Pretty courteous if you think about it for Up in Smoke 2016 to give you six months of advance notice that you should get your ass to Switzerland — which, yes, I phrased that way because it might as well be Mars. Still, if you think about starting lineups, Sound of Liberation isn’t screwing around in this first batch of announcements, bringing out big guns in Electric Wizard, Pentagram, Monkey3 and Yawning Man and showing further dedication to Europe’s booming underground with Noon.

I’m especially curious to see how Yawning Man shakes out. The Gary Arce-led desert rock progenitors recently unveiled a new four-piece lineup with Bill Stinson still on drums, Justine Summer Heaven presumably on bass and Malene Arce (LewdFlesh) on… vocals, maybe? They reportedly have a new EP in the works for the summer, so we’ll hear how it turns out, hopefully.

I got sidetracked. That release will hopefully be out by September, which is when Up in Smoke 2016 is set, at Z7 in Switzerland, with indoor camping and more, as the PR wire informs:

UP IN SMOKE 2016! Sept. 30th / Oct. 1st … Electric Wizard, Pentagram, Monkey3, Yawning Man, Noon confirmed!

We are proud to present our UP IN SMOKE INDOOR FEST IV, that will take place on September 30th and October 1st 2016, in our dear Z7 Konzertfabrik! Two days of stoner/heavy-psych/doom music in Basel-area (Switzerland) featuring 20 outstanding acts on two stages with no overlapping sets, and an indoor campsite!!

ELECTRIC WIZARD, which have been announced last fall, will headline one of the nights, and we are stoked to tell you today that Pentagram, Monkey3, Yawning Man and Noon are confirmed as well for this new edition! 2-day passes (e-tickets) are already on sale on our website, on www.z-7.ch and on our Facebook. If you prefer to buy a hard-ticket, our partner Woolheads is selling them!

Enjoy our new design made by Elvisdead, grab your ticket, and stay tuned! More names will come in March.

http://www.upinsmoke.de/eventinfo-indoor-festival
https://www.facebook.com/UpInSmokeIndoorFestivalInZ7
https://www.soundofliberation.com/

Electric Wizard, Live in Minneapolis, MN, April 8, 2015

Supporting their 2014 album, Gigantoid (review here), SoCal fuzz progenitors Fu Manchu have been announced for a slot at this year’s Up in Smoke indoor fest, which runs Oct. 3 and 4 in Switzerland. It’s the first of what I expect will probably be more European tour dates to come for Fu Manchu, who also recently wrapped a successful US run alongside Electric Citizen.

They join an out and out killer lineup for Up in Smoke, which as you can see in the poster already includes the likes of Dozer, Mars Red Sky, Greenleaf, Conan, Naam, Ufomammut, Brant Bjork, Kadavar, and many others. The PR wire makes it official:

Up In Smoke Festival – October 3rd & 4th 2014 – Fu Manchu Confirmed !

We are stoked to tell you that the Southern California legendary quartet FU MANCHU is now confirmed to play at UP IN SMOKE INDOOR FEST, on FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3RD 2014 !!

For 20 years, fuzz rock progenitors FU MANCHU deliver their delightfully heavy, crisp riffs, many tones, grooves, low ends, doubling of great vocals, and have consistently grown their style from album to album.

After a long five-year gap since their previous studio effort, FU MANCHU have rolled out a new album “Gigantoid” in April, treating the listener with 10 tracks of unadulterated stoner rock righteousness. An amazing example of the sheer impact that a group of musicians can achieve by just doing the simple things right, and having a good time doing it!

For that reason, and because their celebrate the 20th anniversary of their 1994 debut, “No One Rides for Free”, we are especially proud to add them to this year’s line-up! It’s gonna be a blast!!

This news will be published at 13:00 on our websites. FU MANCHU join the 16 bands we’ve already announced, which you can discover here below if you missed our past news. Most of the line-up is now unveiled, the last bands will be announced in August / September, so get your TICKETS right now on www.z-7.ch and via Ticketmaster!

Check-out our Facebook page for constant updates.

https://www.facebook.com/FuManchuBand
https://www.facebook.com/UpInSmokeIndoorFestivalInZ7
www.z-7.ch
http://www.ticketmaster.de/event/up-in-smoke-festival-2014-tickets/98509

Fu Manchu, “Anxiety Reducer” from Gigantoid (2014)

According to my in-depth field research, and by that I mean seeing the post on the band’s Thee Facebooks page, the just-mentioned Tony Reed of Mos Generator/HeavyPink fame began mixing the new Alunah album yesterday. Alunah‘s third, which I feel at this point has been a while in the making though that may just be my own impatience, will serve as their Napalm Records debut, and was recorded by Esoteric frontman Greg Chandler. It will follow-up the stellar sophomore outing, White Hoarhound (review here), and is set to release in September. Needless to say, but I’m stoked at the prospect and it’s among my most anticipated records for the fall.

Alunah have also been confirmed to appear at the Up in Smoke fest early in October as part of a to-be-announced European run. They’ll join the likes of Kadavar, Dozer, Conan, Mars Red Sky and Brant Bjork at festival that, well, would be awfully nice to see. Info on the recording and the fest follow here:

Recording Complete…

We have just returned from a small English tour, and the week before we finished recording our upcoming third studio album with Greg Chandler at Priory Recording Studios (released September 2014 on Napalm Records). Photos can be viewed here and it is now with Tony Reed for mixing and mastering. Here’s what Soph had to say:

“After an intense and inspiring week spent at Priory Recording Studios in Canwell with Greg Chandler, we have now finished recording our third album. Having worked with us on our past albums as well as fronting the majestic Esoteric, Greg shares our vision and understands where we are coming from in terms of sound and songwriting. We have spent the last few months writing and reworking the songs over and over again until we were all happy, and have pushed ourselves in terms of playing/singing technique. To hear the songs sounding as we envisioned them is wonderful, and hugely rewarding. Tony Reed will begin the mixing and mastering process in the next few days, and we cannot wait for you all to hear the end result.”

2014 European Tour…

As mentioned above, our album will be released in late September, and we will be spending 2 weeks on tour in Europe throughout September and October. Sound of Liberation are putting the final touches to the dates, and we hope to announce them very soon. We will also be filming a music video in July, where we will also be filming a short video with illustrator Michael Cowell talking about the concept surrounding the album artwork, as well as announcing the album title and track-list.

Alunah confirmed for Up In Smoke Festival on Saturday, October 4th 2014!!

West Midlands based ALUNAH carve their own path merging elements of doom, psych and classic heavy rock with earthy hypnotic vocal melodies.

They have just finished recording their upcoming third studio album that will be released in September 2014 via Napalm Records. We are looking forward to hear it, and we will give you more details about it when we willl get some!

Tickets for UP in SMOKE indoor festival in Z7 vol. 02 :
www.z-7.ch/konzertkalender.php
or
http://www.ticketmaster.de/event/up-in-smoke-festival-2014-tickets/98509
(80 CHF, 65 € + taxes)
—————————————————————————–
UP IN SMOKE FESTIVAL #2 / OCTOBER 3rd & 4th 2014
KONZERTFABRIK Z7 / PRATTELN (CH)
www.Z-7.ch / www.upinsmoke.de
———-
Kadavar / Blues Pills / Brant Bjork Presents Low Desert Punk
Dozer / Conan / Mars Red Sky / Lonely Kamel / Greenleaf
Alunah / Interscotal / Wardhill & many more!

https://www.facebook.com/alunah.doom
http://www.alunah.co.uk/
http://alunah.bandcamp.com/
http://www.napalmrecords.com/

Alunah, White Hoarhound (2012)

Joining the esteemed ranks of Greenleaf (who were also just announced so they’re not on the poster yet), Naam, Kadavar and the almighty Dozer, Brant Bjork has been added to the lineup for the second installment of the Up in Smoke indoor festival this October in Switzerland. The fest is presented by Sound of Liberation, and is set to take place Oct. 3 and 4 in Switzerland, which puts it the weekend before Desertfest in Belgium. The more the merrier. I can think of few things cooler than two fests on consecutive weekends.

Brant Bjork will play Up in Smoke with his new band, Low Desert Punk. Not sure if that’s the name they’re using — it’s billed as Brant Bjork presents “Low Desert Punk,” so if it’s that or Brant Bjork and the Low Desert Punk or Brant Bjork and the Low Desert Punks, or some other variation, remains to be seen — but with Fatso Jetson‘s Tony Tornay on drums, Dave Dinsmore from Bl’ast on bass and Bubba Dupree (Void) on guitar alongside Bjork himself, they can call it whatever the hell they want and I won’t complain.

That same lineup heads to Australia this weekend for a run of dates that carries them into June. Info on that is on their Thee Facebooks, info on the Up in Smoke gig follows:

Up In Smoke Festival – October 3rd & 4th 2014

Hailing from Palm Desert where all the movement started, we are extremely pleased to welcome the desert rock icon BRANT BJORK, presenting LOW DESERT PUNK!

His influence within the stoner rock community dates back to his time as drummer for the legendary Kyuss, through his stint with fuzz-kings Fu Manchu. With his new outfit featuring Dave Dinsmore on bass (Che, Bl’ast), Bubba Dupree on guitar (Void, Hater) and Tony Tornay on drums (Fatso Jetson, Chuck Dukowski), BRANT BJORK will deliver a near-lethal dose of classic rock and heavy punk to UP IN SMOKE FESTIVAL on OCTOBER 4th 2014!

It grooves. It flows. It’s psychedelic. It’s tough. BRANT BJORK and his live band are guerrilla rock revolutionaries… taking back the rock and letting it roll. Don’t miss your chance at an audience with the legend this fall!

We are proud to present the second edition of our UP IN SMOKE INDOOR FEST!

As last year, it will set up in PRATTELN (Basel area) in one of the very best Swiss venue : Z7 KONZERTFABRIK! After the huge success of the festival last year, we took the decision to do a 2-day event in 2014 featuring around 20 bands on 2 stages with special light shows, after-show DJs, and art exhibition. On OCTOBER 3rd & 4th, Z7 will definitely be the place to be!

You’ll find below in this newsletter the first 7 bands already confirmed, including this afternoon’s announcement as special preview for you guys. Hope you’ll dig it!

TICKETS for UP IN SMOKE FEST #2 can be ordered on www.z-7.ch and soon via Ticketmaster.
Check-out our Facebook page for constant updates.

https://www.facebook.com/UpInSmokeIndoorFestivalInZ7
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Brant-Bjork/123800120977061

Brant Bjork, “Low Desert Punk”