Transcript for the Piece Audio version of Wandering the Psychedelic Galaxy with Gong

:10
THE ORIGINAL STAR TREK ENDED IN 1969, BUT ANOTHER BAND OF SPACE TRAVELERS CALLED GONG LAUNCHED THAT YEAR AND THEY'RE STILL WANDERING THE GALAXIES.

Musik

:26
GONG IS A FREE-WHEELING PSYCHEDELIC BAND THAT WRAPS ITSELF IN ITS OWN MYTH, NAMELY, THAT WE'RE IN CONTACT WITH MYSTICAL, ACID DRENCHED BEINGS FROM THE PLANET GONG. IT’S NEVER QUITE CLEAR WHETHER THE BAND TREAT THIS AS FACT OR METAPHOR. LIKE SUN RA, THEY SEEM TO LIVE THE LIFE AND SPEAK THE JARGON, WHETHER ON-STAGE OR OFF. GONG'S FOUNDER IS THE 71 YEAR OLD AUSTRALIAN GUITARIST, DAEVID ALLEN.

:31
DA: Well Gong has an ongoing story to it. So that is kind of a backbone and guide. It really is a teaching story--in the old Sufi sense-- it's meant to be a story. But we never wanted it to sound serious because then everyone embraces it as a religion-- a terrifying prospect. So we made it as silly as we possibly could, so that most people wouldn't take it seriously.
[[sh: And we're very serious about that.
DA: Yes, we're serious about not taking it seriously.]]

MUSIK

:06
NEEDLESS TO SAY, PSYCHEDELICS PLAYED AN IMPORTANT PART IN GONG'S CREATIVE PROCESS.

:16
DA: It's almost like channeling because we were consciously saying there are more intelligent beings than us that wish to work through us. And the acid was really a way of getting rid of our egos so that that could come through as purely as possible.

:17
GONG'S BEST KNOWN WORK IS THE RADIO GNOME INVISIBLE TRILOGY. IT TELLS THE TALE OF ZERO THE HERO WHILE CAREENING FROM SPACE TO JAZZ TO ROCK, MINIMALISM AND BEYOND. IT ALSO MARKS TWO SIGNATURE SOUNDS OF THE BAND, HEAVENLY GLISSANDO GUITAR AND DEEP SPACE ECHO.

:14
SH: If you're doing music that has a philosophic connection to the universe and space. there is nothing better than creating this unearthly spatial environment with all the unearthly reflections.

MUSIK

:10
BOTH DAEVID ALLEN AND STEVE HILLAGE CLAIM TO BE TEETOTALERS NOW, BUT THEY'VE JUST RELEASED A NEW ALBUM CALLED 2032 THAT'S IN THE SPIRIT OF 1972.

MUSIK

:11
GONG IS STILL TRAVELING THE SPACEWAYS AND CURRENTLY TOURING EUROPE. I'M JOHN DILIBERTO AND THIS HAS BEEN AN ECHO LOCATION.