Rocket Probes – January 2023 playlist

Marlene Ribeiro – Toquei no Sol
(Incredible new album by Marlene from Gnod)
Marlene Ribeiro

Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs  – Ultimate Hammer
(Second single from forthcoming album Land of Sleeper)
Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs

Gnoomes – Loops
(Gnoomes return with a techno'fied banger!)
Gnoomes

Smote – Hlaf
(Great first track from forthcoming new album...that guitar!!)
Smote

Dwellings - Power Is Blind In Both Eyes
(New album from Chris Gnod)
Dwellings

Paddy Shine – 2 Wolf 3 Moon
(Another great album from the Gnod camp – this time Paddy and a guitar)
Paddy Shine

NÂR – What We Talk About: NÂR
(New release by Elsewhere artist)
NÂR

Higher Intelligence Agency & Biosphere – Polar Sequences
(Thanks to Steve Davis for turning our heads to this gem!)
Higher Intelligence Agency & Biosphere

Franco Falsini – Cold Nose
(Great kosmische sounds from 70s Italy)
Franco Falsini

The Souvenirs – Bush Lark Ritual
(Dubbed out tribal repetitions)
The Souvenirs 

Don Cherry & Jean Schwarz – Roundtrip
(The Don)
Don Cherry & Jean Schwarz

Burnin Red Ivanhoe – Live Essen 1970
(All about the drums and bass)
Burnin Red Ivanhoe

Cosmic Overdose  –  Genomskärning
(Thanks to Rickard for playing us this album – members of Älgarnas Trädgård)
Cosmic Overdose 

Blut Aus Nord – Disharmonium - Undreamable Abysses
(Black fog)
Blut Aus Nord

Virus – King Heroin
(70s German psych rock)
Virus 

Abul Mogard / Harmonious Thelonious – Schleißen 1
(Electronic repetitions)
Abul Mogard / Harmonious Thelonious

The Necks – Travel
(New Necks)
The Necks

Mitka – Sound2
(Thanks to Sasha from Gnoomes for turning our ears onto this)
Mitka

Up – Spiritual High
(Acid sounds)
Up

Sory Bamba – Kanaga 78
(Fuzzy afro groove)
Sory Bamba

Irmin Schmidt – Solo
(Repetitions)
Irmin Schmidt

Melvin Jackson – Funky Skull Part 1 &2
(Eddie Harris’s bassman)
Melvin Jackson

James Holden - Contains Multitudes
(New Holden)
James Holden

The Natural Yogurt Band – Dance the Devil Away
(Psychedelic library sounds)
The Natural Yogurt Band

Winged Wheel – No Island
(Foggy notions)
Winged Wheel 

The Invaders – Spacing Out
(An old classic)
The Invaders

David Crosby – If Only I Could Remember My Name
(Rest in power
David Crosby

Listen to/follow our updated monthly Rocket Probes spotify playlist:

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Marlene Ribeiro reveals second single from album 'Toquei no Sol'

As announced a few weeks ago, Gnod's Marlene Ribeiro is releasing her first solo record for Rocket Recordings and first album under her own name.

'Toquei no Sol' which is released on 10 February is a fresh new chapter for this unique artist, by far the most melodic and transcendent outing yet for her hypnotic dreampop.

Marlene said this about the latest single, the title track 'Toquei no Sol': "This track is about self-reflection ,  where I choose to set it in an imaginary tropical alien world. Tells the tale of unwillingly finding yourself flying too close to the sun."

Watch video for 'Toquei no Sol' made by Ovo Estrelado here:

Watch video

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'Toquei no Sol' is available on ltd edition 'Sun Yellow' vinyl via the link below:

Preorder LP

Portuguese fans should pick up a copy via Lovers & Lollypops Bandcamp.

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Toquei no Sol is a record with a very distinctive and potent sense of place, paradoxically despite having been woven together from recordings made in Ireland, Wales, Portugal, Madeira and Salford. Marlene’s fleet-footed approach to melody rings through even as the tracks conjure visions of heat-hazes, meditative spaces and late-night epiphanies.

Although listeners may hear echoes of the loop-driven psychedelia of Panda Bear’s 'Person Pitch' or the incantatory ululations of Pocahaunted in these beguiling soundscapes and magick-strewn mantras, the truth is that the aesthetic here is very much Marlene’s alone.

Marlene is playing a couple of rare shows – with more to be announced: 

9 March / Bristol / Strange Brew
19–23 April / Tilburg / Roadburn Festival

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Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs reveal new single 'Ultimate Hammer' and new UK, USA and European shows

Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs have just released 'Ultimate Hammer' the second single from their forthcoming album Land of Sleeper which is released on 17 February.

Watch the fantastic video for 'Ultimate Hammer' above.

We asked Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs to tell us something about what his ferocious new single and guitarist Adam said “Ultimate Hammer is the by-product of being trapped in the house and listening to too much ZZ Top, if there is such a thing."

Though, Pigs' other guitarist and producer Sam Grant says: “If there were a quintessential Pigs track, this would probably be it, so it was an obvious move to make this one the album opener."

And vocalist Matt Baty says “Everything at the moment feels like it's moving at one hell of a speed. Momentous events pass by in the blink of an eye while we try to keep our heads steady on a planet spinning roughly 1,000 miles per hour. Maybe it's always been this way but it sure is hard not to feel dizzy. What a time to be alive.”

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'Land Of Sleeper' comes housed in amazing 'Callum Rooney' sleeve art with obi strip and 'Oz' style lyrics poster. The CD and several different vinyl variants are available in these variants:

You can pick-up the ltd 'Rocket Exclusive' (Orange/Yellow Cloud) vinyl via the bands official website link below (not Bandcamp), where you can also pick up ltd edition t-shirts and tickets:

Pigsx7

Our good friends at Rough Trade have an exclusive 'Deep Sleep' (Blue/black Splatter) vinyl.

Indie stores will be carrying 'Lucid Dreaming' (Orange) exclusive vinyl and all stores will be selling a ltd 'Black Night' (Black) vinyl edition. The album is being released via Missing Piece in the USA.

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The band have added loads more USA, European and UK dates.
Tickets go on sale at 10am local time Friday 27th Pigsx7.com
The full list of show's now reads:

UK SPRING 2023:

17th February - Bristol - Rough Trade – SOLD OUT
18th February - London - Rough Trade East – SOLD OUT
19th February - Brighton - Chalk
23rd February - Gateshead - The Sage              
24th February - Edinburgh - The Liquid Rooms      
25th February - Kendal - The Brewery           
26th February - Lincoln - Lincoln Drill Hall    
2nd March - Cambridge - Junction              
3rd March - Ipswich - The Baths – SOLD OUT
4th March - Hastings - The Crypt             
5th March - Leicester - O2 Academy
13th April - Milton Keynes - The Craufurd Arms  
14th April - Stoke-on-Trent - The Sugarmill         
15th April - Hebden Bridge - Trades Club – SOLD OUT
16th April - Stockton-on-Tees - Georgian Theatre      
20th April - York - The Crescent – SOLD OUT  
21st April - Newport - Le Pub – SOLD OUT
22nd April - Portsmouth - Wedgewood Rooms – SOLD OUT
23rd April - Hertford - Corn Exchange

(Above shows with support from Luminous Bodies, Kulk, Judy Brush and Me Lost Me)

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UK AUTUMN 2023:

23rd September - Glasgow - Queen Margaret Union 
29th September - Bristol - SWX 
30th September - Manchester - Ritz 
5th October - Sheffield - Foundry
6th October - London - Kentish Town Forum

(Support: Bonnacons of Doom)

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NORTH AMERICA - MARCH/APRIL 2023:

11th March - Brooklyn, NY - Saint Vitus Bar – SOLD OUT
13th-18th March - Austin, TX - SXSW      
21st March - Los Angeles, CA - Zebulon
22nd March - San Francisco, CA - Rickshaw Stop
24th March - Portland, OR - Mississippi Studios
25th March - Seattle, WA - Madame Lou's
26th March - Vancouver, BC - Wise Hall
28th March - Chicago, IL - Sleeping Village
29th March - Toronto, ON - The Garrison
31st March - Boston, MA - Middle East
1st April - Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's
2nd April - Washington, DC - DC9
4th April - Manhattan, NY - Mercury Lounge

(Brooklyn support: White Hills. Boston, Philadelphia and Washington DC support: Richard Dawson - solo)

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EUROPE - MAY 2023:

6th May - Nijmegen, NL - Sonic Whip Festival
7th May - Utrecht, NL - Ekko               
8th May - Koln, DE - Bumann & Sohn      
9th May - Hamburg, DE - Molotow            
10th May - Copenhagen, DK - Stengade           
12th May - Berlin, DE - Urban Spree        
13th May - Leipzig, DE - Trip Festival
15th May - Bern, CH - ISC Club           
16th May - Lyon, FR - Le Periscope       
17th May - Paris, FR - Point Ephemere     
18th May - Orleans, FR - L'Astrolabe        
19th May - Lille, FR - Le Grand Mix       
20th May - Antwerp, BE - Trix 

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Smote announce new album 'Genog'

Newcastle band Smote have revealed the details of their second release for Rocket – the album called 'Genog' will hit the shelves on 10 March.

Watch the icy video for fuzz filled first single to be released 'Hlaf' made by Rocket's very own John O'Carroll above

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'Genog' is available to preorder on 'Moss Green'' vinyl housed in a manila board sleeve via the Bandcamp link below or from your local record shop:

Bandcamp

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Transcendence through repetition beamed via an aesthetic vision steeped in mystery: welcome to the world of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne’s Smote, an entity opening up uncanny new psychic pathways. ‘Genog’ - the outfit’s second release on Rocket Recordings following 2021’s eerie transmission ‘Drommon’, shows that Smote’s elliptical casting of bleak magick is only growing more powerful as it gathers momentum.

The brainchild of Daniel Foggin, Smote has evolved seemingly of it’s own volition. “I had the idea for years” he relates, “I love Pärson Sound, Träd, Gräs Och Stenar, Traditional Irish Folk and all sorts of different Drone and Folk music. It was simply finding the opportunity to sit down and get recording. A very heavy influence that affects Smote is fantasy as a genre, and the atmosphere that can be created via story-telling.”

The five vivid extrapolations on Genog conjure differing spiritual realms, yet the verdant flute-and-drum-driven ‘Fenhop’, the resonant, cryptic ‘Hlaf’ and the overwhelming noise-driven intensity of the closing freakout ‘Banhus’ combine and coalesce to offer one unified vision, building furious momentum in a manner that unites the pastoral with the arcane and otherworldy.

The musical approach of Smote may have started out as a resolutely DIY one, yet from the humble origins of bedroom and rehearsal room recordings, the band has now become a full-fledged and powerful live band, whose appearances at festivals like Roadburn, Le Guess Who and Brave Exhibitions have already caused a considerable stir. Testimony, indeed to the kind of spectacular mental vistas and towering, intimidating sound-worlds which are made manifest on Genog.

“I love world building and folk tales” adds Foggin, who cites the 2013 film ‘Hard To Be A God’ as the single biggest influence on Smote’s aesthetic - “An incredible example of mood and atmosphere throughout, an absolute masterpiece.” True to form, perhaps the centrepiece of Genog is the mighty ‘Lof’. Driven by an ominous and bewitching central riff, this totem of monomania transcends its post-Velvets, folk and ‘70s Swedish Psych influences to thunder forth singularly akin to a ceremonial procession from a place as enigmatic and daunting as the the quasi-medieval pandemonium of the same film.

Inhabiting a landscape where pursuit of the psychedelic is so often hampered by cliche, mannerism and the canonical rulebook. It can be rare to witness a visionary doggedly pursuing their own crooked and idiosyncratic path into the mystic with few co-ordinates apparent. This is where Smote come in. Earthy, ritualistic and richly cinematic in aspect, Genog is an avatar guiding the listener to dark and beguiling imaginary landscapes.

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Rocket to be guest curators at this years Roadburn Festival

We are extremely proud to announce that Rocket Recordings will be guest curator at this year’s Roadburn Festival on 19-23 April.

Roadburn has been a festival we have been involved in since 2006. We have seen many Rocket bands grace the festival’s stages over the years – so we thought we would celebrate our 25th anniversary in Tilburg, showcasing a selection of Rocket artists.

Roadburn’s aesthetic is one of not standing still, always pushing its own boundaries, and that is something we as a label have always believed in, hence this collaboration couldn’t be more perfect. We loved Walter’s idea of Rocket showcasing our ‘new’ bands instead of only looking back and celebrating the past. So we are very excited to bring a diverse line-up of artists and sounds for the Roadburn faithful to immerse in:

Alison Cotton
When we discussed who should play, Alison’s name was top of the list. Her mesmerising live performance needed to be experienced by the Roadburn audiences.

Alison Cotton / Dawn Terry
We wanted to bring a one-off, unique performance to the festival and as were we aware that Alison and Dawn Terry (from Bong) had discussed collaborating sometime in the future, we thought this could be the perfect time to make it happen. We have no idea what the results will be, but with their combined talent, it is guaranteed to be spellbinding.

J. Zunz
We are chuffed that J. Zunz is able to make it over from Mexico for the festival. We finally got to see her addictive live show last summer – her unique repetitive, kosmische explorations will definitely get the Roadburn ‘heads’ dancing in a trance! 

Holy Scum
We needed a band to ‘bring the noise’ to Roadburn, so there’s no better band to do that than Holy Scum. Their dense fog of sound is guaranteed to get the audiences smiling, just bring your earplugs.

Marlene Ribeiro
Marlene Ribeiro (Negra Branca / Gnod) brings songs from her stunning and hauntingly psychedelic debut album ‘Toquei No Sol’ to the stage for a rare live performance.

The Shits
This band are so new to our roster we haven’t even announced they are going to be releasing their forthcoming album on Rocket yet! But wow, what a band, they blew us away at last summer’s Supernormal Festival so we are extremely excited to add them to the ever growing Rocket family.

Teeth of the Sea
Ok, so Teeth of the Sea are not a ‘new’ Rocket band, we have been releasing their records since their debut release in January 2009 – and they are a band who have also graced the Roadburn stage in 2013. But with a new album being promised for late 2023, this will be the opportunity to witness the bands new music for the first time. Walter said to us, "we need a band like Teeth of the Sea as we have nothing else like them on the bill this year"…but tbh, there is no one like Teeth of the Sea, they are completely unique, the archetypal Rocket band!

And before you all ask, we are not repeating Rocket 20 and having a Rocket 25 party – our birthday celebrations will be here at Roadburn, so we hope the Rocket faithful will join us for it!

More info: Roadburn

Buy tickets here

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Russian four piece Gnoomes announce new album Ax Ox – watch video for first single 'Loops'

We are ecstatic to be able to bring you the news that your favourite Russian four piece Gnoomes have announced that they will be releasing their fourth album called 'Ax Ox' on 3rd March.

Watch the hallucinogenic video for the first single to be released, the dance-floor driven 'Loops' via the link below. The video (one that the 'Butthole Surfers' would have been proud of) was directed by the talented Perm based artist Baadwrk: 

'Watch Loops' video

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'Ax Ox' is available on ltd edition 'Blue Swirl' via the Bandcamp link below, or you can pick it up the ltd 'Oxblood Vinyl' from your favourite record shop:

Bandcamp

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As musicians across the world have watched the last decade systematically eating away at the infrastructure by which they pursue their art, triumphs against adversity have sometimes entered the realm of cliche .Yet few bands have undergone quite the travails that Perm, Russia’s Gnoomes have on the road to the release of their fourth release on Rocket Recordings, Ax Ox.

From such traumatic circumstances, with the band having overcome the stress of a pandemic, illness, depression and serious turmoil in their home country to reach a point where they can offer their music to the world, have arrived a kaleidoscopic and questing vision shot through with potent melancholia and strident optimism.

Ax Ox runs through a gamut of vibrant emotion across its eleven tracks, from the elemental blast of kraut-pop that is ‘The Neighbour’ to the crystalline and techno-fied ‘Loops’, and across moments of jarring and skewed ambience such as ‘Mirror’ and ‘The Bridge’. Here the component parts that have always made up Gnoomes’ fresh and wide-eyed aesthetic - dreampop radiance, bold electronic experimentation and the propulsive motorik drive which moves them onward –are rendered still more vivid and transcendent, the product of a band unafraid to cross boundaries in pursuit of catharsis by any means necessary, and one still hopeful in spite of all that fate can throw at them.

This album also chronicles a fractious relationship which the band have with their home country -on the one hand, this is perhaps their most explicitly Russian album to date, and the first one in which they’ve sung in their native tongue - a decision they made as a means of supporting a rapidly evolving and inspiring scene in Russia. “Feeling yourself as a part of something bigger is a great inspiration. That’s why the intention to sing in Russian was very organic. We saw that our audience is getting older with us and our music could have had more connections with these people, if we sing in Russian” says the band’s Sasha Piankov.

“The last five years before the pandemic are considered to be the golden times for our music community” he adds “It was a beautiful embryo, which could grow into a very interesting creature, but it was simply killed by the stupid plans of the particular people. Many artists have already spoken out, and they’re not supporting this senseless war, but they get quickly shut up by the government.The list of artists who are not allowed to play in Russia anymore is growing up every day. It’s very painful to watch this process unfolding in front of our eyes”.

As with many other Russian artists and musicians, Sasha and his wife Masha Piankova have both been forced to leave the country when mobilisation was announced in pursuit of safety, but this album still bears the hallmarks of an album influenced by the very specific experience of living in Russia in the last three decades. “In our opinion this album could be a psychedelic musical about growing up and living in the Post Soviet Russia” relates Sasha “If you watched(Adam Curtis’ documentary series) Traumazone, it’s not complicated really to imagine the visual part of the musical!”

Ax Ox ultimately reflects something of an odyssey for a complex and inhospitable modern era, and perhaps the centrepiece of the record - the moment which most sums up the continuum reflected inits heartfelt yet pragmatic nature - is the uplifting kosmische travelogue of ‘Eternal Trans Siberian’.As Sasha points out, this has become “some sort of manifesto, pretty much inspired by Stereolab. It’s a metaphor of what’s going on to our country. It feels like we’re traveling on a rusty and wrecked train through space and time. The epochs change, but the problems stay the same and we don’t know how it’s possible, but the train is still moving”.

Gnoomes have announced a series of live dates, with more to come that can't be announced just yet:

26 Jan / Batumi / Place
10 Feb / Tbilisi / Spirali Fest - Dust
23 Mar / Newcastle / Cumberland Arm  Tickets
25 Mar / Sheffield / Delicious Clam
26 Mar / Birmingham / The Night Owl
29 Mar / Norwich / Voodoo Daddy's Showroom
01 Apr / Bristol / Crofters Rights  Tickets
25 Apr / Le Mans / Brasserie Septante Deux
26 Apr / Angers / Joker’s 
27 Apr / Tours / Le Bateau Ivre
28 Apr / Nantes / Lune Froide

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Marlene Ribeiro from Gnod reveals haunting new single and album

A travelogue that unites physical and inner space, a series of trance states rendered in vivid colour, a delirious portal into the ether. Marlene Ribeiro’s debut for Rocket Recordings and first album under her own name is all of this and much more. 'Toquei no Sol' is a fresh new chapter for this unique artist, by far the most melodic and transcendent outing yet for her hypnotic dreampop.

This is only the latest release in a long history of sonic experimentation for Marlene, which includes her previous work as Negra Branca and as a member of Gnod, not to mention collaborations with Valentina Magaletti and Thurston Moore.

Watch the John O'Carroll made video to 'You Do It', the first single to be revealed from 'Toquei no Sol' above.

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'Toquei no Sol' is available on ltd edition 'Sun Yellow' vinyl via this link:

Bandcamp

Portuguese fans should pick up a copy via Lovers & Lollypops Bandcamp.

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'Toquei no Sol' is a record with a very distinctive and potent sense of place, paradoxically despite having been woven together from recordings made in Ireland, Wales, Portugal, Madeira and Salford.

It’s genesis came via a visit to Marlene’s maternal grandmother Emilia, whose influence as well as the sounds of her kitchen in Portugal can be heard on the album’s first track ‘Quatra Palavras’.

“Emilia ended up getting excited about me being able to record things there and then and - total news to me - told me she used to sing a lot when she was younger to the point of getting offered studio time but refusing it as she was fearful of what that could imply in those times” relates Marlene “From that point I planned to include her in this record as sort of the chance she never had of getting her voice out there.”

Elsewhere, a disarmingly catchy and irresistible grace is married to a utilitarian approach to sound and texture. The ritualistic “Sangue De Lua de Lobo” (first released on a Sofia records compilation Songs Of The Lunar Eclipse) contains random objects from Marlene’s then-garden in Ireland, whereas on the drifting, beatific ‘Forever’ the percussion tracks are constructed from the sounds of pots and pans in her own Salford kitchen.

Yet at all times her fleet-footed approach to melody rings through even as the tracks conjure visions of heat-hazes, meditative spaces and late-night epiphanies. Although listeners may hear echoes of the loop-driven psychedelia of Panda Bear’s Person Pitch or the incantatory ululations of Pocahaunted in these beguiling soundscapes and magick-strewn mantras, the truth is that the aesthetic here is. very much Marlene’s alone.

“It’s all a big misty haze of nostalgia, playfulness, self-reflection and hopefulness” is what Marlene reckons herself. Yet 'Toquei no Sol' is also a transporting vision from an artist.

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