Death in Vegas producer inspired by Belfast’s Black Mountain
Following the release of their soaring debut single, sold-out shows with David Holmes and Mad Professor, remixes from Keith Tenniswood, Andrew Innes (Primal Scream) and Brendan Lynch (Lynch Mob/Paul Weller), Belfast’s Deeply Armed break cover once more.
Their next release is a radically re-tooled mix of their debut single, “The Healing”, from Richard Fearless (Death in Vegas), available in a limited, numbered, hand-stamped, vinyl-only edition. The first 100 copies have been hand-signed by Fearless.
Right from the kicker, Deeply Armed have focused on sounding the topography of their hometown of Belfast, its subterranean currents and nocturnal tributaries, and here Fearless takes inspiration from his own childhood memories of the city. He wipes the original guitar hook from the track completely, as if to open a space for an alternate remembering:
“I wanted to take my version as far away from the original as possible,” Fearless explains. “My father grew up on Divis Drive off the Falls Rd and for some reason when I was doing this remix I kept thinking about the Black Mountain and the stories my father told of his adventures on those hills as a child and how when I arrive in Belfast normally off the ferry it’s the sight of those dark looming rocks that brings me such joy.”
The result is a dark 10-minute electro-dubscape that pushes the band’s professed interest in propulsive krautrock and proto techno into new zones of now. Like the shadows of mountains caught in the flicker of headlights, the rhythms plot the experience of the city at night. Driven by beats like depth-charges, it feels very much like the shadow side of “The Healing”, but then the synths enter like a glorious slow-motion sunrise, illuminating the watery blackness, and a high snare attack kicks in that feels more like a new day dawning.
Fearless’s mix is the perfect synthesis of Deeply Armed’s focus on the man-machine interface, using real instruments and analogue real-time recording techniques to foster a radically organic take on left-field techno.
Deeply Armed feature Michael McKeown on vocals, guitar, synth and percussion, Aaron O’Neill on electronics, synth and engineering and Kenny Whaley on bass and synth. Coming together on Belfast’s underground club scene, the trio have birthed a unique hybrid sound, long worked-over, a sound that combines analogue garage band smarts with a blissed-out Balearic feel and a commitment to extending endless grooves way over the event horizon. Think Neu! tripping on a Northern Soul loop with Sonic Boom setting the controls for the heart of the sun.
Words: David Keenan
Release Notes
Released on 5th September 2025 on Echo Pet Recordings.
Format: Limited edition numbered, hand-stamped, white label 12” vinyl. The first 100 copies are hand-signed by Richard Fearless.
Available from:
- Deeply Armed Web Shop: www.deeplyarmed.com/shop
- Deeply Armed Bandcamp: www.deeplyarmed.bandcamp.com
- Selected Record Stores (TBA)
Press / Radio Enquiries: info@deeplyarmed.com