Cosmic prog trio The Utopia Strong have announced that they will release a new album, Doperider, through Rocket Recordings on October 10. The album title was inspired by US writer and illustrator Paul Kirchner’s surrealistic comic strip Dope Rider, which appeared in High Times magazine.
The band, who are comprised of six-times World Snooker Champion turned DJ and musician Steve Davis, Gong and Knifeworld frontman Kavus Torabi and The Witching Tale’s Mike York, have also shared the first new music from the album, and you can listen to Harpies below.
“All the pieces on Doperider began as purely electronic pieces, with Mike and Steve on modular synths and Kavus on an analogue synth,” the band explain. “We were deliberately trying to not repeat ourselves and, for this reason, made a point of changing the model a little. Not that we’ve ever been necessarily conventional, but I think this album goes a little deeper than the previous two studio albums.”
“Certainly, Steve’s listening habits have changed somewhat since the first album; he has gone deeper into abstract electronica and musique concrete as well as becoming increasingly adept with his modular set-up. This seems to have formed a backbone to how the music developed,” adds Kavus.
“Hopefully we’ve done justice to the comic book character Dope Rider and that he’d have loved riding along on his Harley-Davidson on another quest, with the wind blowing through his rib cage, listening to this album,” adds Davis. “If the audience chooses the psychonaut road, then we are delighted to have been of service.”
“We are making psychedelic music or, if you will, head music,” Torabi explains. “We put an awful lot of detail into each piece. It’s certainly not minimalist. Often, after our shows, people will remark that we had made them feel like they were on drugs. That’s the idea, really. We’ll take you on a voyage of self-discovery that won’t preclude showing up to work on time the next day. Although really the core message of our music is ‘Quit your job and start a commune.”
The band will tour the UK through October. You can see all the live dates below. Doperider is out on vinyl, CD and digitally.
The Utopia Strong UK tour 2025
Oct 10: Bristol The Cube
Oct 11: Glastonbury King Arthur
Oct 14: Guildford Boilerooom
Oct 15: St Albans The Horn
Oct 16: London Cafe OTO – SOLD OUT
Oct 17: Brighton The Hope & Ruin
Oct 18: Ramsgate Music Hall
Oct 19: Tunbridge Wells Forum
Oct 20: Oxford The Bullingdon
Oct 21: Sheffield Sidney & Matilda Basement
Oct 22: Edinburgh Sneaky Pete’s
Oct 23: Hexham Allendale Village Hall
Oct 24: Hebden Bridge Trades Club