Posted in Whathaveyou on August 21st, 2019 by JJ Koczan
Hey-ho, space muffins and dwellers of the reaches between planets! Gather round the ol’ meteorite and hear good tidings from Glasgow’s The Cosmic Dead, who’ll issue their new full-length, Scottish Space Race, on Sept. 20 through the subspace receiver array known terrestrially as Riot Season Records. Get groovy, my little symptoms of the universe, because the writing’s in your eyes, but so’s the sunshine, and it rarely sounds brighter than when The Cosmic Dead get their jam jammy.
They’ll do the Euro thing in celebration of the offering, hitting it from then until, you know, pretty much whenever, man.
Dudes be like:
THE COSMIC DEAD ? SCOTTISH SPACE RACE ? NEW ALBUM AND EU TOUR
Heavy psych experimentalists The Cosmic Dead’s eighth album – Scottish Space Race – is set to be released on September 20th via Riot Season Records on Gatefold 2xLP / CD and has been mastered by John Mcbain (Monster Magnet, Wellwater Conspiracy).
The album was recorded in their Glasgow HQ with cosmic sound guru Luigi Pasquini, four sprawling chunks of music recorded live amongst a run of momentous late night festival appearances in the summer of 2018. Scottish
Space Race is the first The Cosmic Dead release to feature the drumming of Tommy Duffin (Headless Kross) and the lap-steel synthesizer yowls of Russell Andrew Gray (Girl Sweat) alongside long-time cosmicians Omar Aborida and James T Mckay.
To accompany the release the band is set to embark on a run of dates across the UK and Europe this autumn.
SCOTTISH SPACE RACE TOUR DATES
SEPTEMBER 17 UK HUDDERSFIELD ? The Parish 18 UK LONDON ? The Lexington 19 BE BRUSSELS ? Magasin 4 20 NL UTRECHT ? DB’s 21 DE BAMBERG ? Pizzini 22 PL WROCLAW ? D.K. Luksus 24 DE BERLIN ? Urban Spree 26 SL LJUBLJANA ? Gromka 27 HK ZAGREB ? Mochvara 28 HU SZEGED ? Jazz Kocsma 30 RO BUCHAREST ? Q-Fest Quantic Club
OCTOBER 01 RO CLUJ-NAPOCA ? Subform 02 RO TIMISOARA ? Capcana 03 AT WIEN ? Viper Room 04 IT VERONA ? Stoner Mafia 05 IT BOLOGNA ? Krakatoa Festival 08 FR PARIS ? Supersonic 09 FR LILLE ? La Bulle Café / MFM 10 FR ROUEN ? Les 3 Pieces 11 UK BRISTOL ? The Lanes
NOVEMBER 14 UK BEDFORD ? Esquires 15 UK FALMOUTH ? The Fish Factory 16 UK BATH ? St James Wine Vaults 17 UK NEWCASTLE ? Brave Exhibitions Festival
Posted in Features, Reviews on September 2nd, 2017 by JJ Koczan
09.02.17 – 00.30 – Friday night/Saturday morning – Sid’s house
First night of an inaugural edition of a festival. I couldn’t help but be affected by a kind of ambient level of anxiety in the room, though I’ll say as well that the hypercaffeination factor probably didn’t help in that regard. It was a cloudy day in Dublin with just a bit of a chill in the air and 10 bands on the bill, and before I put myself in the darkened recesses of the Voodoo Lounge for the evening, I sat at the coffee shop and could see the sundry black-t-shirt-clad weirdos who’d be attending the fest. They were easy enough to pick out.
The show got underway at 19.00 with Elder Druid on The Obelisk Stage, which even though I’m here and have seen it in-person still seems more than a little unreal, and was just about nonstop from there until Wild Rocket finished on the Mother Fuzzers Ball Stage after midnight, so there was plenty to see. I did the best I could with the back and forth and tried not to look like too much of an ass taking notes in between. Here are the results of that effort:
Elder Druid
Well, if you want to get things rolling, you might as well get someone that rolls, and Elder Druid have that part down. The Northern Irish sludgers weren’t heretofore unknown to me, having checked out their 2016 debut EP, Magicka (review here), and they broke out riff after sludgy riff for the early crowd filing in. It hardly seemed like a coincidence they were starting off the show. Although they’re from up north, like a lot of the representation Irish heavy would get throughout the night to follow, they were young and hungry, and looking to establish themselves as a force to the audience assembled. Aggro vocals over Southern-style riffs aren’t necessarily uncharted territory, but for a newer group, they worked quickly to find their momentum and held people in check for the duration, sounding full and mean through the Voodoo Lounge soundsystem with pro-shop lighting flashing behind them. They were angrier than a lot of the vibe would be for the rest of the night, but definitely drew people right into the thick of it with their set. They’re about to release their debut album, Carmina Satanae, on Oct. 6, and I hope I get to dig into it, because it was a fast half-hour from them to start the night.
Blaak Heat
Talk about a band who deserves more respect than they get. I suppose that’ll happen when your stuff is so head-spinningly complex, full of frenetic rhythmic changes, blinding turns, obscure Eastern-inflected scales and progressive melodies, but still. Playing as a five-piece and sharing three members with Abrahma in percussionist Sacha Viken, guitarist Nicolas Heller and bassist Guillaume Theoden — which left just guitarist/vocalist Thomas Bellier and drummer Mike Amster in the lineup from when I last saw them — they opened with “Sword of Hakim” and “Al-Andalus” from their new 7″ The Arabian Fuzz (review here) and proved once again how absolutely underrated they are and have been basically since they started. I had talked to them earlier in the day and Bellier said they had new stuff in the works, demos and whatnot (which I’d love to hear, though he doesn’t seem the type to send something unfinished, even just to check out), and while their 2016 full-length, Shifting Mirrors (review here), was the farthest they’d yet reached, the new single proves they’re still progressing, still pushing themselves, and I hope that will continue, because the results have never been anything less than stellar. They might be underrated, they might deserve more respect than they get, but clearly they’re chasing something within themselves sonically and that journey seems to thrive on the validation from the creativity that results from its undertaking.
Zlatanera
They were the first act upstairs on the Mother Fuzzers Ball Stage, and like much of what followed them in the smaller room, they played a more straightforward vibe and did well representing the native Irish scene. I hadn’t quite realized the shape the evening would take until I actually looked at the schedule, with international bands exclusively downstairs and Irish acts upstairs, but it made sense, and it was clear to see who the locals were once the double-guitar five-piece got going. As had Elder Druid, Zlatanera drew a good early crowd, and though I was kind of in and out for their set as I wanted to catch the end of Blaak Heat back downstairs — conflicts, conflicts, conflicts; back and forth is life at a festival — when I went back down I could still hear them from the back of the bigger room, so they were clearly doing something right. Light on frills, but their sound filled that upstairs room perfectly.
Abrahma
Parisian progressive heavy rockers Abrahma kept the theme — and the lineup — rolling from Blaak Heat. Viken moved behind the drum kit at the back of the deep downstairs stage, and Theoden and Heller switched sides from left to right as founding Abrahma guitarist/vocalist Sebastien Bismuth took the center spot. I’ve been fortunate enough to catch Abrahma live once before, in the Netherlands for Roadburn 2015 (review here), but neither Theoden nor Viken were in the band at that point, so it was half like seeing them for the first time anyway, even knowing how dynamic a frontman Bismuth is onstage. And he is. They said earlier this summer they’d be recording a new album this Fall as a follow-up to 2015’s Reflections in the Bowels of a Bird (review here), and I hope they get there, because they seemed to be pretty locked in when it came to their presentation, right down to a pleasant-as-hell-surprise cover of Type O Negative‘s “Red Water (Christmas Mourning)” from October Rust. Unexpected, to be sure, and twice as daring without keys, but Bismuth led the charge through a two-guitar interpretation, and it’s worth noting that even after the show that song continues to be stuck in my head, where I hope it will stay for, I don’t know, ever? In all seriousness, I’m very, very intrigued to hear where their new (original) material takes Abrahma. Reflections in the Bowels of a Bird added to much to their sound even compared to the preceding 2012 outing, Through the Dusty Paths of Our Lives (review here), that I can only wonder what the next step in that process will be. One to look forward to for 2018, at the very least.
Mount Soma
I was really hoping they’d be good, because I bought one of their shirts even before they started playing. Long story. Not really, but a boring story, so we’ll call it long and leave it at that. Being there to catch Mount Soma‘s mix of melodic and nasty heavy meant again trodding upstairs in my plodding-old-man kind of way, and again, when I got there, I found the native Dubliners, like Zlatanera before them, giving a right-on impression of Irish underground heavy. The scene representing itself to itself: here we are. Obviously I’m an outsider and no expert to start with, but the understanding I’ve come to is that while the UK has been in something of a boom the last decade or so, that’s kind of overshadowed what’s actually happening here in terms of outside bands coming to tour and native Irish acts garnering wider attention. Efforts like Emerald Haze, particularly backed by the county of Dublin as this event is, are crucial in making that happen, and I didn’t quite realize until I watched Mount Soma that while it’s great to see the international acts downstairs, perhaps even more attention has gone into curating the Irish groups playing here, because a huge part of the message of this festival is that Ireland’s scene is coming into its own, and while there’s still growing to do, the bands are clearly willing to take that responsibility on their shoulders. Mount Soma proved it with volume and force. No regrets on buying that shirt, to be sure.
The Cosmic Dead
The spaced-out Scots started late. Like, way late. Would you expect anything less of The Cosmic Dead than the bending of time? If so, then perhaps you’ve never heard them before, because that’s kind of what they do. Also, bending space. Also, melting brains. In any case, late start or no, once they got going, the Edinburgh four-piece freaked the royal fuck out — immediately and thoroughly. Killer. All the way. No doubter. Front to back. Green lights flashing. Synth blaring. Low end righteousness under wash of swirl. Melt. Melt. Melt. Space. Space. Space. Right frickin’ on. Like a frequency check for your consciousness. A litmus to see how much jam your brain could take before turning into powder. Every level, they were a lysergic win to behold, and while the running theme for the night was holy-crap-I-can’t-believe-I’m-lucky-enough-to-be-here-to-see-this, The Cosmic Dead only underscored the point that, holy crap, I can’t believe I’m lucky enough to be here to see this. I’d already purchased every CD they had for sale and though I didn’t have enough cash, by the time they were done — they had the lights turned out on them because they were running long (that late start coming back to bite them in the collective ass) — I wanted to go back out to the merch area and pick up a t-shirt too. There were times as they were dug in when each member seemed to be on his own out there, floating without gravity and purposefully so, but when they locked step, whoa. Chills up the spine. Hair standing on end. Pick your cliché and roll with it. Whatever you got, The Cosmic Dead earned it. When they were done, they hung their guitars and bass from the ceiling. Room: conquered.
King Witch
To the best of my knowledge, they were the only band on the Mother Fuzzers Ball Stage not from Ireland or Northern Ireland, but while they shared a hometown with The Cosmic Dead in Edinburgh, the four-piece King Witch, whose metallic roots came through clearly in the guitar work of Jamie Gilchrist and the vocals of Laura Donnelly, the straight-ahead groove anchored by bassist Joe Turner and drummer Lyle Brown fit them right in with the likes of Mount Soma and Zlatanera before them. Donnelly was, one should note, the evening’s only standalone frontwoman, and she provided melody and force in kind from the stage. They were going even as The Cosmic Dead were still setting up downstairs, so were easy to hear from the start, and while once more I was up and back down again and back up again, King Witch‘s doom-tinged approach was a welcome preface to some of what tomorrow’s even more extended lineup will bring.
Church of the Cosmic Skull
I have to admit, on paper it looks a little strange. Granted, it was one of 2016’s best debut albums, but still, UK seven-piece cult proggers Church of the Cosmic Skull only have one record out in the stellar Is Satan Real? (review here), so to find them headlining the bigger of the two stages could’ve been taken as something of a surprise. Until about 10 seconds in. I’d watched them soundcheck earlier in the day, and even that did little to prepare me for the righteousness of their presentation. Whether it was the interlude samples timed to videos between their songs or the harmonies between guitarist Bill Fisher, vocalists Caroline Cawley and Jo Joyce, bassist Sam Lloyd and Hammond organist Michael Wetherburn, or the brought-to-life memorability of cuts like “Mountain Heart,” set and album closer “Evil in Your Eye” or personal highlight “Watch it Grow,” they were nothing less than a celebration. A joy to witness. Really. Wetherburn‘s Hammond had been onstage all night, and when they finally broke it out, it was like Chekhov’s gun earning its place. Between that, the cello, and Fisher‘s rainbow guitar and stately manner as a chapeaued otherplanetary-cult leader waiting to take the whole venue away on some spaceship hidden behind a comet — pass that Kool-Aid, I’ll give it a shot, carbs or no — there was no place Church of the Cosmic Skull would have worked except at the top of the bill, and the room, which was the most packed it had been all night, knew it. I felt greedy for thinking to myself I hope I get to see them at some point again in my life, especially when they pulled out what I’m pretty sure was a new song during the middle of their time. They didn’t miss a cue in the harmony arrangements, but that did nothing to undercut their tonal presence or the push in Loz Stone‘s drumming, and as positive and affirming as they were, there was just enough evil underlying their work to be truly sinister. Right on.
Electric Octopus
In order to prepare myself for seeing Electric Octopus live, the other day I undertook the considerable task of listening to their 2017 offering, Driving Under the Influence of Jams, in its nearly-four-hour entirety. And well, I knew they’d jam. And they jammed. What I didn’t realize was that when I went upstairs to catch them in that, they’d be so funky that they literally had people dancing in front of the stage. Think you can funk out improvised space rock? Because Electric Octopus sure as hell can, and the Belfast-based trio of bassist Dale Hughes (who was pulling double-duty, having also played in Elder Druid at the start of the show), guitarist Tyrell Black and drummer Guy Hetherington were a party unto themselves. I’d say outside world be damned, but the truth is, they seemed to feed off the fun the crowd in front of them was having, and it became this awesome conversation, the band playing the music being danced to and then taking the energy from that dance and translating it back into the music. There was something classic and open about it, but still molten and psychedelic at the same time. Wild Rocket, who’d follow, were more directly galaxial in what they were doing, and ditto that for The Cosmic Dead earlier, but Electric Octopus had their own personality that came through in their play and in their chemistry, and while there was nary a hook to be had in their instrumental explorations, their energy was infectious all the same. I didn’t dance. I don’t dance. I didn’t dance at my wedding. I don’t dance. But I grooved and had a hell of a time doing so as Electric Octopus made me want to go back and download every single thing they’ve ever put out, which is convenient because it’s all name-your-price on Bandcamp. They also had three CDs for sale. I bought all three and I’ll rank them among the wiser purchases I’ve made since becoming unemployed this summer.
Wild Rocket
Okay, so first thing. If you haven’t heard Wild Rocket‘s new LP, Disassociation Mechanics, do that. In fact, you’ll note that of the 10 bands who played Emerald Haze 2017 tonight, they’re the only one I’m directly linking to on Bandcamp, and that’s not a coincidence. What a blast they were. Only fitting to have a Dublin outfit close out the evening, and Wild Rocket made sure everyone had a final chance to be launched well beyond the atmosphere. Even the dudes from The Cosmic Dead came upstairs and were throwing down at the front of the stage, and that seemed appropriate enough to the proceedings. Certainly well earned. I had seen them last year in Norway at Høstsabbat (review here), but with a little bit more of an idea of what I was getting this time around, it was a pleasure to watch them flatten the Mother Fuzzers Ball Stage and give the night the best kind finale it could’ve possibly asked for. How much further out could it go than to have Moose, Jon, Bres and Niallo trip so far there was no coming back? I don’t know. It doesn’t matter. Point is, go listen to that fucking Wild Rocket album. I mean it. The review’s pretty much over anyway. Only thing left to reiterate is how well the band did in giving the city of Dublin one more excellent showing of its own homegrown scene, because they were nothing if they weren’t world-class all the way, and unquestionably ready for export. Did you go listen to the record? Did you hear “Into the Black Hole?” Yeah. Good.
—
It’s well past 2AM as I finish writing this and there are still pictures to sort through and a full 15-band lineup for tomorrow, so I’m going to leave it there for the time being. I’ll have this posted hopefully before the day starts up again, but hell, it might be tight. We’ll see how it goes. Would you believe me if I said I was anxious about it? Thought so.
Thanks for reading. More to come and more pics after the jump here.
Can I be brutally honest for just a second here? Just a second — won’t take long. I’m not worthy.
I’m sorry. I’m just not. I look at the lineup that’s come together for the first Emerald Haze on Sept. 1 and 2 in Dublin, I see this site’s name on a stage that will be shared by the likes of The Cosmic Dead, Abrahma, Lord Vicar, Sólstafir, Iron Void, Blaak Heat, Church of the Cosmic Skull, Elder Druid, Gourd, WitchSorrow, Gorilla Pulp and Ten Ton Slug, and I have to just shake my head. I’ve done nothing to deserve to be so honored as to be associated with these people. Nothing. I didn’t earn this. I’m not worthy. Seeing a logo for The Obelisk on the posters below, I feel like I’m getting away with some kind of scam.
Again, I’m sorry, but that’s how I really feel about it. This show is so god damn sick. They need me as a part of it the way they need a hole in the head. If you had told me eight-plus years ago when I started this site (1:) that I’d still be doing it in eight-plus years and (2:) that I’d be co-presenting shows in places like Dublin, Ireland, I’d have immediately and rightly told you to screw off. There’s unbelievable and then there’s absurd, and from where I sit, this falls definitively into the realm of the latter.
My flight’s booked. If you’re going, I’ll see you there. Please let me know if you’d like me to tell you all of this in-person, because I am 100 percent ready and willing to do that at any point. What I can’t do is even begin to properly express how grateful I am to be involved in this.
Okay. That’s my piece.
Full schedule for Emerald Haze 2017 follows here:
Emerald Haze 2017 – Full Schedule
Friday, Sept. 1 Doors – 6.00
The Obelisk Stage 7.00–7.30 Elder Druid 7.45–8.15 Blaak Heat 8.30–9.00 Abrahma 9.15–10.00 The Cosmic Dead 10.30–11.20 Church of the Cosmic Skull
MFB Stage 8.00–8.30 Zlatanera 8.45–9.15 Mount Soma 9.30–10.10 King Witch 10.25-11.05 Electric Octopus 11.20–12.20 Wild Rocket
After Party DJs Til Late – On The Rox
Saturday, Sept. 2 Doors – 2.30
The Obelisk Stage 3.30 – 4.00 Gourd? 4.15 – 4.45 Ten Ton Slug? 5.00 – 5.45 Iron Void? 6.00 – 6.45 Witchsorrow? Break 7.20–8.00 Dread Sovereign 8.15–9.15 Lord Vicar 9.45–10.45 Sólstafir 11.00-11.40 Gorilla Pulp
After Party DJs Til Late – Voodoo Lounge
MFB Stage 3.45–4.15 Korvid 4.30–5.00 Vulpynes 5.15–5.45 Crowhammer 6.00–6.30 The Magnapinna 6.45–7.15 Death The Leveller Break 8.00–8.30 Mother Mooch 8.45–9.40 Nomadic Rituals
EMERALD HAZE takes place on Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd September 2017 over two adjacent venues – Smithfield’s Voodoo Lounge and On The Rox. Performers will be a mix of Irish and international headline acts, alongside established and emerging talent from Ireland and abroad. EMERALD HAZE is a not-for-profit venture, supported by Dublin City Council.
Posted in Whathaveyou on July 3rd, 2017 by JJ Koczan
It says something about the adventurous nature of the inaugural Emerald Haze festival — set for Sept. 1-2 in Dublin, Ireland and co-presented by The Obelisk — that it will be headlined by Sólstafir and Church of the Cosmic Skull. The former, a genreless Icelandic outfit, specialize in a highly individualized brand of melodic melancholia. The latter are an almost brand new UK outfit whose debut, Is Satan Real? (review here), came out last year and was rife with proggy flourish in keys and vocal arrangements. Both are legit choices, but neither is quite what you’d expect for a festival centered around heavy psych and rock, and as someone fortunate enough to be involved in the fest in the tiny, infinitesimally small fashion I am and who will also be fortunate enough to be there to cover it, I appreciate that unexpected nature of the goings on.
And as I’m pretty sure I’ve said in every single post about Emerald Haze 2017, I’m really, really looking forward to it.
Here’s the breakdown, courtesy of the fest:
EMERALD HAZE ANNOUNCE DAILY LINE-UPS
EMERALD HAZE, Dublin’s brand new heavy psych festival has announced the daily line-ups for the inaugural edition which takes place on Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd September.
Friday will see main stage headliners Church of the Cosmic Skull joined by The Cosmic Dead, Wild Rocket, Abrahma, Blaak Heat, Electric Octopus, Elder Druid, King Witch, Mount Soma and Zlatanera while Saturday sees Sólstafir, Belzebong, Lord Vicar, Dread Sovereign, Bad Boat, Nomadic Rituals, Gorilla Pulp, WitchSorrow, Electric Taurus, Ten Ton Slug, Iron Void, Mother Mooch, Death the Leveller, The Magnapinna, Vulpynes, Gourd and Korvid across two stages in Voodoo Lounge and On The Rox.
EMERALD HAZE takes place on Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd September 2017 over two adjacent venues – Smithfield’s Voodoo Lounge and On The Rox. Performers will be a mix of Irish and international headline acts, alongside established and emerging talent from Ireland and abroad. EMERALD HAZE is a not-for-profit venture, supported by Dublin City Council.
Posted in Whathaveyou on June 21st, 2017 by JJ Koczan
Thus far, the inaugural Emerald Haze fest has been pretty metered in posting its lineup additions, but in this final one, they’re pretty much going for broke in welcoming a range of acts from Ireland and beyond, including Poland’s Belzebong, Scottish jammers The Cosmic Dead, US/France-based desert progressives Blaak Heat, and UK doomers Iron Void among a vast slew of others. These as well as a swath of native Irish acts — Electric Taurus, Mother Mooch, Gourd, Vulpynes, Korvid, Death the Leveller, Nomadic Rituals, Bad Boat, Magnapinna and Mount Soma, to see the list below — will converge on Dublin the first weekend in September for the festival co-presented by The Obelisk, and as I’ve said all along, I could not be more thrilled to be involved in the fest in the very minimal way I am and to be able to be there to cover it as it happens. Very, very much looking forward to it.
Like, a lot.
My understanding is this is the last announcement for the lineup, but of course there’s always the possibility of some shakeup between now and September, so I’ll keep an eye out. Tickets are available in the meantime via the links below, so get on that. Meet me in Dublin. We’ll hang out. It’ll be awesome.
Here’s word from the PR wire:
EMERALD HAZE: Final band announcements- Belzebong, The Cosmic Dead, Iron Void and more
For further information, interview requests and/or press passes, please contact: emeraldhazedublin@gmail.com
The final bands have been announced for the inaugural Emerald Haze, Dublin’s brand new heavy psych festival. Poland’s heavy doom/fuzz metallers Belzebong and Scottish psychonauts The Cosmic Dead head the list along with international acts Blaak Heat from France and British doomsters Iron Void. The last of the home grown talent to be announced come from all four corners of Ireland and spans the full spectrum of heavy psychedelic sounds – Bad Boat, Nomadic Rituals, Electric Taurus, Mother Mooch, Death The Leveller, The Magnapinna, Mount Soma, Vulpynes, Gourd and Korvid.
EMERALD HAZE takes place on Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd September 2017 over two adjacent venues – Smithfield’s Voodoo Lounge and On The Rox. Performers will be a mix of Irish and international headline acts, alongside established and emerging talent from Ireland and abroad. EMERALD HAZE is a not-for-profit venture, supported by Dublin City Council.
The Mother Fuzzers Ball Stage has been an integral and very successful aspect to CANALAPHONIC Music & Culture Festival since its inception in 2015. EMERALD HAZE creates an opportunity to further develop and nurture Ireland’s contributions to the worldwide aesthetic of heavy psych, draw international attention to the high quality and quantity of acts emerging around the country and provide festival experience to these bands.
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 3rd, 2017 by JJ Koczan
Glaswegian heavy psych jammers The Cosmic Dead will release their new album, Psych is Dead, on April 21 through Riot Season Records. It’s a pretty bold declaration for a band to make, particularly a band who are so, you know, psych, but they’d probably know better than most as to the life-status. Dead or alive, one imagines the three extended tracks Psych is Dead will follow suit with the band’s past work in being soaked in lysergic vibes, and if there is indeed a radical turn to be found, it will be duly weird one way or another. You can see the limited CD and vinyl editions below, and it seems like a pretty safe bet they’ll go shortly after their release, if not before it.
Which I suppose would be an argument for psych being alive. Funny how that works.
Riot Season sent the following down the PR wire, tour dates included:
The Cosmic Dead New Album // 2017 Spring Euro Tour
‘Psych Is Dead’ is the sixth full length album from the band, the glowing embers of a a few days spent recording in a sweaty Sardinian kitchen overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Soon to be available on LP and CD via Riot Season Records, ‘Psych Is Dead’ is an aural exploration of their tumultuous universe.
Formed in 2010, The Cosmic Dead are a quartet from Glasgow, Scotland who share their music through good vibes and better vibrations. Known for their improv, chaos strewn, Buckfast smashed against the wall take on space music, they have roamed from Roadburn to Las Vegas, Dundee to Bangalore with each album offering a meditative window into a certain time and space.
The album will be coming out on CD (Digipack 500 copies) and two vinyl editions. The main vinyl release will be a white vinyl edition limited to 700 copies for the world. Along with that will be a mail order only edition of 300 copies pressed on swanky silver vinyl via the webshop and bandcamp site. Full details on preorders and all that stuff will follow soon.
artist: THE COSMIC DEAD title: ‘Psych Is Dead’ catalogue # REPOSELP420/REPOSECD420 format: Vinyl LP & CD label: Riot Season release date: April 21st 2017
Tracklisting A. Nuraghe (21:54) B1. Psych Is Dead (8:23) B2. #FW (15: 28)
The band will be embarking on a selection of dates across Europe to celebrate the release
APRIL 22 UK – Liverpool – Wrong Fest 23 UK – Prestatyn – Safe As Milk 25 BE – Brussels – Magasin 4 27 DE – Dresden – Sabotage 28 PL – Warsaw – Klub Hydrozagadka 30 DE – Berlin – Deserfest
MAY 02 DK – Copenhagen – KB18 03 SE – Malmo – Plan B 04 SE – Stockholm – Obaren 05 SE – Gothenburg – Truckstop 06 DK – Aalborg – 1000FRYD 07 DE – Kiel – Die Kieler Schaubude 09 DE – Leipzig – AKKO 10 AT – Vienna – Das Bach 11 HR – Zagreb – Vintage Bar 12 SI – LlubLjana – Klub Gromka 13 AT – Innsbruck – PMK 14 AT – Salzburg – Rockhouse 16 IT – Zero Branco – Altroquando 17 IT – Parma – Titty Twister 18 IT – Torino – Blah Blah 19 IT – Ravenna – Bronson 20 IT – Milano – Bloom 23 FR – Paris – Gibus 24 BE – Ghent – Psych9000 Fest 25 UK – Brighton – Green Door Store 27 UK – London – Raw Power Festival 28 UK – Leeds – Karma Fest
Posted in Whathaveyou on February 3rd, 2017 by JJ Koczan
Heavy Psych Sounds enters the Spring festival game with Sonic Ritual Fest 2017. The announcement of the new fest comes only days after a Heavy Psych Sounds night was also confirmed for Desertfest Berlin 2017 (info here), and as Sonic Ritual will take place over the course of two nights in three different cities in two different countries, it’s nothing if not an ambitious rollout. That’s before you get to the lineup, which spans Europe and both coasts of the US in its scope, importing acts like desert rock legends Yawning Man and Philly cosmic rockers Ecstatic Vision to play alongside Scotland’s The Cosmic Dead and Italian spaceheads Giöbia.
Sonic Ritual Fest 2017 is intended as a springtime companion to the fall’s Heavy Psych Sounds Fest, so we’ll have to see over time how the two develop, but the idea off the bat of a multi-city approach over subsequent nights, with two different packages that then converge for one huge blowout is a pretty cool way to start. Heavy Psych Sounds still has two more bands to add to the Athens show for May 19, so I’ll be keeping an eye open to see who makes the cut. Perhaps a native Greek act or two would fit the profile? Could be just about anybody, I suppose. There doesn’t seem to be much that’s out of HPS‘ reach these days.
Info and ticket preorder links follow:
Sonic Ritual Fest 2017
HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS Records & Booking Is really happy to unveil the line ups for the SONIC RITUAL FEST
May 19 IT Ravenna-Bronson: GIOBIA THE COSMIC DEAD ECSTATIC VISION ISTVAN
May 19 GR Athens-An Club: YAWNING MAN DUEL +2 more bands to be announced!
May 20 IT Bloom-Mezzago: YAWNING MAN GIOBIA THE COSMIC DEAD DUEL ECSTATIC VISION DOCTOR CYCLOPS ANANDA MIDA THE CLAMPS
PRE SALE NOW AT: http://www.heavypsychsounds.com/fest/sonic-ritual/ Sonic Ritual Fest is the new HeavyPsychSounds Spring Fest! FEATURING: Space Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Stoner, Heavy Psych KILLER ARTWORK BY THE MIGHTY Luca Solo Macello
Posted in Whathaveyou on October 31st, 2016 by JJ Koczan
This was bound to happen. Desertfest Berlin 2017 has made its first lineup announcements. Already we’ve started to see Europe’s Spring festival season start to take shape, and as the German incarnation of Desertfest‘s London-based counterpart has already unveiled its first round of bands, it seems only fitting it should be Berlin’s turn. A return of Lowrider is notable, and frankly so are Toundra, The Cosmic Dead, Satan’s Satyrs and Ecstatic Vision, but as someone who keeps holding out hope the vaguely-reformed Swedish heavy rockers will show up one day with a new album, the more shows they do the merrier. One often finds them paired with Dozer at fests — that was the case last time they did Desertfest, in 2013 — so maybe they’ll show up as well in some future announcement. Wouldn’t complain at seeing either again one of these days.
Desertfest Berlin 2017 is April 28-30 at the Astra Kulturhaus. Look for much more to come, including some headliner info next month teased below:
Desertfest Berlin 2017 – First Bands Announcements (Lowrider, Toundra, The Cosmic Dead, Satan’s Satyrs, Ecstatic Vision)
DESERTFEST BERLIN 2017 – APRIL 28-29-30
Last year’s Desertfest Berlin was a great success with people taking part from almost 40 countries all over the globe. You came, you saw, you conquered! Now it’s about time for all you riff-rockers, doom and psych-heads to pump up the volume in your earchannel, because here is the first band announcement!!
LOWRIDER (SWE) We are stoked to have Lowrider back for our 6th edition of the Desertfest. The band hasn’t play any shows since 2014 and so it´s greater to welcome them back at our festival in Berlin. Even if it’s not about cars, this combo is as powerful as a Chevy 356 engine and will surely tear down the walls of Astra.
TOUNDRA (SP) Clear your mind for a musical journey with the beautiful soundscapes form the Spanish capital. This exclusive show will end up as one of those you’ll remember for years to come.
SATAN’S SATYRS (US) Hot rocking Virginia quartet Satan’s Satyrs is releasing a new album in spring and they asked themselves; “Is there any better way to celebrate this than doing it at Desertfest Berlin?” Of course not, so here they come.
THE COSMIC DEAD (UK) Trippy sounds from Glasgow will emerge when these four guys hit the stage. With a menu raging from psych to powerful cosmic rock, so let’s just pretend we are the space cadets.
ECSTATIC VISION (US) Bring back the 70’s would be a tempting phrase to use on Ecstatic Vision if you remember bands like Amon Düül II and Hawkwind. Forget all chemical substances, this music is a trip itself.
Stay tuned, by mid-November we’ll be back with a new announcement where some headliners will be unfolded. Last year’s 3-day festival tickets were sold out already early February, so don’t wait too long if you want to come along and experience some of the best acts in the genres of doom, sludge, psych, desert and stoner rock.
