Final project from Andy Rourke - Blitz Vega album out next week

Photo by Lexi Bonin

THE FINAL PROJECT FROM THE LEGENDARY SMITHS BASSIST ANDY ROURKE

‘NORTHERN GENTLEMAN’ THEIR DEBUT ALBUM TO BE RELEASED ON SEPTEMBER 27TH - PRE-SAVE HERE
 
THE VIDEO FOR THE ALBUM FOCUS TRACK ‘PASS THE GUN’
FOLLOWS ON OCTOBER 10TH
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The late, great Andy Rourke played on some of the most influential albums of all-time with his rich back catalogue with The Smiths, but his deeper cuts - from Freebase to D.A.R.K. - are also essential. His final years proved to be just as productive when he teamed up with Kav Sandhu to form the propulsive, genre-jumping Blitz Vega. Now, more than a year after his passing, Blitz Vega are now on the cusp of releasing their long awaited debut album ‘Northern Gentleman’ on September 27th.
 
Late in Andy’s life, Kav had promised his friend that he would complete the album they had spent years working on. Whilst returning to the studio to finish the mixes wasn’t easy, Kav’s heartfelt dedication and passion resulted in a special record - an album that surges with an emotion as a final farewell to a friend, but also one that pulsates with a life-affirming energy. It could so easy be an elegy, but as we’ve heard from the singles - ‘Disconnected’, ‘Strong Forever’ (featuring Johnny Marr), ‘Lost Myself’, ‘Lost & Found’, ‘Love City’ and ‘LA Vampire’ - it’s an exuberant hybrid of sounds that takes in touches of timeless rock ‘n’ roll, classic Britpop, decadent LA punk, thumping electronica, and a little ‘70s glam for good measure.
 
The songs on the album evoke not only the emotions of sadness for Andy’s death but also the happy memories that came with their personal friendship and musical collaboration. Kav says, “I hear his voice in my head, replaying everything we talked about when we were recording the songs. I see his face smiling at me. On one of my last trips back to LA, I was driving to the studio and it felt like Andy was sitting there with me like he had been so many times before, talking about music, just excited to get this album made. So, all the songs mean the world to me.”
 
Blitz Vega will also follow the release of the album by sharing a video for the album’s focus track ‘Pass The Gun’ on October 10th. The album’s closing song, ‘Pass The Gun’ swaggers out of the speakers like a next gen mash-up of Afrika Bambaataa, Beastie Boys and The Stone Roses. Some musicians stick firmly in their lane in their later years, but ‘Pass The Gun’ proves that Andy wanted to push boundaries until the very end.
 
Kav also promised Andy that he would take Blitz Vega on the road. After playing London’s Scala earlier this year and a trio of Edinburgh Fringe shows, the band will preview the album with a homecoming for Kav at Leicester’s International this Friday, September 20th, with more dates to be announced.  The live band is completed by Asa Brown (keyboards / backing vocals), Rex Roulette (guitar), Greg Gent (guitar / backing vocals), Craig Eriksson (drums) and George Yelding (bass).
 
As Andy Rourke’s posthumous album, ‘Northern Gentleman’ stands as a testament to the power and impact Andy Rourke had and continues to have.
 
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