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Jungle Records

Sterling Roswell - 'The Psychedelic Ubik'

Catalogue Numbers: MINT CD 017 | Format: CD | Release Date: 24th January 2005

Downloadable Promo Photo

Enigmatic rock'n'roll oddball Sterling Roswell releases his debut solo album 'The Psychedelic Ubik'. It follows up his 7" single 'VENUS HONEY DEW' and CD-single paired with former 'Single of the Week' (Time Out) and 'Single Of The Month' (Sleaze Nation), 'GIRL FROM ORBIT'. The album has started getting further critical acclaim, with 4-star reviews in both Mojo and Record Collector and 'Album of the Week' in The Organ.

Sterling Roswell is more commonly known as 'Rosco', and most known as a member of the legendary Spacemen 3 from age just 18, recording three albums. When they eventually split, he joined the 3's Pete Bassman in Darkside, producing two albums for Beggars Banquet. Later he came back to music and made some demos while living in Rome. These led to him being signed by Mint/Jungle, Mercury Rev's original label.

'The Psychedelic Ubik' shows the influence of his years in Spacemen 3, but also an encyclopaedic understanding of rock'n'roll music, somehow fused into a timeless amalgam. The album's two covers, Alex Chilton's 'Blue Moon' and a variation on cult 60's garage-punk band The Balloon Farm's 'Question Of Temperature' ('Ludic Revolution') were drawn from his 3,000+ vinyl LP collection. His mission has been to create an album of 'Space Age Pop'.

Sterling Roswell is now scheduling live dates across the UK in numerous clubs & also a tour of Italy. Rosco has attracted some well-respected musicians to collaborate with. Gigs have brought luminaries such as legendary keyboardist Geraint Watkins, the Flamin' Groovies' Chris Wilson, and many others. On the album Denny Laine's son, guitarist Laine Hines; Van Morrison's drummer Bobby Irwin; and the Ennio Morricone String Quartet are among the guests. Recently, Rosco was recording and producing a new album with 60's legend Sky Saxon!

What the press say:-
"A floaty, symphonic psychedelic pop record with woozy sound effects. Actually, this is brilliant!" - Peter Paphides, Time Out, Single of the Week.

"A heady, hazy half hour with this album and the contact high remains long after. Reminiscent of Stereolab's euro-lectric pop, a dash of lazy guitars, beats and horns make this a perfect summer afternoon record for slipping out of synch." - Record Collector 4*

"Girl From Orbit is a great, great love song; it is sex in a rocket destined for Planet Elsewhere" - Sleaze Nation, Single of the Month.

"A gorgeous atmospheric journey through space, it's difficult not to be moved by it. A breezy, re-playable piece of work." - Subba-Cultcha

"One of this year's more convincingly psychedelic albums." - Rock Sound 7/10

"It makes you wonder if the real inspiration in Spacemen 3 was Sterling Roswell. Roswell's stoned Dylanising shines through transcendent acid rock...'Venus Honey Dew' could have come straight off the last Air album. If ever a record was worthy of the lofty claim 'Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space', this may well be it" - MOJO four-star review

"A wonderful debut album - a fine mix of glowing futuristic almost whispered Mercury Rev/Beach Boys flavoured space pop, warm 60's garage psychedelia and frothing creamy dreamy analogue synth seduction. Beautifully crafted, detail drenched, delicate velvety pop songs. Triumphantly uplifting - you need this album." - Organ Magazine, Album of the Week.

Biography

Sterling Roswell's 'Psychedelic Ubik' album was recorded in Italy and realised in London. The album is his first solo project after years of cutting-edge collaborations and experimentations.

Sterling Roswell, better known as 'Rosco', grew up in Africa with The Beatles red and blue albums, Curtis Knight and Hendrix. His teenage years found him returning to Rugby, the place of his birth, embarking on a crash course in The Cramps, Devo and skiving art school. Around 1983 he first met Pete Kember (aka Sonic Boom) in the local record shop and they struck up a friendship based on a mutual appreciation of the MC5, The Who and The Velvet Underground.

Rosco already knew of Jason Pierce and soon found himself sharing a house with Pierce and Booker - Pete was a regular visitor, and so Spacemen 3 were born, Rosco providing the lightshow for the band's early gigs. Booker left the band after the first album, and Rosco stepped in, complementing the band's line-up for the next three years, from The Perfect Prescription album onwards. The destructive course of Spacemen 3 is well documented. Tensions within the group reached a climax at the end of a gruelling 35-date European tour. A year later the band finally disintegrated.

Rosco then teamed up with Pete Bassman's Darkside, and signed to Beggars Banquet. A few years of touring, and a couple of albums that sold well all around the world, gave Rosco wider horizons than he'd had in the Spacemen set-up. But the song-writing partnership floundered for simple musical direction reasons, and the band broke up.

A while after that event Rosco ended up living in Rome, Italy at the start of 1997, where he was to remain for the next three years. DJ-ing regularly and playing live occasionally, Rosco took up employment in posts as unlikely as restaurant porter and TV presenter. Rosco: 'It was cool... I'd get to talk about electro-magnetic space travel and cathode ray universe theory.' Quite what thousands of Italian viewers made of this excitable and eccentric Englishman is anyone's guess!

Aside from his keen interests in comic book art and sci-fi, music was always the main drag and soon his friend Barney Stoppard - son of Tom Stoppard - was asking him to provide a soundtrack for a film he was working on starring Jude Law and Ewan McGregor (pre-Shallow Grave). Holed up at his flat and immersed in Philip K. Dick novels (one of which incidentally provides the album's name), Rosco began work on what was to become 'The Psychedelic Ubik', although the film was never completed.

A live band came together with Italian producer Ingo Schwartz on bass and Londoner Danny Payne on drums. The band made a few low-key live appearances, including at Julian Cope's Kosmiche Club at the Garage and a pilot TV show, and Rosco continues DJ-ing activities and live gigging. The album enjoyed the assistance of the Morricone String Quartet in Italy; in London Rosco also employed producer Neil Brockbank, drummer Bob Irwin, guitarists Steve Donnelly and Laine Hines (son of Denny). Rosco's ambition for this enchanting album was to create 'Space Age Pop'.

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	Downloadable Promo Photo	Enigmatic rock'n'roll oddball Sterling Roswell releases his debut solo album 'The Psychedelic Ubik'. It follows up his 7" single 'VENUS HONEY DEW' and CD-single paired with former 'Single of the Week' (Time Out) and 'Single Of The Month' (Sleaze Nation), 'GIRL FROM ORBIT'. The album has started getting further critical acclaim, with 4-star reviews in both Mojo and Record Collector and 'Album of the Week' in The Organ. Sterling Roswell is more commonly known as 'Rosco', and most known as a member of the legendary Spacemen 3 from age just 18, recording three albums. When they eventually split, he joined the 3's Pete Bassman in Darkside, producing two albums for Beggars Banquet. Later he came back to music and made some demos while living in Rome. These led to him being signed by Mint/Jungle, Mercury Rev's original label. 'The Psychedelic Ubik' shows the influence of his years in Spacemen 3, but also an encyclopaedic understanding of rock'n'roll music, somehow fused into a timeless amalgam. The album's two covers, Alex Chilton's 'Blue Moon' and a variation on cult 60's garage-punk band The Balloon Farm's 'Question Of Temperature' ('Ludic Revolution') were drawn from his 3,000+ vinyl LP collection. His mission has been to create an album of 'Space Age Pop'. Sterling Roswell is now scheduling live dates across the UK in numerous clubs & also a tour of Italy. Rosco has attracted some well-respected musicians to collaborate with. Gigs have brought luminaries such as legendary keyboardist Geraint Watkins, the Flamin' Groovies' Chris Wilson, and many others. On the album Denny Laine's son, guitarist Laine Hines; Van Morrison's drummer Bobby Irwin; and the Ennio Morricone String Quartet are among the guests. Recently, Rosco was recording and producing a new album with 60's legend Sky Saxon!
	What the press say:- "A floaty, symphonic psychedelic pop record with woozy sound effects. Actually, this is brilliant!" - Peter Paphides, Time Out, Single of the Week. "A heady, hazy half hour with this album and the contact high remains long after. Reminiscent of Stereolab's euro-lectric pop, a dash of lazy guitars, beats and horns make this a perfect summer afternoon record for slipping out of synch." - Record Collector 4* "Girl From Orbit is a great, great love song; it is sex in a rocket destined for Planet Elsewhere" - Sleaze Nation, Single of the Month. "A gorgeous atmospheric journey through space, it's difficult not to be moved by it. A breezy, re-playable piece of work." - Subba-Cultcha "One of this year's more convincingly psychedelic albums." - Rock Sound 7/10 "It makes you wonder if the real inspiration in Spacemen 3 was Sterling Roswell. Roswell's stoned Dylanising shines through transcendent acid rock...'Venus Honey Dew' could have come straight off the last Air album. If ever a record was worthy of the lofty claim 'Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space', this may well be it" - MOJO four-star review "A wonderful debut album - a fine mix of glowing futuristic almost whispered Mercury Rev/Beach Boys flavoured space pop, warm 60's garage psychedelia and frothing creamy dreamy analogue synth seduction. Beautifully crafted, detail drenched, delicate velvety pop songs. Triumphantly uplifting - you need this album." - Organ Magazine, Album of the Week. Biography Sterling Roswell's 'Psychedelic Ubik' album was recorded in Italy and realised in London. The album is his first solo project after years of cutting-edge collaborations and experimentations. Sterling Roswell, better known as 'Rosco', grew up in Africa with The Beatles red and blue albums, Curtis Knight and Hendrix. His teenage years found him returning to Rugby, the place of his birth, embarking on a crash course in The Cramps, Devo and skiving art school. Around 1983 he first met Pete Kember (aka Sonic Boom) in the local record shop and they struck up a friendship based on a mutual appreciation of the MC5, The Who and The Velvet Underground. Rosco already knew of Jason Pierce and soon found himself sharing a house with Pierce and Booker - Pete was a regular visitor, and so Spacemen 3 were born, Rosco providing the lightshow for the band's early gigs. Booker left the band after the first album, and Rosco stepped in, complementing the band's line-up for the next three years, from The Perfect Prescription album onwards. The destructive course of Spacemen 3 is well documented. Tensions within the group reached a climax at the end of a gruelling 35-date European tour. A year later the band finally disintegrated. Rosco then teamed up with Pete Bassman's Darkside, and signed to Beggars Banquet. A few years of touring, and a couple of albums that sold well all around the world, gave Rosco wider horizons than he'd had in the Spacemen set-up. But the song-writing partnership floundered for simple musical direction reasons, and the band broke up. A while after that event Rosco ended up living in Rome, Italy at the start of 1997, where he was to remain for the next three years. DJ-ing regularly and playing live occasionally, Rosco took up employment in posts as unlikely as restaurant porter and TV presenter. Rosco: 'It was cool... I'd get to talk about electro-magnetic space travel and cathode ray universe theory.' Quite what thousands of Italian viewers made of this excitable and eccentric Englishman is anyone's guess! Aside from his keen interests in comic book art and sci-fi, music was always the main drag and soon his friend Barney Stoppard - son of Tom Stoppard - was asking him to provide a soundtrack for a film he was working on starring Jude Law and Ewan McGregor (pre-Shallow Grave). Holed up at his flat and immersed in Philip K. Dick novels (one of which incidentally provides the album's name), Rosco began work on what was to become 'The Psychedelic Ubik', although the film was never completed. A live band came together with Italian producer Ingo Schwartz on bass and Londoner Danny Payne on drums. The band made a few low-key live appearances, including at Julian Cope's Kosmiche Club at the Garage and a pilot TV show, and Rosco continues DJ-ing activities and live gigging. The album enjoyed the assistance of the Morricone String Quartet in Italy; in London Rosco also employed producer Neil Brockbank, drummer Bob Irwin, guitarists Steve Donnelly and Laine Hines (son of Denny). Rosco's ambition for this enchanting album was to create 'Space Age Pop'.