Ramkot announce new album with single ‘Zeppelin’

Just over a year after the release of debut album In Between Borderlines, De Nieuwe Lichting winners Ramkot have a bunch of new music coming our way. Brothers Tim and Tom Leyman and Hannes Cuyvers spent three weeks in the US working on a new record, following in the footsteps of their musical heroes and even using some of their instruments. The album will be released in November, with the first single released today.

After two EP’s and a tour that established them as one the most exciting live acts around, debut album In Between Borderlines was a razor-sharp uppercut when it arrived in 2023. The subsequent release tour brought them to steamy venues in Belgium and The Netherlands, sun-drenched festival stages (Pinkpop, Down The Rabbit Hole, …), even earning them a support slot for Metallica in Amsterdam. In just one year they played a hefty 100 shows. 

When it was time to hit the studio for their sophomore album, they felt the need for a change of scenery, away from hometown Ghent. ‘Not being able to go home would give us the freedom to work on the new album in one go. And because we’d done everything ourselves for the previous record, we’d saved some money to afford something a little more crazy.‘ Then they got in touch with Alain Johannes, living legend and musician/producer of bands like Queens Of The Stone Age, Eagles Of Death Metal and Them Crooked Vultures, but also Arctic Monkeys and fellow Belgian bands Millionaire and Black Box Revelation. Johannes invited them to Joshua Tree and the legendary Rancho De La Luna studio, famous for QOTSA frontman Josh Homme‘s The Desert Sessions. That was all Ramkot needed to get on a plane with a suitcase filled with new songs and a concept for the new album, but… without instruments. First of all because it would be too expensive, but also: ‘It would be quite ridiculous to show up with our own gear, when everything we’d need is in the studio and has passed through the hands of some of our biggest musical heroes.’

Ramkot resided in Rancho De La Luna for three weeks. ‘A wonderful time. We could completely focus on the music, not having to think about other stuff. It was all very organic, and we often recorded in one take. We didn’t overdo it either, didn’t put in long days of 12 hours for instance. If we got stuck at some point, we’d just chill. That loose approach, that spontaneity is something you can hear on the album as well. Not pushing our foot down on the accelerator the whole time allowed the music to breathe more, and we opened up to a whole range of influences.‘ Influences that went beyond stoner rock, from The Dead Weather, The Kills and Nine Inch Nails to King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard, even The Smile. ‘There will be songs on the album fans will not be expecting from us. One song is even just piano and vocals. Yet every single note sounds very much like Ramkot.‘

The first single, called ‘Zeppelin‘, released today, perfectly embodies the atmosphere of those three weeks in Rancho De La Luna. ‘It’s recorded in a very organic way, in one take. And with 5 minutes and 10 seconds it’s longer than the average single.‘ With big, dynamic movements throughout the song, the band was looking for air, singularity and humanity. Nowadays, with the rise of artificial intelligence, Ramkot more than ever feels the need to put human imperfection in the center. Alienation, loneliness and the loss of a sense of belonging, feelings that are inevitably linked to today’s zeitgeist, are some of the record’s central themes. On ‘Zeppelin‘ Cuyvers sings about how people play the victim, resulting in polarization and alienation from others. ‘More than on the debut album, we want to tell one big story with this album. That’s why we have very consciously put the songs in a particular order, and suggest listening to the album in full, from beginning to end. But of course, everyone’s also free to just pick out a song now and then.‘

For the artwork Ramkot collaborated with Sam Scarpulla, a Belgian-American artist living in Ghent, making abstract and minimalist art. ‘We were on the same wavelength from the very first meeting and gave Sam full artistic freedom to design the album cover.‘

This year Ramkot will only play a handful of festival shows: from 2000 Trees in England and Sziget in Hungary to Pukkelpop and Lowlands (NL). Around the time of those last two festivals, a second single will be released. ‘The first show we play will be Rock voor Specials, just before the summer holidays. We are really looking forward to that one. It will also be a little bit of a test case for us, see how the new songs will sound live.‘

Live
16/06 @ Schakelbox, Waregem (BE)
27/06 @ Rock For Specials, Evergem (BE)
10/07 @ 2000 Trees, Cheltenham (UK)
07/08 @ Sziget Festival, Budapest (HU)
16/08 @ Lowlands Festival, Biddinghuizen (NL)
18/08 @ Pukkelpop Festival, Hasselt (BE)