[Interview] Exclusive interview with Gong

Dear readers we have the pleasure to offer you in this article an interview with an historic Canterbury Scene band. We welcome Gong.

Hello, how are you?

Good, thank you. We just finished the first leg of our UK tour with Ozric Tentacles last week. We’ve been alternating between who plays first and last each night. The response to the new live show we’ve been doing has been phenomenal.

The current lineup was selected by Daevid Allen himself, how did the idea of continuing the project come about?

It was Daevid’s idea. He didn’t like the thought of Gong ending with his death and he specifically wanted us to carry on as Gong. It’s a pretty unique position to be put in. On paper, it might seem pretty strange but then Gong has always been an evolving and strange band. I don’t think fans would have it any other way. Ultimately it came down to two choices; not do it and go against Daevid’s wishes or do it to the very best of our ability. For me it’s a fully immersive thing, I put everything into this band while we’re together. It’s
incredibly important and special, I think.

Gong have been a staple of the Canterbury Scene with different lineups over the years, how has the sound evolved with this project?

It’s hard to say, from our perspective, because we’re so deep into it. | felt that the new album was us getting deeper into the collective sound that the five of us make. In a way, | thought we were leaving more traditional Gong tropes behind and going further in to our thing and the overall response has pretty much been that we’ve become even, er, ‘Gongier’, so | take that as a very reassuring sign!

The new album “Unending Ascending” was released on November 03, 2023, how would you describe this work?

As I said, it feels like we’re getting deeper in to whatever this thing is. We’re on a journey with this music, as five individuals and as a collective. We have been playing together in this line up for over eight years now and | feel that we’re in our purple patch right now. We all want to make music that is ecstatic, transformative and mystical. Gong has been such a wonderful craft to sail in.

Both the music and the vocals are very intense, what themes do the lyrics deal with?

I would hope both are intense, we’re not fucking around here! Lyrically, there are many themes, this album is definitely guided by the pull of the lunar goddess. | don’t want to over-explain because | love mystery in lyrics. If certain phrases have, what | think of as, a ‘charge’ then | know I’ve hit the mark. | hope they are as affecting and mystical to listeners as they are to me but if not, it doesn’t matter. They’re a big deal to me but they could just be heard as cosmic decorations, mouth sounds or open to interpretation. Broadly speaking
they deal with death, eternity, time, consciousness, love and letting go.

Some singles and videos have been taken from the album, do you have any more planned?

No, that’s the lot for this album, although there have been some lovely videos made by fans, specifically by a digital artist called Peter Goggins who created videos for a few of the songs as soon as the album came out.

One of the characteristics of the band has always been live performances, do you have any plans for this in the near future?

Yes, mare touring in “24. We have the final leg of our UK tour with Ozrics in March, some festivals in the UK and Europe in the summer and hopefully a month in the US followed by a month in Europe later in the year.

What memories and anecdotes do you have with Daevid and past members of the band?

My most cherished and magical memory of Daevid was walking back to our hotel in Sao Paulo at about two in the morning, having been in a bar. The whole place was jumping, thestreets were full and there was this beautiful, hot, kinetic energy in the air. As we passed a bar on the corner with people spilling out on to the street and music playing, Daevid and this fabulous looking woman made eye contact and were immediately drawn towards each other. Daevid was in his early seventies and she must have been in her later twenties. Within seconds they started dancing together on this street corner and everyone around, myself included, backed off instinctively, giving them space to play out this wild, expressive dance. It was as if Daevid was dancing out his life, while everyone around watched and hollered, moving as he was in this playful, bendy, beat-esque way. This went on for about three or four minutes until the piece of music ended, after which they gave each other a long look, hugged and Daevid joined us again and we continued back to the hotel.

Music is constantly evolving, how do you see the future of the band and your genre?

I’m not really any authority on genre and, depending on what lenses you’re wearing, I think there are multiple genres Gong sort of half fit in to uncomfortably but as for the band itself. we’re trying to get deeper into the mystery. Further in to whatever it is that we do. It’s thrilling. I can’t wait to hear what we come up with next.

What advice would you give to young artists approaching music in a more sophisticated genre such as yours?

I really don’t have advice and, honestly, | think this stuff finds you. If it’s found you, then there’s really no advice to give. For me there was never an alternative, this is all I ever wanted to do and | tailored my life and my expectations as to what that life would be accordingly.

Do you have any other activities or artistic passions outside of music?

Yes, I draw a lot. I don’t know whether it’s a rejection of modernity, having used a computer for so long. It’s something I’ve really taken up again quite intensely. I work in black and white, using brushes, pen and ink. I’ve recently finished my second solo album and wanted to do every aspect of the artwork, from the cover, lettering, labels and lyrics, by hand. My drawing is so far behind my music, really, but | can see it improving with every piece I do. I think art is like a dialogue with yourself. I want to improve every aspect of what | do, whether it’s writing, performing, playing guitar, singing, recording, drawing, whatever. I started playing guitar when I was about ten and still, forty two years later, I am endlessly captivated by the possibilities of the instrument and my deepening relationship with it.

I thank Gong for the interview and wish them all the best for the release of their new album and the continuation of their artistic career.

Purchase their new album on Bandcamp: https://gongband.bandcamp.com/album/the-universe-also-collapses

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Author: Jacopo Vigezzi

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