Underworld’s new album “Oblivion with Bells”

Underworld
Oblivion with Bells

Out October 2007

When Underworld released their last album “A Hundred Days off ” no one thought it would be nearly 2000 days until the next one arrived. It hasn’t been a case of lazing around in the Essex countryside though as the last 5 years have thrown up the 1992-2002 anthology album, two major film scores (Anthony Mingellas’ “Breaking and Entering” and Danny Boyles’ 2007 “Sunshine”), a self-published typographic journal “In The Belly of Saint Paul”, a series of pioneering digital-only releases, internet-radio broadcasts, a groundbreaking live web-tv broadcast and gig in partnership with Apple and Frankfurts’ techno giants Cocoon and countless gigs around the world.

During all of this action Rick and Karl, with the aid of trusty laptops, a couple of home studios, Abbey Roads’ legendary facilities and a Pig Shed, have been carefully developing ideas for the new album “Oblivion with Bells”, an album that was finally completed in a flurry of activity and excitement in spring 2007. True to form Underworld tread their own path through modern electronic music tipping a nod to current sounds, styles and production techniques but never afraid to let their song writing and musicianship shine out in this digital world. “Oblivion with Bells” draws heavily on Rick and Karls’ vast array of musical influences (Nick Drake, Def Mix, Ricardo Villalobos, Can, James Holden, Eno) and experiences performing worldwide to create a truly unique Underworld journey. The album kicks off like Saturday night with Sven Väth, Simian Mobile Disco and Frankie Knuckles all fighting to get on the decks, then takes you over the flat fields of rural Essex, through Kings Cross with its olympic dreams and piss stained alleys, ending blissed out in a hidden cove in Ibiza. Epic techno nestles next to frail acoustics, beatific prose next to sharp urban observation, amazing sound texturing mixed with mobile phone recordings, rarely has the Underworld palette been so rich.

The Summer of 2007 sees Underworld playing a handful of European festival dates (where you can expect new material to be debuted along side deep grooves and some classics from the Underworld jukebox) ahead of their tour, which kicks off in North America in September:

June:
Saturday, 30 Wild In The Country, Knebworth, UK

July:
Thursday, 5 Super Bock, Super Rock Festival, Lisbon, Portugal
Saturday, 7 Monegroes Desert Festival, Monegroes, Spain

September:
Sunday, 9 Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, USA
Tuesday, 11 Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Denver, USA
Friday, 14 Central Park Summer Stage, New York, USA

October:
Monday, 8 Guildhall, Southampton, UK
Tuesday, 9 Academy, Birmingham, UK
Wednesday, 10 UEA, Norwich, UK
Friday, 12 Northumbria University, ¢, UK
Saturday, 13 Academy, Glasgow, UK
Sunday, 14 Rock City, Nottingham, UK
Tuesday, 16 Apollo, Manchester, UK
Wednesday, 17 Roundhouse, London, UK
Friday, 26 Tonhalle, Munich, Germany
Saturday, 27 Electronic Beats Festival, Prague,
Tuesday, 30 Gasometer, Vienna, Austria
Wednesday, 31 Electronic Beats Festival, Bratislava,

November:
Thursday, 1 Cocoon Club, Frankfurt, Germany
Saturday, 3 Columbiahalle, Berlin, Germany
Tuesday, 6 Paladium, Koln, Germany
Thursday, 8 The Docks, Hamburg, Germany
Friday, 9 Heineken Music Hall, Amsterdam, Holland

Saturday, 10 I Love Techno, Gent, Belgium
November:
Japan TBC