Lark releases harder, more intense album and announces national tour

Lark is releasing a new album, "Gong Is Struck", which will be backed by a national tour. The album features a harder, vicious, intense sound that is progressive, edgy and to the point. It was recorded in Cape Town at the Sound and Motion Studio.

Lark's music has been described as glitch opera - a powerful union of live instrumentation, soaring vocals and dirty electronic beats. An iron fist in a velvet glove, lead singer Inge Beckmann provides the velvet with her unparalleled ability to stun audiences with her voice and presence. The iron fist is the dark, glitchy production and sound design work of producer and instrumentalist Paul Rez.

Together, Rez and Beckmann formed Lark in 2003, later expanding the line-up to include the exceptional talents of bassist and studio engineer Simon Fuzzy Ratcliffe and drummer Sean Ou Tim, aka Mr. Sakitumi. Lark's first studio album, "Razbliuto", released in 2007, earned the band a SAMA for Best Alternative Album. 2007 also had the band realising their vision of taking live performance further with the release of Dagger And A Feather, a live performance DVD recorded and filmed at Cape Town's BMW Pavilion featuring a string section and a number of guest artists.

Extensive touring

In 2007 and 2008 the band toured extensively, released music videos for their tracks Moonlight and Heroin Mary, and were widely regarded by the music press as "one of the most competitive acts to come out of South Africa". They completed their second studio album "Mouth Of Me", containing new and reworked material from their debut EP of the same name.

"Writing an album long distance, especially a 'comeback' album, can be very challenging but we are extremely proud of our product. It has taken us almost two years to craft this album and we feel that the world is finally ready to hear and experience 'Gong Is Struck'. This third album is darker and more tribal than the previous releases yet comes with more hooks, is more structured, more confident and ultimately more decisive. 'Gong Is Struck' contains a cover version of the legendary We Are Growing. It was a huge honour to record and reinterpret this epic theme song. Listeners are in for a massive treat," said Beckmann.

Tour dates

• 27 July: Trinity, Cape Town. 9pm. R50.
• 28 July: Arcade Empire, Pretoria. 8pm. R50.
• 3 August: Klein Libertas, Stellenbosch. 8pm. R50.
• 4 August: Live, The Venue, Durban. 9pm. R50.

Pre-sale tickets available at www.webtickets.co.za

Social Media

Website: www.larkofficial.co.za
Twitter: www.twitter.com/this_is_LARK
Facebook: www.facebook.com/larkofficial