Rasco is the heartbeat of DIY garage psych rock, soaked in reverb-drenched nostalgia.

This trio crafts cinematic music blending garage rock, indie, and surf energy. Their latest album, Dmaot, radiates shoegaze warmth within sunburnt riffs, shaped by the masterful production of Uri Brauner Kinrot (Boom Pam). They thrive on a shared love for art, mystery, and the beauty of imperfection. At times, their music feels like stumbling into a lost fanzine from the ’80s, pages steeped in xerox toner and underground spirit…a dreamy cocktail of Mediterranean warmth. Tracks like ‘Layla’ drip with Lynchian weirdness, while ‘Nahur Rau’ punches through with fuzz-drenched garage stomp. Their haunting take on ‘Head Over Heels’ merges The Smiths’ melancholy with DIY reverie. ‘Dmaot’ is pure outsider art, bathed in Mediterranean sun and moonlit longing.

“…anything conveying the mystery and beauty of things”

It’s great to have you. You have a brand-new album out, and I’m sure you’re very excited to play some live dates?

Great to be here! Very much excited for our upcoming shows. We’re going to play a few shows in Germany in August and September, including Pop-Kultur in Berlin and Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg!

If I understand correctly, Rasco is a fairly new project? Can you elaborate on the formation? How did members get together?

We have been playing together for about five years! We all met in Jerusalem while Eden and Hamudi moved there to study music and met Gaya, who grew up in Jerusalem. Basically, we (Eden and Gaya) met at a small bar and started talking about music. Since we were both pretty self-conscious about our playing skills and didn’t want to play with “proper” musicians, we decided to play together. And we did the next day! A few months after that, Hamudi joined, and it was the best match.

Is there a certain concept or sound you’re trying to achieve?

Because we started our friendship on the basis of mutual enthusiasm about the same aesthetic, it has been very clear to us what we want to sound like. Even though we try to morph it into our own sound, we are very much influenced by garage, surf, freak-folk, rock ‘n’ roll, and more. We also really love art, movies, food, clothes—anything conveying the mystery and beauty of things. A big plus of living in such a small scene is being able to be very close to a lot of artists from different genres and mediums, which is also a big influence on us.

What does the name “Rasco” refer to in the context of the band name?

“Rasco” used to be a real estate company that built neighborhoods around the country. It just so happens that’s where Gaya and Eden grew up. It is also a song by Charlie Megira, who was (and still is) a big influence for us starting out.

How do you usually approach songwriting?

Usually, one of us will bring a rough sketch of something—a line, a chord progression, or a singing melody—and we’ll start working on it together. We usually find a song we like to refer to, even just for a vibe reference, to mold our song into.

Collaborating with Uri Brauner Kinrot, leader of Boom Pam, on Dmaot must have been an experience. How did his production style contribute to shaping the album’s sonic landscape?

Uri had a pretty clear vision in mind: record this garage surf rock record but make it sound hi-fi-ish and large, almost like a hip-hop album. He also has a very cool mentality around mixing and recording. We felt very much at home working with him.

How would you compare it with your previous release?

There’s something very unripe and immature about the first record (which we love) compared to ‘Dmaot.’ We’ve grown a lot as people and musicians since then, and there’s a certain kind of musicianship that wasn’t present in the first record.

The transition from your self-titled debut album to ‘Dmaot’ seems to mark a significant evolution in your sound. What inspired this shift towards darker, denser shoegaze sounds?

Working out what you want to play or sound like kind of happens naturally when working with other people. Trying to capture that in the studio at that point in time felt right. The shoegaze-y darker sound just came naturally. I think this kind of mentality applies to our future musical endeavors going forward.

<a href="https://rascoband.bandcamp.com/album/dmaot">Dmaot by Rasco</a>

Could you elaborate on the thematic elements present in ‘Dmaot,’ such as nostalgia?

A big part of making ‘Dmaot’ was diving back into our inspirations and references, from sweet ’60s soul and folk to current garage revival artists like Ty Segall, White Fence, Thee Oh Sees, and more. That kind of exploration of past and present created these thematic elements connecting to nostalgia, dreams, nature, and mystical creatures, but also real current realities like rent, the dirt of the city, long hours, and shifts.

What inspired you to reimagine Tears For Fears’ ‘Head Over Heels,’ and how did you approach putting your own spin on it?

We actually went through a lot of options for a cover before landing on ‘Head Over Heels.’ We knew we wanted a song we loved but wasn’t directly connected to our sound or style, so we could morph it into our own. When we thought of ‘Head Over Heels’ as an option, Uri suggested we play it in a heavy Cramps-esque version. It sounded really good the first time we played it, and we knew it was the one.

What role does improvisation play in your creative process, both in the studio and during live performances?

We actually rarely improvise in the studio or live.

Are any of you involved in other bands or do you have any active side projects at this point?

Eden is a part of two other projects, Cattivo and Alligator Ladies.

Tell us more about Cattivo. I haven’t found much information about it, but I really enjoyed the Desert Ballroom release.

Thanks! Cattivo is more of a shoegaze, dream-pop-influenced project by me (Eden), Omer Farkash, Adam Claude, and Hila. As a band, we went through a few forms and band members over time, but we finally landed on the right setup for us! ‘Desert Ballroom’ was the first LP we made as a live band. Happy you enjoyed it!

The first thing that comes to my mind after hearing it is Stereolab…

Cool!!