Rocket Probes – September playlist

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

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

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

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

Holy Scum – Kill
(Gnew GNOISE)
Holy Scum

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

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

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

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

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

Lyubocha – RYYTMA
(Dark repetitions on Opal tapes)
Lyubocha

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sunn Trio – Electric Esoterica
(Eclectic sounds)
Sunn Trio

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

Follow our updated monthly Rocket Probes Spotify playlist here:

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Introducing Pharaoh Overlord '6'

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

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

Without Song All Will Perish 

'6' by Pharaoh Overlord is a cataclysmic clash with bewitching results. The band’s current duo of Tomi Leppänen and Jussi Lehtisalo first channelled their love of krautrock-damaged monomania into synth-driven motorik soundscapes on 2019’s ‘5’ yet this new exploration is a step way beyond, into a chilly and captivating electronic panorama. Beholden to the melodies and textures of Kraftwerk yet also the cinematic austerity of EBM and the effervescent pulse of classic Italo-disco, it’s further abetted by fierce and corrosive vocals from longtime collaborator and Sumac/Isis/Old Man Gloom seer Aaron Turner, which stand atop these futuristic serenades not unlike the fevered delivery of a dystopian hellfire preacher. 

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

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

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

 

Mxdwn reviews DEAFBRICK

They say:

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

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

Read the rest here: Mxdwn

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Off Shelf interviews J. Zunz

They say:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Read the rest here:  Off Shelf

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Artnoir reviews J. Zunz's Hibiscus

They say:

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

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

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

Read the rest here: Artnoir

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The New Noise interviews Deafbrick and reviews their mighty album

They say:

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

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

Read the bands answers here: The NN interview

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The website also has given the album a glowing review:

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

Which you can read in full  here: The NN review

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

They say:

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

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

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

Read the rest here: Backseat Mafia

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Indie Rocks reviews J. Zunz album

They say:

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

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

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

Read the rest here: Indie Rocks

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The Tinnitist reviews Sex Swing's Type II

They say:

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

Read the rest here:  The Tinnitist

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Metalstorm reviews DEAFBRICK

They say:

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

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

Read the rest here: Metal Storm

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