Rocket launch brand new online store

We are happy to share with you the news that Rocket Recordings has opened a brand new online store where from now on you can buy all Rocket physical, digital releases and merch etc.

The new store can be found at:

www.rocketrecordings.com

This new Rocket Recordings store is going to replace our current Bandcamp site that has serviced us extremely well over the years. The Rocket Bandcamp will continue to also have our digital releases available, but all physical stock will only be available via www.rocketrecordings.com. And just like Bandcamp, you will receive a free download with your physical purchase.

To celebrate this new launch, we are offering you...

***25% off Sale***
For the first 10 days the Rocket store is open, you can get 25% off selected items. The sale will end on Sunday 28 July. 

***FREE Rocket Recordings Slipmat***
We have always wanted to have Rocket slipmats, so we have decided to get 200 made, and these will be given away FREE with the first 200 orders that spend £35 or more – first come first served.

Also...the new shop will have a 'News' section, which will replace this trusty Blog site which has been in use since 2008. We will not delete the blog though, we will keep it as an archive.

But this will be OUR LAST POST here!

We have wanted to create our own Rocket Recordings store for many, many years, see we are over the moon we can finally launch one for you now!

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Teeth Of The Sea release new EP that features exclusive remixes by Goat, J. Zunz and Jamie Paton

Teeth of The Sea return with 'Get With The Program' - a five track EP that leads with the title track from the band's latest album 'Hive' and is backed with four incredible remixes of 'Hive' tracks by Goatfool (from Goat), J. Zunz and longtime Rocket collaborator Jamie Paton. 

Watch the tremendous Mike Bourne video for 'Get With The Program' above. 

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'Get With The Program' EP is released on 12 July and you can buy a ltd edition cassette, or download the EP from Bandcamp here:

Bandcamp

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Experience the might of Teeth Of The Sea live:

17 August / Compton Martin / ArcTanGent Festival
23–25 August / Muncaster Castle / Krankenhaus Festival

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Their coordinates as always set somewhere beyond the stars, Teeth Of The Sea are charging up their rocket engines for adventures anew. Hive, their sixth album, which saw them expanding and morphing their trademark psychotropic approach into still uncharted territories of cosmic melancholia and addictive melody, saw them gain plaudits aplenty from far afield, not least taking third place in The Quietus’ 2023 Albums Of The Year. 

Now, to round off this chapter in their storied history in style, they’re not only travelling to Manchester to embark on a live 6 Music session at the behest of Mark Riley and Gideon Coe but also releasing Get With The Program - that album’s noise-fuelled, speaker-shaking electro-industrial banger - as a Bandcamp-only limited cassette and digital single backed by remixes from a choice selection of friends that warp Hive’s trajectories into audial dimensions anew. 

Here Jamie Paton takes the avant-epic Megafragma and infuses it gleefully across two disparate versions with cosmic-disco effervescence and acid-fried exuberance. J. Zunz delivers a poignant and motorik-driven take on Æther that marries dubbed-out abstraction to post-punk pathos. Goat, meanwhile manoeuvre Liminal Kin into an insistent and percussion-driven rite of tension and release. 

With their new sehr kosmisch and wildly hedonistic live show debuted triumphantly at Acid Horse Festival in Wiltshire recently, and further festivals incoming at Krankenhaus and ArcTanGent, this ever-morphing entity is heading who knows where, and the more intrepid psychic travellers amongst us would be well advised to get on board.

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Watch Smote play latest single live in Blank Studios

Watch Smote tear through latest single 'The Opinion Of The Lamb Pt. 1' live at Blank Studios above.

The original track is the first to be revealed from forthcoming album 'A Grand Stream' which is released on Ltd edition 2LP on 23 August.

Preorder here

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You can experience the mighty Smote live here:

2-4 Aug / Oxfordshire / Supernormal Festival
22 Aug / Glasgow / The Hug And Pint
24 Aug / Nottingham / JTsoar
25 Aug / London / Moor Beer Vaults
28 Aug / Ipswich / The Steamboat Tavern
29 Aug / Margate / WhereElse?
30 Aug / Bristol / Crofters Rights
31 Aug / Birmingham / Supersonic Festival
05 Sep / Paris / Supersonic
06 Sep / Den Haag / Paard
07 Sep / Ghent / Openair 9030
13 Sep / Newcastle / The Lubber Fiend

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Ex-Easter Island Head's 'Norther' tops The Quietus 'AOTY So Far' list

We are blown away to see that Ex-Easter Island Head's album 'Norther' is No.1 in The Quietus's 'Top 100 Albums Of The Year So Far' list.

Not only that, Gnod's new album 'Spot Land' is at No.7 and Alison Cotton's latest album 'Engelchen' is at 63.

See the full rundown here:
https://thequietus.com/tq-charts/albums-of-the-year-so-far/best-albums-2024/

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As always, we thank The Quietus for believing in our bands and their art – the Quietus are the most honest and important music journalism out there, so if you are a fan of Rocket and our releases, then we highly recommend you supporting the Quietus and becoming a subscriber. They are having a massive discount on subscriptions at the moment too, so no better time:

https://thequietus.com/subscribers/

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Smote reveal the release of gargantuan new double album

We are ecstatic to announce that Newcastle based band Smote are releasing a brand new double album called 'A Grand Stream' on 23 August.

Watch the Ali Crackett made video for the first track to be revealed 'The Opinion Of The Lamb Pt. 1 (Edit)' above.

Smote's Daniel Foggin says this about the track:
“This is Smote’s take on a party song, a quasi-dance track so to speak. The monomania is so prevalent here and pushed as hard as it possibly can be."

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'A Grand Stream' can be preordered now on Ltd edition 'Pink/Black' double vinyl, housed in a deluxe gatefold sleeve via this Bandcamp link, or via all good record shops:

Bandcamp

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Last Summer, Daniel Foggin, guitarist, writer and chief architect of Smote, uprooted himself from his usual home in Newcastle to live and work in a farmhouse in Kelso, near the Scottish border. “Through the summer when I was working up there, myself and Rob (Smote drummer) would finish work and go sit by a small river and have a couple of beers in the sun, and it was the best thing ever” he relates “So I guess the philosophy is that to some people it looks like any other stream, but to us it was supreme happiness. That can be applied to a lot of things in life”.

Hence came the title of the fourth Smote album proper, one largely recorded in this same farmhouse - A Grand Stream.

It’s an album that’s the truest incarnation thus far of his vision for this band - a full-scale psychic voyage into the ether and a drone-and-repetition-fuelled series of incantations that takes simple, primal ingredients and utilises them for the purposes of aural sorcery, summoning spectres and revelations aplenty in its wake. What has emerged from Foggin’s sojourn in the Borders may be imbued with a rich rural intensity but it’s also perhaps the darkest and more foreboding work that Smote have made to date. As he notes himself, the rawness of this record occurred in tandem with its recording process. 

“I’ve done this pretty DIY, and done stuff that will give most sound engineers nightmares” he laughs, “I’ve got 4 microphones and an interface, and had a whacky set up of my sound city 120 and a 4x12, some synths and basic percussion stuff like tambourines and shakers all in a tiny living room. Then drums, bass and all the other glue was added in my practice room at later dates. I’m really happy with the production on this one; it feels like one sonic journey”.

Barely a truer word could be spoken on this 70-minute-plus opus, which embarks on the most intrepid dive imaginable into the audial Deep End. Whilst the folk-tinged, ceremonial ambience that Smote have made their trademark is present and correct here, as on the ominous rhythms of ‘Coming Out Of A Hedge Backwards’ and the uplifting cadences of opener ‘Sitting Stone Part 1’, Foggin and his cohorts also waste little time exploring new more eerie and ethereal textures and dimensions. The meditative ‘Chantry’ in particular sees them gravitate towards a headspace akin to the drone-based epiphanies of Kali Malone’s ‘Does Spring Hide Its Joy’ filtered through the transcendent amplifier worship of ‘Earth 2’. 

“In terms of influences, I was listening to a lot of Anna Von Hausswolf, Maria W. Horn, and ØXN” reckons Foggin. “I think this is pretty significant in the fact that all of these artists combine traditional instrumentation with contemporary instrumentation, and it’s all fucking heavy. Not so much in the way of playing ridiculous mega riffs, but in terms of using the simple sound of instruments to create atmosphere. For example I think a violin playing double stops can be just as heavy as a cranked no-master volume guitar amp, just like an organ can be just as heavy as tuned oscillators and filtered synthesis”.

Said heaviness manifests itself most powerfully in the mammoth two-parter ‘The Opinion Of The Lamb’ – a near thirty-minute ritualistic voyage into the heart of darkness that melds Swans-style intensity, Trad Gras Och Stenar earthtones and Sunn O))) monomania to devastating effect. This marks the culmination of an album that takes this band – one who’ve always eschewed the cliches and stumbling blocks of all contemporary psych rock in favour of their own unique and wyrd vision - into a realm in which they transcend through willpower and skill alike into something preternaturally thrilling and intimidating, mapping out their own crepuscular new territory in the paranormal. Question is; dare you step over the threshold?

See Smote live:
29 Jun / Hyper Inverter Festival 
2-4 Aug / Oxfordshire / Supernormal Festival
22 Aug / Glasgow / The Hug And Pint
25 Aug / London / Moor Beer Vaults
28 Aug / Ipswich / The Steamboat Tavern
30 Aug / Bristol / Crofters Rights
31 Aug / Birmingham / Supersonic Festival 
05 Sep / Paris / Supersonic
06 Sep / Den Haag / Paard
07 Sep / Ghent / TBC

Front cover sculpture by: Rosie McLachlan

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Gnod's new album 'Spot Land' is released today

"I can’t think of much higher praise for this record." 'Album Of The Week' 
The Quietus

"Embracing a new sense of freedom while retaining the essence that defines the band." Backseat Mafia

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Gnod's very special new album 'Spot Land' is released today.

You can buy this Bandcamp exclusive release on Purple Vinyl via this link below:

Bandcamp

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See the mighty Gnod live:

27 August / Bristol / The Exchange
28 August / Utrecht / DB's
29 August / Nijmegen / Doornroosje
30 August / Rillaar / Down The Hill
31 August / London / Bush Hall

01 September / Todmorden / The Golden Lion

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With a recalibrated sound and a new sense of freedom, 'Spot Land’s five songs are tender and detailed, unfolding slowly with wistful guitar textures, brushed drums and interjections of lap steel, piano and kalimba.

As founder member Paddy Shine says, "the results sound like old GNOD and new GNOD at the same time". On the face of it, Spot Land is a big step away from the intense, loud, sludgy offerings found on the group’s more recent studio albums, such as 2022’s 'Hexen Valley' – nevertheless, these too are heady fogs to lose yourself in, with on-record personnel starting at different points and meeting on the same wavelength. Its exploratory sense might make seasoned GNOD heads think of 2014 triple LP 'Infinity Machines', or really early oddities like 'The Somnambulist’s Tale' from 2008, but you can also jump in right here if needs be because 'Spot Land' has its own unique vibe. 

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Video of Ex-Easter Island Head playing live at 'Full of Noises'

Watch this great footage of Ex-Easter Island Head playing live at 'Full of Noises' on 13 October 2023

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Alison Cotton brings 'Engelchen' to London

ALISON COTTON & WAF PRESENT:

'ENGELCHEN'

SAT 22 JUNE (2PM), THE BEDFORD, BALHAM

Tickets/info

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Alison Cotton will present a multimedia production on Saturday 22 June (2pm) in the beautiful music room of The Bedford, Balham as part of Wandsworth Arts Fringe.

The production is inspired by the lives of local residents and opera fans, Ida and Louise Cook, who used their love of music to help 29 Jews escape Nazi Germany.

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“Heartrending storytelling by deeply poetic folk spirit”  Uncut

“Alison Cotton’s moving rendition of the Cook sisters’ story serves as a timely reminder of the radical, even life-saving potential of the profound social bonds forged through a shared love of music.”  The Quietus

“Spellbinding" Shindig!

Alison Cotton has announced details of an event encompassing performance, talk, poetry and music devoted to, and inspired by the lives of Ida and Louise Cook, two sisters who used their love of music to assist 29 Jews to escape Nazi-occupied Germany. The sisters, who were born in Sunderland, lived for 60 years in the Borough of Wandsworth, and the event is presented in association with Wandsworth Arts Fringe.

Engelchen (“Little Angels”) was the term used to address the sisters in letters from people requesting their help. Alison Cotton’s music (from her recently released album Engelchen on Rocket Recordings) portrays their dangerous journeys, the lives of those they saved, those they failed to save, as well as the voices of refugees of today – given the times we live in, this story which highlights the plight of refugees feels particularly relevant and poignant.

Alison Cotton has curated an event that will include a performance of Engelchen (with Chloe Herington). Alongside the performance, refugees (currently living in Wandsworth and members of CARAS - Community Action for Refugees and Asylum Seekers), will read letters that they've written to loved ones back home. Professor Angela Smith (University of Sunderland), who has researched Ida and Louise, will give a short talk about the Cook sisters' life and work, and poets Hilaire and Joolz Sparkes will perform a reading of local poet Hilaire's poem 'The Cook Sisters Contemplate a Final Visit to Nazi Germany', a poem from their joint poetry project ‘London Undercurrents’.

The sisters themselves were opera fanatics. Their obsession, which saw them travelling the world to attend performances and meet and befriend their favourite female opera stars, led directly to their rescue work. They held gramophone record listening parties at home when they weren’t travelling, and to bring those parties back to life, audiences arriving and departing the event 22 June will be able to enjoy a gramophone playing the music of Ida and Louise’s favourite opera singers.

There will be also be a display of artefacts relevant to the time from Wandsworth Council’s Heritage Collection, plus photographs and letters from refugees who Ida and Louise saved. Inspired by the sisters’ incredible acts of kindness, there will be stamped envelopes around the venue where the audience will be invited to write a letter or note to themselves or to someone else, with their own promise.

Alison Cotton explains, “I hope to create a moving experience though my event by performing music inspired by the lives of Ida and Louise Cook, a story of such bravery and kindness which is so relevant to the times we live in today. As the event premiered in Sunderland, where they spent their early years, it means a lot to me that this should be followed by a production in the area they lived in for over 60 years of their lives.”

Tickets for the event are available here - Alison Cotton (wandsworthfringe.com)

Alison Cotton’s album inspired by the sisters, Engelchen, is out now via Rocket Recordings. The 7-track album relays the sisters’ story, whether acapella or by means of richly emotive string arrangements, with a deftness of touch, sensitivity and intensity that matches the feverish nature of the experiences and the unforgiving environs in which they took place. Summoning foley work to sum up the atmospheres of their journeys (from train noises to the sound of gulls on the English coast, to the ominous military drumbeat) Engelchen is a transporting work whose spirit is situated in a very specific time and place.

Ida Cook sums up their utilitarian attitudes, which took them not only to Europe but on scarcely conceivable journeys to the US in the 1920s, here; “you never know what you can do until you refuse to take no for an answer. In this very amateur way, we did manage to rescue 29 people and set them on new lives. The same mentality that had made us reckon the expenses of our first American adventure to the final penny now enabled us to think in terms of adding shilling to shilling, week to week and effort to effort"

This is more than merely an inspirational tribute to two mavericks who beat the odds in an unforgettable feat of altruism. It’s a celebration of the human spirit, one that reflects a universality in its narrative which transcends the boundaries of history and impacts very urgently on our daily lives. Whatever attempts may be made to tell this story, it’s hard to imagine one that resonates deeper than Engelchen.

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Buy the album 'Engelchen'

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See Alison live: 

22 June / London / The Bedford
06 July / London / The Idler Festival
09 July / Barrow-in-Furness / Full of Noises, Piel View House
12 July / Hebden Bridge / The Trades Club
27 July / Fano / Folk Festival (DK)
29 July / Colchester / Arts Centre
14 Nov / Norwich / UEA (w/ GOAT)
15 Nov / Oxford / 02 Academy (w/ GOAT)
16 Nov / Nottingham / Rock City (w/ GOAT)

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The Janitor's album 'An Error Has Occurred' is released today

"A monstrous wall-of-psychotic sound surrounds your mind and turns it upside down." Turn up the volume

"Haunting melodies and heavy rhythms evoke a sense of dystopian rebellion." Psychedelic Baby Magazine

"Steeped in darkness." Backseat Mafia

"This is heavy, fuzzy psych rock that gives you the right chills." Hymn

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Swedish drone-rockers The Janitors  new album 'An Error Has Occurred' is released today on Rocket.

The album is available on a lush Orange/Green Splatter vinyl and housed in an third-eye opening gatefold sleeve that can be bought now in all decent record shops plus via the Bandcamp link below:

Bandcamp

See The Janitors live at these up-and-coming shows, including a special album launch party tonight in Stockholm:

24 May / Stockholm / Geronimos FGT
29 May / Bristol / The Crofters Rights
30 May / Northampton / The Black Prince
01 Jun / London / Peckham Audio 

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For 'An Error Has Occurred' The Janitors rehearsed intensely together before laying down everything live, over two days and nights, in a converted missionary church.  

The resulting songs have the menace of Melvins, the swagger of The Stooges and the cosmic heft of The Heads. Though you will also find dronier numbers, drawn out with soundscapes and textures influenced by The Velvet Underground’s sonic experiments and the equally immersive atmospheres of electronic acts like Massive Attack. 

Watch the videos to the two singles for Anger The World which has received over 60K views and the second single Lies here:

Anger The World

Lies

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Listen to exclusive 'In Gnod We 'Always' Trust' playlist

To celebrate the imminent release of Gnod's new album 'Spot Land', Rocket have compiled a deep dive playlist into Gnod's eclectic and highly absorbing back catalogue (from what tracks are available on spotify).

'In Gnod We 'Always' Trust' playlist starts with the latest single 'Pilgrim's Progress' and then takes you on a 5 hour, 42  minutes of wonderment:

Spotify

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'Spot Land' is released on 31 May on ltd edition Purple vinyl and can be preordered exclusively via Bandcamp here:

Bandcamp

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See the mighty Gnod live:

27 August / Bristol / The Exchange
28 August / Utrecht / DB's
29 August / Nijmegen / Doornroosje
30 August / Rillaar / Down The Hill
31 August / London / Bush Hall

01 September / Todmorden / The Golden Lion

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Ex-Easter Island Head's album 'Norther' is released today

“Simply transcendent.”
The Quietus

“Ex Easter Island Head have made their masterpiece." 5/5
NARC Magazine

"It’s yet another Eureka! moment." 8/10 Loud & Quiet

"Liverpool’s Fab Four might just have scaled a career peak." Terrascope

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Today sees the release of 'Norther', the impressive new album by Ex-Easter Island Head.

Buy the ltd edition album from your local record shop or via this Bandcamp link:

Bandcamp

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The bands tour starts tonight in Bristol:

17 May / Bristol / Cube Microplex
18 May / London / Stoke Newington Old Church (Matinee and Evening) 
24 May / Manchester / St. Michael's 
25 May / Sheffield / Sidney and Matilda
26 May / Pewsey / Acid Horse Festival
31 May / Hebden / Hebden Bridge Trades Club
07 June / Brighton / The Hope
08 June / Cambridge / Storey's Field Centre

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Building on over a decade of activity, Ex-Easter Island Head have long been a cherished part of the UK underground. Functioning variously as a kind of deconstructed rock band, ambient chamber ensemble and minimalist compositional workshop, on 'Norther' we find the group combining their wide musical experience into something singular and coherent with a deeply emotional core.

Largely orbiting around their extended use of the electric guitar, their approach might at times recall the experiments of Rhys Chatham and Glenn Branca, but across the album we see a band whose musical vision extends well beyond the iconoclasm of 80's New York. Drawing on hypnotic musics from across the spectrum, they bring a compositional approach to sounds often associated with freeform sprawl or more academic settings, never letting pathos be lost to process. Equally reminiscent of the gentle rolling momentum of The Necks as they are the coiled precision of an act on Kompakt; this is a music which ebbs and flows, lives and breathes.

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GNOD reveal 'Pilgrim's Progress' from new album 'Spot Land'

We are delighted to share the chanting ambient rock frazzler 'Pilgrim's Progress' taken from their forthcoming album 'Spot Land' released on 31 May. 

Tender and detailed, unfolding slowly with wistful guitar textures GNOD recalibrate their loud sludgy punk sound with a new sense of freedom.

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'Spot Land' is available on Purple vinyl and comes with an insert. It can only be pre-ordered via this link below:

Bandcamp

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See Gnod live:
27 August / Bristol / The Exchange
28 August / Utrecht / DB's
29 August / Nijmegen / Doornroosje
30 August / Rillaar / Down The Hill
31 August / London / Bush Hall

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Smote announce tour, plus watch more exclusive footage of the band performing live in Blank Studios

Smote have announced the following live dates, with more to be announced:

June
29 Fell Foot Woods / Hyper Inverter Festival 

August
2-4 Oxfordshire / Supernormal Festival
22 Glasgow / The Hug And Pint
25 London / Moor Beer Vaults
28 Ipswich / The Steamboat Tavern
30 Bristol / Crofters Rights
31 Birmingham / Supersonic Festival 

September
5 Paris / Supersonic
6 Den Haag / Paard
7 Ghent / TBC

Also watch this great footage above of Smote laying waste to Blank Studios with their track 'Banhus' taken from last album 'Genog'.

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Obey Cobra's 'Mwg Drwg' is released today

"Obey Cobra show they mean business right from the start."  
The Quietus

"An album that sounds modern and yet manages to invoke the past.”
The Sleeping Shaman

"Dazzling in the sun as a cast of thousands slowly proceed towards their doom.”
Joyzine

"This band is completely in a world of their own."
Weirdo Shrine

"Distinctly Lynchian feel to it.”
God is in the TV

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Today sees the release of Obey Cobra's new album 'Mwg Drwg'.

You can buy/stream from here, or pick-up a copy from all good record shops:

Bandcamp

Sadly, thanks to brexshit and a hold-up in customs, the albums will not be in the shops until 10th May – but all bandcamp preorders will already have been sent out to you.

Plus if you are at the band's album launch show tonight in Cardiff, the band will have copies for sale on the merch table!

Up-and-coming shows are:

03 May / Cardiff /  Clwb Ifor Bach
21 June / Bristol / The Exchange
23 June / London / Shacklewell Arms

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It's Bandcamp Friday...Gnod presale goes live!

It's Bandcamp Friday and we have lots of releases to shout about, including a brand new Gnod album going up for presale today:

Gnod – Spot Land LP
New Gnod album released on purple vinyl – this is a Bandcamp exclusive and won't be available to preorder in shops.

Goat – 2024 Tshirts
Last chance to buy this 'made-to-order' shirt design available to preorder in 7 different colour options. Preorder closes on 6 May and whatever is ordered, will be manufactured and will not be reprinted.

$hit & $hine – You Were Very High 12"
Reissue of the classic 12 – expanded with an extra track and new artwork. Ltd to 300 copies. Available via Bandcamp only.

Obey Cobra – Mwg Drwg LP
New album on ltd blue vinyl is released today.

Ex Easter Island Head – Norther LP
This unique band's first album since 2016, and their first on Rocket is available to preorder.

The Janitors – An Error Has Occurred LP
Sweden's purveyors of drone-rock return with new album, on eye popping splatter vinyl and housed in gatefold sleeve

The Utopia Strong – The BBC Sessions LP/CD
You need this for the cover alone! Chuffed to be able to release this great session onto a physical format.

Alison Cotton – Engelchen LP
Alison returns with a new album of incredibly powerful songs, essential listening.

Thee Alcoholics – Feedback LP
Get intoxicated on this mighty album by The Alcoholics.

Goat – World Music LP
Now available on ltd edition Acid Yellow vinyl in it's iconic diecut sleeve

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Not only that, we still have ltd copies of the albums we released at the end of 2023 by Teeth Of The Sea, Bonnacons Of Doom, Yoke and Goat etc. 

Also our Bandcamp is stocked-up of lots of European distributor warehouse finds that we had shipped back. So as always, there's lots of great releases and t-shirts from many of your Rocket faves awaiting you:

https://rocketrecordings.bandcamp.com/merch

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Gnod announce the release of new album 'Spot Land'

Always an exciting time when we get to announce a new Gnod album to the world, so we are really happy to reveal that 'Spot Land' will be released on 31 May. 

Listen to a special taster of the albums tracks above.

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'Spot Land' is a 'Bandcamp Exclusive' release, available on Purple vinyl and comes with an insert. It can only be preordered via this link below from 8am (GMT) this Friday 3rd as part of the latest Bandcamp Friday:

Bandcamp

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See Gnod live:

27 August / Bristol / The Exchange
28 August / Utrecht / DB's
29 August / Nijmegen / Doornroosje
30 August / Rillaar / Down The Hill
31 August / London / Bush Hall
01 September / Todmorden / The Golden Lion

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GNOD, the ever-transient psychedelic musical unit from northern England with over 15 years and dozens of releases under their belt, return in 2024 with a recalibrated sound and a new sense of freedom. Spot Land’s five songs are tender and detailed, unfolding slowly with wistful guitar textures, brushed drums and interjections of lap steel, piano and kalimba.

As founder member Paddy Shine says, the results sound like old GNOD and new GNOD at the same time. On the face of it, Spot Land is a big step away from the intense, loud, sludgy offerings found on the group’s more recent studio albums, such as 2022’s Hexen Valley – nevertheless, these too are heady fogs to lose yourself in, with on-record personnel starting at different points and meeting on the same wavelength. Its exploratory sense might make seasoned GNOD heads think of 2014 triple LP Infinity Machines, or really early oddities like The Somnambulist’s Tale from 2008, but you can also jump in right here if needs be because Spot Land has its own unique vibe too.

The album was recorded in a Rochdale mill over four days in August 2023, with Paddy handling all the production and mixing – the first time he’s been fully in the hot seat for any GNOD release. He’s also the only member to feature on each of the five tracks, with others coming and going in suitably informal manner. Everyone – Paddy, fellow GNOD founder Chris Haslam, Alex Macarte, Raikes Parade and Al Wilson – plays at least two instruments over these 40 minutes. There are no vocal credits among them, but Spot Land is embellished beautifully by sampled voices, notably on the album’s opening and closing pieces. Benedictine monks intone hymnally on ‘Peace At Home’, gliding over the top of jazzy, graceful desert music, while during quarter-hour ambient rock frazzler ‘Pilgrim’s Progress’ we hear – yes – Christian pilgrims chanting in a church in Azores.

These songs are unquestionably the product of jamming, improvisation and an open mind, with little of any of what you hear having much in the way of a preconceived structure, but don’t imagine this to be self-indulgent or bloated, thanks especially to Paddy’s judicious editing process. ‘Luz Natural’ is a beatific beatless wonder crafted from synth, piano and lap steel, a soundtrack for a rainforest located somewhere along the Pennines. ‘Dream On’ is Spot Land’s most rhythm-forward moment, alien-sounding synths snaking through sharply shuffling bass and drums, whereas ‘Kapal Bhati’ is its height of abstraction: thumb piano, bizarro dub treatment and distant voices that could be anyone, from anywhere.

Though GNOD’s shift in sound from album to album is rarely planned too far ahead, there’s been a quiet desire among the band to do something of this nature for a while. The results might confound the expectations of some listeners, but in the longer view Spot Land is liquid GNOD. The arresting cover artwork is a showcase for Chris Haslam’s illustrative skills; his process here, he says, was “starting on something, never knowing when it’s complete, just when it feels finished. Like the music, really.”

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Watch Smote perform live in Blank Studios

Watch this great footage of Smote playing the track 'Drommon Pt.1' in the legendary Blank Studios with head engineer, Sam Grant from Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs at the controls.

The band are playing the always special Lubber Fiend on the weekend and then heading out for some festivals this summer:

04 May / Newcastle / The Lubber Fiend

28 June / Fell Foot Wood / Hyper Inverter Festival 

2-4 August / Oxfordshire / Supernormal Festival

1-3 Sep / Birmingham / Supersonic Festival

Smote are hoping to hit more stages later in the year, and are particularly looking for shows at these times:

UK: 23/08 to 01/09

Europe: 02/09 to 07/09

So, if you are a promoter and want to book this formidable live band – drop them an email at:

danielfoggin(at)gmail(dot)com

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Goat announce supports for Autumn tour

Goat have announced two support acts for their up-and-coming Autumn tour.

For the three October shows, fellow Swedes Maidavale, a band who supported Goat in their native Sweden in 2023 will be joining the tour.

Goat asked us if Alison Cotton could play some dates, as they are huge fans of her albums, so we are pleased to announce that Alison will be joining Goat at their Norwich, Oxford and Nottingham shows.

The full list of Goat's up-and-coming shows are:

20 Oct / Gothenburg / Pustervik
24 Oct / London / Troxy (+ Maidavale)
25 Oct / Bristol / 02 Academy (+ Maidavale)
26 Oct / Manchester / Academy 1 (+ Maidavale)
14 Nov / Norwich / UEA (+ Alison Cotton)
15 Nov / Oxford / 02 Academy (+ Alison Cotton)
16 Nov / Nottingham / Rock City (+ Alison Cotton)

Tickets

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Shit & Shine's 'You Were Very High' EP is released today

The expanded reissue of Shit & Shine's mighty 'You Were Very High' EP is released today!

This 'Bandcamp exclusive' release has been remastered and recut and has never sounded better. The ltd 300 copy 12" features a brand new track and new artwork.

Buy/Listen here:

Bandcamp

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“‘You Were Very High’ – an hallucinogenic sonic miracle.”
Loud And Quiet

In 2018 Diagonal Records released an intriguing, three track, hand stamped, white label 12” of dancefloor sampledelia by Shit & Shine onto an unsuspecting world.

The lead track on this 12” ‘You Were Very High’ turned a lot of heads and became a club oddity, being played out by DJ’s around the world – and some movers and shakers have hailed the 12” as “Shit & Shine’s best ever release.” Strong words indeed, but one that some will find hard to argue with?

When speaking to Loud and Quiet in 2022 about this now legendary release, Craig Clouse, the man behind Shit & Shine said, “Humour is totally crucial, sometimes I want to throw in instantly recognisable reference points because it’s relatable, and just to bring a smile to people’s faces.”

So now in 2024, as the original 12” has become a bit of a collector’s item, trading hands for £60+ on Discogs – Shit and Shine and Rocket Recordings have decided ‘You Were Really High’ deserves a one off repress. 

This expanded version of the EP, which is housed in new art and ltd to only 300 copies, also features a mighty extra track called ‘Dave, Have You Ever Been To London.’ A certified banger that is destined to be blasted out in Berlin’s darkest and dankest techno basements.

So if you missed out before on acquiring this incredible release, or like many you simply collect everything the genius that Craig Clouse creates, then it is time to get high on Shit & Shine once again!

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Discount tickets to Rocket-friendly three day/two stage Wiltshire music festival

Friends of Rocket Recordings John Doran of The Quietus and Mark Pilkington of Strange Attractor Press  are running a festival in Wiltshire on 24-26 May.

'Acid Horse 24' is a family-friendly two-stage, three-day party held in and around a beautiful canalside pub in rural Wiltshire under the Alton Barnes chalk horse and neolithic long barrows, a very strong line-up of bands, artists and DJs in attendance… including Rockets very own Teeth Of The Sea, Ex-Easter Island Head, Kavus Torabi and Steve Davis. 

Acid Horse are very generously offering all friends of Rocket 10% off adult tickets and 100% off kids tickets.

So tickets for anyone reading this message are £135 per adult, and kids under 15 for free (usual price is £150 and £10 respectively). Simply send the money to acidhorsewilts@gmail.com paypal and email the same address with ‘Acid Horse Rocket Offer’ in the subject line to let John and Mark know the names in your party. Feel free to  invite any mates (if they’re not wallies) whether they’re on this mailing list or not. If you say they’re OK, they’re welcome.

All of the details can be found here:
https://acidhorsewilts.wordpress.com

But here’s a quick guide to what’s on offer at the first good independent festival of the Summer:

Acid Horse is a three day music event held at The Barge Inn, Honeystreet, Wiltshire (one hour from London by train, 45 minutes from Bristol by car) on the bank holiday weekend of Friday May 24 to Sunday May 26. It’s kid (and well-behaved dog) friendly, there’s a wide range of food available including vegan and vegetarian options, tickets include three nights camping onsite, there are glamping tents available (email acidhorsewilts@gmail.com for details, first come first served), the local area is a joy to walk around and Avebury is a neolithic stone’s throw away. And that’s before we get to the crop circles… But don’t just take our word for how unique it is, stellar performers from last year Shovel Dance Collective praised a “special event” set in a landscape “imbued with magic”. 

The line up features the astonishingly good John Francis Flynn who was responsible for the recent magisterial album Look Over The Wall, See The Sky – the point where ancient folk meets horizon-expanding modern psychedelia. Also headlining is beautiful soul, the Irish-based, Syrian born, Kurdish party starter Mohammad Syfkhan, who will bring his Middle Eastern wedding party music and Turkish pop to Wiltshire for the first time. Also joining the line up are Rocket mainstays Teeth Of The Sea, augmented with Kath Gifford on vocals, who have promised attendees “something really special” as the final band of the weekend. 

The mainstage headline DJ roster includes once of Acid Horse 23’s clear highlights, Sophie Coletta who launched last year’s event past the Oort Cloud and into interstellar space by mixing The Fall, Chris & Cosey and Can into a set of liquid acid techno, Balearic industrial and EBM. We’re delighted that Judith Klempner aka Proteus is adding Pewsey,Wiltshire to a list of DJ locations that already includes Berlin, Oslo, New York and Milan. And, to be honest, we thought we were going to have trouble matching last year’s booking of Surgeon, but rounding things off on Sunday is none other than Justin Robertson – one of the best party-friendly acid house DJs of the last three decades. And trying out his new low-bpm ambient psychedelic experimental set for the first time, joining us once more is Steve Davis of The Utopia Strong. 

After a roof raising, joyous, kids version of Terry Riley’s In-C last year, Farmer Glitch and friends are going to be leading us all in a mass version of ‘I Feel Love’ and anyone who brings a synth, or a glockenspiel, or a djembe, or their own vocal cords can join in. Other returning stars include Queen of New Weird Everywhere Nat Sharp; the wild-haired man of Glastonbury Tor, Kavus Torabi [also of The Utopia Strong], just returned from a tour with Gong, playing tracks from his new LP, The Banishing; and featuring a stellar array of guest musicians Deyar Yasin, Agathe Max, Marion Andrau, Dali de St. Paul and Conny Prantera, UKAEA bring their impossibly heart-wrenching Birds Catching Fire In The Sky to the chalky downs of Wiltshire. 

We’re punching well-above our weight with sets from bucolic and beatific VALVE; Richard Dawson and Sally Pilkington lockdown project Bulbils; all the way from Poland, occasional Rocket Recordings musician with his astoundingly transportative Train Spotter project, Wacław Zimpel; legendary counter-cultural figure Nocturnal Emissions; newly signed to Rocket, north western guitar mallet minimalists Ex-Easter Island Head and one-woman gabber mayhem assault unit, Petronn Sphene. A superb last minute addition to the bill is Constellation records’ own honey-toned blue-eyed soul singer and guitar warper Eric Chenaux all the way from Paris.

And that’s before we mention the Welsh language languid goth elegies of Tristwch Y Fenywod (featuring members of Hawthonn and Guttersnipe); the garage rock explosion of Ubiquitous Meh!; sets of celestial synth transcendence from Action Group, Twilight Sequence, Hitliloma and Luminous Foundation; ecstatic d&b from Xylitol; Bristolian sci-fi prog action from ANTA; indefinable weirdness from Trans/Human, John Macedo and the Howling; plus youthful skronk rock action from Milkfiz and “coastal slurtronic folk” from Kemper Norton. 

For early risers and night owls we have a Warhammer 40k painting sesh, a Mario Karts-tournament, films for kids, impromptu campfire gigs, loads more DJs, the mysterious, heavily bearded and torrid ‘Naked Brunch’ duo and your chance to see the greatest ceiling mural in a pub ever… 

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Checkout the Acid Horse playlist:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6Ssz1stAbwLxIIRBMyozwO?si=47736e983cf7476c&nd=1&dlsi=09a2e8dd32d84ce1

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The Janitors reveal 'Lies' – the second single from forthcoming album 'An Error Has Occurred'

Swedish drone-rockers The Janitors have released 'Lies' the second single from their new album 'An Error Has Occurred' is being released on Rocket on 24th May.

This is what the band say about the track: "It’s a bit of a double edged sword this song. It’s about lies by a specific person or the lying fat scumbags in power, your choice. Most songs on the album have that duality. It’s a pretty classic Janitors song. The one riff that just keeps going, and the old quiet/loud dynamic that we love from the Pixies."

'Lies' follows the huge success of first single 'Anger The World' - and it's video has attracted over 60K views in four weeks.

Now you can watch this strobetastic video for 'Lies', made by the uber talented Per Norman exclusively via Psychedelic Baby Magazine

Psychedelic Baby Magazine

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'An Error Has Occurred' can be preordered now via the Bandcamp link below on a lush Orange/Green Splatter vinyl, and housed in an third-eye opening gatefold sleeve:

Bandcamp

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For 'An Error Has Occurred' The Janitors rehearsed intensely together before laying down everything live, over two days and nights, in a converted missionary church.  

The resulting songs have the menace of Melvins, the swagger of The Stooges and the cosmic heft of The Heads. Though you will also find dronier numbers, drawn out with soundscapes and textures influenced by The Velvet Underground’s sonic experiments and the equally immersive atmospheres of electronic acts like Massive Attack. 

See The Janitors live:

24 May / Stockholm / Geronimos FGT
29 May / Bristol / The Crofters Rights
30 May / Northampton / The Black Prince
01 Jun / London / Peckham Audio

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Obey Cobra return with second single from forthcoming album 'Mwg Drwg'

Genre pushing four-piece from Cardiff, 'Obey Cobra' have revealed 'Blue Hour' – the second single from their forthcoming album 'Mwg Drwg'.

The band say: "Blue Hour touches on the other side of Obey Cobra - a slow darker soundtrack lulling you through the early hours of morning. Exploring themes of loss, liminality and indifference." 

Watch the video for the 'Blue Hour' above.

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Preorder 'Mwg Drwg' on Ltd Edition 'Blue Vinyl' via the Bandcamp link below or from your favourite record shop: 

Bandcamp

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Reflective of a band operating by nobody’s rules but their own, Obey Cobra here are just as adept with bracing noise as sinister disquiet. Taking influences as diverse as Diane Arbus, David Lynch and Sonic Youth, they balance out heaviosity and grace on the likes of the majestically discordant ‘Ten Of Wands’ and the glacial yet pulverising ‘Blue Hour’. Meanwhile; on the title track, the band excel themselves by sculpting a Jesus Lizard-esque rhythmic pulse, eerie vocal abstraction and the crepuscular downtempo atmosphere of Massive Attack’s ‘Mezzanine’ into a uniquely haunting dreamscape.

Produced by Petbrick’s Wayne Adams, 'Mwg Drwg' is where the weird and eerie are amplified to intimidating proportions. It’s where grotesquely and beauty happily cohabit. It’s the eldritch chill of ‘Ghostwatch’ in which strange dimensions lurk in the suburbs. It’s an aural exorcism of William Friedkin proportions that demands your immediate attention.

See Obey Cobra live:

19 April / London / The Lexington
03 May / Cardiff /  Clwb Ifor Bach
21st June / Bristol / The Exchange

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Ex-Easter Island Head reveal second track from forthcoming album 'Norther'

"You must see this group. They are minimalist noise art but come on like entertainment. Absolutely captivating, classy, beautiful and sublime. No-one could fail to think this was amazing and brilliant." Stewart Lee

On 17th May, Ex Easter Island Head are releasing a new album, their first for Rocket called 'Norther'. Which can be preordered on ltd edition LP here:

Bandcamp

Watch the John O'Carroll made video for the second track to be revealed from the album, the hypnotic repetitions of 'Magnetic Language' above.

This is what the band say about this track: 

"Voices played back through phone speakers and amplified by guitar pickups create an emotive cut-up mosaic of breath and cascading harmonics. Melodic lines captured by the contemporary technology of the voice note and broadcast through the near-antique technology of the dual-coil guitar pickup. An ecstatic chorale of electromagnetic signals and gleaming tones."

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Watch Ex-Easter Island Head's mesmerising live show here:

17 May / Bristol / Cube Microplex

18 May / London / Stoke Newington Old Church (Matinee and Evening) 

24 May / Manchester / St. Michael's 

25 May / Sheffield / Sidney and Matilda

31 May / Hebden / Hebden Bridge Trades Club

07 June / Brighton / The Hope

08 June / Cambridge / Storey's Field Centre

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Bandcamp Friday – New $hit & $hine, Goat and The Holy Family releases

It's Bandcamp Friday and we have some exclusives being released today:

$hit & $hine – You Were Very High 12"
Reissue of the classic 12 – expanded with an extra track and new artwork. Ltd to 300 copies. Available via Bandcamp only.

Goat – 2024 Tshirts
We have this 'made-to-order' shirt design available to preorder in 7 different colour options.
The preorder will close on 6 May and whatever is ordered, will be manufactured and will not be reprinted.

The Holy Family – Live Burning, Burning Live DL
The bands legendary performance at Roadburn in 2022 is now available to listen too...remixed and mastered.

Goat – World Music LP
Now available on ltd edition Acid Yellow vinyl in it's iconic diecut sleeve

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It is always the perfect time to pick up our latest presales/releases. 

The Janitors – An Error Has Occurred LP
Sweden's purveyors of drone-rock return with new album, on eye popping splatter vinyl and housed in gatefold sleeve

Obey Cobra – Mwg Drwg LP
New album on ltd blue vinyl by the mightily original band from Cardiff.

Ex Easter Island Head – Norther LP
This unique band's first album since 2016, and their first on Rocket.

Gnoomes – Uletai DL
Hypnotic two track EP by your favourite star gazers.

The Utopia Strong – The BBC Sessions LP/CD
You need this for the cover alone! Chuffed to be able to release this great session onto a physical format.

Alison Cotton – Engelchen LP
Alison returns with a new album of incredibly powerful songs, essential listening.

Thee Alcoholics – Feedback LP
Get intoxicated on this mighty album by The Alcoholics.

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Not only that, we still have ltd copies of the albums we released at the end of 2023 by Teeth Of The Sea, Bonnacons Of Doom, Yoke and Goat etc. 

Also our Bandcamp is stocked-up of lots of European distributor warehouse finds that we had shipped back. So as always, there's lots of great releases and t-shirts from many of your Rocket faves awaiting you:

Bandcamp

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The Holy Family to release their infamous live set from Roadburn Festival

In April 2022 The Holy Family played the legendary Roadburn Festival in the Netherlands and enthralled a packed room. Now, two years on we are extremely happy to be able to share with you the live recording of this memorable event.

The digital release album 'Live Burning, Burning Live' will be available on all platforms from Friday 5th April, and as it is Bandcamp Friday there is no better time to buy it:

Bandcamp 

For those who are unfamiliar with The Holy Family – they are a collective of five musicians who conjure a sound that exhibits an affinity with great experimental totems down the ages, in a manner that is avowedly forward-facing and stamped with their own unique identity. All involved boast a pre Holy Family CV to turn clued-in heads: frontman and brainchild behind the project David J. Smith (vocals, percussion), Kavus Torabi (guitar, harmonium), Sam Warren (bass, backing vocals), Joe Lazarus (drums), and on this recording Craig Fortnam, of North Sea Radio Orchestra fame (piano & wem copicats), who was recruited to grace Emmett Elvin’s piano throne  in his absence.

The band performed tracks from their debut self-titled double album (released on Rocket Recordings in July 2021) at this show. Re-arranging and expanding on the studio recordings, weaving the pagan, kosmische folk vibes with heavier, darker, acid-fried motorik grooves, all set to the otherworldly psychedelia of Mike Bourne’s (Teeth Of The Sea) commissioned live visuals film.

David J. Smith said “We were over the moon to be performing at Roadburn in 2022 and couldn’t wait to bring The Holy Family’s psych dream logic to Tilburg. We have so much respect for this wondrous, creative, tour de force of a festival.”

As you can hear in these live recordings, The Holy Family’s musical inspirations are multitudinous, and rarely if ever obvious, but if you dig anything from Can to Boredoms to Oneida to Guapo then, step this way.

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Rocket to reissue an expanded 'You Were Very High' 12" by Shit & Shine

“‘You Were Very High’ – an hallucinogenic sonic miracle.”
Loud And Quiet

In 2018 Diagonal Records released an intriguing, three track, hand stamped, white label 12” of dancfloor sampledelia by Shit & Shine onto an unsuspecting world.

The lead track on this 12” ‘You Were Very High’ turned a lot of heads and became a club oddity, being played out by DJ’s around the world – and some movers and shakers have hailed the 12” as “Shit & Shine’s best ever release.” Strong words indeed, but one that some will find hard to argue with?

When speaking to Loud and Quiet in 2022 about this now legendary release, Craig Clouse, the man behind Shit & Shine said, “Humour is totally crucial, sometimes I want to throw in instantly recognisable reference points because it’s relatable, and just to bring a smile to people’s faces.”

So now in 2024, as the original 12” has become a bit of a collector’s item, trading hands for £60+ on Discogs – Shit and Shine and Rocket Recordings have decided ‘You Were Really High’ deserves a one off repress. 

This expanded version of the EP, which is housed in new art and ltd to only 300 copies, also features a mighty extra track called ‘Dave, Have You Ever Been To London.’ A certified banger that is destined to be blasted out in Berlin’s, darkest and dankest techno basements.

So if you missed out before on acquiring this incredible release, or like many you simply collect everything the genius that Craig Clouse creates, then it is time to get high on Shit & Shine once again!

‘You Were Very High’ is released on 26 April but you can preorder from the 5th April, the next Bandcamp Friday from here:

Bandcamp

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Gnoomes to release a new EP 'Uletai' this Friday

This Friday Gnoomes will release a new two track digital EP called 'Uletai' - listen to the title track 'Ule' above

You can purchase the track digitally from Bandcamp on Friday:

Bandcamp

And you can purchase a ltd edition cassette of the EP from the band on their current tour that starts this Saturday:

30 Mar / Northampton / The Black Prince
31 Mar / Newcastle / Cumberland Arms
04 Apr / Norwich / Voodoo Daddy’s
06 Apr / Sheffield / Delicious Clam
11 Apr / Leeds / Wharf Chambers
17 Apr / London / Strongroom Bar
18-19 Apr / Oslo / Kafe Haerverk
20 Apr / Copenhagen / Loppen
17 May / Berlin / Loge
22 May / Paris / Supersonic
23 May / Angers / Le Garage
24 May / Saint-Poix / Festival Les Mouillotins

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Gnoomes have announced some new music, exactly one year on from the March 2023 release of their critically acclaimed album ‘Ax Ox’.

‘Ax Ox’ reflected something of an odyssey for a complex and inhospitable modern era, an uplifting kosmische travelogue that ran through a gamut of vibrant emotion across its eleven tracks – from kraut-pop, to crystalline techno and skewed ambience. 

And we are very pleased to say that this new two track EP called ‘Uletai, which is led by the 8 minute+ track ‘Ule’, a track that continues the band’s wide-eyed aesthetic of dreampop radiance, bold electronic experimentation and propulsive motorik drive.

“This track is dedicated to our late friend who tragically died in an accident.” says Sasha Painkov from the band, “Although I had recorded the music before his passing, I added vocals a few days after he passed away. Subconsciously, these words appeared before my eyes: ‘Uletai, ‘Tai’,’ which means, “Fly away, vanish.” Fortunately, I had a microphone at home and recorded it right away. Despite the sad background of this track, it remains in a major scale musically. Even as we continue to grieve our loss, we strangely feel our friend’s bright presence shining through the madness that is called reality.”

Following ‘Ule’, is the hypnotic sounds of ‘Tai’. “This track was also conceived around the same time as ‘Ule’.” says Sasha. “Masha and I were jamming at my parents’ house in Russia when we stumbled upon a simple idea that we evolved after relocating to Slovenia. Sonically, I believe this track truly complements the first one. It’s repetitive and trippy but carries more mysterious vibes.” 

Sasha continues “If ‘Ule’ is a track about a journey from this life to another dimension, then ‘Tai’ is about realizing oneself as pure energy. I think, in a way (please, don’t hate me), this is our artistic interpretation of Can’s ‘Future Days’.”

Gnoomes who as a duo are now based in Slovenia (after having to leave their native Russia) are playing shows in UK and Europe in March and April 2024. Another chance to immerse into the sonic wonderfulness of this extremely unique band.

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