Rats On Rafts

Rotterdam’s Rats On Rafts are David Fagan, Arnoud Verheul, Natasha van Waardenburg and Mathijs Burgler.

Following the release of second album ‘Tape Hiss’  in October 2015, Rats On Rafts returned in 2016 with new single ‘Some Velvet Morning’. In 2016 the band released a collaborative album with Dutch underground punk / brass ensemble De Kift – a playful re-visioning of each other’s music. The two bands locked themselves up for a month to record a completely analogue album. Known for their explosive live performances, they have toured across Europe and performed at festivals including Glastonbury, Eurosonic and Le Guess Who, including supports with Pere Ubu.

In 2019 they joined Franz Ferdinand on tour in Japan, playing to huge arenas across the country. 2021 saw the band release their third album ‘Excerpts From Chapter 3’. Initially a concept set, it subsumed itself and, in doing so, became a concept piece in its own right; a fragmented journey into the id punctuated with rhythmic kabuki modal mood swings, thunderstorms and digital beeps reminding that time is ticking – something of an aside in this analogue recorded set.

In 2022 they revisited the themes with ‘Visions Of Chapter 3’  including newly added B-side ‘Osaka’  and a second disc of unreleased live music recorded at TivoliVrendenburg as part of an interdisciplinary music film. Each song spins a yarn; there are plagues, dreams, wind and fire, ‘mythical’ characters, and the search for the secret government warehouse.