Planet Gong
Gong is more of a family than just one band. The Gong Global Family, a huge collection of musicians, artists and poets which was the brain child of its visionary Daevid Allen who came up wit the idea on a Easter full moon. Daevid Allen, originally from Austrialia, was a member of the first Canterbury Scene band the Wilde Flowers and then was one of the founding members of Soft Machine. Daevid left Soft Machine after one album as he was looking for a more spiritual band and thus began the beginning of Gong. The first album, Magic Brother/Mystic Sister(1969) was Daevid Allen on Glissando guitar along with his wife Gilli Smyth, space whispers and Didier Malherbe's on sax and flute along with a drummer and bass player. These three made up the core of Gong signature sound which spanned over 4 decades.
Gong-Pretty Miss Titty
"Daevid Allen used the bizzarre Glissando Guiar a technique that produces an eerie ethereal, droning sustained synthesizer-like sound. It is created by bowing the strings, violin style above the frets, with a smooth, metal, dowel-like object, such as a guitar tremolo arm. It is then fed thru various effects such as an echo-delay. Thought to have been originated by Syd Barrett(Pink Floyd) using a Zippo lighter, the technique was perfected and taken to new hights by Daevid Allen. Daevid's guitar is complimented by Gilli Smyth's unique space whispers representing the Goddess, The Witch, The Earth Mother, Priestess and other characters that she personifies in the GONG mythology."
In 1971 Gong's album Camembert Electrique solidified this signature sound as the three were joined by Pip Pyle on drums.
You Can't Kill Me
The next phase of Gong, The Gong Trilogy, includes another revamped lineup which replaced Pip Pyle with Pierre Moerlen and added Steve Hillage, guitar, Mike Howlett, bass and Tim Blake, sythesizer. The Trilogy expanded the Gong sound from a psychodelic sound to one that wasn't afraid to dwell in any form-Rock, Jazz,fusion,electronic,funk, ambient, jam band,avant, spoken word,world music and mythical mantras. During this period Gong toured throughout the world.
Gong-Outer Temple / Inner Temple
The band took another turn and Daevid Allen and Gilli Smyth left the band and turned the reins over to Steve Hillage for a short stint in which he used the band to record his first solo album, Fish Rising before leaving them. Gong had now taken a turn towards fusion. Pierre Moerlen's Gong had added several musicians for and mixed and matched musicians for different songs-guest members included Alan Holdsworth(session), Mick Taylor( Rolling Stones), Darryl Way(curved Air), Mike Oldfield. Pierre Moerlen's Gong did several fusion albums:
Gong-Heavy Tune
Once again Gong changed it sound. Reintroducing Daevid Allen and Gilli Smyth the band followed the trends and changed into a New Wave/Punk band. Still following Daevid's bizarre Gong world that joined forces with the space/New Wave band Here & Now featuring Steffy Sharpstring on guitar to form Planet Gong.
Planet Gong-Opium for the People
which lead to another Allen project called New York Gong. Once again all new musicians with Daevid.
NEW YORK GONG - MUCH TOO OLD / BLACK SEPTEMBER / MATERIALISM
Allen and Gilli also joined forces with a Japanese psychodelic space rock band called "Acid Mothers Temple" to create Acid Mothers Gong.
Various reunions and different bands thruout the years led to the rejoining of the original Classic Gong trilogy in 2006. The Gong family thru a festival in Amsterdam called the Gong Unconvention it was a three day festival that I attended. The Bands were a mix of all phases of Gong including Classic Gong, Steve Hillage Band, Acid Mothers Gong, Here & Now Band, System 7 (Steve Hillage's Techno band), Gliss Orchestra(10 guitarists together playing Glissando Guitar), Mother Gong(Gilli's band), Hadouk Trio(Didier's jazz band), Tim Blake's Crystal Machine, Daevid & Friends(acousic solo Daevid and Gong), David's Secred Geography and Univ. of Errors plus several other bands with former gong members.
Steve Hillage Band
Hadouk
System 7
The reunion was such a success that classic Gong went back in the studio and recorded a new album and tour. The album came out last Sept called 2032.
Here is the video
pictures to come
Discographies:
(Daevid Allen's) Gong albums
1970: Magick Brother
1971: Camembert Electrique
1971: Continental Circus
1973: Flying Teapot
1973: Angel's Egg
1974: You
1976: Shamal
1992: Shapeshifter
2000: Zero to Infinity
2004: Acid Motherhood
2009: 2032
Mother Gong albums
1979: Fairy Tales
1981: Robot Woman
1982: Robot Woman 2
1986: Robot Woman 3
1988: Fish In The Sky
1990: The Owl And The Tree (with Daevid Allen)
1991: Wild Child
1993: She Made The World Magenta
1994: Eye
1994: Tree In Fish
2005: I Am Your Egg
Pierre Moerlen's Gong albums
1976: Gazeuse! (Expresso in North America)
1978: Expresso II
1979: Downwind
1979: Time is the Key
1980: Pierre Moerlen's Gong Live
1980: Leave It Open
1986: Breakthrough
1988: Second Wind
1998: Full Circle Live '88
2004: Pentanine
New York Gong
1980: About Time
Gong Maison
1989: Gong Maison
Gong is more of a family than just one band. The Gong Global Family, a huge collection of musicians, artists and poets which was the brain child of its visionary Daevid Allen who came up wit the idea on a Easter full moon. Daevid Allen, originally from Austrialia, was a member of the first Canterbury Scene band the Wilde Flowers and then was one of the founding members of Soft Machine. Daevid left Soft Machine after one album as he was looking for a more spiritual band and thus began the beginning of Gong. The first album, Magic Brother/Mystic Sister(1969) was Daevid Allen on Glissando guitar along with his wife Gilli Smyth, space whispers and Didier Malherbe's on sax and flute along with a drummer and bass player. These three made up the core of Gong signature sound which spanned over 4 decades.
Gong-Pretty Miss Titty
"Daevid Allen used the bizzarre Glissando Guiar a technique that produces an eerie ethereal, droning sustained synthesizer-like sound. It is created by bowing the strings, violin style above the frets, with a smooth, metal, dowel-like object, such as a guitar tremolo arm. It is then fed thru various effects such as an echo-delay. Thought to have been originated by Syd Barrett(Pink Floyd) using a Zippo lighter, the technique was perfected and taken to new hights by Daevid Allen. Daevid's guitar is complimented by Gilli Smyth's unique space whispers representing the Goddess, The Witch, The Earth Mother, Priestess and other characters that she personifies in the GONG mythology."
In 1971 Gong's album Camembert Electrique solidified this signature sound as the three were joined by Pip Pyle on drums.
You Can't Kill Me
The next phase of Gong, The Gong Trilogy, includes another revamped lineup which replaced Pip Pyle with Pierre Moerlen and added Steve Hillage, guitar, Mike Howlett, bass and Tim Blake, sythesizer. The Trilogy expanded the Gong sound from a psychodelic sound to one that wasn't afraid to dwell in any form-Rock, Jazz,fusion,electronic,funk, ambient, jam band,avant, spoken word,world music and mythical mantras. During this period Gong toured throughout the world.
Gong-Outer Temple / Inner Temple
The band took another turn and Daevid Allen and Gilli Smyth left the band and turned the reins over to Steve Hillage for a short stint in which he used the band to record his first solo album, Fish Rising before leaving them. Gong had now taken a turn towards fusion. Pierre Moerlen's Gong had added several musicians for and mixed and matched musicians for different songs-guest members included Alan Holdsworth(session), Mick Taylor( Rolling Stones), Darryl Way(curved Air), Mike Oldfield. Pierre Moerlen's Gong did several fusion albums:
Gong-Heavy Tune
Once again Gong changed it sound. Reintroducing Daevid Allen and Gilli Smyth the band followed the trends and changed into a New Wave/Punk band. Still following Daevid's bizarre Gong world that joined forces with the space/New Wave band Here & Now featuring Steffy Sharpstring on guitar to form Planet Gong.
Planet Gong-Opium for the People
which lead to another Allen project called New York Gong. Once again all new musicians with Daevid.
NEW YORK GONG - MUCH TOO OLD / BLACK SEPTEMBER / MATERIALISM
Allen and Gilli also joined forces with a Japanese psychodelic space rock band called "Acid Mothers Temple" to create Acid Mothers Gong.
Various reunions and different bands thruout the years led to the rejoining of the original Classic Gong trilogy in 2006. The Gong family thru a festival in Amsterdam called the Gong Unconvention it was a three day festival that I attended. The Bands were a mix of all phases of Gong including Classic Gong, Steve Hillage Band, Acid Mothers Gong, Here & Now Band, System 7 (Steve Hillage's Techno band), Gliss Orchestra(10 guitarists together playing Glissando Guitar), Mother Gong(Gilli's band), Hadouk Trio(Didier's jazz band), Tim Blake's Crystal Machine, Daevid & Friends(acousic solo Daevid and Gong), David's Secred Geography and Univ. of Errors plus several other bands with former gong members.
Steve Hillage Band
Hadouk
System 7
The reunion was such a success that classic Gong went back in the studio and recorded a new album and tour. The album came out last Sept called 2032.
Here is the video
pictures to come
Discographies:
(Daevid Allen's) Gong albums
1970: Magick Brother
1971: Camembert Electrique
1971: Continental Circus
1973: Flying Teapot
1973: Angel's Egg
1974: You
1976: Shamal
1992: Shapeshifter
2000: Zero to Infinity
2004: Acid Motherhood
2009: 2032
Mother Gong albums
1979: Fairy Tales
1981: Robot Woman
1982: Robot Woman 2
1986: Robot Woman 3
1988: Fish In The Sky
1990: The Owl And The Tree (with Daevid Allen)
1991: Wild Child
1993: She Made The World Magenta
1994: Eye
1994: Tree In Fish
2005: I Am Your Egg
Pierre Moerlen's Gong albums
1976: Gazeuse! (Expresso in North America)
1978: Expresso II
1979: Downwind
1979: Time is the Key
1980: Pierre Moerlen's Gong Live
1980: Leave It Open
1986: Breakthrough
1988: Second Wind
1998: Full Circle Live '88
2004: Pentanine
New York Gong
1980: About Time
Gong Maison
1989: Gong Maison
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