29 Apr 2011

Rocket Probes April 2011 Playlist



Oneida - Shahin's Bong / Mugstar - Untitled
(Future Rocket 'Collisions' release - 2 long tracks each, in a The Heads 'Camden Brain Slurry' (Collisions 1) vein, The 'O' road tested on a constant loop, back to back for the best part of a solid 6 hours - just to to be sure, & we are proud to announce we have a monster!)

Annapurna Illusion - Life Is An Illusion
(Featured previously on our monthly playlist, we've been really diggin the final mix and getting things ready for production)

Oneida - Absolute II
(The final instalment of the 'Thank Your Parents' Triptych!)

Hills – Master sleeps
(Second album from this Swedish psych outfit, and it is even better than their first, great fuzzed up kraut pysch, highly recommended!!!)

White Hills / H-p1
(Amazing new album from our fave space rockers...a great mix of grooved out spacey soundscapes and heavy fuzz rockers, possibly their best album?)

Peaking Lights – 936
(Perfect soundtrack for these hot summery days we been getting)

Various – I’m So Convoluted EP
(Nice ‘Record Store Day’ four track vinyl,....features tracks from The Heads/Big Naturals Rituals, Mugstar, Carlton Melton and Koolaid...thanks to Mr Keeler for this!!)

John Kongos – He’s Gonna Step On You Again
(The original version that the Happy Mondays covered with their track ‘Step on’...though this has an amazing fuzzed out groove...will be making an appearance at the next ‘Nothing is...’ for sure!!)

Thought Forms – Demos
(Have been lucky enough to hear some recently recorded demos for their next album and they are sounding immense, heavily treated layered guitars, ethereal vocals collide with heavy doomy riffs!!!)

Aqua Nebula Oscilator – Excavation
(Heavy, fuzzed up, wigged out, jams/album tracks that were recorded in Caves in 2007 apparently....nice screenprinted sleeve too)

Hi-Fiction Science - S/T
(Bristol collective out of the ashes of Suncoil Sect & Fuzz Against Junk's female vocalised side, contemporary psychedelic-folk-electronica tinged pop)

Can - Tago Outtakes
(Bootleg Tago Mago outtakes, Doko E (36.30) & Tagothrowaway (35.33), you know the score around these parts!!)

---

GNOD Live in Denmark



Live @ Kronborggade, Copenhagen, Funfunddreizig Euro Mazzarfakkaar!!

Edible hippy shitcakes, it’s a rare Gnod busking set captured at Rasmus’ bar in Copenhagen. Slack the fuck out… dog-egg.


Live in Copenhagen by GNOD


Live @ Munkemollestraede in Odense
Stick your beak into this…

Live in Odense by GNOD

---

27 Apr 2011

Teeth Of The Sea Are Touring



Teeth of the Sea are touring with the great Parts and Labor.
They have put together this little film to advertise the dates and venues.

---

INGODWETRUST reviewed on Behind the Wall of Sleep




The great music website set up by Jase from Mugstar 'Behind the Wall of sleep' has written some nice words about the forthcoming Gnod album INGNODWETRUST released on June 6th.

Read the review here

---

The amazing issue two of OPTICAL SOUND out now



Yes, our fave new magazine has its second issue out now, this is what their press release says:

Interviews with one of THEE most influential musicians to come from
these shores in the last 25 years - Pete Kember

Plus features on Asteroid No4,Follakzoid, Gnod, Lumerians, Magic Lantern, Mugstar, Paperhead,
The Psychedelic Schafferson Jetplane, Watch Out!, White Fence

Articles on The Chilean Psychedelic Underground, Broadcast, Captain Sensible and his psych Guitar Playing, Memories Of (((Loop))) by Simon Price of The Heads, Tales Of A Deadhead,

56 pages of psychedelia!!


Buy yourself one of these essential reads
here

---

Oneida release Absolute II on June 6th



June 6th looks like a good day to go record shopping, as well as our new Gnod album INGNODWETRUST being released, Oneida release the third part of their Thank your parents triptych...this is what Jagjaguwar’s press release says:

Absolute II is the final piece in Oneida’s Thank Your Parents triptych of releases, begun in 2008 with Preteen Weaponry and followed by 2009’s acclaimed triple disc Rated O. With this release, the Brooklyn group concludes a challenging and profound long-term project. The Thank Your Parents triptych, totaling around 200 minutes, is intended to be listened to as a whole or in its component parts. Absolute II stands on its own, in addition to serving as a chapter in an immense whole.

The music on Absolute II is startling, rigorous and demanding. Oneida is a band that has been strongly identified with the frenetic, fluid drumming of Kid Millions and the relentless pulse of classic Krautrock, but this release contains neither audible drums nor identifiable “rock” music. The recordings move freely across accepted boundaries of rhythm, harmony, and tonality – not in the form of dramatic, willful experiment, but as a musical distillation of several themes that have emerged in the wake of Rated O’s dynamism: paralysis, entropy, stasis, possibility, and finality among them.

Absolute II will be out June 6. Oneida has set up a Bandcamp page which gives a complete overview of the Thank Your Parents series with audio from all three releases including Absolute II available for preview.


---

21 Apr 2011

Nothing is... happening on May 6th




The next instalment of 'Nothing is...' is happening on May 6th at the 'ol faithful Alibi.
This event, Nathan Miller from 'We are all going to die' is joining us to play some records.

Nothing is...

DJ's:
Cage and Aviary (Walls have ears / DFA)
Rik Motör (Rocket Recordings)
Little Dirty (Lithe Records)
**Plus special guest: Nathan Miller (We are all going to die)**

-
Visuals:
Decasia
-
Date:
Friday 6th My 2011
-
Venue:
The Alibi (91 Kingsland High Street, Dalston, London E8 2PB)
8pm to 3am
Entry is FREE


We also have some very exciting news regarding 'Nothing is...' plus something VERY SPECIAL indeed lined up for our next night on July 1st.

Sign up to our facebook page for latest news, plus some free mixes etc

---

19 Apr 2011

The word of GNOD - a Liturgy



As we approach Easter, we happy to post up this long interview with the core members of GNOD. We thank them for their patience in answering The 'O's meandering stream of consciousness!

INGNODWETRUST





Q1 - In the beginning when Gnod created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind swept over the face of the waters. Then it was said, Let there be light; and there was light, and the light separated from the darkness, the crashing from the calm - then there was Tony's last disco……..What would Gnod create in 7 days, if they ran the show?

PADDY:
Whaddya mean if? we do run the show. no seriously if Gnod ran the show we'd create a secretary or PA to sort ot all that bothersome light and life business and we would probably get 49 heavy jams together in those 7 days and then send em all to rocket to be turned into black plastic sound carriers.


CHRIS:
- I reckon being God would be like winning the lottery but instead of a load of money you'd get all of the elements of the periodic table including the missing ones that no-one has found yet and then you could spend your days sculpting everything into existence with your mind.
I'd get rid of all of that suffering and shit that goes on, like running out of weed and having to go to work with a hangover. To have the will to start such a thing is unfathomable!

MARLENE:
--- Everything as it stands but abolish Religion. that would sort things out wouldn't it? I don't know, when it comes to it we'll think about it..---


DEL:
Freeeeeeee time for all. destroy all time pieces, abolish currency, free trade rules - let the mathematics of the universe take over.






Q2 - In all the versions I've ever heard of 'Tony's last disco', its always had an Epic, Majestic, Confident, Dramatic, Doomed, Determined, Intense, Dangerous, Ominous, Sinister, Repetitive Marching, Foreboding sense of impending 'Old Testament' conflict about it. What interests you in that a sense of marching to war as to express it within some of your music?

PADDY:
You know how it is man, this is war, but, nothing is too intentional though. Shit just pours out the soul and turns into sound. The beat pins it down and we all fly away


CHRIS:
- It's all about creating a vessel to travel inside. Once the vessel has been created, it can take you to many places as long as you don't fuck too much with the structure of it. Start fucking with the structure and cracks start to appear. Then before you know it people falling through them and you're not able to save them cos if you put out your hand to save them, you make the crack bigger and then you yourself fall through and one by one we all fall though and we land back on earth. Tony started the party and it is our duty to keep that party going so that Tony never comes down.


MARLENE:
----- It's just like the proverb that goes "If Gnod can't go to the War, then let the War come to Gnod" -----


DEL:
We're all marching somewhere we shouldn't be.. maybe we're just soundtracking that march with Tonys.






Q3 - I love music that takes you on a journey & I really am intrigued by the comedian Stewart Lee's idea of the 'Cage-an Dictate' (named after John Cage); I really like the concept that you can take an idea, repeat it & repeat it & repeat it & repeat it & repeat it, then continue until you go through the monotony & somehow through persistence of repeating you come out the other side wherein the mind enters a more euphoric sense of the subject, like a mantra. So, when Gnod created vibrations & therefore music, what is it about vibrations that attracted you to collate them into tranced inducing ordered psalms, ie: making repetition/trance music?

PADDY:
That is just how we roll man, you may as well be asking me the square root of e=mc squared or whatever. shit just is.I personally had training in the power of repetition as an artform from my Guru Salford Tom aka SLT aka 2 quid. He thought me you can break anyone or anything down as long as you persist in the means of doing so.


CHRIS:
- It feels right when you're doing it and it feels wrong when you aint.


MARLENE:
--- repetition along with an ever-changing wall of sound makes you lose your mind, your brain starts working in a different way, loses the notion of time and just follows the beat as if you're being taken on a journey, an endless one.. and everyone seems to flow on the same vibe and respond to this the same way, it is a great form of connecting with others and you feel reborn and energised afterwards, cheaper than drugs..---

DEL: I suppose i've always loved live music that's done that.. puts you in a headspace that makes you (g)nod, roll, jolt, whatever.. dance maybe, but i've rarely got the energy to do that. or i've got a pint in me hand that i don't want to spill. crazy john's good at that, but i'm not. so yeah, vibrations, something you can feel..





Q4 - Using the repetition of words as a pattern, describe Gnod's music?

PADDY: john0john0john0john0john0john0john0john0john0john0john0jhn0john0 etc

CHRIS:
- Ohhhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...Bom ting, bom ting, bom ting, bom ting, bom ting, bom ting, bom ting, bom ting, bom ting, bom ting, bom ting , bom ting, bom ting, bom ting, bom ting, bom ting, bom ting, bom ting, bom ting, bom ting, bom ting, BRANG - BRANG - BRANG - BRANG - BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM, BOM!




MARLENE: --- pretty sure i should leave this one to the expert in "repetitive word treatment" that occurs every once in a while around 2 am on sunday mornings.. Over to you O'! ---

DEL:
HANG HANG HANG HANG HANG ON HANG HANG HANG HANG HANG ON HANG HANG HANG HANG HANG ON EYES EARS EYES EARS EYES EARS EYES EARS EYES EARS EYES EARS etc ;)






Q5 - Lee 'Scratch' Perry once stated that in dub the Brain = space & the heart = the Beat, what do Gnod represent?

PADDY:
Well at the moment its, Fish= bass x guitar ÷ drums +bass= Kiwi+ synth= Genocider


CHRIS:
- Who needs a brain when you have the beat? Peace be unto the I, JAH RAS-TAFIRI!


MARLENE:
---- Beats = Bombs , Dreams = nightmares ---


DEL: Both, i'd hope?





Q6 - You have entered into the spirit of early Hawkwind & many Krautrock bands, not by copying the music directly, more in attitude, as Julian Cope put it best in the Krautrock sampler - A' Pagan Freakout LSD explore-the-god-in-you-by-working-the animal-in-you Gnostic Odyssey'. There is a darker punk edge that comes to surface of your music, where does this come from & why are all these edgier influences pulling you to outer space?

PADDY:
For me the punk element comes from being not technically proficient on guitar and treating it more like a drum, and spending years as a teenager listening and feeling the energy of bands like Crass, Conflict, Subhumans, The Exploited loads-a high energy madness. i had tapes of live punk gigs that always made me wish i had been there and reinforced the need for me to go and do that shit myself.


CHRIS:
- As 'Ra' said, Space Is The Place. Considering how much evil is in the world, it's no wonder why anyone with an imagination will try to escape from it.


MARLENE:
----We all like punk, everyone's got a crap job, the sun never comes out.. you gotta take the rage out on something i guess ----


DEL:
Frustration at life, what life can be - harsh but at other times uplifting, music.. it's the one thing we can all connect to, some more than others, but all the same.. only the hardest, heartless fucker won't be touched by music at some time in their life.
i love beautiful sounding stuff, but quite often, i'm up for something ugly, maybe even confrontational, but in the end, there's beauty in that too.





Q7
- Why is the afro beat so important, it has influenced the band tremendously & is like the black funkier brother of Krautrock groove?

PADDY:
Its important because it exists and its available to listen to. its bass n drums heavy which is my bag indeed and pretty much all Afro beat reaches over the 10 minute mark which is very useful indeed. First time i heard Shakara by Fela Kuti , i fucking lost my mind dancing round a record shop in Manchester. Magical.


CHRIS:
- All the beats are important. James Brown was not just the Godfather of Soul but a Godfather of Psych. Fela and James were two parts of the same soul related in music. Africa is where all of the beats come from, even the new ones that we haven't discovered yet. Noise from rhythm, rhythm from noise!


MARLENE:
-----It is timeless music, has the best rhythms to offer and amazing musicians, it summons you to dance the second the beat starts and it's
the best party music ever, ... Fela!!!!!!-- DEL: Best beats, best parts, makes you wanna get the fuck up and dance like nothing else, at any time of the day. timeless. sounds fuckin ALIVE all the time. what else is there to say? Fela, fuck yeah, Tony Allen is KING. like a fuckin waterfall, he plays them drums with a PURPOSE.





Q8 - The label 'Sublime Frequencies' seems to have an influence on you, explain why it is that the music blow's so hot & dusty from the infernal sand swept dunned mind of Gnod?

PADDY:
They're are just helping to spread the word about what exists outside all this mainstream culture in the world and give a taste of what amazing and talented heads are doing their thing in places people never heard of. They are also helping show us how music is something that is way deeper than any of us know. way deeper


CHRIS:
- It's good that those people are searching out music in the deepest recesses of the world and putting it out there. Respect to Sublime Frequencies, they stretch our minds to places beyond the city, out to the wilderness.


MARLENE:
----They find and release some incredible traditional and cultural music from places i never even heard of, give it more of a voice and make it available to us in the western world, we need more of that mix ---


DEL:
It's raw, undiluted, primal stuff. if you got anything left of your heart and soul, then you'll connect with what these heads are doin. PASSION.





Q8 - Vatican - part exorcism, part dub, played like Faust dabbling Butthole Surfers - halfway through the song, your vocals are screaming hell bent for forgiveness, how much influence did your Catholic background play a part in where your collective head is at?

PADDY:
We got 5 catholics, a Proddy, a jesuit, a jew, 3 arabs and a kiwi. we are fucked up, especially the Catholics, they're heads are fucked. Vatican is certainly a poke at Catholicism but also a poke at all religions hell bent on destruction of the soul. Crawl back to the vatican


CHRIS:
- Catholicism is a legal form of brainwashing. Whatever good it does (if any) is outweighed ten fold by the bad. It tells people not to trust their own minds, breeds fear of the unknown and protects evil bastards. It takes responsibility away from the individual and gives them walls to hide behind. Other religions do this too but I was born a catholic so I feel I've got the right to attack it, especially as I never asked to be a catholic in the first place. My mum just thought it would get me into a better school.


MARLENE:
--- I'm a Catholic but stopped going to Church as soon as i was old enough to kick up a fuss, my parents didn't want me to suffer anyway, i
went into witchcraft after that, way more exciting, some of us weren't so lucky---

DEL:
Paddy deffo had that, being from the republic. chris too, being a polish. marlene also in old school racist Portugal. fish was the other side of that particular bullshit divide being a Proddy. me? i was brought up a godless fucker and shall continue to be so. cheers to me ma n pa ;)






Q9
- What does Manchester mean to Gnod & what does Gnod mean to Manchester?

PADDY:
To me it means HQ.


CHRIS:
- We live there, I'm from there & it feels like home. Which is why I now live in Salford.


MARLENE: ---Manchester is the home of Gnod, we all met up here coming from all corners, it's got a big music scene which caters to all tastes i guess, although it's still living in the Hacienda years and whatever repercussions that brought.. Still there's some amazing bands popping out which should get a lot more recognition than others but that's the way things roll.. ---

DEL:
M-G, Not entirely sure. it's changed a lot in the last 3 years, for the better.. lots of sick bands about for sure.. Frazer King, Arficeden and hot bone, kong, all on a totally different tip but all gettin it.
looks like it may finally be stamping on the throat of the factory/ Madchester albatross. we hope anyway.

DEL:
G-M, I don't know.. we've been dickin about playing shows all over the place in Manc for 4 years+, to different heads every time, with a different vibe every time. it's unlikely more than a handful of people would have seen us more than once and realised they'd seen us before if you get me.
i think that's starting to change a little, hopefully we've done our time now and people will start to realise what we're about.. so if you saw us live sometime a few years back and you thought we were a joke, or not your cup of tea or whatever, be prepared to be surprised. we did an amazing gig at this top little venue on oldham st in town called Gullivers a few weeks ago. organised by steve shy who's a fucking diamond, was a free gig, and everyone was up for it. but yeah, we've not seen that in the UK before (except the odd basement party show where everyone's mangled on drugs) and it blew us away. that meant a lot, playing a great show to a few people we knew and a good few we didn't in Mcr. buzz.





Q10 - What environment would most suit a Gnod live gig, how would you describe the proceedings?

PADDY:
Good Ale, Good drugs, Good Soundsystem.


CHRIS:
- A venue that doesn't try to stiffle your sound, a crowd that are open minded & up for a zombie boogie and a bar that serves good ales. Basically, a good party atmosphere.


MARLENE:
--- A field, a massive stage, the biggest soundsystem ever, the biggest stacks ever, unlimited beer, unlimited time, unlimited energy, disco lights, caviar, smoked salmon, jacuzzis and a first aid tent ---


DEL:
No stage, smaller the place the better, loud as hell, everyone baying for some action.. we'll provide, just show us you want it!






Q11
- What does the 'Altered States of America' motto 'Ingnodwetrust' mean to you? Are we to trust you & why?

PADDY:
Cmon Trust no one, unless of course you can honestly say you trust yourself.


CHRIS:
- From the very start we have had to trust in Gnod. From the very first gig when we didn't have any tracks to play, we had to put our trust in Gnod and do it. We have trusted Gnod from the very start and Gnod hasn't let us down yet. We will always trust in Gnod until the end. No one else has to trust in Gnod but it's members. No one else has to believe in Gnod but it's members. How can we expect non-believer to trust us? We don't, but amazingly some do.


MARLENE:
--- I'm a late addition to Gnod, got hooked on the energy and sound the first time i witnessed the ritual.. Therefore I Trust! ----


DEL:
Trust us, we do






Q12 - Tell us about Supernormal, personally I think its was on of the best festival experiences I'd had, had something of Glastonbury Fayre about it, 'Rex Nemo and the Psychic Self Defenders' (you must play with them) summed up the whole weekend & the day ended with me joining you onstage. Gnod are the only band ever that I put down the lights & joined in on the stage, how is this possible?








PADDY:
John , its about time you put the lights down and started your own outfit which im certain would blow Gnod out the water. something like Father 0 & fuckin catholics or Klaus Kinder & the Durty Priests. twas a pleasure to see you throwing yourself about the stage while we played. you have got to do it again la.




CHRIS:
- It was possible because we convinced you that it would be a good experience for you and we were right weren't we? Supernormal is a great new festival. I can't wait to play it again this year.


MARLENE:
--- I had loads of fun, it was a great festival, Rex Nemo and the Psychic Self Defenders were great, they kinda set everyone veering into madness with their set, they kick started Saturday's party vibe for sure. That's probably what made you jump on stage later to join us,..---


DEL:
That fucked up mask, maybe? hop man jjr falling over giving you such a euphoric rush of comedy that you just had to join in?
Supernormal was great, that stage was something pretty special, rex nemo and co set the tone for the day pretty damn nicely.. then the ale and disco biccys set things off well. seeing faust that night was immense. Jean Herve Peron had some of the most severe bloody blisters i've seen anyone come offstage with.. i like to think we contributed to those in some small part. and i think i got his hat.. found it on the wing mirror of the Gnod mobile on sunday morning.





Q13 - You seemed to relish when people join you onstage, as if there isn't a boundary between the audience & yourselves, tell us about it?

PADDY
: Sometimes its good sometimes not so good and sometimes its downright strange eg we are playing in Berlin and a friend of ours is there and we have jammed with her loads and she is on a few releases doing her poetry thing..anyway.. she joins us on stage in Berlin and i mean i couldn't hear what she was doing during the gig cos of sound issues or whatever but i listen back to it next day and she is basically doing a 40 minute sex noise rant over everything we played that night. i was wondering why when i looked out the crowd that night,peoples faces were stuck in a state of shock. you'd have to hear it maybe to believe it , its fuckin nuts. anyway it was still a good laugh like. yeh its always fun when the unexpected creeps into gig


CHRIS:
- When Gnod first started we would encourage the audience to jam along, handing out bells, shakers and other percussive instruments. Anyone who wanted to be in the band could join us, as long as they brought their own equipment. We we're always trying to get as many people as we could on stage to make the sound bigger. There came a point when we had to regroup and create a tighter collective. People had to show a bit more commitment like come to a few rehearsals before the gig.


MARLENE:
---- There is no boundaries, we want the crowd to enjoy it as much as we do , have a buzz on or off stage with us and join us on the trip, the more madness the better. it doesnt always work though, we've had to steal snares and other loud percussive bits back off the crowd in the past as they started abusing their luck ---


DEL:
That's debatable, there's been a few times when that's made us come a cropper before. long story. as we've become a little more organised in what we do, i've personally started to hate some chancer at the front hitting a drum. i do however love shakers/bellls etc
there's always room in our jams/tracks for those extra tones and mini rhythms to counter the monotony of the rhythms i play to let the gnod beast roll out it's true wall of sound.





Q14 - When I first saw you guys at the Sonic Sanctuary 'All Dayer' you blew the other bands away & I was hooked right in my beer ridden goggle wearing third eye, you're never quite sure what you're going to get with GNOD, apart from the fact it probably won't be the same thing as last time you saw them. Within minutes I was absorbed into some strange transcendental state, the music has a fluid nature, it often goes beyond what it started out as when you originally composed, why does it keep evoking especially live?

PADDY:
Cos we use lots of different lineups, setups, sounds and there is no real rigid structure. there is only Gnod.


CHRIS:
- Nothing that we play is ever the final version. Riffs and rhythms can always be recycled.


MARLENE:
---- Our state of mind is always reflected in the music, most of our music will become different to what it started out as a natural progression, we change and so does the music,there's too many possibilities. a change is as good as a rest.. or better----


DEL:
I don't particularly know how or why, but it feels right. each jam we play does have a natural lifespan, i think the element of the unknown, that excitement is quite vital to our sound to an extent.






Q15 - I read once Can's 'You Doo Right' was edited down from a 24 jam, wether that is true, thats some serious repetition. What is the longest you've ever played or Jammed for?

PADDY:
Wow fuck knows. we did play for about 4 hours non stop at a house party once. we were fuckin off it like, dressed as evil trannys and fish was the pie eyed piper shaking his flute about like a possessed medieval peasant. That was the gig where we first met our second bass player and we spiked her and brainwashed her into only playing a B chord


CHRIS:
- There was a pre Gnod jam at Merlin's old studio that lasted for over 6 hours. It was all recorded too but he never managed to import the file into any music program (we used about 6 or 7 mics). The longest we have ever played live was at a basement party in Manchester in 2007. We played for around 3 1/2 hours non stop.


MARLENE:
--- The boys probably know best than me as i got no notion of time and always got my head in the clouds---


DEL:
Not entirely sure, but i know just before Gnod formed, we had a 6 hour session that was constant at merlin's old studio in newton heath. we recorded it onto a HD rack, but nobody was ever brave enough to tackle the huge file it generated.







Q15 - You seem to dress up sometimes when playing live, tell us about some of the more out-ra-genus Gnod live gigs?

PADDY:
Supporting AMT in manchester. our boy john who usually plays synth is on vocal duty that night. he is in his boxers for whatever reason. gigs at deaf institute ion manchester, really tall stage so the audiences head is at our knee height. Unbeknownst to himself every time John kneels down his cock and balls pop out his boxers scrape the floor of the stage providing a lovely visual back drop to the gig. lovely


CHRIS:
- We once played a gig representing Islington Mill at a Manchester award ceremony with the wooly masks on. We convinced Hop Man Jr to do vocals in a dress one time and for some reason he didn't have any underwear on and when he squatted down his tackle fell out. His dad was in the audience to witness that too. The aviator goggles, the Buzz Lightyear mask, the mirrored scarf, the general's hat, The Fish's milkmaid dress, Matty Box's wrestling mask and tutu, all are memorable items of the Gnod wardrobe department. We don't dress up much any more tho, it became a bit too predictable. We sold all of our outfits to Lady Gaga.


MARLENE:
------I think John and the Fish started that craze, they feel very comfortable in skirts and dresses of all kinds when performing, no matter how short and revealing, we all join them once in a while for a buzz but not done it for a while now. One of the best must've been the set where everyone was under toy story bed sheets, or the time John decided to wear a dress with underpants and managed to fully reveal his parts unintentionally to a fairly big crowd while crouching down. There's also times of Paddy falling off the stage within 30 seconds into the set due to high consumption of Guinness, not even dressing up, outrageous.. It's all fun and games..----


DEL:
I suppose the more successful example of the 'theatrical' side of Gnod was when we opened up for six organs of admittance at the mill.. we had annette doin her improv vocals on the stage, flanked by pad n chris setting off Buddha machines through fx in the fuzzy head masks whilst doing 'sun salutation' yoga moves.. some girl later said she thought chris was controlling his machine via the salutation(?).. all the while, about 5 or 6 of us were moochin round the crowd dressed up in masks and sheets/robes shaking percussion, playing trumpets and shouting.
was a top buzz, think there's a clip on youtube maybe





Q16
- The Somnambulist’s Tale, this is one of my favourite Gnod tracks, tell us more about its conception, its a mellower side to Gnod, how many different sides has Gnod?

PADDY:
The music came about cos i managed to get my hands on a Hang instrument from switzerland so it inspired a more acoustic approach but the concept comes from the man that represents the true spirit of Gnod and my own personal Guru, Salford Tom aka Slt aka 2 quid. The story of the Somnambulist comes from Tom the true master of repetition and the prophet of the great doom boom. His wise words and teachings can be heard on that album lending it the weight and importance of a true classic.
We have 7 sides, i think.

CHRIS:
- The Somnambulist's Tale came about after interviewing SLT about the nature of doom. He sprayed out some truth and Del typed the minutes. Around that time we were rehearsing some tracks with the hang drum, we put the two together and The Somnambulist's Tale was born. It was my first attempt at using Cubase so I kept it pretty simple.


MARLENE:
----The Somnambulist's Tale was put together from a Hang/Synth/percussion jam recording and one of the infamous' "Salford Tom's on-the-spot-rants" about whatever subject you give him to talk about, this time around it was about the Doom Atom. I learnt a lot about
doom that night,the fact that it was found in a forest and captured in a match box blew me away, and not to forget that there was a Doom Boom at some point in age.. There is a mellow side to Gnod once in a while, there's also a secret side to Gnod.... which is... a secret..---

DEL:
Many sides, lost count really.
Anyway,The Somnambulist's Tale. paddy had recently gone to acquire his magical hang drum and we'd scored some gigs playing at some bullshit corporate event in the wankiest part of Manchester - Spinningfields. rubbish. anyway, we were just getting sets together for what was basically high class busking - that ended up funding our first LP as it happens. and we listened to the jams and at the same time were asked for our first release on a proper label, father bart's slow tapes in belgium.. so we lashed all the jams together with one of salford tom's (SLT) infamous whizz fuelled, unintelligible monologues.. was the weekend he arrived at the castle of doom (our old flat) with news that wags from the mondays had done a runner from his flat two doors down and everyone was looting his flat. some local kids bagged a whole recording studio, then a skip appeared outside the flat.. so that's where the typewriter came from, and Chris n Kim's skinning up tray, and countless other pieces of shit we've since left behind.





Q17 - What is the importance of This Heat, they seem to be a gig influence on yourselves?

PADDY:
Could they be one of the most underrated Uk bands ever? probably. They Rule. Charles Hayward is my dad. I fucking wish. he is one of the best singing drummers ever, i mean fuck you Phil Collins, Charlie Hayward is King of England.


CHRIS:
- They are a massively underrated band, although they are probably more popular now than they ever were. Charles Hayward can certainly make some noise. We fell in love with the off kilter rhythms and the way they can kick off during tracks with no fear.


MARLENE:
----I think we all found out and got into This Heat and Charles Hayward at different periods of time over the years, i only just recently started listening to his stuff after hearing "Wheat Futures".. I couldn't stop listening to it over and over again cause its such an amazing messed up track, you can't pin point what feelings it brings out in you. He's an incredibly skilled drummer and his singing and writing involves the strangest melodies and words.----


DEL:
Charles hayward is the fucking don. i love what JHP of faust says of him. his beats are sick as fuck, his solo stuff is astounding.
the this heat stuff is immense but i actually love camberwell now even more than this heat, cos they grooooove more. fish hooked me up with a cd of all their stuff. Greenfingers ep is mega but i also love the back end of the ghost trade lp, wheat futures on is just sublime stuff rhythmically.





Q18
- If you were to write the 10 Commandments of Gnod, what would they be?

PADDY:

Do What Thou Wilt
Do What Thou Wilt Do What Thou Wilt Do What Thou Wilt Do What Thou Wilt Do What Thou Wilt Do What Thou Wilt Do What Thou Wilt Do What Thou Wilt Do What Thou Wilt

MARLENE:

---There shall be no commandments!
---There shall be no commandments!
---There shall be no commandments!

---There shall be no commandments!

---There shall be no commandments!

---There shall be no commandments!

---There shall be no commandments!
---There shall be no commandments!
---There shall be no commandments!
---There shall be no commandments!

DEL:
That's a bridge tooo far, you fucker. and it's late.


......There is only on true Gnod, Gnod is great, go spread the word of Gnod!


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18 Apr 2011

More bands announced for Supernormal Festival




As previously reported, Rocket Recordings have been asked to co-curate this years Supernormal Festival on 19 – 22 August

And we are pleased to announce the conformation of the following bands:

Big Naturals
Gum Takes Tooth
Black Tempest
Bad Guys
Drunk In Hell


These are added to the already confirmed:

Skullflower
Teeth Of The Sea
Thought Forms
Gnod
Primordial Undermind

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Big Naturals
We couldn’t co-curate a festival and not have Big Naturals play!
Big Naturals are a bass and drums two piece featuring Jesse Webb on drums and the bass talents of Gareth Turner, whose first band Lillydamwhite was Rockets first release back in 1998 (a split 7" with The Heads). Since Lillydamwhite Gareth has played in many projects, including bass duties in Dale Crover from Melvins side project, Porn. Big Naturals have an ongoing series of collaborations with The Heads called ‘Rituals’ (which has seen three great releases of improv/kraut/noise) and are currently putting the final touches to their very long overdue debut album.

Gum Takes Tooth
One of the most exciting live bands on the London scene right now, An amazing 3 piece of 2 drummers and a keyboard that create an adrenaline rush of kraut influenced noise. For people who saw them at last years Supersonic festival will know what to expect, and their forthcoming debut album certainly backs it up. The band have also contributed a track to an up and coming Collisions album on Rocket.

Black Tempest
We have to thank Dave from White Hills for turning us on to Black Tempest.
A Kosmiche band that takes its influence from the 70's sounds of Klaus Shultz, Ash Ra Temple and A.R Machines but ends up sounding sounds like a more psychedelic Emeralds.
This is a very rare live appearance, so we are very privileged to get to witness their spacey synth drones.

Bad Guys
Whether we invited them or not, Bad Guys would have played!
Notorious for their 'pop-up' shows across the UK which have seen them perform several times at ATP as well as in various places across London (including a very special performance on the '4th plinth' in Trafalgar Square); expect dressing up, liquid metal solos and 80's LA hardcore enthusiasm.
Like Rex Remo last year, expect something fun!!!

Drunk In Hell
We know nothing about this band at all apart from that they are from Middlesborough. (We think).
All we do know is that Paddy from Gnod says that they’re “the best and most dangerous band in Britain'.
So with that sort of recommendation from one of ‘our’ favourite bands, we had to get them to play!

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We have some other extremely exciting bands still to finalise, plus also there are some other interesting additions to the line up that have been confirmed by other co-curator Heidi Heelz, one of which is The Cravats, this is what she has to say about them:

The Cravats are a punk band founded in 1977 by Robin Dallaway, Svor Naan, The Shend and Dave Bennett. THE CRAVATS released their self-financed single "Gordon" released in 1978. In 1979 they recorded their first session for the John Peel show on BBC Radio 1 and received a recording contract with Small Wonder Records. Three further Peel Sessions followed in 1980, 1981 and 1982. The band split up in 1982, with Dallaway and The Shend forming The Very Things. The Cravats reformed with original members The Shend and Svor Naan for the Rebellion Festival in August 2009/2010. A cd reissue of their first album 'The Cravats In Toytown' is planned for 2011.
http://www.thecravats.com/

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For more information about Supernormal:

Visit their website and blog:
http://www.supernormalfestival.co.uk/
http://supernormalfestival2011.blogspot.com/

For press/booking enquiries email:
Siena Barnes at sienabarnes@googlemail.com

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12 Apr 2011

Rocket go twittering



Yes that is right, as well as a Facebook page, we have also now set up a Twitter account.
You can follow us here

But don't worry all this digital communication doesn't mean we are only going to release downloads from now on...vinyl is king, and it always will be!!!!


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High Wolf/Annapurna Illusion interviewed in this months Wire magazine




If you pick up a copy of this months Wire and read the feature on (fave label of ours) Not Not Fun, you will come across a short interview and live review of High Wolf.

The man behind High Wolf has a side project called Annapurna Illusion and they have recorded an amazing album for us...its 6 tracks of great fuzzy, droney, krauty lovellyness and will be housed in a special Johnny O sleeve!!!

Watch this space for more info on this record...and check out the other LP's/CD's/Cassettes by both projects, they are well worth tracking down.

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8 Apr 2011

Rocket Launch Facebook Page


Rocket launch new Facebook page.

Visit it to view all Rocket designed artwork, photo's and other goodies in the coming months.


Thanks

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7 Apr 2011

Oneida: April 2, 2011 Ocropolis IV - FLAC and MP3 Downloads + Streaming Sample



Oneida 04/02/2011 - 6 sets of insanity now available. Japan benefit:



Check it!

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Teeth Of The Sea / Esben and the Witch live review




A nice review of Teeth of the Sea's recent show in Liverpool, part of their tour with Esben and the Witch.

See the review here

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Teeth Of The Sea live review of their show with Stearica




Check out this glowing 4.5 / 5 review on the-fly.co.uk of Teeth Of The Sea's show at Hoxton Bar and grill:

Teeth Of The Sea
Hoxton Bar & Kitchen, London
23/03/2011

Post-rock might not be cool anymore, but the legacy of its thrilling yet brief spell in the late 1990s spotlight certainly paved the way for the likes of Teeth of The Sea. To put it another way, had it not happened it's hard to imagine Teeth Of The Sea would exist - and that they've taken its bare bones and constructed a new monster from the carcass gives us that same rush of excitement all over again.

Eschewing the quiet/loud dynamic in favour of something a whole lot more complex and expansive, Teeth of The Sea’s live incarnation delivers a multi-layered wall of noise that may well be one man's hellish racket, but that man is an arse. The methodology and detail behind the trumpet, electronics, guitars and drums command attention and more than a little admiration. To the untrained eye they're a random bunch of ordinary enough blokes, but when they hit their groove they come into their own, both individually and collectively, with the drummer smacking the life out of his skins, relentlessly driving the whole shebang, meanwhile his bandmates wildly indulge their own excesses yetsomehow remaining in perversely perfect synchronicity.

It's fierce and intense but not just for the hell of it, and there lies the art behind the noise of Teeth of The Sea; compelling enough on record but their live show reaches the next level, with enough noise and guile to fill venues ten times this size.

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White Hills launch blog



For all things White Hills, check out their new blog, which has all the information on their up and coming European tour.

Check it out here

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2 Apr 2011

THE HEADS KRT LIVE AT LEEDS 2009







More tunes from Rock Prof (The Heads)

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Julian Cope gives praise to INGNODWETRUST – the forthcoming Gnod album coming out on Rocket



Mr Cope has once again sang the praises of a Rocket release in his monthly address. This time for a very early review of the forthcoming Gnod album 'INGNODWETRUST'

The album (sleeve is above) is released on June 6th as an extremely ltd edition on white vinyl and will also be available via download.


We have also asked several sonic abusers to do remixes of the tracks, and they are starting to arrive to mission control and all we can say is that we are very excited!! We don't know how these will be released yet, but watch this space for more info.


You can read Julin Copes full review of the album here


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1 Apr 2011

GNOD DROP OUT WITH WHITE HILLS II LP



GNOD DROP OUT WITH WHITE HILLS II


NEW LP VERSION

Rocket Recordings are pleased to announce the LP re-issue release of the now highly sought after double LP ‘Gnod Droput with White Hills’.

We have manufactured 100 on Yellow vinyl, but we cannot guarantee which copies are which as they have all been mixed up and are shrink wrapped.

The official Launch for the LP & CD is the 4th of April, so snap yours up from all good record shops.

Thanks
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ON THE DECKS…The Reawakening



ON THE DECKS…The Reawakening

Back after a much too long absence, I present to you the latest in my on going exploration of the ever vast mine of new music. Many things have kept me from keeping up with this here column, but now that there is a little break in the storm of all things White Hills I thought it would be a good time to do a little survey of the sounds, new and old, that have been tickling my ears of late. Here it goes…


ZOMES – Earth Grid (Thrill Jockey)
An amazing exploration into a meditative world created by former Lungfish member Asa Osborne. Recorded on to cassette the album has a murky feel to the sound that adds a befitting intimate ambience to the songs. Simple yet complex. These instrumental tracks wash over and envelope the listener. Highly recommended!

Harold Grosskopf - Synthesist (RVNG Intl.)
Reissue of Grosskopf’s solo album from 1980 originally released on Sky Records. Grosskopf might be known to you as the percussionist behind Ashra Temple, Klaus Schulze and Cosmic Jokers. On this album we find Grosskopf on his own exploring the synth driven realms of all things kosmishce. Anyone into synthesizer music needs this album. It is uplifting, trance inducing and throughly enjoyable from beginning to end.

Shinji Masuko – Woven Music (Brah)
Kid Million’s passed on to me a promo of this solo album by DMBQ founder and Boredoms member….and let me tell you I’m so glad he did. This two track LP and Download only album explores space via multi-tracked guitars. The initial idea for the album came out of backing tracks Masuko worked on for the current Boredoms Boadrum piece. The first song, Woven Music for Blue Steppe, is a dense wall of mostly acoustic instruments while the other side Woven Music For Silver Ocean is full on electric. Pastoral and spacious, these tracks bring to mind the more ambient work of Richard Pinhas/Heldon and Steven R. Smith/Ulan Kohl. Another must have for lovers of guitar space music. It is officially released on April 26.

VIRGIN PRUNES – Over The Rainbow (Mute)
You say Goth…I say PSYCHEDELIC! Over the Rainbow is a collection of long out-of-print and unreleased tracks. Disturbing, frightening, disorienting are a few ways to describe the mastery of the Virgin Prunes. This 2xCD opens with a synth drone titled Red Nettle that rivals any current drone synth based band. From that point on the listener is taken through the truly unique web that this band creates. Tribal and angst ridden to the ethereal and dramatic, the Virgin Prunes are a band that need to be rediscovered and embraced by the underground psychedelic community of today, as their music is more PSYCHEDELIC than 3/4 of the crap that people call psychedelic today. There is something to be learned here.

Black Tempest – Secret Astronomies (Tempest Towers)
The latest offering from the man known as Stephen Bradbury. Secret Astronomies picks up where his previous albums, Proxima and Ex-Proxima, left off. This 5 track album is more realized than his previous two, taking the listener further into space than ever before. The music of Black Tempest stretches out the boundaries between space and time. There is a teleporting effect to this music, making you feel as if you are floating in space. I look forward to seeing where Black Tempest goes next! You can hear samples and purchase this release via

Thanks Dave W (White Hills)

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The Notorious Hi-Fi Killers / Black Bombain – Portugal tour



NOTORIOUS HI-FI KILLERS
Portugal tour with Black Bombain

13th - Music Box - Lisbon, Portugal / Tickets 6€ (Free CD to the first 50 people)
14th - República dos Kágados - Coimbra, Portugal / Free
15th - Hard Club - Oporto, Portugal / 5€
16th - "Barcelos é demais" at Biblioteca Municipal Barcelos - Barcelos, Portugal / 4€

Plus as previously mentioned

18th - The Old Blue Last - London, EC2A 3ES, UK / Free


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