Taking their name from a
Sun Ra track,
Rocketnumbernine is the project of brothers Ben and Tom Page, who combine jazz, electronic, and drone elements into a versatile but always kinetic sound. The duo, who have also played in bands including
Rothko and the Sleeping Years, began playing improv pieces together in the mid-2000s and released their first album, You Reflect Me, in 2008. Adopting a more structured approach, the brothers met
Four Tet's
Kieran Hebden via drummer
Steve Reid in 2010 and began a collaboration that included a performance with
Four Tet at that year's Mutek Festival and the release of the 14-minute single Matthew and Tobyon
Hebden's Text label. The following year, the Page brothers toured with
Radiohead and issued the Lone Raver 12" on Soul Jazz.
Rocketnumbernine released another collaboration with
Hebden, the expansive,
Floating Points-produced single Roseland/Metropolis, early in 2013. That year, they also performed with
Neneh Cherry during a series of live dates. That July, the Pages' second album
MeYouWeYou was released by Smalltown Supersound. ~ Heather Phares