New Telescopes album »Hidden Fields« out on August 7th

Founded in 1987 by Stephen Lawrie. The Telescopes have been mining a unique anti-myopian seam of highly influential experimental, drone, noise, dream & psych for over 20 years. Their first record was a split flex-disc with Loop on Cheree Records. After a further two critically acclaimed singles for the label, they moved to What Goes On Records, where they released another two EPs and their debut album “Taste”. All of which found their way to the top of the UK independent charts, gathering ‘single of the week’ / ‘album of the month’ status in all of the British music papers of the time.

Tours followed with Spacemen 3, Primal Scream and The Jesus and Mary Chain. And it wasn’t long before The Telescopes were headliners themselves. Bark Psychosis, Whipping Boy, Slowdive, Bleach, The Cranes and Ride all played some of their earlier shows supporting them. In 1990 the group appeared at one of the UK’s biggest festivals of the time, The Reading Festival. They were one of the few bands that weren’t bottled off the stage at the event. However, the increasing violent interactions with audiences at their shows saw the group step away from their noise origins and head towards a more introspective psychedelic sound. It was around this time that What Goes On folded and Alan McGee stepped in to release the group’s material from the hands of official receivership.

One of the more interesting bands that were signed to Creation Records. The group released their second album and a string of EPs for the label. Working with Douglas Hart (The Jesus and Mary Chain) on their videos, visual artist Paul Cannel on their sleeve work and Laika’s Guy Fixsen in the studio. The final EP for the label registered in the UK mainstream top 80 after being hit listed on BBC Radio 1 by Mark Goodyear. The group were also favoured by John Peel and recorded two BBC Radio 1 sessions for him. Marc Riley and Mark Radcliffe also had them in the studio for a session around the time of their 2nd album and MTV ran features. The Guardian’s Alexis Petridis described The Telescopes as having “an almost fragile sense of elegance and melody”.

Then in 1992 the group underwent an eight year hiatus, resuming output in the year 2000 with a revolving line up. A stream of releases followed on labels such as Double Agent (USA), Trensmat (Ireland), Champion Version (UK), Antenna (UK), Norman Records (UK), Static Charge (UK), Mind Expansion (USA), Fourier Transform (UK), Textile Records (France), Dream Machine Records (UK) and Hungry Audio (UK). Most physical copies selling out in advance.

“The Telescopes have resurfaced and I am amazed and glad they are still practicing their mysterious art” (John Peel)
“An odd but by no means unwelcome return” (Q Magazine)

The Wire magazine described them as having “a very real & crazy originality that carries fat tons of wallop” and the NME found them “in another universe altogether, incredible”. Arch drude Julian Cope has also championed two of their releases on his Head Heritage site, referring to their “suspended-in-space magnificence”.

In 2011 they were invited by Portishead to play at the first ever ATP festival at Alexandre Palace in London. The following year The Black Angels / Reverberation Appreciation Society invited them to Austin Psych Fest 2012.

Following the release of their 7th LP, “Harm”, on Seattle-based label Neon Sigh, the group toured almost non stop over the following two years. Covering Scandinavia, Europe, Russia, Latvia, Estonia, the Ukraine, the UK, USA, the Middle East, and Ireland.

Meanwhile, The Telescopes have signed with Hamburg’s Tapete Records. A new album, “Hidden Fields”, The Telescopes 8th, is scheduled for release in August of 2015. Recorded in Glasgow, with St deluxe. “Hidden Fields” is an unexpected return from the group’s recent expeditions into the outer reaches of freedrone noise. The psychiatric sounds of The Telescopes in a concise inner sensory rush. This is their most song based output for some time.

“Every sound you ever heard was but a preliminary exercise in hearing, for the all embracing maelstrom of The Telescopes” (Melody Maker, 1989)

Source: www.facebook.com/thetelescopesuk