Andy Bell to release debut album as GLOK on Bytes

Music

The second release on Bytes, an offshoot of Ransom Note Records, represents a coup for the fledgling cassette label. GLOK is the electronic solo project of Andy Bell of shoegaze legends RIDE, and ‘Dissident’ is his debut album; seven stunning instrumental tracks taking in electronica, Detroit techno, Krautrock, ambient, John Carpenter soundtracks and Balearic influences. The album is released on July 5 and is available on a limited edition cassette and download, which you can pre-order from Bandcamp today.

To whet your whistle, ‘Pulsing’ is available to listen to now. It’s the heart of the album, a widescreen ambient-techno wonder that Weatherall and Fearless would be proud to put their name to, with dissonant atmospherics and a hypnotic acid throb.

The bulk of the tracks on ‘Dissident’ were slipped out anonymously a couple of years ago, until Andy finally broke cover to reveal that he was the man twiddling the knobs in an interview with Clash in May 2017. “I didn’t want people to be hearing the first tunes with a picture of me, a middle-aged guitarist, in their heads,” he explained. “I wanted the music to exist outside of any preconceptions, at least for a few months.”

Avid RIDE fan and Bytes co-owner Joe Clay fell in love with the music before discovering that GLOK was Andy. It was destiny for the tracks to end up being released on Bytes, with two unreleased tracks joining the five already available, with the whole album remastered by Keith Tenniswood.

“Thanks to Bytes for approaching me about this release,” Andy says. “I’m grateful for the love they’ve shown the GLOK tracks and I think it’s very cool that the music is getting a new lease of life. Bytes is a great label with a lot of exciting new releases on the way. The future is bright."

It’s going to be a busy year for Andy, with the release of a brand new RIDE album, This is Not a Safe Place, out on Wichita Recordings in August; the second album since the band reformed in 2015 and the sixth of their storied career.

Tune in to Andy’s Boogaloo radio show Resonance this Thursday (June 13) to hear Joe and Wil from Bytes talking about and playing music from the label and beyond, including an exclusive first play of a GLOK track.