‘ExoKosm’, the latest album of cosmic dross from psychedelic space-rockers HENGE lands this Friday. Since first coming to earth in 2015, the alien prog-ravers have been spreading their message through human society and established themselves as a firm favourite on the festival scene.
Jumping at the chance for our first extra-terrestrial interview, we spoke to vocalist and guitarist Zpor about their massive upcoming tour, human festivals and the fundamental role of fungi.
Greetings! How’s your weekend going? Do you observe weekends in space?
Greetings Humans. As you know ‘weekends’ are a human construct which began on Earth in 19th Century industrial Britain. However, the concept of a period of time for rest rather than work can be found in other advanced civilisations in the Galaxy. Actually, the most advanced ‘alien’ civilisations also make time for play (as separate from rest). The 5/2 work/rest ratio that is prevalent on your planet is rather primitive and doesn’t allow enough time for adult human specimens to pursue their creative interests, this is one of the reasons why you fall short of reaching your potential as a species.
A lot has changed on this planet since your album ‘Attention Earth!’ arrived back in 2018. With the arrival of ‘ExoKosm’, are you saying it’s about time we all found our way off this rock for somewhere new?
Our message for humankind has not changed in the two years since releasing Attention Earth! You may recall that our last record ended with the song Demilitarise which urges your species to halt the manufacture of weapons and instead concentrate your resources on exploring space together. We hope you heed this message as the survival of your species depends on it. We present our new album ExoKosm as your soundtrack to that journey into space.
Why did you choose ‘New Planet’ and ‘Get Outta Ma House’ as singles?
We selected these two songs after conducting the ‘Cosmic Dross Experiment’ in 2019. This experiment consisted of a series of gatherings in which we conducted live transmissions of cosmic dross and measured the effects of these frequencies on human subjects. The results of the experiment showed that exposure to cosmic dross often results in an increase in happiness levels in humans. New Planet and Get Outta Ma House both registered particularly strong, positive reactions during our transmissions.
You’ve got a massive tour coming up early next year, what have you got in store for the humans in attendance?
Any of your readers who have witnessed a live HENGE transmission know that they differ from normal, human ‘concerts’. During the transmission of cosmic dross human participants are actually observing a mixture of real performance and telepathically transmitted hallucination. This unique (at least to Planet Earth) blend of reality and collective phantasm causes a side step in the brain which is instrumental in catalysing euphoria.
In addition to playing songs from the new album alongside older tracks from Attention Earth! (2018)and The Cosmic Dross EP (2017), during the ExoKosm Tour we have the added pleasure of introducing a lot of new material to audiences. Since recording ExoKosm we have spent a lot of time in our musical laboratory on Kepler 22b, and these shows in 2021 will be our first opportunity to play them to humans.
View the full list of tour dates here. Tickets are on sale now.
Your late-night show on Glastonbury’s Truth Stage last summer certainly cut through the fog to stick in the memory, what are some of your other festival highlights?
We have had particularly memorable encounters with festival audiences at Bluedot, Shambala and Beatherder Festival in the UK. Fusion Festival in Germany, Down the Rabbit Hole in the Netherlands and Jungle Love Festival in Australia were among our favourites outside of Britain.
Which was the very first Earth festival you brought your message to, and how did people react?
Our first festival on Earth was a small gathering called Unorthodox Paradox. There was a very positive reaction amongst the humans there. And afterwards we felt extreme pleasure.
In the years you’ve been touring this planet, have any human bands or artists influenced your sound?
Though no particular artist has influenced our music, the creativity of the human species is a marvel to behold! There is much evidence of this in the diversity and complexity of the music that you produce. We are particularly drawn to rave and jungle music, jazz, electronica and modern classical music.
In the hope that we’ll have a ‘normal’ summer of festivals in 2021, will HENGE be joining us for a few of them?
Yes indeed! It will certainly be a busy summer.
Do you find much difference in the reaction and atmosphere you get from a festival crowd, where people are more likely to stumble upon your message, or at your own gigs? Do you make any changes to your set to make it more accessible to a festival crowd unfamiliar with HENGE?
We have more material than we can fit into any one set so this results in many possible combinations. We are always fine-tuning our show. Festival sets tend to last for 45 mins or an hour which often means leaving out some songs that we’d like to play. At our own shows, we tend to play for around 1.5 hours so we are able to take the audience on more of a journey.
Festivals are an excellent place to reach new people with our joy-inducing frequencies. The conditions are often perfect for the transmission of cosmic dross. People are open-hearted and in a good psychological state for frivolity.
In terms of atmosphere, there is often less difference than you might expect. This is due in part to the ‘festival atmosphere’ that our fans – known as ‘rave-lings’ – bring with them to our own shows.
What about the truly dedicated HENGE followers? What’s the best costume, sign or prop someone has turned up to a HENGE gig with?
Many rave-lings come to our gatherings dressed in colourful, sparkly and cosmic raiment. We especially love it when these garments are home-made! During the ‘Cosmic Dross Experiment Tour’ last year we set up an art exchange at the shows and received many beautiful pieces of fan-art. They are displayed on our website here and we subsequently produced an animated music video using these works:
Have you found some human language capable of describing what Cosmic Dross is yet? Is there a certain track you’d recommend as a first to a reader who has never heard your message?
While language inevitably falls short of adequately describing our music, the song Mushroom One and its accompanying video serves as a good introduction to HENGE.
It contains important revelations about our involvement in the origins of life on Earth that will be of interest to your readers.
What’s your favourite space fungus?
In our song Mushroom One you will learn of the important role that fungi have played in your species’ evolution. Your ancestors, prompted by the playful influence of psilocybin found in mushrooms, first developed language, humour and social consciousness. These newly developed faculties set you up for civilisations to flourish. Then your leaders outlawed these benevolent fungi. And soon your respect for nature diminished and greed, fear and repression dominated.
Other than help find a new planet, do you have any advice individuals can follow for the good of humanity?
Yes! It is imperative that you halt the rampant destruction of your current home; decriminalise psilocybin and harness its power for the benefit of mankind; stamp out bullying and encourage creativity in your population.
A big thanks to all of you for your words and your time today, do you have any closing thoughts for our readers?
Oh humans! We look forward to the time when we can gather together safely. We assure you, be it in a venue or a festival field… we will rejoice with you again soon!
ExoKosm will be released on Friday 25th September and is available as a download, CD or vinyl from the official HENGE Bandcamp. Pre-orders are open now.
Tickets are now on sale for the Spring 2021 UK tour, running from January to April across the length of the country. Click here for the full list of dates, cities and venues.
Follow HENGE on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, or visit their official website.
HENGE – ExoKosm tour poster
Check prices and availability or buy tickets on the official tour Seetickets page.
Check prices and availability or buy tickets on the official tour Seetickets page.
HENGE – ExoKosm on Amazon
Note: ExoKosm is cheaper and released one week earlier at the official Bandcamp link above.
Table could not be displayed.ExoKosm is also available on CD or Vinyl from 2nd October from the following independent retailers:
Image credits: HENGE, Jody Hartley, Ingrid Turner
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