Gallops returns with The Offa Society For Psychical Research, a five-track EP that plunges deep into the darkest realms of sound. Known for their cutting-edge electronic innovation, the Welsh trio—Mark Huckridge, Brad Whyte, and Gavin Thorpe—have crafted their most intense, uncompromising work to date. Released via their independent label SKANDALKONZERT, the EP steps away from the polished precision of their recent, AI-directed releases and dives headfirst into industrial beats, dystopian textures, and eerie atmospheres.

This new collection doesn’t rely on melody or harmony. Instead, it embraces raw minimalism and relentless repetition, creating a rhythm-driven journey designed to disturb. Gallops draws influence from industrial/EBM, Detroit techno, and the literary tradition of Gothic horror to conjure an unsettling mood that lingers long after each track ends.

Snag The Release On Bandcamp Here

An Exploration of Unearthly Sounds

Opening track ‘Liquid & Envy’ churns with harsh sub-bass and screeching synths, evoking the sinister energy of early ’90s hardcore. It brings to mind the colossal menace of Lovecraft’s Great Old Ones, setting the tone for the EP’s dive into the unknown. On ‘Hemlock Chaser’, the band melds distorted guitars and electronic beats into a twisted, staggering rhythm that pays subtle homage to Gallops’ rock roots while remaining fully immersed in their experimental sound.

Each track seems slightly off-kilter, as if pulled from a warped dimension. The galactic chaos of ‘Paint It Diseased’ feels like an eerie transmission from distant, lifeless planets, its jagged beats orbiting around invisible black holes. Meanwhile, ‘The Crunching Teeth of Sharks’ introduces fleeting moments of warmth with analog tones and arpeggiated patterns that hint at human nostalgia amid the alien landscape. The final track, ‘Youth Medium’, offers a glimmer of hope—a sonic refuge within the EP’s chilling universe, as if guiding listeners back to a strange but familiar world.

Fiction, Folklore, and the Occult

The title refers to a fictional group of local ghost-hunters operating on a shoestring budget, a concept Huckridge likens to a “provincial Ghostbusters without the budget or sense of humor.” GALLOPS draws inspiration from the Gothic tradition, nodding to authors like H.P. Lovecraft, M.R. James, and Welsh writer Arthur Machen, whose tales of mystical and pagan ideas continue to resonate with modern horror fans.

For Huckridge, the album’s occult theme comes from a personal fascination with the unknown. “I’ve developed a skeptical but genuine interest in Western esotericism over the last few years,” he shares, citing influences from Colin Wilson and Erik Davis. “It’s definitely not meant to be taken too seriously. I just like things that go bump in the night.”

With this release, GALLOPS has created a work that feels both conceptually dense and sonically brutal—a false document designed to provoke curiosity and dread. The Offa Society For Psychical Research challenges listeners to embrace discomfort, offering a glimpse into a distorted reality that leaves plenty of room for interpretation.

The vinyl release on SKANDALKONZERT is now available, cementing the band’s commitment to independent artistry and immersive storytelling. Whether it’s through pounding techno beats or eerie, occult narratives, GALLOPS continues to push boundaries with a sound that is uniquely their own.

Exclusive Interview With Gallops

1 – What inspired the shift toward a more industrial, rhythm-driven sound for The Offa Society For Psychical Research?

I feel like our sound and aesthetic have been crawling slowly but surely in that direction for many years. The beginnings of the band and our initial releases were very different in lots of ways (personnel, influences etc) and perhaps marked by a tendency to be wilfully obtuse and shoehorn the ‘math-rock’ hallmarks of jarring time signature switches for the sake of it. But we were naive and having fun with it, and to be honest our attempts at being clever were very tame in comparison to most of our peers. But that’s not where I’m at musically as I’ve got older. I’m much more interested in creating something (hopefully) immediate and visceral these days. I’ve always been drawn towards rhythm and texture, probably more so than traditional melody and harmony.

Growing up on Sonic Youth and Velvet Underground, alongside hip-hop, hardcore, jungle etc has a lot to answer for. And this inevitably developed into an interest in Throbbing Gristle, Neu!, Cluster, Coil etc etc. The sound of a crap drum machine through a cheap distortion pedal is much more inspiring to me than a well composed chord progression. But those two things are also not mutually exclusive, as you’ll (again hopefully) hear on the EP.

2 – Which aspects of Detroit techno, EBM, or industrial music influenced specific elements of the EP?

I’d probably say the de-humanising, coldness if I was pushed. I guess that’s what all those things have in common. A detached perspective and mostly bleak outlook. Whilst also being empowering. I find that really interesting and inspiring. I love the harsh sounds and textures, the hypnotic repetition and feedback.

Machines interacting with each other, in not-always-pleasant ways. Voltages veering out of control. I also quite like how artists in these areas have built myths and worlds-within-worlds that the music can inhabit (Drexciya, Coil, TG), that takes things to a new level, for me at least. 

3 – How did your personal interest in esotericism and the occult shape the direction of the EP?

Anything conceptual about Gallops is always very difficult to explain as these influences can’t manifest across in immediately graspable ways, like they can with vocals/lyrics. It’s more about a feeling we are trying to transmit I guess. A capital-U uncanny, the ‘Weird and the Eerie’ as Mark Fisher put it. If I’m honest though, it’s not like a I sit down in the studio with these things in mind, it only becomes apparent in retrospect. These things can take a while to reveal themselves. Sometimes they never do.

4 – You’ve mentioned that the occult theme is “not meant to be taken too seriously.” How do you balance seriousness with humor in your work?

We don’t take things that seriously at all, probably to our detriment. There’s a healthy goofiness in pretty much everything we do. Perhaps that makes it inauthentic or whatever. But that doesn’t concern me, it’s just who we are and that’s what we put across. Song titles such as ‘Liquid & Envy’ (a paean to a now defunct UK chain of small-town, commercial nightclubs) hopefully drive that home. 

5 – What role do vinyl releases play in your artistic strategy, and how does it complement your storytelling?

Strategy is probably a strong word here!

The boring answer is that we just wanted something physical out as we haven’t done that since 2017. This has taken a while because it’s been harder to finance and press now that we are working as an independent unit and releasing through our label SKANDALKONZERT. But I guess it complements the storytelling in the idea of an occult Machen-like occult artefact, just with a period-incorrect UPC/barcode on the back.

6 – What’s next for Gallops after this release? Are there any new concepts or ideas you’re currently exploring?

Working on an LP right now. The only concept is working with pure sine-waves and harmonic distortion at the moment. Definitely more ‘body-music’. Definitely not business-techno. Maybe tracks with more than one note in the bassline. Who knows. 

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