Gong celebrate the release of their long awaited new album “Unending Ascending” with “My Guitar Is A Spaceship” and what can only be described as the essence of Gong in visual form. Watch the video through the YouTube player below:
Purchase and Stream “Unending Ascending” here: https://gong.lnk.to/unending
“My Guitar Is A Spaceship” was the first to be written for the new album as Kavus Torabi explains: āThe song came into being in the spring of 2022 and we actually debuted it on the Glade Stage at Glastonbury Festival that summer. It was the first song we wrote for the new album. More than anything weāve done together, it seemed to pop out fully formed. That morning none of it existed and then an hour later all of it did.ā He continues: āI donāt think we were even trying to write a tune at that point! What a feeling, we sort of couldnāt believe we came up with it. I said āMan, can you imagine debuting this song at Glastonbury festival?ā. Sure enough, two days later we received a message asking us if weād like to headline the Glade Stage that year. At this point the existence of magic is not even up for debate. The tune is just one propulsive, cycling riff that seems to blast us and the audience upward, hence the lyrics, from which we took the title of the album. Once weād written this, we knew the rest of the album would be great, it kind of defined the direction we would take as we wrote the remaining seven songs. I honestly canāt conceive of a Gong gig, moving forward, where we donāt play it.ā
About Gong:
The universe ofĀ GongĀ began in 1969 when Daevid Allen was inspired by a profound Psychedelic vision. A founder member of Soft Machine, Allen incorporated his spiritual and metaphysical leanings into an evolving collective. More a mythology than a band in the conventional sense,Ā GongĀ established itself as one of the most unique, innovative and Experimental Rock groups of the seventies, through an exploratory mix of Rock, Jazz and Psychedelia with elements of mysticism and surrealism, unafraid to deliver its messages directly, obliquely or whimsically. The current incarnation, who were put together by Daevid after his swansong album with Gong, “I See You,” honour his intention thatĀ GongĀ do not die with him, urging the band to ācarry it on into new unknown heights and depths far beyond anything I could ever imagine myself.ā
The collective of Kavus Torabi, Dave Sturt, Fabio Golfetti, Ian East and Cheb Nettles is the most stable in Gong‘s illustrious history, having written, recorded and toured together for eight years since Allen‘s passing. A dynamic, powerful and explosive live band, their music draws from the credo of the original Gong while remaining committed to pushing the composition, performances and message into new realms, paying no mind to nostalgia. Gong in 2023 continue the ethics, attitude and lifestyle that was always woven into the fabric of the band.
Gongās “Unending Ascending” is available on CD / Black LP / Limited edition Green LP and Digitally.
Tracklist:
01. Tiny Galaxies
02. My Guitar is a Spaceship
03. Ship Of Ishtar
04. O Arcturus
05. All Clocks Reset
06. Choose Your Goddess
07. Lunar Invocation
08. Asleep Do We Lay
