Inca Babies - Spacewalk
Manchester post-punk death-rock rockers Inca Babies are back with a new collection of darkly invigorating tunes on their ninth studio album 'Ghost Mechanic Nine'. Ahead of this, they present the lead track 'Spacewalk', a timeless Rockabilly groove that was inspired by Link Wray, Alan Vega and Brian Setzer, but set in a 50s going on 2020s Sci-Fi space opera. The single also comes with B-side 'Monster In The Deep'.
This album visits a similar place to where Inca Babies started in the 80s with their psychobilly trash rock. 'Spacewalk' sees the band reconnect with their roots, where The Gun Club and The Cramps met - it is in this intersection where Inca Babies found their most passionate and loyal following. This song is a calling card for the album, taking listeners back to a sound that is raw, spiky and reminiscent of their early days in the 80s.
Today, the band is made up of Harry Stafford (guitar, keys, vocals), Rob Haynes (drums, percussion), Jim Adama (bass) and Kevin G. Davy (trumpet). This will be their first release in three years, following their 2021 album ‘Swamp Street Soul’. Continuing their explosive exploration of goth, punk and death-rock jazz-blues, Inca Babies deliver an album that explores the essence of the 80s death-rock vibe, with a tribute to the strong riffing and cool, dead-pan delivery of the dark wave scene at the time.
“This is a rockabilly Sci-fi song about the wonders of the Space age. From Stanley Kubrick’s 2001 to the mega cities of Blade Runner and the fact that when I was a kid, in the far-off future, 2024 was supposed to be a silver suited, hover car space age with pills instead of Pizza," says Harry Stafford.
"We were to have a completely automated world on the moon. Thank God this fulsome nonsense never happened so it’s time to reintroduce Rockabilly to the world’s consciousness instead.”
Recorded at 6Db Studios in Salford under Simon ‘Ding’ Archer (The Fall, PJ Harvey), this album was recorded and mixed by ‘Ding’ and Stafford over two years, with with 'Ding' also contributing serious sonic and dub flourishes. Marco Butcher mastered this record at his Boombox studio in North Carolina.
Originally comprised of Harry Stafford, Bill Marten, Mike Keeble and Pete Bogg, Inca Babies began in 1983 in the now-legendary deck-access flats of Hulme in Manchester. Intended as executive ‘cities in the sky’, they quickly became cockroach-infested slums inhabited by students, artists and druggies. They released their 1984 debut single 'Interior' on their Black Lagoon label with an unusual sound for Manchester, which was then associated with Joy Division, Buzzcocks, The Fall and The Smiths. With a nod to their influences, Writer CP Lee dubbed them "the Hulme Cramps" for their Gothabilly twang.
A vibrant part of Britain's early postpunk / goth /death rock scene, they amassed a steady following through touring and by releasing a further six singles and four albums over the next five years, all of which entered the UK Indie Charts. They also recorded four sessions for BBC's legendary John Peel show between 1984 and 1988 before calling it quits that year.
Since reforming in 2007, they've released three albums and toured extensively around Europe, Russia, North America, India and beyond. Renewed interest in the Incas was propelled by Cherry Red Records 'Best of’ compilation release ‘Inca Babies 1983-87: Plutonium’. After Bill Marten's death in 2008, the band decided to continue creating music, subsequently releasing their Death Blues Album Trilogy - 'Death Message Blues' (2010), 'Deep Dark Blue' (2012) and 'The Stereo Plan' (2014).
As of October 3, 'Spacewalk' will be available everywhere, including Spotify, Apple Music and Bandcamp. On November 29, the ‘Ghost Mechanic Nine’ album will be released on vinyl and digitally, and can be pre-ordered via Bandcamp and the Louder Than War shop.
