‘Rebirth’ by Madmess | Album Premiere
Exclusive album premiere of ‘Rebirth’ by London-based Portuguese psych-rockers Madmess, out 10th December via Hassle Records.
The band was originally well established in Porto’s fertile, close-knit underground music scene. In 2017 they decided to move to a bigger city, London. After years of gigs, punishing recording sessions and the pandemic. bassist Vasco Vasconcelos, drummer Luis Moura and guitarist Ricardo Sampaio, finally finished ‘Rebirth’.
‘Rebirth’ is a true statement from this Portuguese trio. A perfect record to slowly end this year with spacey heavy psych. ‘Rebirth’ is a hashishian journey that leaves you wondering in space until you’re back in the Welsh countryside thinking about Amon Düül II and Hawkwind.
The band signed up with London based independent Hassle Records, before escaping to Foel Studios in the Welsh countryside, formerly used by iconic psych rock forebears Amon Düül II and Hawkwind among others, to start work on their new LP. They were intent to build on the solid foundations they’d set with their EP the previous year. “We tried to do something more complete, more punchy,” says Sampaio.
The sessions ended up being more intense than they were anticipating – the band recorded everything live, and when you’re playing the kind of complex epics that populate ‘Rebirth’ there’s not much margin for error. “The shortest track is eight minutes, and they’re almost all more than 10,” says Sampaio with a wince. “The songs on this album are really complex, there were some stressful times, some harsh moments, but we managed to get through it.”
He’s being modest; as with everything they’ve achieved thus far, Madmess haven’t just got through the challenge, they’ve thrived in the face of it. As a result, despite all the setbacks they’re in a stronger position than ever, and with their debut LP now feel destined to truly take off. “Even though the world is falling apart, good things are still happening. We’ve got a record label who are really behind us, so we’re just going to stay true to what we do,” says Vasconcelos. What’s most telling, though, is that they’re already fixed on how to progress beyond it. “We want to be unique and unpredictable,” says Sampaio. “The bands we like, some of them took 20 years to make it. They stay on the road for years until they are properly recognised.” Luis concurs. “We just wanna play, man! We want to release at least one album a year. More fans, more gigs, more records!”
Album pre-order link is here!
Madmess Facebook / Instagram / Bandcamp
Hassle Records Official Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Bandcamp / Spotify / YouTube
