Legendary psych rock band Gong announced new album and revealed new single

Following the success of 2019’s The Universe Also Collapses, legendary psych-rock troupe Gong‘s intergalactic voyage has once more entered Earth’s orbit with their new album Unending Ascending.

Set for release on 3rd November via Kscope, the new album promises to offer yet another mind-expanding set of songs.

Pre-order and stream the first single, ‘Tiny Galaxies‘, here: https://gong.lnk.to/unending

Regarding the single, frontman Kavus Torabi had the following to say:

“‘Tiny Galaxies’ came together very quickly and we loved it so much we road tested it around the UK and Europe throughout the Summer of last year before we recorded it.

“The fantastic response we received playing it out made it the obvious choice as the first song to drop ahead of our new release. Pick the telescope up for a total headtrip through the cosmos in three and a half minutes, but, for all our sakes, don’t look down the other end.”

Accompanying the single and the announcement of the new album comes the video that brings the vibrant world of Gong to life. Created by Drain Hope, it’s the perfect visual representation to ‘Tiny Galaxies’.

Kavus Torabi continues:

“Once again Drain Hope has illuminated our theta waves into this beautifully kaleidoscopic vision.”

Opener ‘Tiny Galaxies‘ crackles with the electricity of supercharged sixties psych-pop, while ‘My Guitar Is A Spaceship‘ is as close to an anthem as anything Gong have previously recorded. This uptempo, single-riff stomper is already a live favourite, garnering a positive reaction from a crowd of 90,000 Blur fans at Wembley Stadium in July 2023 when Gong frontman Kavus Torabi dropped it into his DJ set before Paul Weller took to the stage.

‘Ship of Ishtar’ is a rapt cosmic hymn where Gong make time itself stand still. Jet streams of kaleidoscopic melodies envelop ‘O, Arcturus‘, to be followed by the lively polyrhythmic angularity of ‘All Clocks Reset’. ‘Choose Your Goddess‘, a surprisingly muscular slice of ritualistic trance rock, ratchets up the intensity yet further. On ‘Lunar Invocation‘ the band summons the Moon deities of yore with ululating feedback and squalling cymbals before the post-credits of ‘Asleep Do We Lay‘ lull lugubriously, gently beginning the cycle all over again.

Gong‘s Unending Ascending will be available on CD / Black LP / Limited edition Green LP and Digitally.

1 Tiny Galaxies
2 My Guitar is a Spaceship
3 Ship Of Ishtar
4 O Arcturus
5 All Clocks Reset
6 Choose Your Goddess
7 Lunar Invocation
8 Asleep Do We Lay

The universe of Gong 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, Gong 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 that Gong do not die with him, urging the band to “carry it on into new unknown heights and depths far beyond anything I could ever imagine myself”.

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.