Progressive, psychedelic rock pioneers, Gong, have announced a new special edition of their 2023 release, Unending Ascending.
The new release, a CD package with an 8-page booklet, includes six previously unreleased bonus tracks recorded live from the band’s 2024 show at Edinburgh’s Summerhall as part of the Gong + Ozric Tentacles UK Tour.
The release coincides with Gong’s extensive late-2024 North American & European tour which will see them play shows across the US, Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Poland, amongst others. Tour dates and tickets here.
“It’s been a long time coming but, following the release of Unending Ascending, Gong are delighted to be playing in the US. No minds left unblown or else” says Kavus Torabi.
The Unending Ascending Special Edition will be released via Kscope on September 27. Pre-order here.
Tracklisting:
"Tiny Galaxies"
"My Guitar Is A Spaceship"
"Ship Of Ishtar"
"O, Arcturus!"
"All Clocks Reset"
"Choose Your Goddess"
"Lunar Invocation"
"Asleep Do We Lay"
Bonus tracks:
"My Guitar Is A Spaceship" (Live In Edinburgh, 2024)
"All Clocks Reset" (Live In Edinburgh, 2024)
"Tiny Galaxies" (Live In Edinburgh, 2024)
"Musica Per Aprirci La Mente, Musica Per Aprirci Il Cuore" (Live In Edinburgh, 2024)
"Lunar Invocation" (Live In Edinburgh, 2024)
"Choose Your Goddess" (Live In Edinburgh, 2024)
The universe of Gong began in 1969 when visionary 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 for 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 current lineup 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.
(Photo - Layla Burrows)
