THE TELESCOPES.
BEYOND THE REALM OF NATURAL VISION.
Founded in 1987 by Stephen Lawrie, The Telescopes have been mining a unique anti-myopian seam of highly influential experimental, drone, noise, dream & psych for over 20 years.
Their first record was a split flex-disc with Loop on the Cheree label. After a further two critically acclaimed singles for the label, they moved to What Goes On records, where they released two more EPs and their debut album Taste. All of which found their way to the top of the UK independent charts.
One of the more interesting bands that were signed to Creation Records, their final EP for the label registered in the UK mainstream top 80. The group were also favoured by John Peel and recorded two BBC Radio 1 sessions for him. The Guardian’s Alexis Petridis described them as having, “an almost fragile sense of elegance and melody”.
Re-issues and compilations of their earlier material have been welcomed by new ears everywhere courtesy of Spaceage Recordings; Joe Foster/ Cherry Red’s Rev-Ola label in the UK and through the legendary Bomp! label in the United States. This prompted the NME to declare ‘the genius of The Telescopes.”
After a 6 year hiatus in 1994, following their 2nd album, the group resumed in the year 2000 with a revolving line up. A stream of releases followed on labels such as Double Agent (USA), Trensmat (Ireland), Antenna (England), Static Charge (England), Mind Expansion (USA), Textile Records (France) and Hungry Audio (England); with most physical copies selling out before being released.
The Wire magazine described them as having: “a very real & crazy originality that carries fat tons of wallop’. The NME again found them: ‘In another universe altogether, incredible’. Arch Drude, Julian Cope championed two of their releases on his Head Heritage site, referring to their, ’suspended-in-space magnificence’ on their latest LP HARM.
In 2011 they were invited by Portishead to play at the first ever ATP festival at Alexandre Palace in London. The following year The Black Angels / Reverberation Appreciation Society invited them to Austin Psych Fest 2012.
2013-14 saw their 7th release, HARM, on Seattle based label Neon Sigh. Recorded entirely in one take, with members of LSD & The Search For God and The Brian Jonestown Massacre at Bedrock Studios, Los Angeles. As Drowned In Sound review explained it, “a visceral exercise in harshly constructed noise.” The group just finished a world tour covering Scandinavia, Europe, Russia, Latvia, Estonia, Ukraine, UK and the USA.
The future sees a new single scheduled for release on Fuzz Club Records, followed by a single on The Dream Machine label and a split record with Deadly Cradle Death from China. The next album of new material, recorded in both Berlin at The Brian Jonestown Massacre studio and Leeds with Spectrum co-founder Richard Formby, is also due soon.
‘Every sound you ever heard was but a preliminary exercise in hearing, for the all embracing maelstrom of The Telescopes’ (Melody Maker, 1989)
Keep a watchful ear…
‘the perfect needle’
1988. what goes on records.
the telescopes live at Austin Psych Fest 2012
‘held’
taken from ‘HARM’. 2013. Neon Sigh label.
