Henge

HENGE are not like other bands. HENGE are from outer space. A disparate band of space travelling eccentrics, they have been steadily making their alien presence felt with music that combines mischievous, Cardiacs-like electro-punk with mind-expanding space rock grandeur and the frantic textures of ‘90s rave. Their new album, //Journey To Voltus B//, is destined to have a near-apocalyptic impact, at least among the terminally open-minded. As HENGE’s leader Zpor explains, this strange band of interplanetary brothers have come to Earth to save humanity.

“We received a distress signal through the astral realm, from a human now known to us as Grok,” he says. “He told us about the situation on Earth, that there was an epidemic of seriousness and humans needed our help. He guided us to a safe landing on your dangerous, militarised planet. We landed near a neolithic stone monument of which you might have heard. That’s when we took the name HENGE. Grok, as a human being, has been able to teach us a lot about how to fine-tune our dangerous alien frequencies, for maximum efficacy on the human nervous system.”

Like robots possessed by the spirit of Frank Zappa, HENGE have combined unearthly influences into songs that are simultaneously confounding and celebratory. Journey To Voltus B is a self-explanatory concept album about a trip that Zpor cryptically notes “has happened and has also not happened yet.”

“This new album is literally a journey to the planet Voltus B with HENGE as your guides,” he states. “You, the listener, are on board our spacecraft as we blast off from Earth, slingshot around the outer planets to pick up extra speed and thrust, and then travel through deep space and then arrive at Voltus B, landing on the planet and meeting the inhabitants, who are on the brink of discovering the power of the atom. It’s a very important juncture in their evolution, where they could use that power and harness it to make weapons, or they could alternatively harness it to make energy.”

To discover the outcome of HENGE’s trip to Voltus B, fans are advised to check out the forthcoming vinyl version, which features a cunning double groove on side B, and two distinct outcomes to the album’s overarching narrative.

“When you place the needle down, there is a 50/50 chance that you will get nuclear winter after an apocalypse,” Zpor notes, cheerfully. “Or you might get nuclear fusion, and the euphoric, utopian vision of clean energy! People need to come on that journey to witness it, because if no one is there to see it, has it happened?”

As the first predominantly non-human band to appear in //Prog//, HENGE have a responsibility to see their benevolent mission through to the end. Zpor states that performing live is an essential part of the band’s masterplan, and that the first half of 2025 will be devoted to taking //Journey To Voltus B// out on the road. Adorned in the traditional robes of his Agricular heritage, Zpor cuts a dashing, psychedelic figure on stage, and with rather more energy than one might expect from a cosmos-traversing alien who has been around for millennia. These freaks are clearly in this for the long haul.

“No creature can really survive for billions of years, but I have some very sophisticated technology,” he elaborates. “The orb on the top of my head contains my memories and my essence and my being. It’s connected via a neural interface inside my head, to a cloned body. That body can be replaced any number of times, so I’m not immortal, but I can live indefinitely!” DL

PROG FILE:

LINE-UP: Zpor (vocals/guitar), Nom (drums), Goo (bass), Grok (keyboards)

SOUNDS LIKE: Demented electro-prog with a psychedelic sci-fi streak

CURRENT RELEASE: //Journey To Voltus B// is out on January 31

WEBSITE: hengemusic.com

— Dom Lawson