Helicon and Al lover announce new collaborative album 'Arise, out Feb 13th

Helicon and Al Lover announce a new collaborative album, ‘Arise’, due out Feb 13th 2026 The lead single and title-track is out everywhere now! Watch the video and pre-order the limited edition gatefold LP (hand-numbered /500), standard clear LP and CD here

“Arise confronts a culture of individualism at the mercy of opportunistic grifters,” says Helicon frontman John-Paul Hughes, “offering a reminder that empathy, compassion, and authenticity are still choices.” Reflecting that tension, the Glasgow band and LA producer/DJ Al Lover deliver a maximalist, uplifting sound with a baggy, hypnotic pulse. Fusing Helicon’s trademark psychedelia with Al Lover’s genre-bending electronics, the result is “a visceral wake-up call to rise above the bullshit and reclaim meaning from the madness.”

Produced by Tony Doogan at Castle Of Doom Studios in Glasgow, ‘Arise’ is a dense, hypnotic, and fiercely rhythmic record that layers trip-hop breaks, deep low-end and dub textures. “For me, psychedelia is about breaking things open and seeing where it can go next”, John-Paul says: “How far can it stretch and still feel vital? Working with Al Lover let us twist it into something new and prove it can still evolve, still surprise, and still mean something in a world of conformity where everything begins to look and sound the same.”

Lover adds: “The process of working with Helicon on this project has been nothing but a joy. It’s so nice to have music be the conduit for human connection. This is an ongoing theme with any creative endeavour that I’ve undertaken. I hope that connectivity reaches through the music to the listener, helping them feel like a participant in the music, not just passive observers.”