Wakey Wakey Rise & Shine Share psych-pop burst ‘Magic Hill’
Announce hometown Bristol headline show
(Debut EP out 5th July via Velvet Echoes)
“Best band name of the month and that sounds fantastic!” John Kennedy, Radio X “Counter Culture” Rough Trade
“A mind-bending gem of psychedelic synth indie rock.” Fame Magazine
“one the best pieces of garage punk we have heard this year” Acute Pop
Announcing their biggest headline show to date at Bristol’s Crofters Rights on 6th July, psychedelic post-punk quintet Wakey Wakey Rise & Shine share blooming psychedelic-pop of second EP teaser ‘Magic Hill’ - due 17th June via Velvet Echoes (Dreamwave).
Cantering across the clouds in a haze of woozy synths, hopeful melodies, and exploratory soundscapes, the band’s latest cut veers off from the irascible garage-punk of recent single ‘Backseat Driver’ and wanders into more tranquil, utopian climes. Plumping the relentless grooves of King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard with delicate 60s psych-pop harmonies, ‘Magic Hill’ offers a celebration of freedom and natural wonder, its every square inch revelling in a psychedelic euphoria.
Produced at the recording space of beloved Bristol venue The Louisiana with Alfie-Tyson Browne (Langkamer, Katy J Pearson and Saloon Dion), the track zones in on an anonymous free-spirited protagonist wandering in the Welsh countryside, as the band’s lead vocalist/guitarist ‘Smudge’ explains:
“This song is the colours you see in an altered state and about the experience of that particular journey. I wrote this because I watched a video of this Welsh guy probably near to where I’m from. He basically walked his dog up a hill and took some mushrooms from the surrounding field and it looked like he was having a good time. ‘Magic Hill” is now for him.”
More about Wakey Wakey Rise & Shine :
Slowly assembled together after years of “life's wonderful lived experiences” - at college, at Green Man festival, on Gumtree adverts, at gigs - Wakey Wakey Rise & Shine eventually emerged in Bristol in 2020. Influenced by the likes of King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Snapped Ankles, and the New Wave trailblazers DEVO and B-52s, the band came to define their Psychedelic/post-punk sound: frilly psychedelic melodies fused with the fuzzed-up fury of high-octane post-punk, all powered by an embrace of all things silly and irreverent. “fun and mischievous ways of expressing yourself within art is probably an artist's greatest weapon”, explains Seamus, “Collectively we enjoy being a bit silly with our ideas and keeping the writing process interesting and playful.”
Accordingly, from its chaotic, song-structures careening from one style to next, right down to its whimsical subject matter, ‘A Good Way To Get Yourself Killed EP’ presents an ever-playful 4 song set of chaotic and colourful surprise. Inspired by various behaviours and irks observed in their Bristol hometown, elliptic Graffiti sightings (‘BJJ MMA TFF. BK 1’), videos found online of old welsh men walking tripping on magic mushrooms (“Magic
Hill), and sustainable transport (“E-Scooters”) are the main concerns in Wakey Wakey Rise & Shine’s ebullient fuzz-pedalled world.
Coming off the back of recent shows with Ellie Bleach, Canned Pineapple and The Pleasure Dome, the band signed to Bristol Independent label Velvet Echoes and shared first EP teaser ‘Backseat Driver’ earlier this month to the backing from John Kennedy (Radio X), Rough Trade Counter Culture, Acute Pop and Post-Brexit Pop. Celebrating the arrival of their forthcoming EP, Wakey Wakey Rise & Shine ready themselves for their biggest headline show to date at Bristol’s Crofters Rights on 6th July.
Wakey Wakey Rise & Shine are:
‘Smudge’ - Guitar/Lead Vocal
Harri Elliot - Synth/Vocal
Duncan Whitelock - Bass/Vocal
Cam Smith - Lead Guitar
Seamus ‘Mr Business’ Daley-Dee - Drummer
Follow Wakey Wakey Rise & Shine on Social Media
Facebook | Instagram | Spotify | Bandcamp | YouTube
A Good Way To Get Yourself Killed EP by Wakey Wakey Rise & ShineDue 5th July via Velvet Echoes
Upcoming Dates:
6 JULY // Bristol, Crofters Rights - EP launch Show
19 OCT // Bristol, Downstokes Festival
