Plenty of acts over the years have described their sound as “space rock” – but only a select few claim to have their roots in another part of the universe.
However, like their interplanetary contemporaries Sun Ra and Man or Astro-man?, four-piece Henge – Goo, Grok, Nom and Zpor – found themselves exiled from their home planet, coming together around ten years ago to perform their first gig – on earth at least – to 100 or so people in Salford.
Since then they have ascended to playing to thousands of people way beyond their own initial cult following at festivals around Europe.
Henge are also past winners of Best Live Act at the Independent Festival Awards – which, they say, makes it clear that Earthlings are warmly welcoming the band’s message of peace and hope.
The band’s new long-player ‘Journey to Voltus B’ is their fourth release since 2018’s debut, ‘ATTENTION EARTH!’ – again, intended to alert humankind to a better existence.
Frontman and crew captain, Zpor, explains: “We are setting the scene for our latest adventure into space. As we blast off from Earth, it becomes clear that YOU, the listener, are among our crew for this high-stakes voyage, where the fate of an entire planet is literally in your hands.”
On ‘Journey to Voltus B’, the band offers a direct invitation to their audience to join them on their voyage to a faraway planet – ambitions beyond those of Elon Musk’s frankly unambitious plans to travel to Mars.
However, before they head off into the wild blue yonder, they are playing some rather more convenient locations on a 20-plus UK tour along with equally eccentric act Tirikilatops, starting in Glasgow on February 14 and taking in Sheffield, Leeds and Liverpool before visiting Portsmouth on May 3.
Zpor adds: “When setting out on long voyages into the depths of space, I am always on the lookout for an extra bit of thrust where I can find it. As we begin our journey from Earth to the distant planet of Voltus B, we can pick up additional speed by harnessing the gravitational pull of the Solar System’s outer planets – a technique known as a slingshot manoeuvre.
“With the planets soon to align perfectly for our mission, we invite you to join us on this exhilarating slingshot tour of the outer solar system. Trust me, the views of Jupiter and Saturn will be nothing short of spectacular.”
‘Journey to Voltus B’ is out now. This article originally appeared in the Shields Gazette.
Also chief newshound at Jockrock
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