Underworld: Oblivion with Bells announced

Karl Hyde and Rick Smith of Underworld have announced that their fifth studio album “Oblivion with Bells” will be released on October third. “Oblivion with Bells” will therefore be the first non-soundtrack work by the UK-based intelligent techno/dance/big beat/progressive elctronic/you name it-act for five years – and follows the scores to the movies “Breaking and Entering”, as well as Danny Boyle’s “Sunshine”. Recorded at their own Lemmonworld studio and finished at Abbey Road, Smith and Hyde have described the record as a typical Underworld work in the sense that it sits comfortably on top of current trends and developments but leans on enough songwriting and classic hooks to award it a timeless feeling. Points of reference include Nick Drake, Def Mix, Ricardo Villalobos, Can, James Holden, Eno according to Underworld themselves, but for “Oblivion with Bells”, this lineup of influences has been extended by the likes of techno legends Frankie Knuckles and Sven Väth. The latter is of special interest here, as Underworld have struck a deal with Väth’s production company Cocoon and will perform live in his Frankfurt-based club in November of this year. Now only one and a half months away, the first single off “Oblivion with Bells”, “Crocodile”, combines the spacey sequencer patterns of their early years wiith a slick digital rawness – both in its original version and the Oliver Huntemann remix, which can be picked up from Huntemann’s MySpace account.