Gong

Gong is an international progressive rock band, originally from Paris, France. The band incorporates elements of jazz and space rock into its music. It was formed by Australian musician Daevid Allen, who first played with the Daevid Allen Trio in 1963 (comprising Hugh Hopper on bass and Robert Wyatt on drums) then with Soft Machine in 1966, which he left in 1967 following a forced exile to France. The first lineup of Gong in 1967 included Allen (vocals, guitar), Gilli Smyth (vocals, backing vocals) and Didier Malherbe (flute, saxophone), joined by the ephemeral drummer Rachid Houari in 1969. Guitarist Steve Hillage would join the variable-geometry lineup in 1972.

The first album, Magick Brother by Gong, is characterised by a psychedelic pop sound. In 1971, the album Camembert électrique was released, which features a more psychedelic rock/space rock sound with which the band would often be associated thereafter.

In 1975, Allen and Smyth left the band, which continued without them, releasing several jazz rock albums under the leadership of drummer Pierre Moerlen. This incarnation would be known as Pierre Moerlen's Gong. Meanwhile, Smyth formed Mother Gong and Allen inaugurated a series of spin-off bands such as Planet Gong, New York Gong and Gongmaison, before returning to the helm of Gong in 1990 and remaining there until his death in 2015. With Allen's encouragement, the band decided to continue, releasing the album Rejoice! I'm Dead! in September 2016.