Filmed just before the two London gigs in June '08 - 5 minutes, 21 seconds… watch me

As a taster for the forthcoming gargantuan, gigabyte-rich, complete, fully Illustrated Gong Family discography, Steve 'shadowjack' and I have written an article on what we believe to be all the daevid and Gong vinyl releases on the French BYG label. It describes and lists the many variation of release, many more than we at first anticipated, in as detailed a way as we could manage. Click on the image.

Luc Pilmeyer has posted more excellent photographs on his site and a new film of of Didier Malherbe and Renaud Gillet on his Vimeo page

Luc's Hadouk Trio photographs

hey madcaps & genii!!
BY MAD SON TOBY WHO WORKS FOR THE FIENDISH RUPERT MURDOCH PRESS HAS JUST POSTED MY OSAMA BIN HARDON ILLUSTRATION INTO HIS EMPLOYERS TEENYBOPPA ONLINE ZINE READ BY THE MULTITUDES

here is an opportunity to get a truly wild poem into the comments box of this murdoch press online mag!!!!!
GO FO THA JUGULAR EVERYBODEEEEE!!!!
POST YOUR MOST SEDITIOUS POEM IN THE COMMENTS…YES!!!!
love & anarcheeeese! dada alien

Following Gongish vinyl items are nearly all gone.

• Nuclear Waste 7' Single - 8 copies left
• The Australian Years (12-inch) LP - 5 copies left

Gwyo ZePix (sometime Gong sound scientist) briefly expounds on things synthesizer-ish and his work on the soundtrack of the latest Batman film. All too brief but interesting Interview.

'Nitrogen Dreams' a compendium of most of Gilli's many works to date both published and unpublished, including a revised Historico Politico Spirito Parts I and 2, Mother Gong times and Robert Graves times in Deya, Godly Talk, The Vagaries of Godly Thought, poems, lyrics and spoken word pieces up to the present day.

Gong Dreaming 2 is the second part of daevid's history/mystery books and covering the years 1969-75. Both books are copiously illustrated with all that you might wish for by way of largely unseen photographs, posters, new drawings, and a paper plate. More information and some preview pages will be posted shortly, then a definitive publication date and an opportunity to pre-order both books.

Brian 'Zero' Abbott has released the Gliss Orch at the Amsterdam Gong Uncon on Dakini Records. There is an initial pressing of 500 copies which are available in the Kasbah and from http://www.brianabbott.info/

Harry Williamson and daevid allen have woven experience and magic into the audio and the visuals, both are a treat. It is an excellent part document, part impressionistic interpretation of what happened during the Gliss Orch set.

The visuals and effects use the colour associated with each chakra with ever-changing dissolve of the people playing the Drones and the audience as we all seemed to merge together in an evolving ocean of sound. It's a complete journey and I can't think of a DVD experience quite like it, but then there's never been a musico/spirito experiment quite like quite it before either.

A trove of System 7 and Mirror System remix tracks, all usually exclusive to the CD on which they appear. It's a joy listening to unheard Steve and Miquette material and contributions - all top stuff.

• ON a Dubmission Vol 1 - Various (01.11.08) : Laid-back dubwise version of Mirror System's Mirror Beach.
• Back To Earth - Eat Static (11.07.08) : With Steve and Miquette co-writing and guesting on two tracks.
• Soul Vibration Vol. 2 - Various (04.07.08) : Mirror System remix 'Kupuri' from Encantado.
• The Dream - The Orb (29.02.08) : Steve plays on 4 tracks, two as co-writer.
• Chillpresso 1:dari bali - Various (25.05.07) : Oceanic collaborative System 7 track.
• Escape From Chaos - Various (22.5.06) : Steve and Miquette (as Mirror System) remix S and M (as System 7).
• Manmademan:The Legend Remixes - Various (30.01.06) : Powerful System 7 remix

We've had this cartoon for nearly 20 years. It floated to the floor from an unlikely folder as looked for some more Gong Dreaming 2 images for daevid. In this season of change it's time must have have come again - so there it is.

Rachid Taha/Steve Hillage's stonking version of 'Rock The Kasbah' is one of the tracks on the cover-mount CD of October's Mojo magazine. This month's theme - songs of protest and insurrection.

If you are old enough and live in the UK, how did you 'celebrate' the 25th anniversary of our frumpy, multi-millionaire, German house-wife head of state in June 7th 1977? It was a public holiday and street parties were set up all over the country, an excuse for people to have fun in the way that suited them best.

For Here & Now, family and mates this meant a jammin', free outdoors gig/party in Bristol Gardens…and it was all recorded. Read all about it at Kif Kif's site - http://www.herenow.be/

Although we usually favour that most elusive of states, actively engaged non-attachment (crossed with a gently amused/bemused side salad of beat zen), it does tickle one's fancy when the spiral nature of things is revealed and the joyous reverberations of Gong syncopation find general favour in the mainstream. This seems to be the case with the Independent Review Gong Queen Elizabeth Hall concert.

Luc Pilmeyer Gong QEH Photographs

'This was my final show number 7 and what a beauty it was. The whole thing was absolutely marvelous. I have never seen daevid, and many others, so happy and up for it. daevid dancing with the Moon, Hoppy + daevid having a good old natter, friendly faces, it was a real cracker.' - The Tin Man

Hoppy Hopkins, Dave 'The Tin Man' Sheppard, daevideo

There was a great large two page Independent article on Tues 3rd June which hit many of the salient Gong historical points with poise, style and positivity. It also featured this historic photograph below, but they didn't name the personalities, so I have.

Gong newly at their house in Sens early '71
(Left to Right) Christian Tristch, Gilli, daevid, Didier, Rachid Hourai (sadly long part of Gong's unfeasibly large drum ensemble in the sky)

Well what a surprise, they are back - Global Village Trucking Company. Older comrades will need no introduction, but for new readers, GLOBS (as they were affectionally known), were deeply intertwined with many Gong gigs and adventures back in a time we can barely recall.

But it doesn't stop there. Back in 1973 there was a TV documentary on the Global Village Commune, and as part of a follow-up, 'where are they now?' type series a new film about Globs and their lives since '73 is to be broadcast on Tuesday 13th May, 9.00 p.m. on BBC 4. And if you are going to Glastonbury Festival you can catch them there as well.

Many great University of Errors and AMG photographs tumbling through the ethers in the past couple of days. Here are links to some from Luc Pilmeyer at the Dutch gigs and some of the UpfE and AMG in Israel taken by Asaf Carmeli and posted by Udi Koomram.

• Asaf Carmeli - University of Errors - May 5th
• Asaf Carmeli - AMG (1) - May 4th
• Asaf Carmeli - AMG (2) - May 4th
• Luc Pilmeyer - University of Errors - Overtoom 31 - May 3rd
• Luc Pilmeyer - University of Errors - Overtoom 31 - May 2nd
• Luc Pilmeyer - Glysn/UofE Drone lesson

Luc Pilmeyer has posted his very good photos of Brainville 3 at The Spirit of '66 in Verviers, and yet another set from the first University of Errors gig at Dordrecht on 30th April - click on below and see more.

Brainville 3 - Verviers	University of Errors - Dordrecht

Maybe it's just because these photographs come from the Berlin Brainville show, but I can't help thinking that the dapperly dressed alien looks like a kind of tricksterish Weimar era cabaret host - 'Vealkom Ladiez un Gentlemen…' - Brainville followed by Sally Bowles and the other 'gorgeous' dancers.

greeting the audience while Hugh westles a bass	…and he didn't even feel his watch go

Unlike the gigs in Italy that magnetised round 250 people average, Berlin was as usual totally unheard of. An unfathomable pod. Small but inventively assembled. This in a jaded punk club, voluminous and shaky. Old school. Very high godfearing stage and a wooden bench around a dance floor. Notably it was full moon and also the anniversary of Hitler's birthday when all good prog rockers quake over their charts. Only the tallest and most fearlessly blonde transvestites walked with the living dead this night. And Brainville.

The heavenly Gong drum corp expands once more - drummer Brian Davison died last night after short battle with illness. He was a member of Gong on a 1975 tour while Pierre Moerlen was on one of his sabbaticals, but he probably most well known as a member of The Nice. Good love to his nearest and dearest at this sad time.

Dear Gong, Our San Francisco-based rock mag, the legendary Crawdaddy!, which has recently been reincarnated online, today published a piece exploring Angel's Egg. The link is here: Crawdaddy Angel's Egg article. Best, David MacFadden-Elliott (Assistant Ed), Crawdaddy!

Steve and Miquette are interviewed in the current issue of the UK magazine 'Computer Music'. I've only had a fleeting glimpse but it's a large 4 page article with some nice photographs taken in their studio and is naturally about making music on computer and the software they use. Here's the on-line blurb:-

System 7 - The 'ambient for life' duo have been crafting spaced-out techno for nearly 20 years now, but how are things working out for them since they ditched most of their hardware in favour of laptops, Logic and Live? Miquette Giraudy enthuses about soft synths and sampling, Steve Hillage reveals his views on guitar amp modeling plug-ins, and more in the Computer Music interview.

And thanks to Frank in the Planet Gong Forum here's a link to another Steve and Miquette interview on the Troubled Diva Web-site - you have to scroll down past the Lorna Luft piece.

There is a Steve Q&A piece in the current issue of 'Record Collector' some of which I may well reveal here just as soon as I can find the copy hidden somewhere in the office.

Our lucky antipodean cousins partake of the first Gong gig of 2008, as 'Gong 70' re-convene on Friday 21st near Byron Bay with daevid, Gilli, Orlando Allen et al…which made me think Gong may well be Gilli Smyth's band (not that she claims 'ownership') as this recent e-mail from her explains…

Just idly flicking through the Forum, as one does, I came upon the question of the name 'Gong'. It happened like this. In the tiny loft in Paris where we lived in l967/8 just after daevid had been refused entry to U.K. and thus had to leave the Soft Machine somewhat suddenly…..we were sitting talking with a photographer called 'Blake' who disappeared after that, leaving us a strange old-fashioned leather bag, afterwards always called 'the Blake bag'…when. I thought of the name 'Gong' for the odd collection of musicians we were performing nightly with in a club in the Latin Quarter called 'La Vieille Grille'. Then came more gigs, then Don Cherry with us, and Stockholm, and then the revolution in the first part of l968. Many things changed then, including that we had to flee Paris in the night as 'revolutionaries'…..for Spain, and when we returned a few months later it was still 'Gong' with different musicians, always known as the Ist Gong. I do like to get details correct.

The new System 7 12-inch Space Bird was released, Monday 21st Jan. It contains two vinyl only mixes the 'DubfireDeepSpaceRemix' by Dubfire and 'LiquidSoulRemix' by Liquid Soul, plus Steve and Miquette's 'OriginalMix' which also appears album.

'Space Bird' has been No.1 on the main Beatport chart for the past few days. In dance world this is very impressive indeed. - well No.1 is number No.1!

What a week. First System 7's Phoenix takes to the air in glorious flight, and now a call to musical devotion for all 'Hadoukim' with the arrival of the stunning 'Baldamore CD' and 'Baldamore DVD'. 'Calling Mr Bad Grasse' - take a twinkling bow.

Today sees the release of the totally inspiring new System 7 album 'Phoenix'. A wonderfully symbolic first release of the year. It's an album brimful with that unique uplifting System 7 blend of rhythms, lush ambientness, cutting edge technology and of course guitar - yep there's plenty of that as well. Choosing to invite the array of collaborators and friends they have, Steve and Miquette once more re-affirm the System 7 ethos of working with some of the very best in a creative and enjoyable collective.

If the rest of this year's Gong related releases are only half as adventurous and perfectly formed and focused in intent as 'Phoenix' we are in for one heck of a ride (remember it's Hadouk's 'Baldamore' and finally daevid's 'Seven Drones' up next!).

Here's a link to one of the first reviews of the new System 7 'Phoenix' album, I'm sure there will be more Inhale Review.

The February issue (No. 58) of 'Dazed and Confused', a mode-ish UK fashion mag and style bible, has just hit the streets. It contains a rather good 4 page article based around an interview with daevid who is this month's 'Cult VIP'. As with many of these things it's a bit of a beginners guide to Gong for those in the know, but I like the cut of the writer's gib - an intelligent Gong friendly. My favourite new daevid quote comes near the end of the article when he says, with a laugh:-

'The art of surviving in rock music is to never let yourself become too popular and never play for more than 1,500 people if you can avoid it, as it becomes an abstract thing within an abstract thing - it's as boring as fuck, you might as well be inside a huge contraceptive!'

Stefanie Petrik's review…'I don't want to fuck a fairy.' he gasped, laughing, his eyes strong and trying to link with mine as I pushed through the crowd. 'It'd be too small!' he laughed at his own joke, his wife, clearly not laughing.' [more…].

daevid's FOOT&MOUTHNOTE…'Stokers Siding is a mini mountain village on the flank of Australia's formidable Mt Warning. Here the land was stolen from the local aboriginal tribes by unconscious anglo forebears who gave the brutal short back & sides to the intricately beautiful & subtly structured sub tropical rainforest in order to superimpose dairy cows, pastures & Devonshire Tea.' [more…].

It seems hardly but a rambling sentence or two since I first espied the alien disporting hymself in the strobin' limelight, intertwining musical and other new intriguing vibrations with tip-top sonic alchemists, the great Gong beat combo. But it is in fact many years. He was barely a brace 'o' brace 'o' twelvemonth past one and one half score years (aka 34), a mere lad in retrospect - viewed down the telescope of time from my current fifty odd, (decidedly odd since doing this), years. Yet here we pause more than three and a half decades round the bend as he prepares to celebrate his 'Big Seven Oh Ho Ho!' with a gig/party in Australia. Strange, very strange.

I have also posted a new topic, 'daevid Birthday Greetings', in the 'Planet Gong' section of the Forum, for those of you who would like to warm t'old bugger's cockles and send him a massage of mirth, reflection and merriment.

The new 'Baldamore' CD and DVD from the Hadouk Trio are stunning. Didier kindly send me promos just before Christmas - nice present. I enjoyed both immensely, everything is of the highest quality and only one track appears on both releases. To hear Hadouk play their is enough in itself, but then to see them in action as well is a further joy indeed.

This sounds totally crazy but I don't know exactly what stock of the various combinations of CD and DVD will arrive from only UK Hadouk importers, they can't tell me. This bizarre situation may help explain why the band sell 20,000 copies of a release in France and 150 copies in the rest of the world!

Order 'Baldamore CD.
Order 'Baldamore DVD.

There is a further Didier related release I've been told about by Geoff in New York but have been unable to source. This is 'Asian Perfume' by Jean-Pierre Limborg on the Encore Merci label. Both Didier and Steve Shehan appear on the CD which seems to be along ambient, world, electronic lines.

70 cycles and still spiralling-because of the divided alien

1.when music became healing -for yourself and all around/within
2.when Mysteries became simple-goodwill and love within
3.when self-initiation workshops-learned and shared
4.when poetry became the tracks of dreams
5.when time (like haircuts) became irrelevant
6.when what you had you gave away
7.when beliefs changed every day
8.when fresh in every moment
9.when new in this now
10.when kindness to others
11.when strict accounting
12.when truth had power
13.when aware of capriciousness
14.when grieving the loss of
15.when celebrating the birth of
16.when meditating constantly
17.when All Bran for breakfast
18.when multibands simultaneously
19.when jammin with families
20.when walking by the sea
21.when alternative economics
22.when actions spirit based
23.when ransacking Virgin
24.when Lady June Deia
25.when French Chateau
26.when magickal accomplices
27.when Burroughs and Ono
28.when Hendrix and Lennon
29.when canal boat in Seine
30.when parties where death came
31.when famous in France
32.when famous in Italy
33.when anonymous in Romania
34.when hitchhiking
35.when broke as a stick
36.when rich in sex
37.when attacked by ex-wives
38.when many beds
39.when open house heart
40.when listening to young
41.when Terry Riley
42.when Planet Gong
43.when Invisible Opera
44.when UNCON
45.when saved by Jonny Greene
46.when personal re-invention
47.when People in Performance
48.when taxi driving Melbourne
49.when Harry Williamson
50.when collaborations
51.when Living Room Theate
52.when Carringbush Library
53.when solo in Canada
54.when Gong Maison
55.when poet in marketplace
56.when poet on the street
57.when jamming all night long and the tape ended up blank
58.when years without
59.when lives of the rich
60.when Electrique Camembert
61.when drawing for fees
62.when appreciating others
63 when 25th Anniversary
64.when setting fire to the past
65.when regathering the ashes
66.when kirtan
66.when Glastonbury
67.when Byron Bay Bard
68.when sharing your rebirthday
69.when learning by example
70.when this is always just another beginning
WRITE ON!
LIVE ON!
PLAY ON!
thom Jan 12,2008

There are some great You Tube embedded links on http://www.invisivel.com.br of daevid in action in Brazil at the end of last year - there are meaty versions of Fohat Digs Holes in Space, Inner Temple and I Should Have Known. Fabio tells me he is woking towards a DVD release in late Spring.

I have also posted a recent interview with daevid in the Archive Interview section. It goes under the somewhat portentous title 'Exploring the historical regulation of music in Euro-Mediterranean and the Islamic world'. Darrell Jonsson in Discussion with daevid allen - 5/2007. However fear not, it's good, interesting and thought provoking fare, with Darrell and daevid fully engaging each other.

And as good news tends to come in threes…all System 7 back-catalogue CDs are now lower in price in the Kasbah - effective from 1st Jan. If there are any of their amazing albums you may have missed now is the time to sample and enjoy.