Hello Bastards x The Ferret = SMOTE PRIMITIVE KNOT + MORE TO COME 19th October 2025 The Ferret, Preston SMOTE: Clyppan is an Old English verb meaning to embrace or to clasp. It also referred to an ancient ritual in which people gathered in a circle, singing together around a sacred shrine. Its a fitting title for the latest release from Newcastles Smote a visceral document of the bands electrifying live set, captured within the walls of Londons Bear Bites Horse recording studio. Following the release of their acclaimed 2024 album A Grand Stream, Smote embarked on an intensive tour schedule, refining their live performance along the way into something transcendental a full-spectrum psychic voyage. Anyone who caught them at Supernormal, Supersonic, or this years Roadburn Festival can attest: Smote are an unforgettable sonic presence, a near religious experience. Recognising the urgency and potency of the bands current live form, Rocket Recordings encouraged Smotes founder and sonic architect Dan Foggin to document their live set in the studio. It was a sound too powerful to be left undocumented it was something that needed to be clasped for future generations. On January 22, 2025 the day before their thunderous performance at Londons ICA alongside labelmates Teeth Of The Sea the four members of Smote entered Bear Bites Horse studio. With producer Wayne Adams at the controls, they laid down a live set brimming with raw, elemental power. What emerged is Clyppan four drone-and-repetition driven incantations, distilled from the primal essence of Smotes sound. These tracks channel something ancient and urgent, summoning spirits and revelations in their wake. Its music as ritual, as invocation pure aural sorcery. So gather together. Form a circle. Join hands. And embrace the ecstatic, untamed energy of Smote in their most untethered and primal form. PRIMITIVE KNOT: Songs for an age of weaponised mirrors which endlessly reflect our inner darkness. An age where we are free to own our hate and, in turn, to be pwned by a higher hate. We will never be fooled again. Because our actions will bring about our destruction. Never has a steady drift into existential nihilism felt so very satisfying. - Louder Than War