New Noise premieres Cortége video titled “Under The Endless Sky Pt 2”

L – R: Mike Swarbrik, April Schupmann, Adrian Voorhies (photo credit: Bryan Haile)

 New Noise Magazine premieres Cortége video titled “Under The Endless Sky Pt 2” today. See it HERE. This is the second single from the band’s new album titled  Under The Endless Sky, which drops worldwide on May 10, 2024.

“’Under the Endless Sky’ is the sonic accompaniment to a long, hypnotic drive through the American southwest,” drummer Adrian Voorhies says. “The aural reflection of passing through one stoplight towns in the shadow of giant saguaros, ancient mesas and spiraling hoodoos, seemingly abandoned honky-tonks with broken down Cadillacs resting under a canvas of gleaming stars. The dust covered, well worn, forgotten Main Streets of yesteryear and the lingering high noon wind that rolls a party of weary eyed travelers down the beaten highway like a paper cup cast out in the Texas morning. It encompasses the feeling of expanse, beauty, bleakness and the unforgiving nature of both man and his empty domain beneath the scorching desert sun. It is total, aimless freedom and the never ending pursuit of movement in spite of it. It is the unsettling marvel of pure space, the tightening of the knuckles on a steering wheel and the bead of sweat on the brow, the helpless knowing that no matter how hard and fast one punches the gas down, the land itself seems to effortlessly swallow anything and everything traversing through it. Cascading in on itself in so many layers until there’s simply rock and sky, an expansive dry ocean where the horizon never moves and the next sand-choked town never comes. It is the soundtrack to a listless journey through the ideal American West.”

Instrumental, post-western, retro-futurism innovators Cortége got their start in 2012 with Mike Swarbrick at the helm. Originally rooted in doom, Cortége expanded into the realms of drone and electronic soundscapes. Drawing from early electronic composers, progressive rock icons of the ‘70s, instrumental music, film score elements and the cowboy psychedelia-drenched guitar twang of famed Lee Hazelwood discovery Duane Eddy, the band’s sound continued to evolve and draw influence from the aesthetic of the old West. A hallmark of the trio’s sound is their use of tubular bells both in the studio and live.

Austin-based drummer Adrian Voorhies (Humut Tabal, Canyon of the Skull) joined the band in the fall of 2017. By 2021 April Schupmann (Sniper 66) joined on trumpet and percussion. Cortége will appeal to fans of Duane Eddy, Pink Floyd, Ennio Morricone, Earth, The Who, Yes, King Crimson, Electric Light Orchestra, The Stranglers, Jean-Michel Jarre, The Police, The Mars Volta, Tony Williams.

The band has shared the stage with acts such as Mdou Moctar, Rezn, Hippie Death Cult, The Well, Duel, The Schisms and Dead Register.

Under The Endless Sky was recorded at Red Star Mule Barn Sound Studio in Austin, Texas, and engineered by Sam Whips Allison.

Under The Endless Sky track listing:

1. Under The Endless Sky part 1

2. Under The Endless Sky part 2

3. The Relentless Sun

4. Under The Endless Sky part 3

Cortége is:

Mike Swarbrick: bass VI, synthesizers, tubular bells, piano

Adrian Voorhies: drums

April Schupmann: trumpet, melodica, percussion

Cortége’s Mike Swarbrick is on tour with Destoryer of Light:

4/10 – El Paso, TX @ Rosewood

4/11 – Tempe, AZ @ Yucca Tap Room

4/12 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Usual Place

4/13 – Oceanside, CA @ The Pourhouse

4/14 – Palmdale, CA @ Transplant Brewing

4/16 – San Francisco, CA @ Knockout

4/17 – Portland, OR @ High Water Mark

4/18 – Seattle, WA @ Substation

4/19 – Boise, ID @ Realms

4/20 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Aces High

4/21 – Denver, CO – @ Black Buzzard

4/23 – Lawrence, KS @ Replay Lounge

4/24 – Oklahoma City, OK/Wichita, KS @ TBA

4/25 – Tulsa, OK @ Whittier Bar

4/26 – Van Buren, AR @ Iron Horse Records

4/27 – Little Rock, AR @ White Water Tavern

4/28 – Arlington, TX @ Growl