Cut from their forthcoming album ‘Arrows’ (out 11 October 2019), here Kettle of Kites delve deep into the mind of Science Fiction maestro Isaac Asimov and pay tribute to his character ‘Oliver’; an android with a superior artificial intelligence, who populates many of the author’s best known works.
As Kettle of Kites frontman and lyricist Tom Stearn explains: “Oliver is a song about a robot. It’s about the humanity and divinity of an object made by mandkind, becoming more than the parts that make it up and the laws it is bound by. Oliver is based on a fundamental character in the works of Isaac Asimov, who is both saviour and scientist, but not of flesh and bone. It was one of the first songs written for the album ‘Arrows’ and inspired the direction of the record, working with themes in the books of Asimov.”
The highly conceptual new track is further married to some uniquely vintage and captivatingly geometric visuals, provided courtesy of noted Italian maths professor Michele Emmer. Originally produced by the professor to visualise the concepts of another Sci-Fi author Edwin A. Abbott’s and his cult 1884 novel ‘Flatland’, the visuals were granted on special permission to the band to reappropriate here. The stunning results of this innovative collaboration find the video providing fitting accompaniment for the surreal, slow-burning soundscapes that resonate through latest single ‘Oliver’.
‘Oliver’ arrives as the follow up to previous single ‘Weathervane’, a track that similarly pays tribute to the works of Isaac Asimov; in particular his groundbreaking idea of ‘Psychohistory’ first explored by Asimov in his universally acclaimed Foundation series.
Both tracks will appear on upcoming album ‘Arrows’ (out October 11 2019), an interstellar collection of stimulating, science fiction-inspired post rock that finds Kettle of Kites ruminating on the core principles of space and time and beyond….
In the run up to the new album release, the band have also announced a limited run of UK live dates, including a full band show at Glasgow’s Hug & Pint this September. Standby for further dates to be announced in due course.
UK LIVE DATES
24 May 2019 – The Hug & Pint, Glasgow (solo show w/ Ye Vagabonds)
6 September – The Hug & Pint, Glasgow (Full band)
