Ride today releases 'Monaco', the latest installment of his upcoming seventh studio album, Interplay, out March 29 via Wichita Recordings/PIAS. The song follows 'Peace Sign', previously released on BBC Radio 6 Music, and, more recently, 'Last Frontier', which came with the news that the quartet would be touring the UK and Ireland this September; full list below. .
For new track 'Monaco', frontman Mark Gardener's powerful lyrics are combined with an icy, pulsating synth-rock intensity that reflects the urgency of the track, as he explains:
“The backing track came from the previous Ox4 Sound sessions we did and we named it after the 'Monaco' demo while naming these tracks and ideas we were putting together like place names. One night during the recording sessions at Ox4 Sound, all the guys had left the building and I was there alone with producer Richie Kennedy and an engineer. I had been writing a few words about how I felt like everyone was being crushed in the current economic climate with rising energy bills and everything else; to the point where it now seems like we have to live to work instead of working to live.
The song is a reflection of this feeling of how we are all being torn apart and under constant financial pressure. It's kind of a call to arms against this while we still have the strength to fight it. 'Monaco' then remained as an ironic title, since the song goes totally against the madness of the few who live in their rich artificial and independent bubbles in Monaco.”
Listen to 'Monaco' – BELOW:
Interaction is Ride's third album since they reformed in 2014, having been together longer in their current second phase than in their original incarnation as '90s shoegaze pioneers. It will follow 2017's album. Weather diaries and 2019 This is not a safe place, which reignited Ride's spark, pleasing old fans and introducing one of the most innovative guitar bands of their generation to a whole new audience. Produced by the band with Richie Kennedy and mixed by Claudius Mittendorfer, it connects all the dots of their career, taking the frenetic guitar attacks, hypnotic rhythms and dreamy melodic hooks of their early work and setting them into a more expansive sonic template, inspired by 80s pop gems like Tears For Fears, Talk Talk and early U2.
Thematically, it combines classic Ride lyrical hallmarks, such as escapism, dreams, and the dissatisfaction of modern life, with a sense of resilience and perseverance that comes from imploding, then reforming, and finding a way to your second peak, as Andy explains : “This album has taken a long time to make and has seen the band go through many ups and downs; perhaps the most of any Ride album. But it has seen us come through the process as a band in a good place, feeling able to let go of the past and ready to celebrate the combined musical talents that brought us together in the first place.”
Formed by guitarist and vocalist Andy Bell and Mark Gardener, along with drummer Laurence “Loz” Colbert and bassist Steve Queralt, Ride formed in Oxford in 1988; Four friends rooted in art school aesthetics who combined '60s guitar-pop sensibilities with avalanches of noise and driving rhythms. It was a recalibration of the indie-rock that would come to be defined as 'shoegaze', and with its seminal debut in 1990, Nowhere came a run of critical and commercial success that finally collapsed in 1996, with turmoil within the band prompting them to call it a day.
They reformed in 2014, found a global scene filled with bands indebted to Ride and their peers (Tame Impala, Beach House et al.), and after a successful tour, entered the studio with legendary producer Erol Alkan to create the acclaimed for criticism. Weather diaries and follow up This is not a safe place. In 2024, shoegaze is one of the fastest growing music genres, having captured a new wave of Gen Z fans via TikTok, with artists like DIIV and bdrmm turning millions of views into impressive streaming and sales numbers. tickets. A quarter of a century since their original formation and with a new generation discovering their music, Interaction finds Ride reaching new creative heights and stronger than ever.
Ride UK and IRE tour dates: tickets on sale HERE
Monday September 2, 2024 – United Kingdom – Belfast – The Limelight
Tuesday, September 3, 2024 – Ireland – Dublin – 3Olympia
Wednesday, September 4, 2024 – Ireland – Cork – Cyprus Avenue
Friday 6 September 2024 – United Kingdom – Sheffield – The Leadmill
Saturday, September 7, 2024 – United Kingdom – Newcastle – Boilermaker
Sun 8 September 2024 – UK – Glasgow – TV Studio, SWG3
Tuesday September 10, 2024 – United Kingdom – Liverpool – Furnace
Thursday 12 September 2024 – United Kingdom – Leeds – Leeds Beckett University SU
Friday, September 13, 2024 – United Kingdom – Manchester – New Century
Saturday September 14, 2024 – United Kingdom – Bristol – SWX
Monday 16 September 2024 – United Kingdom – Falmouth – Princess Pavilion
Tuesday 17 September 2024 – United Kingdom – Portsmouth – Guildhall
Wednesday 18 September 2024 – United Kingdom – Brighton – Chalk
Friday, September 20, 2024 – United Kingdom – London – Roundhouse
Saturday 21 September 2024 – United Kingdom – Wolverhampton – The Wulfrun at The Halls
Sunday September 22, 2024 – United Kingdom – Cambridge – Junction
North American Ride Tour Dates
Wednesday, May 8, 2024 – USA – Portsmouth – 3S Artspace
Thursday, May 9, 20224 – United States – Amherst – The Drake
Saturday May 11, 2024 – USA – Boston – Big night live
Monday, May 13, 2024 – Canada – Montreal – Théâtre Fairmount
Tuesday, May 14, 2024 – Canada – Toronto – The Concert Hall
Wednesday, May 15, 2024 – United States – Detroit – Majestic Theater
Thursday, May 16, 2024 – United States – Chicago – Metro
Friday, May 17, 2024 – United States – Minneapolis – Fine Line
Sunday, May 19, 2024 – United States – Englewood – Gothic Theater
Wednesday, May 22, 2024 – USA – Vancouver – Commodore Ballroom
Thursday, May 23, 2024 – USA – Portland – McMenamin's Mission Theater
Saturday May 25, 2024 – USA – Seattle – Showbox at The Market
Ride – Interplay Tracklist:
peace sign
last frontier
Light in a quiet room
Monaco
I came to see the shipwreck
Stay Free
Last night I came somewhere to dream
Dawn Hunter
midnight traveler
Portland Rocks
Essaouira
Yesterday is just a song
Listen to Ride's Laurence 'Loz' Colbert and Steve Queralt talk about 'Interplay' on episode 166 of The XS Noize Podcast here.
thanks to our partners at www.xsnoize.com
