Produced within the four walls of a former DDR radio station in East Berlin, The Rakes are set to release their third album, ‘Klang’, digitally on October 20th in the US. The album has been available as a UK import since March. It’s been over two years from their previous album, ‘Ten New Messages’ (2007), and a debut, ‘Capture/Release’ (2005), that was compared to the fame of The Libertines, While the past two years have witnessed a series of transformations in the UK, where no one smokes in pubs anymore, everyone’s on Twitter, and those 22 grand jobs in the city are definitely NOT alright, musically speaking, most bands who emerged alongside these post-punk/new-wave Londoners have ceased to exist. The Rakes have managed to stay strong through this period of great change and have witnessed some new changes of their own – reinventing their sound, and creating their freshest, most innovative album to date.
Reuniting with a fresh new perspective, The Rakes confronted the processes necessary in completing this album with careful composure. For starters, the song selection process was much more stringent and selective, with the overall sound focused around rawness and energy. “The second album was all about trying to expand the sound,” guitarist Matthew Swinnerton admits. “Working with producers like Brendan Lynch and Jim Abbiss. This one was in the opposite direction. That very simple, direct thing. Doing it in two weeks, a song a day, not embellishing things at all and just capturing ‘a performance.”
But perhaps the most captivating change for The Rakes that truly defines Klang is relocating to a fresh environment to record and produce the album in a Bauhaus designed ex-Soviet radio station in Berlin that was converted into a studio. Berlin, a scene filled with musical triumphs and countless musical rebirths allowed the band to write what they deem to be “their strongest songs to date.” “The London music scene is so dull right now – it’s like wading through a swamp of shit. We just wanted to be somewhere more inspiring,” said Rakes singer Alan Donohoe. “Someone suggested Berlin. It didn’t take long for everyone to agree, we packed our bags and moved here just like that. We love it.” The band spent much of the year darting back and forth between their home city and this fresh, seductive new location taking the four lads on an adventure that ignited a sense of gang mentality among the band, living in an apartment on Karl Marx Allee and seeking out new thrills together in a seemingly lawless, unique environment proffered by the German capital.
The official video for The Rakes’ single ‘1989’ from their third album KLANG :
US TOUR DATES – FALL 2009
OCT 31 – LOS ANGELES, CA – THE ROXY
NOV 1 – SAN FRANCISCO, CA – SLIMS
NOV 3 – SALT LAKE CITY, UT – THE URBAN LOUNGE
NOV 4 – DENVER, CO – THE BLUEBIRD
NOV 6 – MINNEAPOLIS, MN – TRIPLE ROCK
NOV 7 – CHICAGO, IL – SUBTERRANEAN
NOV 9 – TORONTO, ON – MOD CLUB
NOV 10 – MONTREAL, QC – PETIT CAMPUS
NOV 11 – BOSTON, MA – GREAT SCOTT
NOV 12 – NEW YORK, NY – HIGHLINE BALLROOM
www.myspace.com/therakes