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For fans of: Idles, The Jesus Lizard, Fugazi, The Mars Volta, Andy Kaufman, Queens of the Stone Age, SOULWAX etc.
Since 2012, THE GURU GURU has been dealing in deep express art rock. Think: a lead vocal in a multicolored straitjacket, chased by feverish guitars and a convulsing rhythm section.
With audible joy of playing, the rules of indie-math-psycho-noise are rewritten, resulting in unruly songs that at times slip in surprisingly nicely. They get their dope from the same dealership where Queens of the Stone Age, Radiohead, The Mars Volta, SOULWAX, The Jesus Lizard & Andy Kaufman are also in residence. The band cannot be pigeonholed into one.
With ‘Make (Less) Babies’, their 3rd full-length album – out on October 27, 2023 on the Swiss label Hummus Records in cooperation with the French label A Tant Rêver Du Roi Records – The Guru Guru took matters into their own hands and produced the album themselves from recording to mixing. No compromises, just doing their own thing. After learning a lot from recording previous albums with Wouter Vlaeminck as producer (Raketkanon, Kapitan Korsakov, etc.) and the ‘it’s a (doggy dog) world’ EP, the band felt the time was right to produce their new album all by themselves. They recorded the album at the Farrm studio in Hasselt. The intention was to make as honest an album as possible. Everything was recorded live, no instrument overdubs were recorded, what you hear is what you get. Their energy and sound that they bring live on stage have been translated to this album, which feels very natural and organic. Tight energetic drums, deep bass lines, virtuoso ripping guitars and with a very expressive frontman. This is what THE GURU GURU sounds like anno 2023.
The common thread of ‘Make (Less) Babies’ is about how we are gradually destroying our planet and the major role our favorite commodity, money, plays in it. Together with the planet, we are slowly destroying ourselves and we are doing it against our better judgment.
This time, singer Tom The Bomb made a conscious decision not to start writing until he knew what he wanted to talk about. For example, he often watched the news before he started writing instead of just letting the lyrics flow from his pen. It is because of this that the album took on a socially critical slant.
Live, THE GURU GURU is a must-see. As the energy comes gushing off the stage, frontman Tom The Bomb balances on the edge of theatrical psychosis.
Tour highlights: ArcTanGent (UK), Portals (UK), Ment (SLO), Monkey Week (ESP), Rock Herk (BE), Sziget (HU), Pukkelpop (BE), etc…. The Guru Guru played +- 300 domestic and foreign shows (France, Spain, UK, La Réunion, Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Slovenia and Hungary) in the last 6 years.
THE GURU GURU’s latest album ‘Make (Less) Babies’ was recorded and produced by the band members themselves in the Farrm studio in Hasselt. The album was mixed by guitarist Emiel Van Den Abbeele.
Building on the band’s addictive deep express art rock, ‘MAKE (LESS) BABIES’ leads listeners further into their twisted ‘rabbit hole’; laden with stories of the road, criticism of society, climate change, controversy, social themes, humor and self-mockery.
THE GURU GURU is unstoppable and continues to push their boundaries. Nothing is impossible.
24 concerts in six countries –
15/07/23: Gentse Feesten, Ghent
17/08/23: ArcTanGent, Bristol (UK)
26/08/23: Farm Festival, Noorderwijk-Herentals
08/09/23: Burn It Down Festival, Torquay (UK)
09/09/23: Signature Brew, London (UK)
15/09/23: Wrong Fest, Sofia (BG)
19/10/23: Petit Bain, Paris (FR)
27/10/23: La Cave Aux Poetes, Roubaix (FR) – with It It Anita
28/10/23: Fri-Son, Fribourg (CH)
31/10/23: La Ferronnerie, Pau (FR)
01/11/23: Rise & Fall Festival, Niort (FR) – with Birds In Row
02/11/23: Sortie 13, Pessac (FR)
03/11/23: Quai M, La Roche Sur Yon (FR) – with Birds In Row
04/11/23: Le Florida, Agen (FR) – with It It Anita
09/11/23: ALBUM RELEASE Farrm, Hasselt (FR)
10/11/23: L’Antrepeaux, Bourges (FR) – with Birds In Row
11/11/23: Le Ferrailleur, Nantes (FR) – with Birds In Row
16/11/23: ALBUM RELEASE Chinastraat, Ghent
01/12/23: Le Confort Moderne, Poitiers (FR)
02/12/23: Connexion Live, Toulouse (FR)
08/12/23: ALBUM RELEASE Fluor, Amersfoort (NL)
09/12/23: ALBUM RELEASE V11, Rotterdam (NL)
15/12/23: ALBUM RELEASE La Zone, Liege (NL)
16/12/23: Paul B, Massy (FR) – with Psychotic Monks
