An icy stripped-back, harder and darker re-framing of Stick In The Wheel’s dystopian trad-offering, The Cuckoo. The 2021 original came from Tonebeds for Poetry, Stick In The Wheel’s third mixtape - “a remarkable psychogeographic voyage through a thousand years of London culture” (UNCUT 9/10).

This VIP edit is in honour of the forthcoming special shows at London’s Kings Place (April 28th) and Brighton Festival (May 21st). Previous video collaborators Zeroh will live code and VJ new visuals onto a bespoke stage set. The King’s Place Sound Unwrapped concerts use the dnb audio soundscape speaker array, with the duo creating a special immersive mix of tracks from Tonebeds for Poetry - with some being performed live for the first time - alongside their 4-piece live band featured on Endurance Soundly Caged. Brighton features the same visuals, this time in the opulent setting of the Dome, alongside a talk about recent archives project Perspectives on Tradition with Jon1st, Nabihah Iqbal & Olugbenga.

Out on 14th April - St Tiburtius Day, traditionally the first day cuckoos are heard, heralding either the beginning of Spring or Summer, depending on where you are in the UK. Its arrival can mean performing a ritual: ignore this at your peril. Upon hearing your first cuckoo, if you’ve coins in your pocket, turn them over so you’ll be rich. Perhaps spit on the ground, and hope the ground is soft enough to collect the luck, or just buss some holly, and by that we mean pick a sprig from your nearest hedgerow. Good luck to you.

Praise for Stick In The Wheel:
“Stick In The Wheel grab hold of folk music with both hands, dragging it through the 21st century city with no fear they might somehow break it.” THE QUIETUS
“The most important band in the current British folk scene” ELE-KING MAGAZINE, JAPAN
“Powerful - and deeply relatable” PITCHFORK