Dragon Welding is an anagram of Andrew Golding, a multi-instrumentalist and the co-founder of indie noise-pop legends The Wolfhounds.
A new album entitled âThe Naughty Stepâ, the first to feature new vocalist Nik Cockshott, is set for release on 28th February. Having teased the song âUp And Awayâ from it prior to Xmas, a second single entitled âWe Dance Among Youâ is out today. âItâs about those hiding amongst us in plain sight,â states Golding. “Profit over the planet every time with a complete disregard for the next generations.”
âWe Dance Among Youâ is being promoted with a dynamic ‘stop-start’ animated video by Award winning graphic artist Andy Royston that perfectly captures this insanity. It can be seen HERE. Royston has also designed the album cover artwork.
THE NAUGHTY STEP
TRACKLISTING
1 Â Up And Away
2 Â The Naughty Step
3 Â We Dance Among You
4 Â Hiding Things For Fun
5 Â Itâs Not Tomorrow Forever
6 Â Start Believing Start Living The Lie
7 Â Chase The Space
8 Â Come On Flat Earthling
9 Â We Are Following Straight Lines
10 Â Pensive Eco Ponderer
DRAGON WELDINGÂ | Nik Cockshott & Andrew Golding
An eclectic eponymous 2019 debut album by Dragon Welding had been followed by the all-instrumental ‘Lights Behind The Eyesâ (2021) and âFictionaryâ (2023). The last of these included the songs ‘The Dark’ (feat. Anthony Chapman of Collapsed Lung) and ‘An Angel Not Of This Earth’ (feat. Alice Golding of labelmates The Othyrs), both demonstrating the prowess of a group that has never stood still.
Following a show in 2023 where a last-minute replacement vocalist had been drafted in, Cockshott (ex-leftfield indie rockers The Spores and The Keatons) joined Golding and the duo immediately began working in a more consistently song focused direction. This initially resulted in the 2024 single ‘These Are Dangerous Times’, a radical electronic reworking of the very first Dragon Welding release from five years prior that neatly marked the full circle rebirth of the group.
With a consistent voice and solid focus on idiosyncratic and at times dark electronic backing, augmented by an increasing plethora of obtuse instrumentation topped by unpretentious ecologically and socially aware lyrics, this incarnation of Dragon Welding is now ready to exceed all expectations.
Their brand new album, âThe Naughty Step’, is set for release on 28th February, with Golding stating that âit is an expansion of the Dragon Welding sound of the previous albums. Having Nik sing on all the tracks gave me an impetus to focus on the lyrics and music, letting him interpret them in his own way. Itâs very much â80s electronica meets glam rock via paranoia.â
Discussing his group’s modus operandi, he continues:Â âDragon Welding is very much about following the noise and seeing where it goes. We never deliberately set out to create a particular sound, but for these songs I was trying to ensure that my contributions on guitar were overlaid onto the sparsity of the sound. I deliberately left gaps in the canvas to fill out later once the music had dried.â