23/06/2025
Coming to Dubrek in October.
Tickets here:
https://www.gigantic.com/smote-tickets/derby-dubrek-studios/2025-10-24-19-00
‘Clyppan’ is an Old English verb meaning “to embrace” or “to clasp.” It also referred to an ancient ritual in which people gathered in a circle, singing together around a sacred shrine. It’s a fitting title for the latest release from Newcastle’s Smote – a visceral document of the band’s electrifying live set, captured within the walls of London’s Bear Bites Horse recording studio.
On January 22, 2025 – the day before Smote's thunderous performance at London’s ICA alongside labelmates Teeth Of The Sea – the four members of Smote entered Bear Bites Horse studio. With producer Wayne Adams at the controls, they laid down a live set, brimming with raw, elemental power.
What emerged from this session is ‘Clyppan’ – four drone-and-repetition driven incantations, distilled from the primal essence of Smote’s sound. These tracks channel something ancient and urgent, summoning spirits and revelations in their wake. It’s music as ritual, as invocation – pure aural sorcery.
Watch the John O'Carroll made video for 'Drommon Pt.1' here:
https://youtu.be/k2AkgVH_l9Y
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'Clyppan' is released this Friday (27 June) – it is available on 'Eidolon Marble' vinyl which is ltd to 300 copies. It is only available to preorder now via the Rocket store link below:
https://rocketrecordings.com/products/clyppan
The band will have 50 of these copies for sale on their merch table at their next shows.
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Following the release of their acclaimed 2024 album ‘A Grand Stream’, Smote embarked on an intensive tour schedule, refining their live performance along the way into something transcendental – a full-spectrum psychic voyage. Anyone who caught them at Supernormal, Supersonic, or this year’s Roadburn Festival can attest: Smote are an unforgettable sonic presence, a near religious experience.
Recognising the urgency and potency of the band’s current live form, Rocket Recordings encouraged Smote’s founder and sonic architect Dan Foggin to document their live set in the studio. It was a sound too powerful to be left undocumented – it was something that needed to be clasped for future generations.
So gather together. Form a circle. Join hands. And embrace the ecstatic, untamed energy of Smote in their most untethered and primal form.
Smote have announced an October tour – so the bands full list of dates now reads:
29 Aug / Salisbury / End Of The Road Festival
02 Sep / Manchester / White Hotel w/ water damage
03 Sep / Newcastle / The Lubberfiend w/ water damage
17 Oct / Falmouth / KCM Church
18 Oct / Bristol / Down Stokes Festival
19 Oct / Preston / The Ferret
20 Oct / Glasgow / Hug and Pint
23 Oct / London / The Lexington
24 Oct / Derby / Dubrek Studios
26 Oct / Newcastle / The Lubber Fiend
23 Dec / Todmorden / The Golden Lion
