‘Gong’ announce new animated promo video
by Rich Olding. Published August 28, 2009.
Ok, before I introduce the video I’ll have to do a bit of an introduction, otherwise to newcomers this video is going to make absolutely no sense. Gong are celebrating 40 years since their first inception by David Allen. They describe their music as ‘Space Rock’, and have a rather interesting semi-autobiographical mythology that goes hand in hand with their releases. The mythology draws on a set of recurring characters and ideas, that until recently, spanned the release of three of the bands albums, 1973’s ‘Flying Teapot’, also released that year ‘Angel’s Egg’ and 1973’s ‘You’, collectively referred to as the ‘Radio Gnome Trilogy’, as well as later releases.
The mythology certainly makes for an interesting read, and is described here: .
- Gong’s ‘Flying Teapot’
The band’s new studio album ‘2032’ is released on the 21st September, and continues the mythology, aided by a fantastic animated video for the track ‘How To Stay Alive’. The Video has been animated by the Tokyo-based animation team “Mood Magic” and based on Allen’s drawing’s brings the ongoing story alive in a beautiful and vibrant way.
The track is intriguing enough in itself, mixing spoken word, with a funky rhythm section, synths, electric guitar, and a great solo on the Armenian instrument, the duduk, but the video adds an extra element of depth that’s just irresistible. You really have to see for yourself! The new video is up now on youtube, I highly advise watching it! –
Gong kick off a UK tour in November, so get yourself down to a show if psychedelic space rock is your cup of herbal tea.
