Los Angeles, CA – International rock collective Sontaag, whose eponymous debut album is a multi-generic collision of progressive space opera, cinematic ambience and sci-fi storytelling that arrived to significant critical acclaim in 2014, are set to return into 2020’s dystopian new normal.
On September 18th, the band will release their new single “Beyond Forever.” The cast of this particular mission finds original collaborators Richard Sontaag (guitars, keyboards) and Ian Fortnam (vocals) joined by Steve George (Swervedriver) on bass while Dave Barbarossa (Adam And The Ants/Bow Wow Wow) – whose trademark beats propelled Sontaag’s 2019 all-out sonic assault on Hawkwind’s “Silver Machine” (with Youth, Nik Turner and The Orb) – returns on drums.
“Beyond Forever” and its companion track “Back To My Soul (both produced by Richard Sontaag) are available through Cleopatra Records via all digital platforms with cover art by Julie Cunnah.
Ian Fortnam: “Between them, these compositions form the next chapter of the Sontaag story. The conclusion of the album saw our lead character drifting away from a scene of total annihilation into an uncertain future. These songs reflect our hero’s innermost thoughts. ‘Beyond Forever’ finds him lost, alone, permanently social distanced, but ultimately optimistic, while ‘Back To My Soul’ has him searching for spiritual redemption while mourning for all that’s gone. If our first chapters were set in outer space, these next instalments play out in a terminally locked-down inner space.”
Richard Sontaag: “‘Beyond Forever’ has a kind of James Bond theme feel to it. Ages ago, I remember going to a film studio in Ealing and watching them cut together the opening credits of a Bond film, and that was a lot of fun. When we were writing ‘Beyond Forever,’ I was thinking of something that could play over a really spaced-out Bond opening. As for ‘Back To My Soul,’ I like riffs, but I’m also interested in the traditional craft of songwriting. ‘Back To My Soul’ is an attempt to combine the two.”
Steve George: “When my best buddy and I experienced the joy of playing an electric guitar for the first time, we didn’t have an amp, so we commandeered his brother Richard’s old Vox AC30. The amp kept cutting out, but that did not ruin the thrill of reproducing the riffs of ‘War Pigs,’ ‘Silver Machine’ and, sadly, ‘Smoke on the Water.’ So playing with Sontaag all this time later means that things have kind of come full circle for me.”
“Progressive restored to its original sense. By referencing the last five decades of music and film, Sontaag create a highly original sci-fi morality tale for the future, and one of the year’s most unusual listening experiences, itself crying out for movie status.” 8/10 – Classic Rock
“Progtastic!” 4/5 – Daily Mirror
“Just download it to your brain from the nearest orbiting space station.” – Huey Morgan, BBC Radio 2
“A schizophrenic head fuck of an album, switching between ambient electronica and crunchy hard rock.” – Detroit-Metro Times
“A spectacular collision of British eccentricity and dramatic storytelling.” – Line Of Best Fit
“Sontaag have created one of the year’s most unusual listening experiences with this 21st century take on a sci-fi morality tale.” – Shindig
Featuring Killing Joke’s Youth, Dave Barbarossa of Adam And The Ants/Bow Wow Wow and ex-Hawkwind legend Nik Turner!
New York/London – International rock collective Sontaag, whose conceptually ambitious, eponymous debut album (a sonically cinematic, cross-generic space opera) arrived into the progressive firmament to critical acclaim in 2014, are finally set to re-establish contact with our much-troubled earthly realm.
On March 15th, 2019, Sontaag return with a fiercely contemporary interpretation of Hawkwind’s iconic 1972 hit, “Silver Machine.” The Sontaag crew on this particular mission finds core creatives Richard Sontaag (guitars, keyboards, producer) and Ian Fortnam (vocals and guitar) joined by Killing Joke’s Youth on bass, Dave Barbarossa (Adam And The Ants/Bow Wow Wow) on drums and ex-Hawkwind legend Nik Turner on sax.
“Silver Machine” is mixed by Youth.
Design and photo montage by Julie Cunnah. Thanks to Kevin Nixon.
“Silver Machine” is available through Cleopatra Records via all digital platforms and also comes in radically remixed form courtesy of Sontaag’s fellow travellers in outer and inner psychedelic space, The Orb.
Ian Fortnam:“Hawkwind were punk-proof. Even in ’77, Richard and I would jam on ‘Silver Machine.’ Hawkwind were the UK’s counter-cultural underground incarnate. I discovered them in that narrow space between Bolan and Bowie, simultaneous to Alice, in the summer of ’72. Astral explorers. Eyes aflame with psychedelic visions. The people your parents dreaded you becoming. The coolest band alive. ‘Silver Machine’ was Hawkwind’s magnum opus, a spiralling maelstrom of riff-driven brilliance. Who wouldn’t want to cover it? Four years ago I found myself spirited to Nik Turner’s place in Wales, where we spoke of the Great Pyramid, orgone accumulators, space rituals, hallucinogenics, sonic generators, woodwind and Hawkwind. Before we parted, I gave him a copy of the first Sontaag album and the seeds of the ‘Silver Machine’ project were sown. Obviously, the very best material deserves the very best band, so calls were made to maestro Youth and Dave Barbarossa (the dream rhythm section) and here we are. And what a rare privilege to work with The Orb whose ‘Imaginarium Translucent JellyFish Dub’ remix is a work of art in and of itself.”
Richard Sontaag:Ian’s been pestering me to do a Hawkwind cover since way back when — the coolest kid in our school, he was often seen walking around with the Doremi Faso Latido LP under his arm between classes. But our Silver Machine came about in an unexpected way. I was alone in the studio late one night, and noticed that the guys had strung up a microphone from the ceiling. I put all the amps in a circle around it — which is really bad technique – and went round each one, blasting out Silver Machine on different instruments. That was the most fun I have ever had in a studio — and some of it even made it on to the final track.
Here’s what the press have raved about Sontaag:
“Progressive restored to its original sense. By referencing the last five decades of music and film, Sontaag create a highly original sci-fi morality tale for the future, and one of the year’s most unusual listening experiences, itself crying out for movie status.” 8/10 – Classic Rock
“Progtastic!” 4/5 – Daily Mirror
“Just download it to your brain from the nearest orbiting space station.” – Huey Morgan, BBC Radio 2
“A schizophrenic head fuck of an album, switching between ambient electronica and crunchy hard rock.” – Detroit-Metro Times
“A spectacular collision of British eccentricity and dramatic storytelling.” – Line Of Best Fit
“Sontaag have created one of the year’s most unusual listening experiences with this 21st century take on a sci-fi morality tale.” – Shindig
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