Heckle Chamber To Release Debut EP On November 6th

HECKLE CHAMBER is the new trio of Jem Doulton (drums), Roberto Sassi (guitar) and Alex Ward (guitar & vocals), all heavyweights on the experimental scene, notably with their roles in The Thurston Moore Group, Abstract Concrete and Pere Ubu respectively.

Hecke Chamber’s debut EP lays out their stall with three dazzling tracks of visceral, noisy and complex rock, vividly recorded and mixed by Frank Byng in his South London studio. The three members have a long shared musical history via their tenure in outfits such as the post-harmolodic assault team Forebrace, not to mention the Sisyphean decade-and-a-half Ward and Doulton spent trading as Dead Days Beyond Help, but Heckle Chamber finds them on a new road – one where the unashamed pleasures of grind-and-wallow riffery stand hand-in-hand with those of rug-pulling form-disruption, beaming down upon their feral mutant offspring.

The alternately headlong and lurching momentum of the gut-punch opener “Wolf” frames a terse account of recidivism, while on “Bird” introductory guitar warbles percussion squirts soon lead the listener into a labyrinth of mutant-funk, clusterfuck riffage and geometrical 6-string spikiness. Finally, the epic closer “Mule/Dog” churns a determined and relentless path across the sweltering landscape suggested in its oblique lyrical mashup. All 3 tracks are marked by the interlocking guitar wizardry of Ward and Sassi and Jem Doulton’s mesmeric drumming, with Ward’s occasional vocal interjections ratcheting up the intensity to still more hysterical levels.

JEM DOULTON

Jem Doulton is primarily a drummer and percussionist from London. He plays in multiple projects across a wide range of genres. He is the drummer for The Thurston Moore Group playing on the last three albums, a number of singles and as part of the live band since 2014. And from 2026 joined a renewed version of Au Pairs which has been gigging aplenty around the place. Alongside Heckle Chamber, Jem also plays in Too Many Things, Pando Pando, Wilkinson Ward Doulton, Grimm Grimm, The DNA Test and The Oscillation as well as stints with Bonnie Dobson and The Hanging Stars among others.

ROBERTO SASSI

An active member of 90s Italian experimental rock scene (Cardosanto, Anatrofobia), after relocating to London he has been part of a number of bands including Vole and Forebrace as well as other projects (Glenn Branca Orchestra, the Cholmondeleys & the Featherstonehaughs dance group, etc.). He is currently recording and touring with Charles Hayward’s band Abstract Concrete and Snorkel. As an improviser, he has been a regular member of the London Improvisers Orchestra and he has worked with several musicians including Roland Ramanan, Ricardo Tejero, Pat Thomas, Steve Beresford, Steve Noble, Alan Wilkinson, Marcio Mattos, Xabier Iriondo.

ALEX WARD

Alex Ward’s diverse musical activities straddle the worlds of avant rock, free improvisation and contemporary composition. Since his first rock band Camp Blackfoot, he has pursued a wide range of collaborative projects such as N.E.W. (with John Edwards and Steve Noble), Noonward (with Sean Noonan) and Deadly Orgone Radiation (with James Sedwards and Weasel Walter), as well as leading his own ensembles with personnel drawn from the UK’s thriving free improvisation scene. Past touring has included stints with This Is Not This Heat, The Flying Luttenbachers and Eugene Chadbourne, and he is currently working on the completion of the final album by legendary band Pere Ubu (which he joined in 2021) alongside the other surviving members.

The band has played a number of warmly received gigs since their inception supporting the likes of Zu and also have a full-length album in the pipeline.

Live dates:

7th October @ The Lexington, London [w/ Dazzling Killmen]

19th December @ Paper Dress Vintage, London [Launch Party]

More to be TBA