinyl (Ltd 100 copies) and Yellow vinyl with a free badge (Ltd 100 copies) from here:

Rocket Bandcamp

A further 200 copies of yellow vinyl will make their way to your local record shops.

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The Swedish word ‘GÅS’ has two known meanings - one is ‘goose’, the Mythical mighty animal and the other is street slang for ‘smoking weed’. Though there may now be a third new meaning, and that would be ‘heavy and loud’.

The 7”starts with Epitaph, a 4 minute + track, rammed full of incredible ‘Rocket trademark’ fuzz-wah immersions from twin lead guitars. The early 70s rock inspired vibe is reminiscent of classic Black Sabbath and Blue Cheer but also has a ‘commune-dwelling’ sound of the German bands from that same era. Acts like Amon Duul ll and Agitation Free spring to mind – as well as their Swedish contemporaries Arbete & Fritids, International Harvester and Rävjunk.

The B-side ‘The North Wind Blew South’ is, in fact, a cover version, originally by the British band Philamore Lincoln, who made one album in 1970. GÅS move the intimate, string driven pop song into a fuzz filled sing-along anthem with its feet firmly set in the Swedish psych scene.

GÅS are a perfect addition to the list of mind altering Swedish bands that are already on the Rocket roster. So if you have GOAT, Hills, Flowers Must Die, Och, Centrum and Josefin Öhrn + The Liberation records in your collection, then this 7” is for you. 




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2 Sept 2020

Echoes and Dust reviews DEAFBRICK LP


They say:

I’ve been a fan of Deaf Kids and also of Wayne Adams’ various forms of output for quite a while now, but I’ve not really had the opportunity to cover anything proper from either so far. I’ll say going into it that I’m not familiar with any of Igor Cavelera’s work aside from Petbrick, but from what I’ve heard he’s really fucking good. At the moment, I’m valuing heavy music a lot more, I really believe in the importance of art as catharsis and social commentary working hand-in-hand and I feel like anything that is not soul-crushing in this era is really just escapism that doesn’t really do anything for me. Having recently reviewed new albums from Sex Swing, Radar Men From The Moon, Oranssi Pazuzu and Boris, I’m really interested to see just how 2020 this collaboration is and I have a feeling it’s going to be pretty fucking relentless.


After a slow-burning intro ‘Forca Bruta’ pours jet fuel on the album, slamming thrash metal infused post-psyche brutality into the listeners brain with the force of a falling piano. It has a similar vibe to Chaudelande-era Gnod in the way the guitars and vocals sit, which works for me. Overall, as a second track kind of functioning as a first, it’s fucking nuts and I love it...

Read the rest here: E&D

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The Quietus stream IMPATV's video for GNOD & João Pais Filipe track 'Faca De Fogo'



As revealed before, IMPATV created videos for three of the tracks taken from GNOD & João Pais Filipe's album 'Faca De Fogo' and you can watch the third video, for title track 'Faca De 'Fogo' above.

See what The Quietus say about it here: The Quietus

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Listen to DEAFBRICK album in full via Cvlt Nation ahead of Fridays release


"A truly thrilling record." The Quietus

"Absolutely pummelling." Brooklyn Vegan

"Fucking thrilling." The Wire

"Assault on the senses." Revolver

This Friday sees the release of DEAFBRICK – the debut collaborative album by Deafkids and Petbrick. And you can listen to the album in full now via the lovely people at Cvlt Nation.

Listen here: Cvlt Nation

The Ltd LP can be preordered via Rocket here: Rocket
American audiences can preorder via Neurot Recordings here: Neurot 

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Listen to Gnoomes Remixes playlist


Gnoomes are quite prolific remixers and when we were compiling our own Rocket Remixes playlist we were reminded on how amazing many of Gnoomes remixes were so we thought it made absolute sense to put together a playlist of remixes solely by Gnoomes.

Listen and enjoy here: Gnoomes Remixes


The band are playing Moscow Music Week tonight, so if you are there, make sure you check them out! Moscow Music Week

We also have some Gnoomes albums still for sale over at our Bandcamp – you can pick up ltd LP's and CDs of Tschak! and Mu! 

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The Quietus reviews Autotelia's album


They say:

Speaking to The Guardian in 2016, Martin Fry of ABC said that David Bowie's Blackstar resembled a special kind of double album. There was the first one we experienced on Friday 8 January and were able to enjoy in blissful ignorance over the weekend: a spectacular rejuvenation on which Bowie sounded more fired-up than he had in decades. The prodigal Duke returns! Then there was the album we heard after learning of Bowie's death a couple of days later which, as Fry put it, "was his tombstone".

Autotelia is the joint project of The Oscillation's Demian Castellanos and Tom Relleen (also of Tomaga). Their debut album, I, was released at the end of July and judging by its title it should have been the first of many. A few days ago it was announced that Relleen had passed away after receiving a cancer diagnosis back in March. Presumably the album was cooked up before then, so perhaps the Blackstar comparison is moot. Even so, the experience of listening to Autotelia's debut has suddenly become a far more upsetting one.


Although the record is a gently unfolding blanket of sound, there is a vibrant effervescence to Autotelia's kosmische sound-shapes. The suite-like instrumentals will wrap themselves around you, inspiring deep-thought relaxation, without boring anybody's pants off. Furthermore, each of the five tracks has its own distinct flavour.

Read the rest here: The Quietus

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