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Live 2 Infinitea GONG |
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Musicians: Daft Alien - Voclas,
Guitar, Glissando Guitar Live Sound by: Recorded live at Subteranea,
London, England - 6th April 2000 (Tracks 1, 3 - 11) Tracklisting: Seeded in Paris during the 1968 student riots, Gong wove their original magic with an imaginative mix of jazz fusion, eastern/world music, tape loops, space funk, jazz house & psychedelic electro-accoustic all laced with self-deprecating humour - and now their underground influence is huge. Gong was formed around 1970, and at that time the band comprised Daevid Allen, Didier Malherbe, Christain Tritsch, Gilli Smyth and Pip Pyle. Pip Pyle left after the first tour and was replaced Laurie Allen and they were also joined by Francis Moze of Magma. Two albums were released Camembert Electrique and Continental Circus and Gong became one of the most populat avante-garde bands accrueing a slamm cult following. In 1972, Deavid disbanded the group to concentrate on his writing, reforming towards the end of the year, upon a new recording deal with Virgin Records. Malherbe, Smyth, Laurie Allen, Tritsch and Moze were retained from the original incantation with Steve Hillage on Guitar and Tim Blake on Synths being added. This group recorded The Flying Teapot in 1973, the first instalment of a Allen's Radio Gnome Trilogy. Gong then after another split came back and recorded Angel's Egg (1973) and You (1974) to complete the trilogy about the activities og the imaginary planet Gong, and once again Allen left the group to concentrate on his writing. Since then we have had various groups all led by former members, Gong New York, Gong Maison, Mother Gong, Gongzilla, Pierre Moerlen's Gong, etc. In 1988 Allen returned to England, settling (of course) in Glastonbury. He was a largely forgotten figure, but Gong material was beginning to be sampled on Acid House underground hits, and he reclaimed sufficient momentum to get a band together again, touring in 1992 as Gongmaison, with Malherbe back on reeds, and with tabla percussion and techno- esque electronics reflecting how many of the original musical tenets of golden period Gong had come back into play. As if to prove it, Allen went on to record with Bongwater and Shimmy Disc mainman Kramer for 1993's Who's Afraid album. When 'Camembert Electrique'
drummer Pip Pyle re-joined the band, the Gong moniker was adopted once
more in 1992. A series of successful tours of the UK and Europe followed
and the first new Gong album for nearly 15 years, 'Shapeshifter' (Celluloid),
was recorded and released to critical acclaim. In 1996, the rising tide of interest in all things Gong continued, as they toured Japan, Europe and the USA, selling out venues as a new generation of fans joined the ranks of the converted to pay homage to these ever-changing psychedelic pioneers. This surge of enthusiasm was underlined by the release of You Remixed (1997) one of Gong's classic albums, remixed by The Orb, Graham Massey of 808 State, Total Eclipse and The Shamen among many others, Gong fans to a person, whose own musical work has been deeply influenced by the luminous green planet Gong Gong continues to re-invent itself, never cashing in on past patterns by repeating well worn bankable formulas as often demanded by the music business. It is still acting as a cutting edge, often far enough ahead of it's time not to be recognised. Each variation of the band has brought revitalisation and new interpretation to the very special sound and soul call that is the Gong vibration. In 2000, Gong, recorded a new album, Zero To Infinty, and this live album, is from the tour that followed in the Spring of 2000. Some of you might say, another live Gong album, I must admit there has been a few, but then, what we have here is a live Gong album, with the former leader Daevid Allen, Gilli Smyth, Didier Malherbe, joined by Theo Travis, Mike Howlett, Gwyo Ze Pix and Chris Taylor. The sound is superb, and most of the live versions are different to the studio album. There are also some classics from earlier Gong albums such as "Zero The Hero And The Witches Spell" & "Selene". With the usual Gong humour, this for me is another Gong album, fans must have in their collection. Highly Recommended! Released by Snapper Music |
