Babe Rainbow are coming in full psychedelic force in 2025 with their most “homegrown” project yet.
Enter Slipper Imp and shakaerator, their latest album dropping April 4th via King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard’s p(doom) Records imprint.
The Byron Bay crew is also hitting the road for a massive tour across Australia and New Zealand from February to April (see full dates below).
First up, they’re serving up a teaser with “Like Cleopatra,” a track described as “an ’80s funk-inspired pop banger in disguise.”
On the new single, the band shares, “When our neighbour Tam’s cows dried themselves up, and we had to wait for one of the cows named Mary to have her calf to have fresh milk, we were buying ‘Cleopatra’s Bath Milk.’ This might explain the theme of ‘Like Cleopatra.’ Drink deep or taste not,” says the band.
They continue: “The song reminds us of the natural spring outside Julian [Abbott]’s studio where we’d naturally congregate when the sun was at its zenith early into a day’s recording session. We’d stretch; take coffee and fruit. It’s a sweet spot to enjoy the Nature sprites and spirits. Why is everything so nice? We found our Cleopatra in Camille [Jansen] who kindly sang backing vocals on the album. She has a definite ancient Egyptian aristocratic air to her coolness. Cheers to the rhythm of life.”
Slipper imp and shakaerator was crafted in a huge warehouse on an old banana farm, alongside friend and producer Timon Martin, with percussion and flute contributions from Miles Myjavec.
This time, they took it easy on the ideas — letting them breathe, letting them grow. “Keeping a loose feeling to the music is so important. An idea develops together outside but it doesn’t take its wings until you take it into the studio. We experiment with synths and drum machines and overdubs, and we love that, but we never wanna escape too far from the hippie power of the music. We’re made of rainbow.”
Babe Rainbow’s Slipper imp and shakaerator is out April 4th via p(doom) Records.
Babe Rainbow Australian Tour
Friday, February 7th
Party In The Paddock Festival, Tasmania
Friday, February 14th
Polish White Eagle Club, Canberra
Saturday, February 15th
Thredbo Bike Cannonball After Party, Thredbo
Sunday, March 2nd
Yours And Owls Festival, Wollongong
Friday, March 21st
Crown & Anchor Hotel, Adelaide
Saturday, March 22nd
Howler, Melbourne
Thursday, March 27th
King St Bandroom, Newcastle
Friday, March 28th
Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach
Saturday, March 29th
Avalon RSL, Avalon
Friday, April 4th
Hotel Brunswick, Brunswick Heads
Saturday, April 5th
Imperial Hotel, Eumundi
Sunday, April 6th
Lefty’s Music Hall, Brisbane
+ NZ Dates
Thursday, April 10th
Meow, Wellington
Friday, April 11th
Totara Street, Tauranga
Saturday, April 12th
The Yard, Raglan
Sunday, April 13th
Double Whammy, Auckland
