SNEAKER PIMPS' IAN PICKERING / THE NOISE WHO RUNS present short film, complementing 'Come and Join The Beautiful' Army' EP

February 10, 2024

UK-France duo The Noise Who Runs presents a short film, showcasing their new five-song EP ‘Come and Join the Beautiful Army’, which also includes the bonus instrumental track ‘Goalmouth Interlude’. Just shy of 20 minutes, the film was spawned from uncertainty over what the second and third singles would be after the opening track 'One Scratch Each'. Ultimately, the idea to create a film for the EP as a whole, rather than just individual songs, seemed a more interesting challenge.

The Noise Who Runs revolves around songwriter Ian Pickering (of Sneaker Pimps and Front Line Assembly). Native to Hartlepool in the north-east of England, Pickering co-authored such Sneaker Pimps hits as 'Spin Spin Sugar', '6 Underground' and 'Tesko Suicide'. In 2019, he launched this project with Brazilian-French guitarist Felipe Goes, three years after relocating to Lille, France.

This dark, brooding and sometimes disquieting collection straddles the line between hope and despair, defeat and optimism. These contradictions are embodied in the more full-on electronic approach with a stripped, more keyboard-oriented sound largely absent of any overt electric guitars, and the almost casual, nursery rhyme abstract cynicism of the lyrics.

“There are themes and ideas running through all the songs and the film reinforces and highlights those. There are various images that are repeated or linked across the whole thing, sometimes as quite literal broad strokes to fit the lyrics and sometimes more abstract juxtapositions as well as more off the wall, poetic references,” says Ian Pickering.

This audio-visual element complements TNWR's music with certain repeating visuals - swirling vortexes, tunnels, marching boots, protests, water, fire and ice - giving strong cohesion to the EP's themes and raising the finished product comfortably beyond visualiser into art film territory.

Mixed and mastered by Colin C at The Cell Studio, this album follows their debut album ‘Preteretrospective’, released in April 2023 to rave reviews and airplay in more than 40 countries. Earlier, The Noise Who Runs released the singles 'One Scratch Each', 'Mars Attached' and ‘Tune Out, Turn Off, Drop In’.

Lyrics, arguably, are Pickering’s greatest strength and certainly the songs on ‘Come and Join the Beautiful Army’ only add to his reputation. Here we have genuine poetry; insightful, disarming, original and unique.

THE NOISE WHO RUNS defies populism on new 'Come and Join The Beautiful' Army' EP featuring IAN PICKERING (SNEAKER PIMPS)

January 12, 2024

UK-France duo The Noise Who Runs comes out fighting in 2024 with their new five-song EP ‘Come and Join the Beautiful Army’ EP. This dark, brooding and sometimes disquieting collection straddles the line between hope and despair, defeat and optimism. These contradictions are embodied in the more full-on electronic approach with a stripped, more keyboard-oriented sound largely absent of any overt electric guitars, and the almost casual, nursery rhyme abstract cynicism of the lyrics.

The Noise Who Runs revolves around songwriter Ian Pickering (of Sneaker Pimps and Front Line Assembly). Native to Hartlepool in the north-east of England, Pickering co-authored such Sneaker Pimps hits as 'Spin Spin Sugar', '6 Underground' and 'Tesko Suicide'. In 2019, he launched this project with Brazilian-French guitarist Felipe Goes, three years after relocating to Lille, France.

Mixed and mastered by Colin C at The Cell Studio, this album follows their debut album ‘Preteretrospective’, released in April 2023 to rave reviews and airplay in more than 40 countries. Earlier, The Noise Who Runs released the singles 'One Scratch Each', 'Mars Attached' and ‘Tune Out, Turn Off, Drop In’.

Guitarist Felipe Goes says: “I don’t know where the guitars went. I think the amount of guitar that ends up in a song depends on how angry, sad, or whatever I feel. I believe this is the kind of thing that gives me the energy to keep playing and finding new ways to make the songs work. I guess I must have made peace with the world since there’s almost no guitar in any of these songs! Rather ironic isn’t it? Lyrically, this EP is the opposite of peaceful!”.

Lyrics, arguably, are Pickering’s greatest strength and certainly the songs on ‘Come and Join the Beautiful Army’ only add to his reputation. Here we have genuine poetry; insightful, disarming, original and unique.

“This EP is a call for solidarity in a world constantly being sown with division and discord. So far, the start of the 21st Century seems remarkably like repeating the mistakes of the early 20th Century. In the First World War, all that flag-waving, jingoistic sense of and pride in nationality across Europe, the othering of governments and nations all engaged in the same exploitation of other continents, resulted in the most obscene and needless carnage and it feels today as if nothing has changed, save that rather than conscript us all and send us to France and Belgium for the slaughter, the big push would appear to be starving us to death in our own homes while we work all the hours of the day for a monthly wage that barely covers the cost of living," says Ian Pickering.

“The beautiful army would be the people who reject the pathetic culture wars of populists, who proceed with compassion and empathy rather than instantly resort to knee-jerk outrage and sincerely believe that the some kind of optimistic future can still be salvaged from the slow motion chaos of the inevitable car crash in which we are currently forced to be passengers.”

He adds, “I would question the obsession of brands, marketing and advertising, primarily, on pushing such a vain, shallow concept of the individual - it’s a face-value, nothing beneath the surface kind of ideal. We are all born individuals, that should never need to be overtly demonstrated and insisted upon, it’s quite obviously what we all are. It can’t be proved with trinkets and adornments. The more salient point would be how we all come together as individuals and make a difference, a change for the better for the majority. Maybe the beautiful army lies in the forests away from the trenches; deserters, conscientious objectors and those that have been driven shellshock mad by the constant, oppressive noise of manufactured, idiotic right-wing culture wars.”

'Come and Join The Beautiful Army' is out on January 12 from fine music platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music and Bandcamp.

CREDITS
All songs written by Ian Pickering
Recorded and produced by The Noise Who Runs
Felipe Goes - guitars, pianos, keyboards
Ian Pickering - vocals, keyboards, pianos, beats
Mixing, mastering and additional production by Colin C. at The Cell Studio
Publicity by Shameless Promotion PR
Artist photos by Élodie Duhoo
Original front cover illustration ‘The Marching Boots’ by Alex Armitage

Keep up with The Noise Who Runs
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New single 'Tune Out, Turn Off, Drop In' from THE NOISE WHO RUNS' (IAN PICKERING of SNEAKER PIMPS)

November 9, 2023

As with the first single 'One Scratch Each', ‘Tune Out, Turn Off, Drop In’ - the mirror opposite of Leary’s statement - continues the more stripped-down sound both musically and lyrically. Felipe Goes’ guitars create a disenchanting counterpoint to the overall electronic charge, while Ian Pickering’s lyrics are loaded with a sense of contradiction, confusion, and straddling the line between sharp cynicism and optimistic critique.

Felipe Goes says, “With all these songs, it seemed better not to try and force it, and with ‘Tune Out’ it was quite complete but lacked something unnerving and off-centre, so the guitars needed to be almost imperceptible as guitars, but somehow add another layer of meaning or interpretation to the feel - something slightly jarring and disorientating. They’re coming from the exact opposite of a rock approach, more just able to change and confuse certain parts of the overall mood of the keyboards, rather than dictating and overpowering the sound."

The guitars are used sparingly but specifically to highlight certain points in the lyrics and to lift the music when it’s needed. ‘Tune Out, Turn Off, Drop In’ is just over four minutes but has the vibe of a much shorter pop song you'd want on constant repeat. Lyrically, the song is an update of the original 60s slogan nearly 60 years on, possibly refuting it completely, indicating the appropriation of the counterculture to result in the polar opposite of what was originally envisaged.

“Of course it failed on the most utopian level but it’s undeniable that without the upheaval and countercultures of the 60s, there wouldn’t be that liberation of behaviour and mentality that seemed stuck in the hypocrisy of the Victorian age. It strikes me as a total rejection of a tired establishment and that sense of respectability on the surface, keeping up appearances, toeing the line, doing as you’re told, obedience to the values of your elders and so-called betters," says Ian Pickering.

“But equally the overarching idea of the original phrase seems to be that introspection and dropping out of mainstream consumer culture would offer the solutions. And maybe they would have. But, as with any counterculture, once it’s been identified by the establishment, they take back the hard yards you’ve struggled to gain and they take back more than they ever relinquished and beef up the fortress around it so it can’t happen again. And then they get the marketing and advertising people on the case and sell it back to you with a cheap cover-all, shortcut to thinking logo and slogan.”

The lyrics for ‘Tune Out, Turn Off, Drop In’ are relatively sparse and simple with repeated phrases, a result of wanting to keep them in line with the ‘pop’ ethic of the song as a whole.

“All this social commentary stuff is Ian's field of expertise. I don't like thinking about the world. In fact, I don't think I like thinking. Thinking is for smart people which I'm not: I'm a salesman by day and a musician in the evening. Thinking about the world we live in only serves to make us sad or angry,” says Felipe Goes.

Pickering adds, “I’m not sure it’s my field of expertise. Maybe my field of Hippie dreams. If we build it, they will come.”

The full ‘Come and Join The Beautiful Army' EP was mixed and mastered by Colin C at The Cell Studio, whose clients include CBS, FOX, NBC / Universal, Showtime, HBO and Lionsgate Films and such artists as Front Line Assembly and Danny Saber (Black Grape, Alice Cooper, David Bowie, Madonna).

As of November 8, 'Tune Out, Turn Off, Drop In' will be available across fine music platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music and Bandcamp, where this and the ‘Preteretrospective’ album can be obtained directly from the artist.

CREDITS
All songs written by Ian Pickering
Recorded and produced by The Noise Who Runs
Felipe Goes - guitars, pianos, keyboards
Ian Pickering - vocals, keyboards, pianos, beats
Mixing, mastering and additional production by Colin C. at The Cell Studio
Publicity by Shameless Promotion PR
Video by Dreamstime.com
Artist photos by Élodie Duhoo

IAN PICKERING (Sneaker Pimps / Front Line Assembly) presents THE NOISE WHO RUNS' new single 'One Scratch Each'

October 11, 2023

Bandcamp https://thenoisewhoruns.bandcamp.com/track/one-scratch-each
Spotify https://open.spotify.com/artist/1LRZbh7KDhJzKIuPaUJmud
Apple Music https://music.apple.com/ca/artist/the-noise-who-runs/1515318356
'Preteretrospective' LP (April 2023) https://thenoisewhoruns.bandcamp.com/album/preteretrospective

Following up their April 2023 album ‘Preteretrospective’, which blended the abrasive beauty of electric guitars and electronica, 'One Scratch Each' is a more stripped-down take on the group’s sound - almost a bare, minimalist electronic groove, Felipe Goes’ electric guitar creating a raw, atmospheric complement to the drone bass keyboards and quirky drum machine rhythm. The vocals are simple and repetitive with just four different lyrics across the song, a distinct "less is more" approach.

“I would question the obsession of brands, marketing and advertising, primarily, on pushing such a vain, shallow concept of the individual - it’s a face-value, nothing beneath the surface kind of ideal. We are all born individuals, that should never need to be overtly demonstrated and insisted upon, it’s quite obviously what we all are. It can’t be proved with trinkets and adornments. The more salient point would be how we all come together as individuals and make a difference, a change for the better for the majority. Maybe the beautiful army lies in the forests away from the trenches; deserters, conscientious objectors and those that have been driven shellshock mad by the constant, oppressive noise of manufactured, idiotic right-wing culture wars,” says Ian Pickering.

“The beautiful army would be the people who reject the pathetic culture wars of populists, who proceed with compassion and empathy rather than instantly resort to knee-jerk outrage and sincerely believe that the some kind of optimistic future can still be salvaged from the slow-motion chaos of the inevitable car crash, in which we are currently forced to be passengers.”

As always with Pickering’s lyrics, the line between optimism and cynicism seem so blurred as to entwine like strands of DNA, the seemingly ever-present sense of contradiction - a trait that runs throughout all song by The Noise Who Runs and one that makes the tracks evolve and grow of their own accord the more you listen to them.

“The phrase "one scratch each" was a line left over from 'Takes A Long Cold Look And Then The Kitchen Sink', which was on the last album. Three little words - it doesn’t really need much else added to it - so musically, it felt, for us, like free rein to do something minimalist and less traditional and repeat the same phrase. This is a call for solidarity in a world constantly being sown with division and discord," says Pickering.

"So far, the start of the 21st Century seems remarkably like repeating the mistakes of the early 20th Century. In the First World War, all that flag-waving, jingoistic sense of and pride in nationality across Europe, the othering of governments and nations all engaged in the same exploitation of other continents, resulted in the most obscene and needless carnage and it feels, today, as if nothing has changed, other than that rather than conscripting us all and sending us to France and Belgium for the slaughter, the big push would appear to be starving us to death in our own homes while we work all the hours of the day for a monthly wage that barely covers the cost of living."

The full ‘come and join the beautiful army' EP was mixed and mastered by Colin C at The Cell Studio, whose clients include CBS, FOX, NBC / Universal, Showtime, HBO and Lionsgate Films and such artists as Front Line Assembly and Danny Saber (Black Grape, Alice Cooper, David Bowie, Madonna).

As of October 10, 'One Scratch Each' will be available across fine music platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music and Bandcamp, where this and the ‘Preteretrospective’ album can be obtained directly from the artist.

CREDITS
All songs written by Ian Pickering
Recorded and produced by The Noise Who Runs
Felipe Goes - guitars, pianos, keyboards
Ian Pickering - vocals, keyboards, pianos, beats
Mixing, mastering and additional production by Colin C. at The Cell Studio
Publicity by Shameless Promotion PR
Artist photos by Théo Valenduc

Keep up with The Noise Who Runs
Website | Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Soundcloud | YouTube | Spotify | Apple Music | Press contact

Keep up with Shameless Promotion PR
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Soundcloud | Instagram | LinkedIn | Email

THE NOISE WHO RUNS (Ian Pickering of Sneaker Pimps / Front Line Assembly) presents 'New York To L.A. In 2-And-A-Half Minutes'. Their much-anticipated 'Preteretrospective' LP is out now

May 29, 2023

"Ian Pickering is among the most relevant songwriters of this generation, with topical subject matter, sharp lyricism, a relatable attitude and music that is addictive as F*&@. The same spunk that the progenitors of punk and orderly chaos of early post-punk were made of" ~ The Spill Magazine

"Beguiling... anthemic yet accessible, gothic, grand and graceful, delicately dance-driven and dark, coiled and ornate, slow and seductive" ~ Big Takeover Magazine

"Poetic brutality... the anthemic grace and stature of something by The Sisters of Mercy: it has an Arctic chill through which a lyrical, passionate heat radiates" ~ Backseat Mafia

"Ethereal electronic intimation. Light and dark entangle... true splendour and prowess" ~ Ringmaster Review

The Noise Who Runs presents their latest single 'New York To L.A. In 2-And-A-Half Minutes', with its bleak but beautiful view. Its siren-like synth, pulsing bass riff and crackling drums underline the urgency of rhythmic energy, which contrasts with the bittersweet "be careful what you wish for" melancholy expressed in the melody and vocals. Here, the speed of travel is symbolic as the sign of progress that, like so many technologies, save us time at the expense of experience, possibilities and chance.

This is one of 14 tracks found on the duo's new ‘Preteretrospective’ album, the brainchild of Ian Pickering (of Sneaker Pimps and Front Line Assembly), who also co-authored such hits as 'Spin Spin Sugar', '6 Underground' and 'Tesko Suicide'. Upon relocating from northern England to France, Pickering formed The Noise Who Runs with Brazilian-French guitarist Felipe Goes.

This latest single was inspired by commentary by one of the scientists involved in the space probe observing the sun. Pickering says, “That line - ‘New York to L.A. in 2-and-a-half minutes’ - instantly just starts painting pictures of an insane future, good or bad, at a certain cost, which is now too much, gone too far, that maybe what matters is not just everything that we take for granted, but more everything that we’re always complaining and bellyaching about. From that line, it pretty much all fell together.”

"The opening line "to be the death of kings in words" partly alludes to the Biggie and Tupac story, which perhaps best sums up the iconic stature of the two cities embodying the very best and the worst of US culture, which have largely defined most of the 20th Century (from music and movies to technological and scientific breakthroughs). After that, it examines the relationship between a future where travel is all but instantaneous and the very human thing at stake in no longer having to make the journey."

Earlier, the duo previewed 'Beautiful Perhaps', 'Takes a Long Cold Look and Then The Kitchen Sink' and '2poor2die', blending the abrasive beauty of electric guitars and electronica.

The looped simplicity of ‘Off the Rails’ is followed by the pandemic-inspired songs 'Things Fall Apart' and 'Electronic Babysitter' and the wonderfully bizarre groove of 'Somewhere Between Dogs and Wolves', inspired by Ted Hughes’ poem ‘The dogs are eating your mother’.

'So Good It’s Free', 'Zoe’s Edible Garden' and '2poor2die' deliver the most direct and obvious lyrics on the album, addressing the growing inequality in society and the struggle of the unheard and unseen decent people, who are without voices and increasingly without hope.

The utopian optimism of 'So It Goes' leads to 'Under the Sun', a campfire song with balearic beats that recounts the aftermath of the revolution that should be coming and finally 'L’altruisme', a strangely disconcerting slice of electronic weirdness.

Pickering reminds us, "Nothing that gets done here is for our benefit, you can be sure about that. We might get some hand-me-down bouquet of barbed wire benefit from the next breakthrough technology, but there’s nothing altruistic involved. There’s no heartfelt intention, empathy or compassion behind any of it; it all starts and ends with power, money and profit.”

Mixed and mastered by Colin C at The Cell Studio, the 'Preteretrospective’ album is out now and available across fine music platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music and Bandcamp, where this and other releases can be obtained directly from the artist.

ALBUM CREDITS
All songs written by Ian Pickering
Felipe Goes - electric guitars and keyboards
Ian Pickering - vocals, electric guitar and keyboards
All songs recorded, engineered and produced by The Noise Who Runs
Drums and additional recording and production by Julien Guyot
Additional production by Colin C at The Cell Studio,
except 'Beautiful Perhaps', recorded and produced by Claudio Meza aka 'Spural' at Mauco Records, Chile.
All songs mixed and mastered by Colin C at The Cell Studio
Artist photos by Théo Valenduc

THE NOISE WHO RUNS release beguiling and anthemic 'Preteretrospective' album, newest output from Ian Pickering (Sneaker Pimps / Front Line Assembly)

April 20, 2023

"Ian Pickering is among the most relevant songwriters of this generation, with topical subject matter, sharp lyricism, a relatable attitude and music that is addictive as F*&@. The same spunk that the progenitors of punk and orderly chaos of early post-punk is made of" ~ The Spill Magazine

"Beguiling... anthemic yet accessible, gothic, grand and graceful, delicately dance-driven and dark, coiled and ornate, slow and seductive" ~ Big Takeover Magazine

"A poetic brutality in the lyrics that reflects our current climes with clinical precision... the anthemic grace and stature of something by The Sisters of Mercy: it has an Arctic chill through which a lyrical, passionate heat radiates" ~ Backseat Mafia

"The cult of popular personality that follows deceptive and narrow-minded fame campaigns, the act of putting the dimmest star on the highest plinth has a new detractor" ~ Sound Read Six

"Rhythms stroll and guitars weave melodic webs within that ethereal electronic intimation. Light and dark entangle... Struck a chord in an instant but it is over time that its true splendour and prowess emerged and our pleasure and fascination escalated" ~ Ringmaster Review

UK-France duo The Noise Who Runs present their ‘Preteretrospective’ album, a 14-track offering sprung from the mind of Ian Pickering (of Sneaker Pimps and Front Line Assembly). Featuring songs from their first two EPs - curated and set in a more far-reaching context - along with six new, previously unreleased tracks.

Ian Pickering (co-author of such hits as 'Spin Spin Sugar', '6 Underground' and 'Tesko Suicide') wrote this material simultaneously to material for the latest Sneaker Pimps album. Formed four years ago upon relocating from Hartlepool, England to Lille, France, The Noise Who Runs is now a duo with Brazilian-French guitarist Felipe Goes.

A literal translation of ‘O bruit qui cour’, a French phrase meaning ‘gossip’, The Noise Who Runs was also the name of Pickering’s favourite restaurant, where the ideas for this project fell into place.

The Noise Who Runs' is rooted in the shared principles and approach to making music of punk/new wave and early hip-hop - both the mentality and the message. This brand of indie-electronic rock is heavily shaped by the 1970's experimental electronic scene in Sheffield, the 1990's guitar-house mix of the Manchester scene, Primal Scream's guitar-electronic sound after 1997’s 'Vanishing Point', and 2000’s XTRMNTR.

Earlier, the duo released lead tracks 'Beautiful Perhaps' and the highly cynical 'Takes a Long Cold Look and Then The Kitchen Sink' - the illegitimate child of solo album-era Syd Barrett and post-Talking Heads David Byrne and '2poor2die', which is at once, a celebration of ordinary bravery in the face of the daily grind of routine and a condemnation of the eternal ideology that sees working people as disposable.

TNWR drifts effortlessly between analogue and digital, from instrument to instrument and between genres, the duo ultimately achieving a blend of abrasive beauty from electric guitars and electronica.

The electronic, looped simplicity of ‘Off the Rails’ is followed by the pandemic-inspired songs 'Things Fall Apart', 'Electronic Babysitter' and the wonderfully bizarre groove of 'Somewhere Between Dogs and Wolves', inspired by Ted Hughes’ poem ‘The dogs are eating your mother’.

'So Good It’s Free' and 'Zoe’s Edible Garden' deliver among the most direct and obvious lyrics on the album, addressing the growing inequality in society and the struggle of what Pickering describes as the unheard and unseen decent people without voices and increasingly without hope, barely considered worth considering.

The utopian optimism of 'So It Goes' to the bleak but beautiful view of ‘New York to L.A. in 2-and-a-half Minutes' led to 'Under the Sun', a campfire song with balearic beats that recounts the aftermath of the revolution that should be coming and finally 'L’altruisme', a strangely disconcerting slice of electronic weirdness.

As of April 21, the 'Preteretrospective’ album is available across digital music platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music and Bandcamp, where this and other releases can e obtained directly from the artist.

ALBUM CREDITS
All songs written by Ian Pickering
Felipe Goes - electric guitars and keyboards
Ian Pickering - vocals, electric guitar and keyboards
All songs recorded, engineered and produced by The Noise Who Runs
Drums and additional recording and production by Julien Guyot
Additional production by Colin C at The Cell Studio (thecellstudio.com), except 'Beautiful Perhaps', recorded and produced by Claudio Meza aka 'Spural' at Mauco Records, Chile.
All songs mixed and mastered by Colin C at The Cell Studio
Artist photos by Théo Valenduc

UK-France duo THE NOISE WHO RUNS preview '2poor2die' ahead of 'Preteretrospective' LP (out April 21).

April 6, 2023

"Beguiling... anthemic yet accessible, gothic, grand and graceful, delicately dance-driven and dark, coiled and ornate, slow and seductive" ~ Big Takeover Magazine

"A poetic brutality in the lyrics that reflects our current climes with clinical precision... the anthemic grace and stature of something by The Sisters of Mercy: it has an Arctic chill through which a lyrical, passionate heat radiates" ~ Backseat Mafia

"The cult of popular personality that follows deceptive and narrow-minded fame campaigns, the act of putting the dimmest star on the highest plinth has a new detractor" ~ Sound Read Six

"Rhythms stroll and guitars weave melodic webs within that ethereal electronic intimation. Light and dark entangle... Struck a chord in an instant but it is over time that its true splendour and prowess emerged and our pleasure and fascination escalated" ~ Ringmaster Review

UK-France duo The Noise Who Runs will soon release their ‘Preteretrospective’ album, a 14-track offering from the mind of Ian Pickering (of Sneaker Pimps and Front Line Assembly). Ahead of that, they share the final single '2poor2die', addressing the growing inequality in society and the struggle of the unheard / unseen decent people without voices and increasingly without hope.

The record's spiritual centrepiece, '2poor2die' is, at once, a celebration of ordinary bravery in the face of the daily grind of routine and a condemnation of the eternal ideology that sees working people as cannon fodder, only to be told "Shut up and get on with it, nothing’s gonna change". Call it a tribute to the folks who are barely considered worth considering.

Certainly, '2poor2die' pulls no punches. Here loud, noisy guitars and pounding drums and bass are set against a deceptively simple lyric, almost nursery rhyme-like in its repeated refrain:
Rip it up, strip it down, over again
Pack it up, wrap it up, over again
Sick it up, spit it up, over again
Rip it up, tear it up, start it again

This follows two remarkable singles from the album - the anthemic lead track 'Beautiful Perhaps' and 'Takes a Long Cold Look and Then The Kitchen Sink' - the impossible, illegitimate child of solo album-era Syd Barrett and immediately post-Talking Heads David Byrne.

Ian Pickering (co-author of such Sneaker Pimps hits as 'Spin Spin Sugar', '6 Underground' and 'Tesko Suicide') wrote this material simultaneously to material for the latest Sneaker Pimps album. Formed four years ago upon relocating from Hartlepool, England to Lille, France, The Noise Who Runs is now a duo with Brazilian-French guitarist Felipe Goes.

“Around three minutes into the video, we use a quote from Richard II, King of England, following the Peasants’ Revolt around 1381, and it’s not difficult to understand how clearly that remains the prevailing view of the establishment when it comes to the people and any hope that fairness is gonna somehow trickle down to us all here at the bottom. And it’s a terrifying quote really. And that’s why we have The Noise Who Runs, to challenge all that," says Ian Pickering.

"You wretches detestable on land and sea: you who seek equality with lords are unworthy to live. Give this message to your colleagues: rustics you were, and rustics you are still; you will remain in bondage, not as before, but incomparably harsher. For as long as we live we will strive to suppress you, and your misery will be an example in the eyes of posterity."

A literal translation of ‘O bruit qui cour’, a French phrase meaning ‘gossip’, The Noise Who Runs was also the name of Pickering’s favourite restaurant, where the ideas for this project fell into place.

The Noise Who Runs' is rooted in the shared principles and approach to making music of punk/new wave and early hip-hop - both the mentality and the message. This brand of indie-electronic rock is heavily shaped by the 1970's experimental electronic scene in Sheffield, the 1990's guitar-house mix of the Manchester scene, Primal Scream's guitar-electronic sound after 1997’s 'Vanishing Point', and 2000’s XTRMNTR.

'2poor2die' is out now via Bandcamp, where 'Preteretrospective’ can already be ordered. As of April 21, the full album will be available across digital music platforms, including Spotify and Apple Music.

ALBUM CREDITS
Written by Ian Pickering
Produced by The Noise Who Runs
Recorded, engineered and produced by Claudio Spural (Mauco Records)
Additional production, mixing and mastering by Colin Cameron at The Cell Studios
Felipe Goes - electric guitars and keyboards
Ian Pickering - vocals, electric guitar and keyboards
Artist photos by Théo Valenduc
Other images created by Ian Pickering with additional photography and video clips courtesy of Dreamstime

Keep up with The Noise Who Runs
Website | Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Soundcloud | YouTube | Spotify | Apple Music | Press contact

Keep up with Shameless Promotion PR
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Soundcloud | Instagram | LinkedIn | Email

The Noise Who Runs 'Takes A Long Cold Look and Then The Kitchen Sink' grapples with corruption & a generation's bitter legacy

March 14, 2023

"Beguiling... anthemic yet accessible, gothic, grand and graceful, delicately dance-driven and dark, coiled and ornate, slow and seductive" ~ Big Takeover Magazine

"A heart of darkness that circulates under the electronic thrum and an ominous air... a poetic brutality in the lyrics that reflects our current climes with clinical precision... the anthemic grace and stature of something by The Sisters of Mercy: it has an Arctic chill through which a lyrical, passionate heat radiates" ~ Backseat Mafia

"Flowers like black roses... the cult of popular personality that follows deceptive and narrow-minded fame campaigns, the act of putting the dimmest star on the highest plinth has a new detractor" ~ Sound Read Six

"Rhythms stroll and guitars weave melodic webs within that ethereal electronic intimation. Light and dark entangle... Struck a chord in an instant but it is over time that its true splendour and prowess emerged and our pleasure and fascination escalated" ~ Ringmaster Review

UK-France duo The Noise Who Runs has released the single 'Takes a Long Cold Look and Then The Kitchen Sink' - the impossible, illegitimate child of solo album-era Syd Barrett and immediately post-Talking Heads David Byrne. The Bandcamp edition also features the B-side 'More Beautiful Perhaps (LHT REMIX)', created by Left Handed Tendencies (LHT).

The Noise Who Runs was formed by songwriter-performer Ian Pickering of 90s British trip hop outfit Sneaker Pimps, who co-wrote such hits as 'Spin Spin Sugar', '6 Underground' and 'Tesko Suicide'. He is also known for his involvement in Front Line Assembly. Pickering churned out this new material over the past two years simultaneous to working on the new Sneaker Pimps album.

This new single comes hot on the trail of 'Beautiful Perhaps', the anthemic lead track from their 'Preteretrospective’ LP, scheduled for release on April 7. This album arrives four years after Pickering launched this project after relocating from his home town of Hartlepool (north-east of England) to Lille, France. Today, The Noise Who Runs is a duo of Pickering with Brazilian-born French guitarist Felipe Goes.

The Noise Who Runs is a direct, literal translation of ‘O bruit qui cour’, a French phrase meaning ‘gossip’. It was also the name of Pickering’s favourite restaurant, where the ideas for this project fell into place.

'Takes a long cold look and then the kitchen sink', penned in 1996, is as timely now with the ever-increasing insanity of populist politicians. Less a testament to how timeless writing can be and more to how an entire generation has failed to change the world for the better, leaving a catastrophic mess for Millennials and Generation Z to deal with, the lyrics also point to the inadequacy of political systems and desperate corrupt pandering to big business, which actively encourages destruction.

“Every TNWR song has a personal story in it on some level; usually it’s a composite or gestalt of various people rather than anyone specific. But the bigger, wider panorama always the main thing. This is a lot gentler, musically, than 'Beautiful Perhaps', but easily as abrasive and damning in its lyrical content," says Ian Pickering.

"Really, it concerns itself with the detachment from the real lives, the real suffering of people, in the approach and the decisions taken in big business and politics, while addressing the kind of mentality that felt the need to ‘Check Your Privilege’ a few years back simply as a way of defending that privilege by refuting it. By the same spurious ‘keep them on the platform’ online reckoning, I would simultaneously be a pink Labrador, the fourth Doctor Who’s third companion and about to die of 10,000 heart attacks shortly after 3pm next Good Friday."

The new 'Preteretrospective’ album follows the 'These Will Be Your Gods' EP, released in January, and ‘High Time in Lo-Fi’, their third EP released in mid-2022. During the lockdown stalemate of 2020, the duo released two EPs - ‘The First of Two Sides of a Double-headed Coin’ and ‘The Other Side of the Same Double-headed Coin’.

The Noise Who Runs' is rooted in the shared principles and approach to making music of punk/new wave and early hip-hop - both the mentality and the message. This brand of indie-electronic rock is heavily shaped by the 1970's experimental electronic scene in Sheffield, the 1990's guitar-house mix of the Manchester scene, Primal Scream's guitar-electronic sound after 1997’s 'Vanishing Point', and 2000’s XTRMNTR.

Pickering's role in Sneaker Pimps is rooted in a lifelong friendship with founding member Liam Howe and Chris Corner. Having written and worked with Howe and Corner on various projects throughout their teens, he became Sneaker Pimps’ lyricist shortly after recruiting Kelli Dayton for the debut record 'Becoming X'.

As of March 14, the new single is available via Bandcamp, Spotify, Apple Music and elsewhere. The full 'Preteretrospective’ album will be released on April 7.

ALBUM CREDITS
Written by Ian Pickering
Produced by The Noise Who Runs
Recorded, engineered and produced by Claudio Spural (Mauco Records)
Additional production, mixing and mastering by Colin Cameron at The Cell Studios
Felipe Goes - electric guitars and keyboards
Ian Pickering - vocals, electric guitar and keyboards
Artist photos by Théo Valenduc
Other images created by Ian Pickering with additional photography and video clips courtesy of Dreamstime

Keep up with The Noise Who Runs
Website | Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Soundcloud | YouTube | Spotify | Apple Music | Press contact

Keep up with Shameless Promotion PR
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The Noise Who Runs releases 'Beautiful Perhaps', a shimmering indie gem previewing their 'Preteretrospective’ LP

February 13, 2023

"There is a gothic undercurrent to the sound: a heart of darkness that circulates under the electronic thrum and an ominous air... a poetic brutality in the lyrics that reflects our current climes with clinical precision... ‘Beautiful Perhaps’ has the anthemic grace and stature of something by The Sisters of Mercy: it has an Arctic chill through which a lyrical, passionate heat radiates" ~ Backseat Mafia

UK-France electronic rock duo The Noise Who Runs presents 'Beautiful Perhaps', the anthemic first track from their imminent 'Preteretrospective’ LP, scheduled for release on April 7. This follows 'These Will Be Your Gods' EP, released in January, and ‘High Time in Lo-Fi’, their third EP released in mid-2022.

The Noise Who Runs is the project of songwriter and performer Ian Pickering, best known as a member of and songwriter for 90s British trip hop outfit Sneaker Pimps, having co-written such hits as 'Spin Spin Sugar', '6 Underground' and 'Tesko Suicide'. Over the past two years, he has churned out this new album while also working on the new Sneaker Pimps album

Hailing from Hartlepool in the north-east of England, Pickering launched this project in 2019, three years after relocating to Lille, France. Today, The Noise Who Runs is a duo of Pickering with Brazilian-born French guitarist Felipe Goes.

'Beautiful Perhaps' sets the lyrical tone for the whole album (the narrative seeks redemption, this is a picture book version censored to fiction as the demons pull us apart), the lyrics being the strongest ties binding its various musical styles and influences. Wonderfully poetic, hard-edged, clear-sighted but abstract, this music veers between brutal honesty and cynicism, optimism and realism in a tirade of social commentary from life at the thin end of the wedge.

"There’s a reason that 'Beautiful Perhaps' is the first single and also the first song on the album. It sets the tone for everything The Noise Who Runs is about," says Ian Pickering.

"My truth, that’s got nothing to do with anything. People need to stop selling their truth, their subjective complaints and petty outrages. First and foremost, I was a journalist, therefore, I deal in facts and I think as a general overview of the state of society and of humanity (not just this century but eternally) - this is as honest as you’re gonna get. And it hits the nail squarely and firmly on the head. The truth isn’t pretty but it has to be accepted before anything I describe in the song can be addressed. That’s what’s beautiful - perhaps."

The Noise Who Runs is a direct, literal translation of ‘O bruit qui cour’, a French phrase meaning ‘gossip’. It was also the name of Pickering’s favourite restaurant, where the ideas for this project fell into place. With live performances delayed due to Covid lockdowns, the duo instead released two EPs in 2020 (‘The First of Two Sides of a Double-headed Coin’ and ‘The Other Side of the Same Double-headed Coin’).

The Noise Who Runs' essence lies chiefly in the shared principles and approach to making music of punk/new wave and early hip-hop - in terms of the mentality and the message. Musically, TNWR's indie rock is heavily shaped by the 1970's experimental electronic scene in Sheffield, the 1990's guitar-house mix of the Manchester scene, Primal Scream's guitar-electronic sound after 1997’s 'Vanishing Point', and 2000’s XTRMNTR.

Pickering's role in Sneaker Pimps is rooted in a lifelong friendship with founding member Liam Howe and Chris Corner, who had also taught Pickering to play his first song on acoustic guitar. Having written and worked with Howe and Corner on various projects throughout their teens, he became Sneaker Pimps’ lyricist shortly after they recruited Kelli Dayton for the debut record 'Becoming X'.

As of February 14, the 'Beautiful Perhaps' single is available via Bandcamp, Spotify, Apple Music and elsewhere. The full 'Preteretrospective’ album will be released on April 7.

ALBUM CREDITS
Written by Ian Pickering
Produced by The Noise Who Runs
Recorded, engineered and produced by Claudio Spural (Mauco Records)
Additional production, mixing and mastering by Colin Cameron at The Cell Studios
Felipe Goes - electric guitars and keyboards
Ian Pickering - vocals, electric guitar and keyboards
Artist photos by Théo Valenduc
Other images created by Ian Pickering with additional photography and video clips courtesy of Dreamstime

Keep up with The Noise Who Runs
Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Soundcloud | YouTube | Spotify | Apple Music | Press contact

Keep up with Shameless Promotion PR
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Soundcloud | Instagram | LinkedIn | Email

UK / French electronic-rock project The Noise Who Runs presents 'These Will Be Your Gods' EP

January 31, 2023

UK-France electronic rock duo The Noise Who Runs presents 'These Will Be Your Gods', the latest 4-track EP from these artists, following their third EP ‘High Time in Lo-Fi’ (released in May 2022).

The Noise Who Runs is the project of songwriter and performer Ian Pickering, who is perhaps best known as a member of and songwriter for 90s British trip hop outfit Sneaker Pimps, having co-written such hits as 'Spin Spin Sugar', '6 Underground' and 'Tesko Suicide'. He has also been keeping busy working on the new Sneaker Pimps album throughout 2020 and 2021.

Hailing from the North of England, Pickering launched this project in 2019, three years after he relocated to Lille in northern France. Today, The Noise Who Runs is essentially a duo of Pickering with Brazilian-born French guitarist Felipe Goes.

The Noise Who Runs is a direct, literal translation of ‘O bruit qui cour’, a French phrase used to mean ‘gossip’. It was also the name of Pickering’s favourite restaurant and exactly where he says all his ideas fell into place, the first time, which closed after struggling through Covid lockdowns.

With live performance plans shelved due to 2020 Covid restrictions, they instead released two EPs that year (‘The First of Two Sides of a Double-headed Coin’ and ‘The Other Side of the Same Double-headed Coin’).

The Noise Who Runs' essence chiefly lays in the shared principles and approach to making music of punk/new wave and early hip-hop - in terms of the mentality and the message. Musically, TNWR's indie rock is heavily shaped by the 1970's experimental electronic scene in Sheffield, the 1990's guitar-house mix of the Manchester scene, Primal Scream's guitar-electronic sound after 1997’s 'Vanishing Point', and 2000’s XTRMNTR.

“These four songs work perfectly in sequence - a perfect little trip, a 20-minute vacation from your day. 'How U R' is a noise-guitar fest with the guitars turned off, 'Cows Come Home' feels like an upbeat guitar-pop lullaby of sorts, 'Gods' would make a good scary soundtrack and 'Little Black Cloud' is two separate songs with the same chorus. It stuck together early and refused to be prised apart,” says Ian Pickering.

“It’s neither melancholy or angry. The truth of things makes people sad or angry or both, for whatever reason, and so they confront, or turn away, and things remain the same. How’s that working out for us really? So essentially, the EP says this is how it is, everyone knows it, why? If everyone knows it, how can it be this? Don’t get angrier, don’t get sadder, get smarter and join the dots…all the way to consumer capitalism, the embodiment of ‘gold is the root of all evil. It does it very beautifully and poetically, so that sweetens it all up.”

Opening track 'How U R' is fast-paced and rough, blasting off with the warning siren tested monthly in Lille. Inspired by 'The Last Word' by 19th Century English poet Matthew Arnold, it throws questions at the fairness of the deal in humanity, that things should be on a higher level than they are now and this current trajectory of all-out consumer capitalism.

'Cows Come Home' blends guitar pop and psychedelia without the feel-good lyrics. This is a call for solidarity if not harmony to try and create an existence that is less numbing and relentless for the majority of people. Title track 'These Will Be Your Gods' goes dark into the dangers of cults of personality, of populist leaders, petulant tech billionaires and desperately cloying celebrities, set against a sense of powerlessness.

Finally, the 8-minute indulgence of 'Little Black Cloud' is like something to wake up to on the last day of a festival. Tender and almost sweet in its melancholy, this take on aspirations and the force-feeding of perfection and how isolated and singular and angry things have become.

The 'These Will Be Your Gods' EP is out now, available via Spotify, Apple Music and elsewhere. Music lovers can also expect the next single from The Noise Who Runs single to be released on February 14.