Steve Davis, Kavus Torabi & Mike York Confirm Third Utopia Strong LP
The Utopia Strong have released ‘The Atavist’, a track from their third album, Doperider. The record will be issued by Rocket Recordings on 10 October 2025. A UK tour is scheduled to begin the same day at The Cube in Bristol.
Artist: The Utopia Strong
Release Date: 2025-10-10
Genres: Ambient, Avant-garde, Electronica, Experimental Music
Label: Rocket Recordings
Description: The Utopia Strong announce Doperider, their third LP for Rocket Recordings. Hear new track 'The Atavist' from the album, due out 10 October 2025.
The album’s title originates from Paul Kirchner’s comic strip character Dope Rider. According to the band, Kirchner’s compendium, Awaiting The Collapse, was present during recording sessions. They state of a particular track, “we were looking at the comic strips while listening to it and something about its wide-screen vibes and the beautiful desert seemed to marry together.”
Work on Doperider began with pieces composed entirely on modular and analogue synthesizers by Mike York, Steve Davis, and Kavus Torabi. The group reports a deliberate change in their working method for this album. Kavus Torabi notes that Steve Davis’s listening has moved further into abstract electronica and musique concrete, which “seems to have formed a backbone to how the music developed.” The track ‘Prophecy’ incorporates elements of Zeuhl music. Katharine Blake of Miranda Sex Garden and Mediaeval Baebes contributes vocals to the track ‘Harpies’.
Kavus Torabi describes the music’s function: “We are making psychedelic music or, if you will, head music. 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.” He adds, “the core message of our music is ‘Quit your job and start a commune.'”
The group consists of Steve Davis, Kavus Torabi, and Mike York. Davis was a professional snooker player from 1978 to 2016, winning the World Snooker Championship six times. He is a DJ and broadcaster for Phoenix FM and has performed at Glastonbury Festival. Torabi is a musician and composer associated with the bands Gong, Cardiacs, Knifeworld, and Guapo. York is a multi-instrumentalist and instrument maker, known for his work with Coil and Current 93. He has also played with Cyclobe and The Stargazer’s Assistant and builds Northumbrian smallpipes.
The Utopia Strong UK Tour October 2025
10 The Cube, Bristol
11 The Tin, Coventry
12 Soup Kitchen, Manchester
16 The Crescent, York
17 The Trades Club, Hebden Bridge
18 The Lubber Fiend, Newcastle
19 Mono, Glasgow
24 The Albert, Brighton
25 SEFF, Folkestone
26 Cafe Oto, London
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