Posted in Whathaveyou on July 7th, 2026 by JJ Koczan
I could probably have waited until the single came out — which is happening like two and a half weeks from now — to put up a post about Skyjoggers‘ new album, Frag Nicht Nach Sonnenschein, but frankly, I don’t trust myself to remember and even if I put it in my notes, a lot can happen in that amount of time. I’m not reliable, is what I’m telling you.
From the weirdo hotspot of Tampere, Finland, the trio Skyjoggers released their 12021: Post-Electric Apocalypse (review here) album last June, and it was the kind of record that was too much its own thing to call anything other than progressive. That, however, was the beginning and not the end of it. Spaced out, cosmically mischievous, expansive and dug-in, it was a headspinner that scientists are still trying to parse out and surely won’t be done by the time the new one — the title translated from German as, “Don’t Ask for Sunshine”; don’t worry, I won’t — arrives in November through Sound of Liberation Records.
Speaking of Germany, Skyjoggers will be there in August to take part in Blue Moon Festival in Cottbus and back again in October for Keep it Low in Munich. Those are the only dates I’ve seen but probably not the only ones either announced or to be announced. And of course with the release four-plus months out, we’re still ahead of the arrival of the first single, which is called “Ancient Steel” — that’s the cover art below — and will reportedly hit on July 24.
If you’d like all that info again plus a pre-save link, here’s this from social media:
We’re proud to announce the upcoming Skyjoggers album ”Frag Nicht Nach Sonnenschein” will be released by Sound of Liberation records on the 13th of November 2026.
You’ll get a taste of what’s to come soon as we release the first single of the album ”Ancient Steel” on Friday the 24th of July.
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 9th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
You’ll pardon me if I spare myself looking back to see I’ve probably said the same thing every year for the last decade or so, but Keep it Low is always a very particular kind of daydream. First of all, it’s the kind that usually includes Colour Haze, and that’s an autowin as the Munich-based heavy psych progenitors have a tendency to do the hometown party. But second, among all the busy times happening around Europe each and every October, Keep it Low has always stood out to me in having vibe as part of the mission from the go. Like it’s not just about you and the bands in the room, but how that space is being shared.
I’ve never been, which is kind of a bummer, and I’m not expecting to go anytime soon, but it’s a pleasure to see who’s going to be there and wonder at the implications for who might be on the road next Fall between the likes of 1000mods and Spirit Mother, etc. I’m pretty sure this is the first October-weekend fest announcement I’ve seen — you have to admit, it’s early — but the low-key-killer first announcement below is part and parcel to why I’ve lost so many minutes over the years wondering what it would be like to actually be at this thing.
From social media:
KEEP IT LOW #12 – ⚡️FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT IS HERE⚡️
Keep It Low Festival returns to Munich in 2026 — heavier, louder and fuzzier than ever.
📍 Backstage München 🗓️ 09 – 10 October 2026
We’re kicking things off with a massive first wave of bands:
1000MODS THE DEVIL AND THE ALMIGHTY BLUES DEATHCHANT SPIRIT MOTHER FOMIES SUCK SKYJOGGERS KOMBYNAT ROBOTRON LEBER & MANY MORE TO COME!
Two full days of heavy rock, doom, sludge & psych. Two stages, an outdoor beergarden, and all the vibes you need to get lost in the low end.
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 2nd, 2025 by JJ Koczan
The fourth annual Blue Moon Festival will take place next July into August, and granted neither is an unknown quantity, but having the likes of Fu Manchu and 1000mods on a bill together feels like a boon to just about anybody’s evening who might be in attendance. Ditto that for Dead Meadow, Acidsitter, Skyjoggers and everybody else in the first lineup announcement, which was made toward the end of last week.
I would expect this means Sons of Arrakis will be back on tour in Europe next Summer, and that Fu Manchu will look to get out as well. No idea on Fu or 1000mods, or Dead Meadow for that matter, but it seems likely they’ll be on the road too, which means (1:) look out for where else they’ll be and (2:) be grateful the festival exists to sustain the band plus a whole lot of others coming through. You know how these things work. I’m excited to see summer take shape.
From the PR wire:
BLUE MOON FESTIVAL – FIRST BAND ANNOUNCEMENT
A new cycle begins. As the moon shifts and the air thickens with distortion, Blue Moon Festival 2026 unveils its first transformation. This year’s edition — Metamorphosis — brings together a powerful constellation of heavy, psychedelic and genre-defying artists from across the globe. A lineup shaped by riffs, ritual, noise, vision and pure underground spirit.
FU MANCHU
Stoner-rock legends known for desert-driven riffs and the fuzz-soaked sound that shaped an entire genre.
1000MODS
Greece’s modern stoner heavyweights, delivering massive grooves and hypnotic riff walls.
DEAD MEADOW
A psychedelic rock institution blending dreamy atmospheres with warm, vintage fuzz.
MEPHISTOFELES
Occult doom drenched in lo-fi grit.
SKY JOGGERS
Fuzzy heavy-psych powered by relentless motorik energy.
SONS OF ARRAKIS
Sci-fi-driven heavy desert psych straight from Canada.
ZERRE
New Wave of Würzburger Thrash Metal.
GREEN MILK FROM THE PLANET ORANGE
Avant-prog/psych explorers pushing boundaries.
CURSED TO OCCULT
Ritualistic doom invoking the underground spirits.
NARBODACAL
Progressive Doom Warriors from Poland.
ACID SITTER
High-energy psych rock maniacs.
July 31 – August 2 2026
Strombad Cottbus
We’re beyond proud to bring these legends to Cottbus and invite you all to be part of the next chapter of the Blue Moon.
The second-most dense object in the universe only to black holes, neutron stars are estimated to rotate over 700 times per second, driven by the incredible force of their own gravity. There are a couple reasons why this factoid comes to mind listening to “Huevos Rancheros/Rapid Round” leading off Skyjoggers‘ sixth-but-a-bunch-were-jam-releases album and first for Supernatural Cat (Ufomammut‘s label), 12021: Post-Electric Apocalypse, from the entrenched groove of the Tampere, Finland, trio’s boogie, to the fuzzed blowout that surrounds, the way they take Earthless-style instrumental ‘go’ and the spin of Alexi Belle‘s echoing solo.
Following up their 2024 split with Sula Bassana (review here), the Tampere-based Belle, bassist/vocalist Juan Rico (also synth) and drummer/vocalist Gabo Sabor offer four cuts across 36 minutes of earthly spacetime, with the opener as the longest of the bunch (immediate points) running an early gamut as if to tell the listener to buckle up for what’s coming, though by the time Skyjoggers get down to the last push in “Huevos Rancheros/Rapid Round,” with fervent energy and a solo that has a bit of Slayer‘s noisy impulse, they’ve showcased enough dynamic to cover an entire full-length.
Now, this might be called fortunate, since at 13:50, “Huevos Rancheros/Rapid Round” takes up such a significant portion of the record’s runtime, but it’s intended to be a major part of the thing and it is. In complement, the closing “Tessæil” stands at 12:19 and rushes through its post-punk intro to a driving, gloriously fuzzy riff, a crash-laden blowout in the spirit of neo-space metal, and a turn to progressive swing — in like the first minute. And yes, it continues to go from there, trading parts back and forth while not so much in a rush as working in its own definition of time and how the song unfolds.
The guitar and keys take some of the place of vocals, say, in the song’s midsection, with a kind of ringing-out, but the build is directed into a fuller wash that’s transcendent in the spirit of Skyjoggers‘ proggy countrymen in Polymoon, and the residual noise and feedback that end it on a long fade seem to emphasize the grand cosmic blink that has just taken place. In their moments of righteous abrasion, Skyjoggers are blinding and throwing elbows — see “Tessæil” from about six to seven minutes in, or “Huevos Rancheros/Rapid Round” throwing down the space-boogie gauntlet with its solo and echoing vocals around 11:30 — but as captured at Soundwell Studios by Janne Hakanen (Johannes Latva did additional recording, Niko Lehdontie mixed, Hanaken mastered), the sound is rich enough the underlying plan and structures at work are less the focus than the masterblaster fuzz and pickup shoving groove.
As though to emphasize the point, 12021: Post-Electric Apocalypseseparates “Huevos Rancheros/Rapid Round” and “Tessæil” with two shorter pieces, “Newtonin Kanuuna” (3:58) and “Døpehølm” (6:26). The former ends side A of the vinyl and the latter starts side B; they are sandwiched between the two extended tracks. And as much as the album greets the listener with to-neck immersion on the quick in its opener, “Newtonin Kanuuna” condenses its rhythmic charge to follow the pattern of surfy-twists set by the guitar, an effects-laced solo either of guitar or synth blinding in how it cuts through the surroundings.
‘Kanuuna’ is ‘cannon’ in Finnish (also ‘hangover’ in slang, apparently), and the bass distortion around the two-minute mark might just be where that explosive aspect manifests, though I’m not going to take away from the nodder bridge that takes hold after en route back to the jabs of the verse before they’re done, a shorter encapsulation of their modus, inherently more structured-feeling than the longer songs, but a reminder not to hold doing more than one thing against the band and that the album is better for it heading into the side flip and the even-bassier roll of “Døpehølm,” where they seem to find the meeting point between space and stoner idolatry, lumbering through the six and a half minutes with distant-cast vocals and a heaping dose of noise besides.
There’s some flash in the guitar late in “Døpehølm” of more extreme progressive metal, and that might be telling of what Skyjoggers have in mind going forward, or frankly it might not, I have no idea. But it doesn’t feel in listening through 12021: Post-Electric Apocalypse that there’s a lot that would be ‘out of bounds’ for the band in terms of songwriting. True, the songs reside well within a heavy psychedelic framework, but the angle of approach they’ve taken is their own, and the brashness that comes through the production further defines the character of the record, whether a given song has vocals or not.
As noted earlier, immersion is a lot of the goal here, but Skyjoggers‘ songs aren’t just looking to be the backdrop while you go about your day, or to lull you out of consciousness with repetition. There’s movement in 12021: Post-Electric Apocalypse whether it’s the build-up near the midpoint in “Tessæil” or the scuffed-up shuffle in “Newtonin Kanuuna,” and that’s best served by an active listening process, repeat visits, and so on. Whether a given listener has that energy to give will be up to how desperately they’re looking to be thrust into exospheric space, but the band are ready to go when you are.
Skyjoggers are no strangers to creating narratives and settings in time and space around their work, and the title 12021: Post-Electric Apocalypse would seem to follow suit in evoking a sense of story. Is that a year? A person’s designation in some dystopian ID system? What does ‘post-electric’ mean in this context? Are humans without power, some solar flare or EMP horror scenario? The songs don’t really answer these questions or seem to try/want to, but in the atmosphere and consuming throbs meted out, the trio meet the apocalypse head-on with expanse and maybe a bit of escapism through the songs themselves. If you’ve got plot-thread questions, fine, but don’t get so wrapped up in it that “Huevos Rancheros/Rapid Round” passes by on its way to the Kuiper Belt to look for planet nine. There’s more here than terrestrial paper could hope to convey.
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 25th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Ahead of launching the Spring tour that will see them make stops at Sonic Whip in the Netherlands, Desertfest Berlin and Esbjerg Fuzztival in Denmark, among others, Finnish heavy psych instrumentalists Skyjoggers have announced the May 2 release of their new album, 12021: Post-Electric Apocalypse. In case the three-piece’s weirdo-psych cred was still in doubt after their live-recorded 2024 split LP with Sula Bassana (review here), the fact that the upcoming long-player is being issued through Supernatural Cat — aka Ufomammut‘s label — should quell concerns. If not, the first single “Tessæil” is streaming now with 12 minutes of immersive persuasion.
In addition to the dates listed below, Skyjoggers have been confirmed for the legendary Stoned From the Underground in Germany as well as Down the Hill in Belgium, so expect further news to come as we head toward and past the album release through the remainder of the year. The PR wire has plenty of info to hold us — you and me, who are looking forward to the album — over until next time.
And here it is:
SKYJOGGERS: Finnish Space/Psych-Rock Trio To Release 12021: Post-Electric Apocalypse LP On Supernatural Cat May 2nd; “Tessæil” Video/Single, Preorders, And Tour Dates Posted
Tampere, Finland-based innovative space/psych rock trio SKYJOGGERS present their sixth LP, 12021: Post-Electric Apocalypse, confirming the album for release May 2nd on Supernatural Cat, the label formed by the Malleus Rock Art Collective and members of Ufomammut.
Fusing the exhilarating elements of space rock and psychedelic soundscapes, SKYJOGGERS’ music captures the essence of cosmic exploration, characterized by hypnotic riffs and an experimental approach that pushes boundaries. With a focus on dynamic performances and rich instrumental textures, the band invites listeners on a journey through uncharted musical territories.
On SKYJOGGERS’ 12021: Post-Electric Apocalypse, the band focuses on themes such as death, loss, and despair. The writing of the album took place during the pandemic, forest fires in the Amazon, and wars around the planet; The band took inspiration from such themes trying to channel the hard topics into something beautiful shining a ray of hope and light into the world through music. The album showcases the heaviest side of SKYJOGGERS heard to this day, bringing elements of black and doom metal into the band’s unique mix of modern space rock.
12021: Post-Electric Apocalypse was recorded at Soundwell Studios, Espoo by Janne Hakanen who also took over mastering duties, with additional recordings by Johannes Latva in Soossila, Tampere, and was mixed by Niko Lehdontie. Malleus Rock Art Collective handled the artwork and design.
“We first met Ufomammut in Warsaw a few years ago while on our first European tour. We bonded over our shared love of music, art and screen printing,” the band reveals. “It was quite a surprise when they asked us if we’d be interested in releasing our next album through Supernatural Cat; we said yes right away!”
Urlo of Ufomammut, Supernatural Cat, and Malleus writes, “Sometimes we are really impressed by a band when Poia and I are on tour with Ufomammut. SKYJOGGERS were a bolt from the blue, watching them play really amazed us. And we are so happy that their amazing new album is coming out on Supernatural Cat!”
The album’s lead single, “Tessæil,” is a nearly thirteen-minute-long epic ride. “Polyrhythms, screeching guitars, and wailing sirens block out the sun and bring about an auditive nuclear Winter,” the band writes. “This massive track ends 12021: Post-Electric Apocalypse like a weapon of mass destruction; leaving nothing in its wake.”
In support of 12021: Post-Electric Apocalypse, SKYJOGGERS will embark on an extensive album release tour to kick off in early May, including appearances at Desertfest Berlin and Esbjerg Fuzztival. Find all tour dates listed below and expect additional shows to be announced.
SKYJOGGERS Tour Dates: 5/03/2025 TPO – Bologna, IT 5/07/2025 Koncerty Na Garazach – Bratislava, SK 5/08/2025 Café Wolf – Graz, AT 5/11/2025 Dürer Kert – Budapest, HU 5/12/2025 Arena – Wien, AT 5/13/2025 Mocvara – Zagreb, HR 5/14/2025 Feierwerk – München, DE 5/16/2025 Poortgebouw – Rotterdam, NL 5/17/2025 Sonic Whip – Nijmegen, NL 5/18/2025 Backyard Club – Recklinghausen, DE 5/20/2025 C.Keller – Weimar, DE 5/21/2025 Dreikönigskeller – Frankfurt, DE 5/24/2025 Desertfest Berlin – Berlin, DE 5/25/2025 Klub Mechanik – Warsaw, PL 5/27/2025 Klub Szalonych – Wroclaw, PL 5/28/2025 KuBa – Jena, DE 5/29/2025 Neue Welt – Ingolstadt, DE 5/30/2025 Kulturwerkstatt Karnak – Kassel, DE 5/31/2025 Stellwerk – Hamburg, DE 6/06/2025 Råhuset – Copenhagen, DK 6/07/2025 Esbjerg Fuzztival – Esbjerg, DK
SKYJOGGERS: Alexi Belle – guitars, effects Juan Rico – bass, synth, vocals Gabo Sabor – drums, vocals
Posted in Whathaveyou on February 6th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Check out Down the Hill 2025 bringing in a few classic proggers. Gong, Focus? Seven That Spells are playing too. Being no slouches in the heavy prog department themselves, I bet those guys are gonna freak out to see Gong. I get it.
This is the full lineup for Down the Hill this year. The Belgian-based fest did two, and so everybody is included here to best of my knowledge. I don’t know about you, but I look at the poster, who’s gonna be there with bands like Monkey3, Skyjoggers with Sula Bassana sitting in on guitar, Travo, Neptunian Maximalism and The Bevis Frond alongside The Atomic Bitchwax and Pendejo and Godsleep and I think you get an immediate sense of vibe in and out of progressive and psychedelic and driving heavy rock and roll, a bit of sludge snuck in.
I don’t imagine I’ll be there to see it, but it looks good from here. I’ve been in Belgium once, just long enough to transfer trains and screw up ordering coffee. Perhaps redemption someday:
🔥 DOWN THE HILL – FINAL BAND WAVE UNLEASHED! 🔥
You thought it couldn’t get any crazier? You thought the first wave was intense? Buckle up, because we’re about to send seismic shockwaves through the valley!
THE FINAL WAVE OF BANDS IS HERE!
Modder – Crushing sludge that will swallow you whole! Astodan – Cinematic post-rock to lose yourself in. Atonia – A musical force defying borders and genres. Neptunian Maximalism – NNMM – Psychedelic doom-jazz from another dimension. Pendej0 – Horn-fueled stoner madness straight from the gutter. The Atomic Bitchwax – New Jersey’s high-octane rock ‘n’ roll power trio! Tangled Horns – Dirty, dark and dangerously addictive. RONKER – Belgium’s own speednoise wrecking crew! Sula Bassana & Skyjoggers – A cosmic trip like no other. Focus the band – Prog legends bringing timeless rock mastery. Hedvig Mollestad Trio – A jazz-rock firestorm you can’t escape. Gong – The psychedelic pioneers return to take you on a cosmic ride!
But wait, let’s not forget the first wave of killer acts that have already been announced!
Apex Ten – Hypnotic, space-infused krautrock madness. Capitan – Heavy-hitting rock that grabs you by the throat. Godsleep – Greek stoner grooves set to shake the earth. Hemelbestormer – Cosmic post-metal that bends time and space. Motorikofficial – Krautrock propulsion at its finest. TRAVO – Fuzzed-out psych sounds that hypnotize. Wheel of Smoke – Riff-driven journeys through sonic dimensions. Seven That Spells – The masters of high-energy psych explosions. monkey3 – Swiss instrumental rockers taking you to the stars. The Bevis Frond – Legendary psych-rock brilliance from the UK.
🔥 DOWN THE HILL 2025 is set to be the most explosive edition yet! 🔥
🎟 Tickets are moving FAST! Don’t miss your chance to witness this lineup LIVE! 🎟
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 31st, 2024 by JJ Koczan
Following a first announcement that featured Monolord, Splinter, the Parker Griggs-led El Perro, Brant Bjork Trio and Stonerhead, the by-now-legendary Stoned From the Underground festival in Germany has made four more confirmations. And I know that might not seem like a ton, but frankly, they’re four killer-enough bands that I don’t think you need names to add. Persuasive enough is the argument of San Diego boogie-prog stalwarts Sacri Monti, Finnish out-there-bound jammers Skyjoggers, Elephant Tree making a return to the stage after years of (reasonably) limited activity, and Rochester psych-prog/prog-psych rockers King Buffalo, whose prior confirmation for Bear Stone Festival in Croatia (held July 3-6) begins to give some shape to their European tour plans for the summer.
Stoned From the Underground celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2025 — which I guess has made counting easy enough? — and if you don’t think that’s a big deal, I dunno, do anything let alone run a pioneering underground heavy music festival for a quarter-century of your life and see where you wind up. I’ve done my best in years past to keep up with the festival, which among all of them seems to be brought the least to my eyes by the algorithm — to wit, I missed the first announcement — and will do the same for the coming edition. By the time they get there it’s always a daydream, and with these four bands alone, this already would be.
Onward to what I snagged from socials and that snazzy new King Buffalo single:
⚡️STONED FROM THE UNDERGROUND 2025⚡️
July 10, 11, 12
We’re thrilled to announce fresh bands for the 25th Stoned from the Underground Festival:
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 26th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
Okay, so yeah, Esbjerg Fuzztival made its first lineup announcement a couple weeks ago, and I’m behind on posting it. Are they going to make another announcement today like right now this afternoon? I don’t know, probably. I do my best to keep up.
In any case, the lineup is right on for the Danish two-dayer fest set for this coming June. Skyjoggers impressed on their recent split with Sula Bassana, and Karkara and Wyatt E. bring a vibe for sure, Djiin too with that harp — it’s quite a sight to behold — and Green Milk From the Planet Orange will carry their righteous weirdness to Europe for at least a month starting in May, while hometeam players Vestjysk Ørken will once again take the stage to launch the proceedings, as has become an annual tradition.
In addition to this announcement, the fest has announced it’ll be promoting a selection of club nights under the banner of ‘Fuzztival Presents…’ which is a natural extension of what’s been a successful festival buildout over the last however many years. Worth keeping up with announcements if you follow Esbjerg Fuzztival on socials. I bet they pull in some good gigs over the course of the year.
From the internets:
ESBJERG FUZZTIVAL 2025 – First bands announced AND partout tickets now available!!
We are proud to announce the first line of bands for Fuzztival 2025!
Skyjoggers from Finland caught our eyes and ears at a festival in 2024, and we instantly had to have them! Musically representing what it is to travel through time and space as a living being, their brand of krautrock inspired heavy psych is exactly what we need!
KARKARA is one explosive powertrio combining garage and fuzz with middle eastern sounds, in a unique way that found their way to our ears.
Wyatt E. Is a Belgian doom outfit, and that’s pretty much all the info we have, as the band remains cloaked in mystery. They write the soundtrack of a pilgrimage to Neo-Babylonian Empire, which they call music for gods and Antiquity Doom. It’s doom and drone and sounds pretty damn good to us.
Djiin is a psychedelic stoner group from France fronted by the enigmatic Chloe Panhaleux on vocals and electric harp. They had us at electric harp!
Green Milk From The Planet Orange is a Japanese heavy psych, prog-rock and punk outfit. Fully experimental sounding, this is an act you can’t miss!
Vestjysk Ørken is THE best house band this side of 1973! Heavy Psych blended with cosmic doom and a total disinterest in doing anything like anyone else, they will once again open the festival on Friday!
—
In light of our success with recent club shows (and with new possibilities in Esbjerg) we are looking at hosting TEN club shows in 2025 under our “Fuzztival presents…” concept!
If your band is planning a tour in 2025, be sure to hit us up by mail! Or get your booker to do so – that’s what you pay them for! Contact info on our website www.fuzztival.com . Only 3 of these are booked already, so hurry up! Touring bands only.
Lokalt DK band der gerne vil opvarme? I skriver da også bare!
These 10 shows will be hosted at the new “Kulturscenen” in Esbjerg.
Meanwhile we’re waiting anxiously to announce both these shows and the remaining bands for Fuzztival 25! We had planned to announce more bands Friday but have been asked to sit on the news just a little bit longer. Maybe next week? Probably next week.
Partout tickets, 1-day tickets and kiddie-tickets are already available.
—
Our second announcement adds another 4 bands on the poster, with three headliners still TBA!
First new band on the bill is Daily Thompson a German desert grunge trio that are no strangers to the European stoner festival circuits, Influenced by bands like Alice in Chains, Sonic Youth, Kyuss and The Smashing Pumpkins.
DAEVAR @daevargram is another German trio that considers themselves a doom grunge outfit ala Windhand. We can’t wait to finally experience the mysterious hand of DAEVAR reach out to grip the soul of whomever is ripe for the taking.
Dunes is a UK stoner rock outfit out of Newcastle, and they sound just like their name implies. Known for marrying up hard hitting riffs with hook-laden melodies, the three-piece channel a handful of Northern grit through the fuzzed-out, cranked-up, trip-tinged sounds of the infamous generator parties of the 90’s desert rock scene and the beer-soaked, sweat-drenched, feedback engulfed clubs of the grunge era.
Lastly we are presenting Aptera which is a heavy doom/metal 4-piece, that we think you guys are going to dig quite a bit. We know you like it heavy. Hailing from Brazil, Italy, Belgium, and the US, Aptera have risen from the seas to join forces in Berlin. Playing a mix of sludge, doom, blues, and classic metal glued together with some punk grit, Aptera is a guttural cry that will lure you to your destruction.
Don’t forget that both Partout Tickets and Single-Day Tickets are already available! We’ll be revealing our headliners in the new year!
