Over the past year, we’ve witnessed the emergence of psychedelic indie artist Revolution Above Disorder, who, although a Dubliner, has made a home for himself in Vancouver, British Columbia and set down first roots within the local music scene. At the same time, he maintains his Irish-UK connections. The solo project of one Stephen Nicholas White (frontman of The Orange Kyte, formerly of Ireland’s House of Dolls, and also currently with Portland-based bandMagic Shoppe), his stunning and sonically enthralling new single ‘Annihilator’ is a case in point.
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Produced and mixed in Vancouver atJacknife Sound by Jason Corbett of ACTORS, and featuring ACTORS’ drummer Adam Fink on drums and local Mat Durie on bowed-guitar. it was mastered by RIDE legend Mark Gardener at his OX4 Sound Studio in Oxford, while also involving London-based iconic producer Jagz Kooner (Primal Scream, Oasis, Kasabian, The Charlatans, Soulwax, The Kills, Massive Attack, Ladytron) and fellow Dubliner Colm Rutledge AKA Noise Baby. This is a standout project absolutely worthy of your attention.
Revolution Above Disorder offers a carefully constructed yet organic-sounding potpourri of shoegaze, psychedelic rock and electronic-tinged post-punk. Droned-out while also melodic and sincere, White’s songs are augmented by synths, drum machines and heavily treated instrumentation with hypnotic reverb-soaked vocals. This new 3-track release was recorded during the height of the paranoid and chaotic days of the Covid-19 pandemic, ‘Annihilator’ explores the themes of dissatisfaction, disillusion, nihilism and self-destruction – quite fitting for the times. Today we present you the title track of that release, which is currently available as a Bandcamp exclusive until the official release date of May 25, where it will be downloadable everywhere.
About the new single, Stephen Nicholas White says, “Annihilator was originally conceived of as an uptempo post-punk song a number of years back when writing the second House of Dolls record, which ultimately never saw the light of day. Rediscovered in a treasure trove of demos back in 2020 as I was conceptualizing Revolution Above Disorder, Annihilator soon metamorphosed into a whole different beast. Working again with Jason Corbett at Jacknife Sound, we slowed the track down to allow it to breathe and, in doing so, a whole new incarnation of the track began to crystallize. At the time, I was heavily into rediscovering the sounds of first wave trip-hop and nineties UK big beat… and as ever, the ubiquitous spectre of krautrock loomed heavily at the forefront of my mind. These influences wormed their way into Annihilator as we focused on the building of subtle layers to create a rising tension over the course of the track. The song was built over top of a sci-fi synth bassline, underpinned at its core by acoustic guitar”
Not long ago, White released ‘Scream Quietly’ to pay tribute to the groundbreaking band Television Personalities and the songwriting genius of Dan Treacy.. In 2021, Revolution Above Disorder debuted with ‘Illuminate’, which involved all members of postpunk band ACTORS and Josiah Webb of Magic Shoppe.
The full 3-track release is available for pre-order via Bandcamp,,, where the original version of the ‘Annihilator’ single is available as an instant grat download. However, both the ‘Scream Quietly’ and ‘Illuminate’ singles can be found via Apple Music, Spotify, Bandcamp and elsewhere digitally.
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TRACK LIST
1. Annihilator
2. Annihilator (Jagz Kooner Remix)
3. Annihilator (Noise Baby Remix)
CREDITS
Track 1 produced and mixed by Jason Corbett at Jacknife Sound, Vancouver BC.
Track 2 remixed by Jagz Kooner, London
Track 3 remixed by Noise Baby, Berlin
All tracks mastered by Mark Gardener at OX4 Sound, Oxford
‘Annihilator’ written and performed by Stephen Nicholas White
Additional guitar by Mat Durie
Drums by Adam Fink of ACTORS
Cover artwork and graphics by Stephen Nicholas White
Photography by Analissa Longoria
