Great line-up of avant 6-string free noise and psychedelic heat haze from US/New Zealand duo Metal Rouge and Golden Lab Records' Chalaque, joined on this tour by Pascal Nichols of Part Wild Horses Mane On Both Sides.

METAL ROUGE

Metal Rouge is the duo of LA-born Helga Fassonaki and New Zealander Andrew Scott, formed in Auckland, NZ in 2006. After relocating to Los Angeles in 2007 the band switched from earlier Persian instrumentation to pedal and lap steel guitars and the music took on the form of streamlined horizontal psychedelic continuums. Unlike many contemporary musicians coming of out of California, Metal Rouge stand defiantly against meta-new age irony, crafting an intensely personal brand of electrified minimal maximalism at the intersection of New Zealand free noise, NYC loft minimalism and free jazz. Their sets over the last two years have consisted of simple guitar figures strung around drugged minimalist drum pulses interspersed with explosive treble-heavy freeform ragas and fearless outré vocalese. Currently bi-coastal with Andrew in Los Angeles and Helga in New Jersey they continue to throw ideas across the continent, some of which resulted in their new LP 'Soft Erase' out now on Emerald Cocoon.

"Easily some of the wildest free rock/jazz ecstasy to turn up on a cassette in years. Can’t recommend this enough." - David Keenan, Volcanic Tongue

CHALAQUE

Chalaque is, to all intents and purposes, the solo project of guitar player Nick Mitchell, who currently leads the eight-piece free rock unit Desmadrados Soldados De Ventura and was formerly a member of A Wake and Beach Fuzz. Occasionally augmented by a band (the Chalaque band will include Part Wild Horses Mane On Both Sides' drummer Pascal Nichols on this trip), Nick uses synths, tapes or other instrumentation to forge repetitive cycles around which he develops damaged arpeggios, discords and extended, hacked-out solos. A new 7" is out now on Golden Lab and a full-length LP reissue of the Sounds From The Other Ideology cassette on Feathered Coyote is due in October.

"Mitchell plays in a wild, wailing style that crosses the Beyond The Material Sky-isms of Billy TK’s Powerhouse work with the nagging blues tropes of Bill Orcutt and the proto-metal appeal of Sonny Sharrock circa Last Exit... Seriously some of the best/wildest avant rock six string excess to come out of the UK since, what, Smoke Jaguar?" - David Keenan, Volcanic Tongue