Goat | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Korpilombolo, Sweden |
| Genres | Experimental rock,psychedelic rock,hard rock,afrobeat,worldbeat |
| Labels | Rocket Recordings Stranded Rekords Sub Pop Records |
Goat is a Swedish alternative andexperimentalfusion music group. The band originates—according to its own publicity—fromKorpilombolo,Norrbotten County.[1] The seven-piece band performs wearing masks and costumes, with each of the band members remaining anonymous.
To date, the band has released six studio albums:World Music (2012),Commune (2014),Requiem (2016),Oh Death (2022),Medicine (2023) andGoat (2024).[2] In 2023, the band provided thescore to the acclaimedBBC/A24 drama series,The Gallows Pole, directed byShane Meadows.
Goat, though currently based inGothenburg,[3] claims to hail fromKorpilombolo in Sweden which, according to the band's own publicity, has a history ofvoodoo worship after a witch doctor came and lived there. Supposedly, when Christian crusaders came and destroyed the village the surviving people fled and placed a curse on the town. This has been described as "a lovely story, if possibly not entirely rooted in reality."[4]
The band started playing music when they were children, as part of a local community tradition, and there have been many incarnations of Goat who have recorded over the last "30 or 40 years". There are now three original "core" members of the band, from Korpilombolo, but in live concerts they are augmented by four other performers fromGothenburg.[4]
The group signed to Rocket Recordings, a UK-based record label formed in 1998.[5] In 2012, they released their debut single "Goatman" on limited edition vinyl, and began recording their first album. Commenting on the writing process, a band member said:[4]
"The songwriting process is strange. Normally, when we play together we don't play songs – we make music – and every time we play is a new time. When we had the possibility to record, we have made songs for the album. It started with the song 'Goatman', and that song was recorded just for us. Then Rocket [Recordings] asked us to write some more and we continued. Our songs are never really finished and we never know how they will end up when we start recording."
World Music was released on 20 August 2012 and has won good responses and international attention,[6][7][8] including the Australian music publicationHappy Mag placing the album at no.5 on their list of "The 25 greatest psychedelic rock albums of the 2010s".[9] The title of the album comes from the different styles of music on the album. Goat commented:[4]
"We've been taught since we were small to have an understanding of not only western bands, but of music from other parts of the world. The title World Music was chosen because we believe we play 'world music', and that's what we think everyone plays".
The band performs wearing masks and costumes.[4]
After touring the United States in early 2013[10] the band played at that year'sGlastonbury Festival[11] and the final holiday camp edition of All Tomorrow's Parties festival in Camber Sands, England.[12] In 2014, they played at theCoachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California and theLatitude Festival in Southwold, Suffolk, England.[13] In 2015, they played again at the Glastonbury Festival,[14] atRoskilde Festival in Denmark andPukkelpop in Belgium. In 2016 the band played, amongst others, at Primavera Sound in Barcelona, Cactusfestival in Bruges, andEnd of the Road Festival in Wiltshire, England. The band played support forFoo Fighters atUllevi Stadium in Gothenburg on 5 June 2018. The band performed a headline set in the Far Out tent at the 2023Green Man Festival in Wales.[15]They returned to Glastonbury in 2025 and played on the West Holts stage.
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| SWE [16] | UK [17] | ||
| World Music |
| 8 | — |
| Commune |
| 17 | 47 |
| Requiem |
| — | 49 |
| Oh Death |
| — | — |
| Medicine |
| 53 [19] | — |
| Goat |
| ||
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Live Ballroom Ritual |
|
| Fuzzed in Europe |
|
| Levitation Sessions |
|
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| UK [17] | ||
| Headsoup |
| 48 |
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Double Date |
|
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| The Gallows Pole: Original Score |
|
 | This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(August 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
The band's single "Let It Burn" was featured inThe Grand Tour third season, episode 5, in which James May tested theAlpine A110. "Let It Burn" was also featured in the credits of AMC's Mayfair Witches Season 1 Episode 7.
Their music was featured in the 2017 British independent horror film, Double Date.
"Run To Your Mama" is the title track for Season 1 of the podcast series,Crimetown.
Let it Burn featured prominently in the soundtrack to the BBC dramatisation of The Gallows Pole.
| International | |
|---|---|
| Artists | |