Over the course of their two albums to date, Klangstof have earned tastemaker tips from Clash, Complex, The FADER, The Line of Best Fit and Wonderland while also enjoying landmark moments such as becoming the first Dutch band to play Coachella and winning Best Alternative Act at the Edison Awards (the nation’s equivalent to the Grammys). Fuelled by a rush of creativity, they spent 2021 away from the public eye. It resulted in not one, but two new projects: their eagerly anticipated third album which will follow later this year, and the ‘Ocean View’ EP which is out now. The new EP proves that the wait has been worthwhile and offers an exciting and candid glimpse into the band’s current direction. It’s informed as much by open-ended experimentalism as it is by the inspiring connection of simply being able to again perform together as a band. The result is a natural, almost laid-back approach which allowed the EP’s sonics and emotions to fully flourish. The entire ‘Ocean View’ EP was quickly put together after their next album had been completed. The songs were written in two months, and then recorded in just five days with producer Thijs van der Klugt in Studio Kabaal in Haarlem. It was subsequently mixed by Sam Petts-Davies (Radiohead, Frank Ocean) and mastered by Heba Kadry (Björk, Big Thief, Deerhunter). Lead singer, Koen van de Wardt, recalls:- “Since we hadn’t been able to play live together for a while, we felt the need to record these tracks sitting in a room together, playing the songs from start to finish as a group. Most of the tracks have been recorded in just one or a few takes. The whole process was very refreshing, the energy in the room was incredible. We honestly think we’ve never sounded as much as a band as on this recording.” Earlier this year, the title track, ‘Ocean View’, was released to acclaim from The Times, Rolling Stone, BBC Radio 6 Music, and KEXP to name but a few; and now the Dutch trio offer up 3 more sensational tracks. Firstly ‘Fools Rage’, with its downtempo beats and ethereal guitar, perfectly encapsulates what this exciting band are all about. Van de Wardt’s vocals weave across a dreamy soundscape as the track culminates in a magnificent outro that wouldn’t be out of place on a late 80s shoegaze record. Up next is ‘Silver Cloud’ which opens in an equally subdued manner, with a simple stomping drumbeat and gliding wavetable synthesizers driving the verse forward, only to reach a thunderous crescendo as the chorus crashes in. Amazingly the track nearly didn’t see the light of day: “We made the demo for Silver Cloud while we were still on the road in early 2020 and it was one of those little demos that would probably be too weird to make it on to a record” Van de Wardt recalls. “But it ended up on our private SoundCloud playlist and I remember Wannes being really excited about it, so we thought it would be a fun challenge to see if we could make this thing work”. And finally, ‘A Comforting Release’, provides the perfect ending to this experimental yet sonically tidy EP, amplifying the themes and textures explored during the preceding tracks, with van de Wardt explaining: “We wanted to end the EP with a bang. See if we could combine all the vibes we picked up on this ep into one closing piece.” The track’s subject matter represents the most emotional on the EP, with van de Wardt coming to terms with expressing his emotions and finding comfort in confronting his demons through talking with those close to him: “The lyrics are very special to me. I have always struggled with opening up to people, afraid that I will fall apart when it’s out there. But during the pandemic I’ve realised how to confront some of those demons by just talking about it. I’m done with finding comfort in being someone that I’m not and this song expresses that journey so far." In all, this new EP possesses everything that fans have come to adore from Klangstof, but again evolves their sound in a forward-thinking and streamlined direction. The ‘Ocean View’ EP is available HERE. Klangstof will follow the EP’s release by embarking upon an extensive European headline tour, which commences with a London gig at The Lexington. Tickets are available here. They are also confirmed to play a series of summer shows with the legendary Pixies. Their upcoming tour dates are: MARCH - HEADLINE SHOWS
APRIL - HEADLINE SHOWS
JUNE - WITH PIXIES
JULY - WITH PIXIES
AUGUST - WITH PIXIES
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Produced by Paul Epworth at The Church Studios in London, ‘Delta’ finds the band in sparkling, experimental form. Coupling their penchant for the grandiose and the intimate, the British four-piece paint their sound with a broad range of colours and textures. It’s a record that they are immensely proud of and draws on their own individual and collective experiences over the past two years since the writing and recording process for ‘Delta’ commenced. On Thursday evening, fans connected around the world for a series of special album playback events, where ‘Delta’ was accompanied by visuals curated by, and in partnership with, National Geographic. It was an idea by the band, originally inspired by their own creation process of the album. Mumford & Sons:- "While we were recording and mixing Delta, we watched a lot of films on silent including some pretty epic wildlife films by National Geographic -- like a vision-track to our soundtrack. So, we felt it would be a nice idea to let fans experience the record in this way too” Watch Mumford & Sons performing Guiding Light on the Graham Norton Show HERE The band have just last week kicked off a huge, sixty-three date tour. The tour starts in Dublin, and stops in London at the O2 Arena on the 29th November. Support for the UK run comes from Maggie Rogers. Mumford & Sons are Ben Lovett, Marcus Mumford, Ted Dwane, and Winston Marshall. BUY DELTA HERE Mumford & Sons Live: 16th November - Dublin, 3 Arena 18th November - Belfast, SSE Arena 20th November - Glasgow, SSE Hydro 21st November - Manchester, Manchester Arena 23rd November - Birmingham, Genting Arena 24th November - Sheffield, Fly DSA Arena 25th November - Newcastle, Metro Radio Arena 27th November - Nottingham, Motorpoint Arena 28th November - Cardiff, Motorpoint Arena 29th November - London, O2 Arena 1st December - Leeds, First Direct Arena 2nd December - Liverpool, Echo Arena 7th December - Philadelphia, Wells Fargo Center 9th December - Boston, TD Garden 10th December - New York, Madison Square Garden 11th December – New York, Madison Square Garden 14th December - Washington DC, Capital One Arena 17th December - Toronto, Scotiabank Arena 2019 12th January - Auckland, The Outer Fields at Western Springs (Gentlemen of the Road in Auckland) w/ Michael Kiwanuka, Leon Bridges and Sam Fender. More to be announced) 15th January - Brisbane, Entertainment Centre 18th January - Sydney, Qudos 22nd January - Melbourne, Sidney Myer Music Bowl 23rd January - Melbourne, Sidney Myer Music Bowl 24th January - Adelaide, Entertainment Centre 27th January - Perth, RAC Arena 27th February - Providence, Dunkin Donuts Center 28th February - Hartford, XL Center 2nd March – Albany NY, Times Union Center 4th March - Montreal, Bell Centre 5th March - Ottawa, Canadian Tire Center 8th March - Buffalo, KeyBank Center 9th March - Cleveland, Quicken Loans Arena 11th March - Columbus, Nationwide Arena 12th March - Lexington, Rupp Arena 14th March - Pittsburgh, PPG Paints Arena 16th March - Charlottesville, John Paul Jones Arena 17th March - Raleigh, PNC Arena 18th March - Charleston, North Charleston Coliseum 20th March - Atlanta, State Farm Arena 22nd March - Nashville, Bridgestone Arena 23rd March - Birmingham, BJCC 25th March - Indianapolis, Bankers Life Field House 27th March - Detroit, Little Caesars Arena 29th March - Chicago, United Center 30th March - Madison, Kohl Center 31st March - Milwaukee, Fiserv Forum 25th April - Lisbon, Altice Arena 27th April - Barcelona, Palau Sant Jordi** 29th April - Milan, Medialanum Forum 1st May - Munich, Olympiahalle 3rd May - Vienna, Stadthalle 5th May - Basel, St. Jakobshalle 7th May - Paris, Zenith 8th May - Luxembourg, Rockhal 9th May - Amsterdam, Ziggo Dome 11th May - Berlin, Mercedes Benz Arena 13th May - Frankfurt, Festhalle 15th May - Cologne, Lanxess Arena 17th May - Copenhagen, Royal Arena 18th May - Gothenburg, Scandinavium 19th May - Oslo, Spektrum 21st May - Stockholm, Ericsson Globe www.mumfordandsons.com |
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