Review: Kill West - Raw Desire + Interview with Adam from Drone Rock Records

Drone Rock Records have been going from strength to strength since their debut release just under 2 years ago. That first record pretty much introduced Kill West to a wider audience and since then they have given us a blistering live set from The Band Whose Name Is A Symbol, a superb debut from Psychic Lemon, an equally fab release from The Space Spectrum and, more recently, the 'Magnetic North' compilation - a lesson in thoughtful and intelligent curatorship. Now the label has gone full circle with a new recording by Kill West on the horizon. Kill West have proved to be a revelation since that recording..the following album 'Smoke Beach' (released on Crang/Echo Drug Recordings) was met with rave reviews and 'Raw Desire' will undoubtedly do likewise. It also shows them to be a band that are unafraid to experiment with their sound rather than relying on a tried and tested format. Following the review is an interview with Adam Harmsworth, the man behind Drone Rock Records....Cheers Adam!

'Raw Desire' is comprised of 5 tracks, although on listening it could be taken as four...more on that later. Title track 'Raw Desire' starts proceedings in a down 'n dirty, scuzzy blues way. It's a fuzzy monster that wears its blues influence firmly on its sleeve...the riffs are raw and heavy but there is still plenty of reverb and echo it give it a psych vibe. The way it speeds up towards the end and opens up is positively exhilarating. 'Shivers' has plenty of the same...heavy, fuzzy riffs and reverb laden vocals...more than a touch of The Stooges had they been more 'pedal heavy'. 'Giant Mexico Weather' is a big instrumental track with the same, now familiar, big riffs but what sets this track apart is some fantastic 'heavy psych' guitar in the middle section...it's almost in danger of being drowned out by the repetitive riff that the band get going, but it's there and it's good! The B Side of the vinyl is comprised of 2 tracks that are listed together due to a seamless segue. 'Apocalypse City / Pareidolia', taken together, are the crowning glory of this EP....'Apocalypse City' again sees some scuzzy blues riffs in a sea of reverb..the thudding drums and circular rhythm would be a standout on its own, but when followed immediately by 'Pareidolia' (which, according to Wikipedia, "is a psychological phenomenon involving a stimulus (an image or a sound) wherein the mind perceives a familiar pattern of something where none actually exists") , it becomes a heavy intro to something unexpected and quite special. Where 'Apocalypse City' ends suddenly, a single, low drone replaces it and is joined by piano and keyboard in something approaching hauntology...the piano plays a nostalgic refrain while the drones create an eerie atmosphere...it's bordering on some of The Caretaker's hauntological masterpieces. To say that this is unexpected after the fuzzy storm of the previous tracks is an understatement, but kudos to the guys. That sense of experimentation is to be applauded, as to whether it is a direction in which the band will further travel, only time will tell.

'Raw Desire' for me is certainly Kill West's strongest material to date....but that's a purely subjective view. It shows a band unafraid to move and grow. The heavy, bluesy bluster of the first four tracks are thrilling and intoxicating while the more experimental 'Pareidolia' is a beguiling exercise in atmosphere. It is also testament to Drone Rock for having the foresight to return to its roots...on this, and previous, showings the label will go from strength to strength and that, dear reader, in these days of major label hegemony, is a thing to be celebrated. It should be noted, however, that 'Raw Desire' is a co-production between Drone Rock and Crang Records of Argentina. The EP is available in vinyl, a pressing of 500 copies, of which there are 250 with black and white splatters on clear vinyl and 250 on clear vinyl (Drone Rock have 125 of each, the band have similar). Do yourself a favour and get yourself over to Drone Rock where pre-orders are now up.



Adam Harmsworth, the man behind Drone Rock Records was kind enough to spare some time to answer some questions.

Hi Adam.....congratulations on another top quality release....you happy with it?

I'm really chuffed to be working with the Kill West boys again. They were the first act who I worked with and this new record sounds so, so good. As soon as they got back in touch to tell me they were working on new material I was very eager to hear it and to hopefully put it out. The one downside is that the release of the EP was to coincide with the first Kill West UK/Euro tour but due to a variety of reasons that has now been put on hold. Hopefully I will get to meet them personally next year and witness their live shows for myself.

I must say though that I have learnt to never be 100% happy until the records are actually with me and everything is ok. In the short time I've been doing this I've already discovered (the hard way) of how many things can and will go wrong; reduced stock due to quality control, printing errors, damaged stock during transportation., the list goes on.

Drone Rock Records seems to have grown very popular very quickly....are you surprised at the success......where did you think you would be 2 years or so in?

I'm not quite sure how popular DRR is seen to be but I still have to pinch myself that I am in charge of my own label and am now just waiting on my 6th release to come back from the pressing plant. I'm quite a pessimistic kind of chap so I honestly thought I'd perhaps put 2, maybe 3 records out before the balloon burst, I got bored of it all or I'd lost too much money and time and given t all up. So, yeah, I'm very surprised at the "success" of it all. I always had the attitude though that even if the Kill West EP had been the first and only release on my label I could still say I actually put a record out on my own label which is more than most can. Necker Island is still a way off though ;) (crap Richard Branson reference....sorry)

How and why did you start Drone Rock?

Before I started the label my wife used to tell me that I could use the the time I spent listening to and buying vinyl, going to gigs, spending too many hours on the internet reading all about the emerging new "psych scene" and perhaps get a bit more involved in it all somehow. Thats when I started a FB fan page embracing all things "Psych Rock" be it photos of the records I had bought, videos of gigs I'd been too, adverts for new records and upcoming live shows. The page started to gain a bit of a following and, from there, I got an email out of the blue from Kill West with a link to their first EP which they had made available online. Having been so impressed with what Dave Cambridge at Cardinal Fuzz, and the lads at Rocket had done with their small labels, and with a bit of gently encouragement from my wife (having now witnessed how stressed I get when a new release is on the way and watching me pack all the records night after night I'm not sure she'd be so encouraging!) I decided to just give it a go. I messaged them back to ask how would they like to be the first release on my label. They were really up for it and agreed to work with me which was quite surprising really when you bear in mind I didn't even have a name, logo, website or anything at that point.

What are the major challenges as a 'small' label owner?

Cash flow is a major hurdle. When you're dealing in such small runs the cost price of each record doesn't leave much room for errors, low sales, lost orders, etc. Each release pretty much funds the next but having reached record number 6, something must be working. I'm not going to be the first label owner to moan about pressing plant delays but I can't stress enough about how much of a knock-on a delayed release can have.

Did you pick the brains of fellow label owners?

Definitely. At the beginning of it all Dave Cambridge at Cardinal Fuzz was an absolute Godsend. The amount of time and advice that man has given me has been remarkable. I chewed the ear off Thom Bettany (Evil Hoodoo) at this years Liverpool Psych Fest and have had the pleasure of meeting Dom from the Great Pop Supplement a couple of times as well as chatting to a few fellow small label owners online. Everyone has been really helpful and always ready to give some invaluable advice.

There is a definite 'community' spirit around the psych scene in the UK, and indeed overseas. Everyone I have met/spoken to etc have, pretty much without exception, been damned cool people. Have you found that this spirit has helped with regard to promotion and generally getting the word around?

Ive really found it quite amazing how friendly and close the whole "psych scene" is. Liverpool Psych Fest is a classic example of this....the vibe there is quite unlike any other festival I've been to. But, yeah, the whole community feel of it all does help in that it increased the ways you can reach out to potential customers.....through the blogs like yours, the fanzines (printed and online) such as Optical Sounds and through social media. I'm getting quite a loyal regular customer base now which really is fantastic.

The roster of artists is impressive, some real 'heavyweights' of the psych world....how do you go about firstly choosing who/what to release and then actually getting them on board?

Without belittling any of the artists on DRR, I don't really see them as "heavyweights of the psych world". Maybe/hopefully one day though. The whole process of choosing a band to work with is rather haphazard really and there certainly isn't a set way I go about it. Like I said previously, Kill West got in touch with me before the label had even started so that was just a chance thing. I approached The Space Spectrum after a friend of mine had pointed me in the direction of their Bandcamp page. The live TBWNIAS record came about after Jon Westhaver from the band put the live recording up on FB and I just asked him if he'd like to see it on vinyl (he said yes luckily). I got in touch with Psychic Lemon after reading about them on your blog and Simon's Psych Insight column on Backseat Mafia. So, as you can see, there's not a major business strategy behind any of this. Most of the bands I have worked with are just pleased to see someone interested in getting their music out on vinyl so its win-win really.

It's a bit of an unfair question but which release has given you the most satisfaction?

It is a bit of unfair question really as I honestly believe that there's not a dud among the releases I've put out ....I'm really happy with how all of them have turned out. I will always have an added emotional attachment to The Kill West EP though as it was where it all started (plus its a fantastic record with, what I think is, iconic cover artwork).

The 'Magnetic North' compilation was a magnificent piece of curator-ship.....how did that project come about?

Strangely enough it started off as a split 12" between Vert:X and Carlton Melton (I fucking love Carlton Melton!). Neil from Vert:X got in touch about the possibility of releasing something and then it came out he had played live with the CM boys. We tentatively talked about doing a split record with them but the Melton boys were tied up with a variety of releases on Agitated at the time. Earthling Society had approached me around the same time with what was to become the Sweet Chariot album (released on Clostridium in the end). Neil and Fred from ES both knew each other and, with them both being Northern lads, I looked into the possibility of getting another northern based psych acts on board to form a mini-compilation type record. DSA and Blown Out were my first choices and somewhat unbelievably (well to me anyway) they both agreed to come in and Magnetic North was born. Four outstanding tracks by four excellent but very different acts.

Moving on to Kill West....the 'Raw Desire' EP is fab....certainly, in my view, their best recording to date.....They've attracted some rave reviews over here and attracted a pretty loyal following online since the Drone Rock 'Kill West EP'.....it must feel pretty good to think that in some way you are responsible for that?

Like I said, I'm really proud of the Kill West EP and really pleased that the KW boys are getting some of the recognition they deserve. I love that first EP and I believe that the new one is right up there with it. I really liked their Smoke Beach album too and actually had the chance to release it. Fran from the band came to me with it after the Kill West EP came out and I was hoping to put it out after the Space Spectrum record was finished. Unfortunately the SS record took a long longer to put out than anticipated which would have meant DRR releasing Smoke Beach straight after the Kill West EP. I was a little reluctant for my first two releases to be both by KW and for DRR to be seen just as the KW label and then the timings just never worked out and they ended up putting Smoke Beach out on Echo Drug Recordings in the States. Its great to have them back on DRR though. It was just a shame that their anticipated UK/Euro tour to coincide with the record just didn't happen this time round.



Psychic Lemon were hot property after their album hit the 'net and they must have had more than one label come knocking...what do you think attracted them to Drone Rock.

Psychic Lemon was a strange one. The blogs were going mad for the digital version of that album but I seemed to have a free shot at working with them on a vinyl release. The band openly admitted to me that it was a dream of theirs to have their music played on the radio and to release a record, both dreams that have now been fulfilled. I think they were just overjoyed to find someone that loved the music and who was willing to risk their own money on putting their album out there. Great guys to work with.



Looking ahead, what are your ambitions for the label?

I try not to be too ambitious really as I still see the label as more of a hobby than a business. Having a "real job" (I'm a labourer/builder during the day) and a young family it is a real balancing act trying to spend enough time with the label. I'm quite happy with the pace of it all now, one release every 3 or 4 months.

Anything to look forward to in the shorter term?

Hoping to start work on record number 7 in the next few weeks with a tentative Jan/Feb '17 release date. Don't want to say anything too much at the moment but you'll be one of the first to know when the time is right. I've had some cracking demos sent to me too recently (I never thought I'd ever see me writing those words!) and got one or two of those in mind for a couple of future releases.

Mandatory cheesy interview question!....if you release by any artist, alive or dead, who would it be?

Ooooohhh, tricky one. Neil Young would be right up there but not sure I could afford his triple vinyl albums pressed at high-end Japanese vinyl plants! I'm a massive Spiritualized fan so something by them or would be incredible.

Thanks for your time Adam and I'm sure I'm not alone in saying we look forward to many, many more releases from Drone Rock