After teasing their debut release for the better part of two years, it’s safe to say the release of laedj.’s self-titled EP has been a long time coming. That said, with the final outcome clocking in over 30 minutes and full from beginning to end with densely crafted psychedelia and shoegaze, it’s difficult to imagine a project so masterfully developed coming together quickly.

laedj. blasts open with ‘Long’, an mind-melting ride that works to immediately transport the listener into laedj.’s sonic universe. Built around a driving krautrock groove and filled out with an abundance of space-age sounds, it’s a fitting introduction to the EP that finds time to showcase the band’s strongest points - namely, their unique ability to layer sound after sound on top of each other without ever overcomplicating things, crossed with an unwillingness to let anything ever seem too simple.

Next up is ‘Horses on Ice’, which cools things off with its mysterious guitars and unearthly synthesiser work. Rounded out with an eerie melody and prog-rock vocal delivery, it’s a stark response to the opening track that immediately shows off the band’s diversity. ‘Hear the Call’ follows suite, and builds into a intricately lush soundscape that constantly sucks you in with its intoxicating ebb and flow.

To ride us out of the calm comes ‘DDoouubbllee VViissiioonn’, driven by hyper drums and crooked guitars, as well some impressive harmony work. ‘Captured to Tape’ keeps things going with its sea of guitars, before it opens into an unexpectedly volatile freakout, and ‘Super Computer’ is a sprawl of disorientating space rock that finds that band at their most chaotic.

Finally, rounding out the EP is the mesmerising ‘Bug in the Mainframe’, which plays as the perfect soundtrack to a rocket launch. The track kicks of as a chilled-out psych jam built on a bed of woozy synths with clinical keys tinkle in the peripheries, lulling us into a false sense of security. Sure enough, the song bursts open and we’re hit with laedj. at full force, complete with soaring guitars, pounding drums and unsettling out-of-this-world sounds.

Overall, laedj. is a really striking debut that comes full with character. Despite so much going on across the release’s seven tracks, each moment is fresh with laedj.’s uniqueness, and no matter what mode the band is in - intense, dreamy or chaotic - they somehow manage to seamlessly suck you into the vast world they have created.

We’re really excited to premiere laedj., and to celebrate the album’s release we spoke with the band to find out all about it.

TJ: Last time we spoke you’d just released your live clip for 'Heard From Space', and now you’re back with your debut EP in tow. How’s life, Laedj?

L: Life is chaos! Life is drama; and like any good drama, we've had our fair share of intrigue, mystery, tragedy and self-discovery. We've had members gallivanting across the globe for six months, others have suffered deep and personal sadness, well some of us have just been going through the motions all while waiting for this EP to come together! So I suppose, life is good?

This EP has been a long time coming, how’s it feel to have it finally out in the world?

RELIEF would be an understatement. We've been building this together slowly for what seems like millennia now, adding and subtracting, turning and tweaking. This is the culmination of a lot for us, so we're stoked to have it laid bare for all to see.

Despite you guys regarding it as an EP, the release clocks in at over half an hour and there’s a hell of a lot going on across the seven tracks. Can you talk us through the process of putting the EP together?

This EP (as we came to call it) is actually a cut-down version of something even longer we had going on! The tracks on here started as a seed in the mind of Mathias many years ago. Over time the ideas were fleshed out with the addition of the individual flavours of the other members, with a final vision in mind of creating a singular, flowing piece that is sonically vast and contrasting - but somehow comes together to create what you see before you. We like it.

With so many really unique sounds across the EP, it almost sounds cinematic at times. What influenced the EP’s creation?

Well thank you! That means it worked! Again; the idea of creating something that can be played start to finish, without any noticeable interruption, but has changes in feel and direction is what really appealed to us. We wanted to create a record that was cinematic in its vibe, this was an almost selfish endeavour in that regard, and then the addition of the 1920s silent film backdrop that all seem to tell their own stories in conjunction with the music just added another layer to tie it all together.

What’s the rest of the year looking like for Laedj?

Now that's a tough one. Life is like a burrito made of mystery, wrapped in a tortilla of enigma, and seeing now we have our burrito, I guess next is some guac maybe?


Dedicated to the memory of James "Jim" Dowle.