Goat is a Swedish alternative and
experimental
An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when ...
fusion
Fusion, or synthesis, is the process of combining two or more distinct entities into a new whole.
Fusion may also refer to:
Science and technology Physics
*Nuclear fusion, multiple atomic nuclei combining to form one or more different atomic nucl ...
music group. The band originates—according to its own publicity—from
Korpilombolo
Korpilombolo () is a locality situated in Pajala Municipality, Norrbotten County, Sweden with 529 inhabitants in 2010.
The band Goat
The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept a ...
,
Norrbotten County
Norrbotten County ( sv, Norrbottens län; se, Norrbottena leatna, fi, Norrbottenin lääni) is the northernmost county or '' län'' of Sweden. It is also the largest county by land area, almost a quarter of Sweden's total area. It shares border ...
.
Their first album ''
World Music'', was released on 20 August 2012 by Rocket Recordings,
and in North America on the Sub Pop label. The group released their third studio album, ''
Requiem
A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...
'', in October 2016.
History
Formation
Goat, though currently based in
Gothenburg
Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...
, claims to hail from
Korpilombolo
Korpilombolo () is a locality situated in Pajala Municipality, Norrbotten County, Sweden with 529 inhabitants in 2010.
The band Goat
The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept a ...
in Sweden which, according to the band's own publicity, has a history of
voodoo
Voodoo may refer to:
Religions
* African or West African Vodun, practiced by Gbe-speaking ethnic groups
* African diaspora religions, a list of related religions sometimes called Vodou/Voodoo
** Candomblé Jejé, also known as Brazilian Vodu ...
worship after a witch doctor came and lived there. Supposedly, when Christian crusaders came and destroyed the village the surviving people fled and placed a curse on the town. This has been described as "a lovely story, if possibly not entirely rooted in reality."
The band started playing music when they were children, as part of a local community tradition, and there have been many incarnations of Goat who have recorded over the last "30 or 40 years". There are now three original "core" members of the band, from Korpilombolo, but in live concerts they are augmented by four other performers from
Gothenburg
Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...
.
[
]
Recording career
The group signed to Rocket Recordings, a UK-based record label formed in 1998. In 2012 they released their debut single "Goatman" on limited edition vinyl, and began recording their first album. Commenting on the writing process, a band member said:"The songwriting process is strange. Normally, when we play together we don't play songs – we make music – and every time we play is a new time. When we had the possibility to record, we have made songs for the album. It started with the song 'Goatman', and that song was recorded just for us. Then Rocket ecordingsasked us to write some more and we continued. Our songs are never really finished and we never know how they will end up when we start recording."
'' World Music'' was released on 20 August 2012 and has won good responses and international attention, including the Australian music publication ''Happy Mag'' placing the album at no.5 on their list of "The 25 greatest psychedelic rock albums of the 2010s". The title of the album comes from the different styles of music on the album. Goat commented:"We've been taught since we were small to have an understanding of not only western bands, but of music from other parts of the world. The title World Music was chosen because we believe we play 'world music', and that's what we think everyone plays".
Performances
The band performs wearing masks and costumes.[
After touring the United States in early 2013][Spin.com, ''Goat Announce First U.S. Tour Dates, Drop Mixtape of Afro-Rock and Black Metal'', 10 January 2013](_blank)
Retrieved 26 March 2013 the band played at that year's Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemp ...
and the final holiday camp edition of All Tomorrow's Parties festival in Camber Sands, England. In 2014, they played at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (commonly called the Coachella Festival or simply Coachella) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert. ...
in Indio, California and the Latitude Festival
The Latitude Festival is an annual music festival that takes place in Henham Park, near Southwold, Suffolk, England. It was first held in July 2006 and has been held every year since, apart from 2020, when it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 ...
in Southwold, Suffolk, England. In 2015, they played again at the Glastonbury Festival, at Roskilde Festival
The Roskilde Festival is a Danish music festival held annually south of Roskilde. It is one of the largest music festivals in Europe and the largest in the Nordic countries. It was created in 1971 by two high school students and a promoter. In 1 ...
in Denmark and Pukkelpop
Pukkelpop is an annual music festival that takes place near the city of Hasselt, Belgium, in mid- to late August. It is held within a large enclosure of fields and woodland—adjacent to a dual carriageway called ''Kempische Steenweg''—in the ...
in Belgium. In 2016 the band played, amongst others, at Primavera Sound in Barcelona, Cactusfestival in Bruges, and End of the Road Festival in Wiltshire, England. The band played support for Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters are an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Foo Fighters was initially formed as a one-man project by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. Following the success of the eponymous debut album, Grohl (lead vocals, guitar) re ...
at Ullevi Stadium
Ullevi, sometimes known as Nya Ullevi (, ''New Ullevi''), is a multi-purpose stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden. It was built for the 1958 FIFA World Cup, but since then has also hosted the World Allround Speed Skating Championships six times; th ...
in Gothenburg on 5 June 2018.
Discography
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilation albums
Soundtracks
EPs and singles
*2012: "Goatman/The Sun the Moon" (7" limited edition)
In popular culture
The band's single "Let It Burn" was featured in ''The Grand Tour'' third season, episode 5, in which James May tested the Alpine A110
The Alpine A110 is a sports car produced by French automobile manufacturer Alpine from 1963 to 1977. The car was styled as a " berlinette", which in the post-WWII era refers to a small enclosed two-door berline, better-known as a coupé. The ...
. "Let It Burn" was also featured in the credits of AMC's Mayfair Witches Season 1 Episode 7.
Their music was featured in the 2017 British independent horror film, Double Date.
"Run To Your Mama" is the title track for Season 1 of the podcast series, Crimetown
''Crimetown'' is a serial documentary podcast hosted by Marc Smerling and Zac Stuart-Pontier and produced by Gimlet Media which looks at how organized crime has shaped particular American cities. The first season started in 2016 and focused on ...
.
References
External links
Goat Sweden blogDiscogs.com Goat page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goat
Swedish rock music groups
Experimental rock groups
Worldbeat groups