Ramkot is a wrecking ball from Ghent, Belgium, playing powerful yet danceable rock music. On the trio’s sophomore album, Hannes Cuyvers and brothers Tim and Tom Leyman further broaden and deepen their sound.

Formed in 2018, Ramkot started making a name for themselves in Belgium and The Netherlands in early 2020 with the release of their first EP and single Red getting a lot of airplay. Adding a second EP later that year and touring extensively, including a slot at the Pinkpop festival, they build a reputation as one of the most exciting live bands around. The spring of 2023 sees the release of debut album In Between Borderlines, a razor-sharp 25-minute uppercut showing no mercy for both head and hips. And more touring. A lot more. In steamy venues, supporting Metallica in Amsterdam and on sun-drenched festival stages (Pinkpop again, Down The Rabbit Hole). In just one year they play a hefty 100 shows, all the while also writing new music.

When it’s time to hit the studio, they feel the need for a change of scene. And they find it in the Joshua Tree desert, invited by Alain Johannes, musician and producer/mixer for a long list of albums by Queens Of The Stone Age, Eagles Of Death Metal and Them Crooked Vultures, but also Arctic Monkeys and – closer to home – Millionaire and Black Box Revelation. For three weeks, Ramkot reside in the legendary Rancho De La Luna studio, famous for QOTSA frontman Josh Homme’s The Desert Sessions.

If the recording of the debut album was a fragmentary process and Ramkot producing themselves, it felt refreshing to work for 3 weeks on end and with an outsider as producer this time. ‘It was all very organic’, the band recalls. ‘There was a certain looseness to the recording that can be heard on the album as well. We pulled out all the stops, not pushing our foot down on the accelerator all the time, which allows the music to breathe more. The album will have a couple of softer songs the fans will not be expecting from us.’ Not merely stoner rock then, with influences ranging from The Dead Weather, Nine Inch Nails and King Gizzard to even The Smile. Yet every single note still sounds very much like Ramkot.

The new album – Rosa – featuring artwork by Ghent-based artist Sam Scarpulla, was released in November 2024. The band only played a handful of shows this year, including 2000 Trees (UK), Sziget (H), Pukkelpop (BE) and Lowlands (NL). In 2025, with the new album under their belt, they’ll be working overtime on stages all over Europe again.