Ghent, Belgium-based experimental rock band RAKETKANON are pleased to announce they have signed to Alcopop! Records and will release their long-awaited third album RKTKN#3 on 5th April 2019, available to pre-order now on www.ilovealcopop.co.uk/
As a special Valentine’s Day gift to fans, the band have revealed a suitably dark and disturbing video for lead single ‘Ricky’, also available on digital service providers now.
Speaking about the film, guitarist Jeff Verbeek said “we wanted to be captured in our natural environment, just being ourselves, so people would understand where we come from. We worked again with director Aykan Umut and Farmboy, since he has a knack for capturing the deeper feelings behind seemingly everyday situations in the life of our band.”
The band have also just announced a short run of UK headline tour dates and festival appearances in May 2019, with an additional stint of EU dates including an already sold out Brussels headline show, and further dates alongside Brutus and Tropical Fuck Storm.
Before you ask: Raketkanon? It means Rocketcannon in Flemish. But Raketkanon don’t sing in Flemish. Raketkanon speak their own odd language; one of throttled squeals and shouts, meat-grinder waves of rolling riffs, synth-layered soundscapes, dystopic electronica-laced beats, and hypnotic grooves.
Raketkanon speak the language of music like you’ve never heard anyone speak it before, and for their latest record, they’ve learned a whole new dialect.
With their much-lauded 2015 second album, RKTKN#2, produced by Steve Albini, the band proved that they were utterly unique in their field, drawing praise from NOISEY, The Quietus, The Guardian, Team Rock, Echoes & Dust, and many more. Even the Crown Prince of Chaos himself, Iggy Pop, became a newly-converted cult member as his gravelled tones grunted their praises on the BBC 6music airwaves.
Now, in 2019, with new record RKTKN#3 ready to be deployed, the latest phase of Raketkanon’s musical offensive sees them pushing their boundaries further than ever before.
“The new record, and the songs themselves, are way more eclectic,” explains vocalist Pieter-Paul Devos. “In a way, we felt we had pushed our abilities—and learned what we could do musically—to the max, previously. For this album, we tried to feel what the limits of our old way of working were. We pretty much renewed ourselves.”
Raketkanon’s raucous, intensely powerful live shows are the stuff of legend, and the band will be announcing further UK tour dates in the coming weeks.
RKTKN#3 is released 5th April 2019 via Alcopop! Records
RAKETKANON Live Dates:
06/04/19 – Rotterdam – Harlequin fest @ Baroeg – NL
25/04/19 – Brussels – Les Nuits de Botanique @ Rotonde – B (SOLD OUT)
04/05/09 – Kortrijk – De Kreun – B
08/05/19 – Amsterdam – Paradiso (kleine zaal) – NL
11/05/19 – Utrecht – Doomstad @ Ekko – NL
15/05/19 – Brighton – Prince Albert – UK
16/05/19 – Ramsgate – Ramsgate Music Hall – UK
18/05/19 – Bristol – Rough Trade – UK
21/05/19 – Nijmegen – Merleyn – NL ^
22/05/19 – Antwerpen – Het Bos – B ^
23/05/19 – Groningen – Vera – NL ^
24/05/19 – Arlon – L’entrepot – B *
25/05/19 – Charleroi – Eden – B *
26/05/19 – Cardiff – Psych & Noise Fest – UK
29/05/19 – Hasselt – MOD – B ^
30/05/19 – Gent – Vooruit (Balzaal) – B (SOLD OUT) ^
14/06/19 – Sonnenberg Kriens/Luzern – B-Sides – CH
15/06/19 – Mannheim – Maifield Derby – D
19/07/19 – Leeuwarden – Welcome to the Village – NL
03/08/19 – Waarschoot – Roadkill – B
^ w/ Tropical Fuck Storm
* w/ Brutus