Rocket Probes – May 2022 playlist

The Utopia Strong – Castalia
(A massive euphoric banger!)
The Utopia Strong

J. Zunz – Outsides
(Immersive ambience and a cacophony of repetitious guitar fuzz – great new track from J.Zunz)
J. Zunz

Holy Scum – A World About To Die
(Second reason why you need this fog of momentous noise in your record collections)
Holy Scum

Petbrick – Ayan
(Mighty and unique tribal techno sounds + remixes from Surgeon and Cardopusher)
Petbrick

Oneida – I Wanna Hold Your Electric Hand
(The big O are back!!!)
Oneida

Kikagaku Moyo – Kumoyo Island
(Great last album by this incredibly talented bunch)
Kikagaku Moyo

Cassels – Your Humble Narrator
(Great slice of repetition!)
Cassels 

Elena Colombi b2b Phuong Dan – Transmission to Tisno
(Two of our fave DJs go back to back for Crack Mag)
Elena Colombi b2b Phuong Dan

Hakki Bulut – Ben koyluyum
(Turkish psych sounds)
Hakki Bulut

Michel Moulinié - L'écho de l'acier
(Cosmique repetitions from '78)
Michel Moulinié

Cheri Knight – Prime Numbers
(Nice repetitions – via Jenifer Lucy Allen column in the Quietus)
Cheri Knight 

Spacecraft – Paradoxe
(Interstellar cosmique sounds)
Spacecraft 

Bo Hansson – De svarta ryttarna
(Classic Swedish psych)
Bo Hansson

Pharaoh Overlord – Slow City
(Repetitions from 2000)
Pharaoh Overlord

Vox Populi! – Caballo Blanco
(From a great collection of unreleased Vox Populi! Tracks)
Vox Populi!

Various – Deep Cuts
(Comp of experimental, electronic sounds from India)
Deep Cuts

Faust – Morning Land
(Slightly different version of the killer track from Munich Everywhere/71 miuntes – from the Punkt album)
Faust 

Studio Master – Car Boot Sex Tape
(Great bit of funky-psych library Music unearthed by Johnny Trunk)
Studio Master

Księżyc – Rabbit Eclipse
(Great recommendation from Paddy Shine)
Księżyc

Quiet Road – Rest Comfortably
(Glam stomp rock)
Quiet Road

Chew – Holy Fountain
(New on Stolen Body)
Chew

James Brown – Super Bad Pts. 1, 2 & 3
(Essential groove)
James Brown

Ayal Senior – Az Yashir
(Acoustic, electronic and fuzzed mantras)
Ayal Senior

Mijal & White – I've Been You
(Garage pop)
Mijal & White

Ecstatic Vision – Times Up
(Stoogewind)
Ecstatic Vision

Basil Kirchin – Silicon Chip
(More great music unearthed by Jonny Trunk – check the whole comp)
Basil Kirchin

Laddie Bolocko – 97-99 / Live & Unreleased 1997-2000
(Like many of you we expect – been lapping up these two collections of avant rock sounds)
Laddie Bolocko

Vangelis – The Dragon
(Rest In Power)
Vangelis

Listen to and follow our updated monthly Rocket Probes Spotify playlist:

 

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Alison Cotton reveals second track from forthcoming album 'The Portrait You Painted of Me'

As announced before, we are extremely proud to be releasing Alison Cotton's forthcoming album 'The Portrait You Painted of Me' on Rocket Recordings (released on Feeding Tube in the USA) on 17 June.

We are now happy to be able to share with you the second full track to be revealed from the album 'I Buried The Candlesticks'. An absorbing track that has a haunted,  feel with its dolorously folky viola melody laid across a thick carpet harmonium, and small bursts of percussion that sound like cannonade heard through the thick cold walls of a castle in winter. Listen above.

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'The Portrait You Painted of Me' is available to preorder on ltd edition 'Burnt Birch Vinyl' via the link below. There is also a ltd edition 'Black Vinyl' version going to shops:

Bandcamp

For US fans, the ever great Feeding Tube Records will be releasing an 'Orange Vinyl' version via their shop.

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See Alison's incredible live set at these up-and-coming shows:

June 25 / Coventry / Just Dropped In
July 3 / Feanedock /  Timber Festival
July 6 / Leeds /  Wharf Chambers
July 7 / Glasgow / Hug & Pint
July 8 / Preston / The New Continental
July 9 / Manchester / The Gullivers
July 10 / Sheffield / Bishop’s House
July 15 / Bristol / Crofter’s Rights
July 16 / Chelmsford / Hot Box
August 26-28 / London / Raw Power Festival
September 7 / Berlin / Kiezsalon Festival

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Och's new album Pö om pö is released today

"Distills kaleidoscopic rapture and oracular intensity."

"Soundtracking a mysterious ceremony on a medieval planet."

"Take an existential trip through the dimensions."

Swedish trio OCH release their new album Pö om pö today pick-up a copy of the ltd edition 'Ceremony Purple' vinyl from your local record shop or from here:

Bandcamp

Watch the great video for the band's first single from the album 'Bolid' here: 

Youtube

Pö om pö (meaning ‘little by little’) is a journey further into inner space from ‘II’, the band's previous album. It’s a still more expansive and vibrant transmission from the ether which distills kaleidoscopic rapture and oracular intensity from a variety of sources. The excursions here are jam-based in origin but lucid in approach, crepuscular in aspect but uplifting in effect.

Dwelling in a smoke-clouded glow that’s equal parts sunset gold and effects pedal red, OCH have here transcended all influences to create a tapestry of potent psychotropic sound. A record in which new horizons open up beyond the small hours, and where primeval wah-wah-abetted skronk and mantric folk-tinged repetition can collude to reveal new third-eye perceptions. Little By Little, Pö om pö, these forty minutes are here to bridge the chasms between conscious and subconscious, and in style.

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Watch Rubber Oh perform previously unheard track 'Humans' live in Blank Studios

Rubber Oh, the new band put together by Sam Grant from Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs release their debut album 'Strange Craft' next week. 

Whilst during their rehearsals at Blank Studio for their up-and-coming live shows the band recorded a couple of tracks from the album – following the footage of 'Little Demon', we are now revealing a previously unheard album track 'Humans'.

You can watch the live footage above.

See Rubber Oh live:

June 02 / Manchester/ YES
June 03 / London/ The Lexington
June 04 / Newcastle/ The Cluny 2

And you can preorder 'Strange Craft' on ltd vinyl and CD from the Bandcamp link below. Rough Trade are also selling a unique and exclusive version – or you can pick up the ltd yellow vinyl version from your local record shop:

Bandcamp

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Watch Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs recent performance at Blondies Bar

A couple of weeks ago Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs squeezed into the tiny Blondies bar in East London and played a very raucous show for Kerrang! and they had the clever idea of filming it which you can watch here:

Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs live at Blondies

This is what Kerrang! say about the footage:
Psych-doom heroes Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs bring their mind-wrangling mayhem to The K! Pit with our friends Dead Man's Fingers Rum at Blondies, our favourite London dive bar. You won’t be the same again after watching it!

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J. Zunz announces reveals second single 'Outisides' from haunting forthcoming album 'Del Aire'

J. Zunz – the solo project by Lorena Quintanilla from Lorelle meets The Obsolete has revealed the second single from her forthcoming album 'Del Aire', which is released on 24 June.

'Outsides' is a very different track to the glitchy post punk of last single ‘Ráfaga’. 'Outsides' begins with encapsulating, droning electronics and hushed vocals, but its immersive ambience is interrupted by a cacophony of repetitious guitar fuzz that takes the listener to a different realm to where they started. 'Outsides' is another example of J. Zunz's originality in her expressions of sound – incredible stuff.

Watch the video  for 'Outsides' made by Mexican artist Víctor Garay exclusively via Backseat Mafia:

Backseat Mafia

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'Del Aire' is available to preorder from Bandcamp on Ltd Edition 'Yellow vinyl':

Bandcamp

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Recorded in a vociferously windy area of Enseneda, Mexico, where Lorena spent a strict lockdown, ‘Del Aire’ exorcises the troubles she encountered during the period, in the process creating both what she describes as a “continuity and discontinuity” from ‘Hibiscus’, and extracting a similar, yet fresh strain of emotional complexity.

Through the mellifluous repetition, the cathartic buzzsaw moments and the elemental force of the album’s conceptual core, ‘Del Aire’ acts as an intimate echo chamber vicariously healing the listener’s wounds besides Lorena’s own.

J. Zunz is finally on tour in Europe in June/July:

29 June / BE / Antwerp / Het Bos
30 June / DE / Mannheim / Der Mannheim Kult
02 July / IT / Padova / Yucca Festival
03 July / IT / Torino / LivingRoom
04 July / FR / Lyon / Le Sonic
05 July / FR / Paris / Supersonic
07 July / UK / Bristol / Rough Trade
08 July / UK / Newcastle / Cobalt Studios
09/10 July / UK / Birmingham / Supersonic Festival
12 July / UK / Birkenhead / Future Yard
13 July / UK / Manchester / The Peer Hat
14 July / UK / London / The Victoria
15 July / UK / Ramsgate / Music Hall
17 July / DE / Bremen / MS Loretta
19 July / CZ / Prague / Underdogs
20 July / CZ / Rožnov pod Radhoštěm / Vratnice
21 July / PL / Warsaw / Chmury
22 July / PL / Bydgoszcz / Mozg
23 July / DE / Dresden / scheune Blechschloss
24 July / SK / Bratislava / Kulturak klub
26 July / HU / Szeged / Jazz Kocsma
27 July / AT / Graz / Cafe’ Wolf
28 July / SI / Ljubljana / Gromka
29 July / AT / Innsbruck / PMK
31 July / BE / Kortrijk / The Pit’s

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Petbrick's 'Ayan' EP is released today

Today sees the official release of Petbrick's first music of 2022.

‘Ayan’ – a new piece of music created by Petbrick - takes the duo’s love for techno, tribal rhythms, electronic experimentation and dystopian dread into an enthralling landscape of repetitious wonder.

Listen here:

Bandcamp    Spotify

Starting with ‘Premonition Mix’, this is a 9 minute+ excursion into incredible drumming, intertwined perfectly with mind bending synth patterns and sequences. Hushed vocals at the halfway ‘respite’ brings to mind Damo Suzuki from Can, before then launching the track into an intense cacophony of d’beat and acid techno, colluding to form a uniquely invigorating assault - a barrage that feels custom fit for this confusing age.

Surgeon shouldn’t need much introduction, but for those unaware, Surgeon is the moniker of Anthony Child – an electronic artist who has been at the forefront of UK techno since 1994. For his remix of ‘Ayan’ he picks-up the tracks formidable rhythms and transports them to a darkened dancefloor, extending the repetitious allure of the track and introducing a wonky but addictive melody that’s guaranteed to leave you wanting more.

The second electronic wizard to be let loose on the track is the Barcelona based producer Cardopusher – the cofounder of the Classicworks record label. Cardopusher takes ‘Ayan’ straight to the Berlin dungeon and hits you hard with heavy drums and classic rave signatures. You can feel the sweat of the basement and the glare of the strobes through the dense smoke from the moment you hear the first thuds ... and it does not let you free of its grip until the end.

Petbrick have never hidden their love for Aphex Twin and the cheeky nod on the cassette cover isn’t the only link to the electronic maestro on this EP. ‘Bubblelogue Mix’, the fourth and final version of ‘Ayan’, sees the duo take an Aphex approach to this rework of the track. The results could well be something you might expect to hear if Richard D. James had his way with Petbrick’s hard-drive, after throwing it down the stairs a few times first.

You will be pleased to know that ‘Ayan’ is just a little taster – there is far more to come from Petbrick in 2022, so watch this space for more opportunities to be invited into the duo’s boundary-free soundworld.

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GOAT announce more European shows

GOAT have revealed more European shows for November!

The band's full list of dates now reads (tickets for Hamburg, Cologne, Liege and Berlin go on sale at 10am (CEST) tomorrow – Friday 20th):

August 25 / London / All Points East Festival

August 26 / Helsinki / Helsinki Festival

November 8 / Hamburg / Knust

November 9 / Cologne / Kulturkirche

November 10 / Liége / Reflektor

November 11 / Kortrijk / Sonic City Festival

November 12 / Utrecht / Le Guess Who Festival

November 14 / Berlin / Festsaal Kreuzber

We have a handful of last copies of GOAT's latest album 'Headsoup' available on CD from this link below – though check your local record shop, there may still be some vinyl/CD copies floating around:

Bandcamp

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Holy Scum feat. GNOD, Dälek, and Action Beat members reveal second track from debut album

“Disturbing, ugly and seductively compelling, Strange Desires is a near perfect end of days soundtrack.” The Wire

Holy Scum, the four piece band featuring Mike Mare (Dälek,) Peter J Taylor (formerly of Action Beat), Chris Haslam (GNOD) and Jon Perry (GNOD) have just revealed 'A World About To Die –' the second track from their forthcoming 'Justin Broderick mastered' debut album 'Strange Desires', which is being released on 10 June. 

Watch the video for 'A World About To Die' made by Rocket's John O'Carroll and Jon Perry from the band here above.

'Strange Desires' is available to preorder on Ltd Edition 'Pink Fog' vinyl from Bandcamp:

Bandcamp

See Holy Scum on tour:

04 June / Birkenhead / Future Yard (w/ The Utopia Strong)
09 June / Preston The Ferret (w/ Dälek)
10 June / London Electrowerkz (w/ Dälek)
11 June / Birmingham Centrala (w/ Dälek)
12 June / Manchester White Hotel (w/ Dälek)
13 June / Newcastle Cluny (w/ Dälek)
14 June / Bristol The Lanes (w/ Dälek)
16 June / Glasgow Bloc+ (w/ Dälek)

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Initially solely a Manchester-based collaboration between Peter, Chris and Jon – Holy Scum’s debut album 'Strange Desires' is a collection of intense jam sessions from the trio recorded deep inside an old Victorian mill. These subsequent tracks were the pulled apart in production by one of half of legendary hip-hop duo Dälek, Mike Mare (aka Mike Manteca). Mile also provides the growling, guttural vocals that fight the elements around them.

The result is a thunderous tumult of sound – slabs of synapse-mangling noise that snarl their way through the scorched earth of Mare’s production. As the group howled and thrashed their way through the surrounding sonic fire, Mare kept his vocal takes to single run-throughs, keen to keep the spontaneity of the original sessions front and centre of the album.

'Strange Desires' is a record for the moment, and beyond. A celebration of the collaborative spirit in all of its twisted forms, and a howl amidst a world fallen off its axis. Holy Scum are unflinching in their confrontation of it, meeting fire with fire on this most stunning debut.

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GOAT announce two more Festival appearances

GOAT have ben confirmed to be playing Le Guess Who and Sonic City Festivals in November.

Info and tickets can be found here:

Sonic City / 11 November

Le Guess Who / 12 November

GOATs up-and-coming shows now are:

August 25 / London / All Points East Festival
August 26 / Helsinki / Helsinki Festival
November 11 / Kortrijk / Sonic City Festival
November 12 / Utrecht / Le Guess Who Festival

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$hit & $hine soundtrack Volcom Mountain bikes video

Wow, this is great!

Three banging $hit & $hine tracks from 'Malibu Liquor Store' LP soundtracking this Volcom Mountain bikes video.

Enjoy...

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The Utopia Strong reveal euphoric new single 'Castalia'

The Utopia Strong' anticipated new album 'International Treasure' is being released on 10 June and the band have just revealed a second track from the collection of songs.

The euphoric 'banger' of a track is called 'Castalia' and you can watch the absorbing video made by Teeth of the Sea's Mike Bourne above.

'International Treasure' is being released on LTD LP and CD. You can preorder on Pink vinyl via the link below plus there will be Yellow vinyl and Black vinyl versions available from your favourite record shop:

Bandcamp

Kavus said this about the track and video:

"Castalia was one of the first tunes we started for International Treasure, it felt so optimistic and forgiving which was such a tonic during the somber period in which the album was recorded. Castalia initially felt at odds with the rest of the album which generally has a much bleaker, melancholic tone -to our ears at least- but by putting it in as the last tune it somehow makes sense of everything that went before.

It has this end of the night kind of feeling, it put us in mind of Orbital's Belfast or Ashra's Sunrain. Steve and I thought it would sound perfect as the last tune we'd play in a DJ set, in fact initially I wanted to call it 'Last Song Of The Night' but thankfully Mike wasn't having any of it! The vocal at the end once again comes from Katharine Blake who sang on the last piece of our debut album, Moonchild. We liked the conceptual continuity of that but also, along with the use of acoustic instruments, the way it humanises the track too.

Mike Bourne, who created the video, has been a friend before we were even a band. It was him who inspired Steve to take up the modular synthesiser in the first place. We loved his work anyway and he'd created an astonishing video for The Holy Family, another Rocket band Mike York and I are involved with, so we were very keen to work with him. He'd specifically asked to do the video for Castalia and knowing his work we gave him a free hand. I think the end results absolutely crystalise the vibe and atmosphere of the piece, we couldn't be happier."

The Utopia Strong's up-and-coming live dates are as follows – plus there are more very more exciting 'happenings' to be announced over the coming days:

June 04 / Future Yard / Birkenhead
June 15 / Hare & Hounds / Birmingham
June 16 / Strange Brew / Bristol
June 17 / The Garage / London (Supporting Magma)
June 18 / The Garage / London (Supporting Magma)
June 19 / Band On The Wall / Manchester (Supporting Magma)
June 29 / South Street / Reading
June 30 / Green Door Store / Brighton
July 01 / The Cornish Bank / Falmouth
July 02 / New Lion Brewery / Dartington
July 03 / Junction3 / Cambridge
July 20 / Arts Centre / Colchester
August 24  / Southampton / The Joiners
August 26  / Cardiff / Clwb Ifor Bach

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Petbrick's 'Ayan' EP/Shirts presale goes live as part of Bandcamp Friday

It is another Bandcamp 'No Fee' Friday today, so as ever this is a great time to buy a Rocket release, including all these new presale/releases:

Petbrick – Ayan Cassette/T-shirts

J. Zunz – Del Aire LP

Holy Scum – Strange Desires LP

OCH – Pö om pö LP

Alison Cotton – The Portrait He Painted Of Me LP

The Utopia Strong – International Treasure LP/CD

Moundabout – Flowers Rot, Bring me Stones LP

Rubber Oh – Strange Craft  LP/CD

GNOD – Hexen Valley LP/CD

Plus we have many, many other gems for you: 
Bandcamp

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Petbrick reveal 'Ayan' EP – includes exclusive remixes by Surgeon and Cardopusher

Petbrick return with an incredible new EP called AYAN which is released on 20 May.

Head over to Cvlt Nation now to exclusively hear the 9min+ lead track AYAN:

Cvlt Nation

As well as the monster lead track the EP also contains incredible remixes by the legendary Surgeon and the mighty Cardopusher – as well as an Aphex influenced rework by Petbrick themselves.

The EP is available on a ltd to 100 'Rave Tape' cassette which is hand numbered and signed by Iggor and Wayne. Each one is housed in a uniquely 'stickered' box plus includes an extra 'free' sticker inside.

You can preorder one of these rarities via this link below at 8am on 6 May as part of Bandcamp Friday:

Bandcamp

As well as the cassettes there are also a ltd run of made-to-order shirts that also go on sale tomorrow via that same link, these are available on Yellow, Black or White shirts, these will be on sale from tomorrow until midnight next Wednesday the 11th May, we will then manufacture what was ordered.

See Petbrick live this weekend at Bangface Festival!

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Petbrick, the duo comprising of Iggor Cavalera (Sepultura/Soulwax/Mixhell)and Wayne Adams (Big Lad/Johnny Broke), return with an incredibly exciting first release of 2022.

‘Ayan’ – a new piece of music created by Petbrick - takes the duo’s love for techno, tribal rhythms, electronic experimentation and dystopian dread into an enthralling landscape of repetitious wonder.

The release, which is being released digitally as well as on a ltd edition cassette aptly presented in a ‘rave case’, presents four different versions of ‘Ayan’.

Starting with ‘Premonition Mix’, this is a 9 minute+ excursion into incredible drumming, intertwined perfectly with mind bending synth patterns and sequences. Hushed vocals at the halfway ‘respite’ brings to mind Damo Suzuki from Can, before then launching the track into an intense cacophony of d’beat and acid techno, colluding to form a uniquely invigorating assault - a barrage that feels custom fit for this confusing age.

Surgeon shouldn’t need much introduction, but for those unaware, Surgeon is the moniker of Anthony Child – an electronic artist who has been at the forefront of UK techno since 1994. For his remix of ‘Ayan’ he picks-up the tracks formidable rhythms and transports them to a darkened dancefloor, extending the repetitious allure of the track and introducing a wonky but addictive melody that’s guaranteed to leave you wanting more.

The second electronic wizard to be let loose on the track is the Barcelona based producer Cardopusher – the cofounder of the Classicworks record label. Cardopusher takes ‘Ayan’ straight to the Berlin dungeon and hits you hard with heavy drums and classic rave signatures. You can feel the sweat of the basement and the glare of the strobes through the dense smoke from the moment you hear the first thuds ... and it does not let you free of its grip until the end.

Petbrick have never hidden their love for Aphex Twin and the cheeky nod on the cassette cover isn’t the only link to the electronic maestro on this EP. ‘Bubblelogue Mix’, the fourth and final version of ‘Ayan’, sees the duo take an Aphex approach to this rework of the track. The results could well be something you might expect to hear if Richard D. James had his way with Petbrick’s hard-drive, after throwing it down the stairs a few times first.

You will be pleased to know that ‘Ayan’ is just a little taster – there is far more to come from Petbrick in 2022, so watch this space for more opportunities to be invited into the duo’s boundary-free soundworld.

Petbrick's cheeky 'Aphex' inspired logo was designed by Gore Tech

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GNOD announced as another headliner at Raw Power Festival

GNOD have been announced as joining Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs as another headliner at this years Raw Power Festival.

If you have manage to catch them on these recent run of shows then you will be well aware of the pulverising beast of a set the band are playing right now...and knowing this band for the many years we have, we at Rocket can safely say that GNOD are at present hitting another huge peak in their incredibly creative and eclectic career. Miss them at your peril...

And don't forget that Alison Cotton is also playing this years festival.

Tickets can be bought here:

Dice

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Rubber Oh reveal new track 'Hyperdrive Fantasy'

Rubber Oh, the new band put together by Sam Grant from Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs release their debut album 'Strange Craft' on 3rd June.

The band have just revealed the latest single taken from the album, the psych-pop of 'Hyperdrive Fantasy' – watch the 'interstellar' band made video above.

Sam said this about the track and video:

"Hyperdrive Fantasy is a song about a daydreamer. Life has them bound to their sofa, but their imagination takes them on cosmic journeys, across solar systems and galaxies, and to the farthest reaches away from their existential self."

"The video is a play on that imagination, with overtly unreal models and scenery, centered around the rocket that journeys into the depths of space. It's in no hurry, has no destination, but just floats through the cosmos in an imagined, blissful escapism. We made the video using 10 meters of black paper, painted it, wrapped it around two poster tubes, and stuck on a motor to turn it like a treadmill. Then, using our Blue Peter skills we modelled our toilet roll tubes and went into space..." 

You can preorder Strange Craft on a special Rocket Edition that can be bought via the link below. Rough Trade also have an exclusive Pink/Grey splatter vinyl, and all other shops have a ltd edition Yellow vinyl version for presale. The album is also being released on ltd CD in a mini-gatefold-LP sleeve:

Bandcamp

Catch Rubber Oh live:

June 02 / Manchester/ YES
June 03 / London/ The Lexington
June 04 / Newcastle/ The Cluny 2

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