The Guru Guru (BE)

THE GURU GURU has been happily dealing in deep express art rock since 2012, combining feverishly angular guitars with off-kilter, poly-rhythms all complimented by erratic and unhinged vocals.

While influences are drawn from the likes of Queens of the Stone Age, Radiohead, The Mars Volta, SOULWAX, The Jesus Lizard & Andy Kaufman, the indie-math- psycho-noise rulebook is torn apart, resulting in erratic songs that somehow seem to develop into wriggling earworms. The band cannot be placed into one genre.

With 'Make (Less) Babies', their 3rd full album - out on October 27, 2023 on the Swiss label Humus Records in collaboration with the French label A Tant Rêver Du Roi Records - The Guru Guru took matters into their own hands and they did the full production of the album themselves, from recording to mixing. No compromises, no one looking over their shoulders, they could just do their own thing. Having learned a lot from previous albums with Wouter Vlaeminck as producer (Raketkanon, Kapitan Korsakov, etc.), and the recent EP, we wrote, composed, rehearsed, recorded, produced and mixed everything ourselves. The album was recorded in Farrm studio, Hasselt (Belgium). The purpose of doing everything themselves was to make the most honest album since the band started playing music. Straight from the heart. They recorded everything live in the studio, there were no instrument overdubs recorded. What you hear is what you get. They took their energy and sound they have live on stage onto this album to make it more natural and organically sounding.
Tight energetic drums, deep bass lines, virtuoso screaming guitars and with a very expressive frontman. This is what THE GURU GURU sounds like in 2023.

Guitarist Emiel Van Den Abbeele about the creation of this album: 'Making the album was much more intense this time than with previous albums. Especially since we took everything into our own hands. The writing process was also different from previous times (Covid and the multiple lockdowns had something to do with this). But that made it interesting for everyone. For example, I came up with the idea of ​​a 'Guroulette' because we were not allowed to be together due to Covid. Each musician records a musical idea at home on their own instrument that is passed on to the next in line. By repeating this with all band members you have five new songs after five rounds. In this way, each musician had already put his vision and emotion into the music in his own way. This gives a different depth to the songs.’

The recurring theme of 'Make (Less) Babies' is about how we are gradually destroying our planet and about the major role that our favorite commodity, money, plays in this. Together with the planet we are slowly destroying ourselves and we are doing it against our better judgement. This time, singer Tom The Bomb deliberately chose not to start writing until he knew what he wanted to talk about. For example, he often watched the news before he started writing instead of just letting the texts flow from his pen. It is because of this that the album has acquired a socially critical undercurrent.

The song 'Lotta tension', a song created by the 'Guroulette', is about the pressure to perform and the constant information flow that comes to us through new media. How we should deal with this and what impact it sometimes has on our body that should not be underestimated.

Praised for their live performances, THE GURU GURU is a must-see... With palpable, electric energy oozing from the stage, vocalist Tom The Bomb balances on the verge of theatrical psychosis.

The band has made their mark playing across Europe sharing stages with the likes of BRUTUS, Raketkanon, Kapitan Korsakov, Birds in Row, as well as appearing at festivals such as ArcTanGent (UK), Portals (UK), MAMA festival (FR), Ment (SLO), Monkey Week (ESP), Rock Herk (BE), Sziget (HU) and Pukkelpop (BE). They played +- 300 domestic and international shows (France, Spain, UK, Reunion Island, Germany, Switzerland, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia) in the last 6 years.

After releasing a promising EP, 7 inch, 10 inch (split record with fierce trio BRUTUS), their debut album ‘PCHEW’, their 2nd full album ‘Point Fingers’ (mixed by David Bottrill) and double EP ‘it’s a (doggy dog) world’ & ‘live in antwerp’ they are ready to release their 3rd full album ‘Make (Less) Babies’ on the 27th of October 2023 on Swiss label Hummus Records and French label A Tant Rêver Du Roi Records.

THE GURU GURU's latest album 'Make (Less) Babies' was recorded and produced by the band members themselves in the Farrm studio in Hasselt. The album was mixed by guitarist Emiel Van Den Abbeele.

Building on the band's addictive deep express art rock, ‘Make (Less) Babies’ leads listeners further down their twisted rabbit hole; loaded with stories from the road, critique of society, climate change, controversy, social themes, humor and self-mockery.

THE GURU GURU are unstoppable and keep pushing their limits. Nothing is impossible.