| Unending Ascending | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 3 November 2023 | |||
| Studio | Snorkel Studios, London | |||
| Length | 39:58 | |||
| Label | Kscope | |||
| Producer |
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| Gong chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Unending Ascending | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Financial Times |   [2] |
| Prog |  [3] |
Unending Ascending (subtitled A Pan-Galactic Suite by Gong) is a studio album by Gong, released on 3 November 2023 by Kscope. [4]
Music by Gong. Lyrics by Kavus Torabi.
With
Technical
Artwork
| Chart (2023) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Album Sales (OCC) [5] | 57 |
| UK Album Downloads (OCC) [6] | 33 |
| UK Physical Albums (OCC) [7] | 65 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC) [8] | 8 |
| UK Independent Albums (OCC) [9] | 22 |
Gong are a psychedelic rock band that incorporates elements of jazz and space rock into their musical style. The group was formed in Paris in 1967 by Australian musician Daevid Allen and English vocalist Gilli Smyth. Band members have included Didier Malherbe, Pip Pyle, Steve Hillage, Mike Howlett, Tim Blake, Pierre Moerlen, Bill Laswell and Theo Travis. Others who have played on stage with Gong include Don Cherry, Chris Cutler, Bill Bruford, Brian Davison, Dave Stewart and Tatsuya Yoshida.
Cardiacs are an English rock band formed in Kingston upon Thames by Tim Smith and his brother Jim in 1977 under the name Cardiac Arrest. The band's sound fused circus, baroque pop and medieval music with progressive rock and post-punk, adding other elements like nursery rhymes and sea shanties. Tim Smith was the primary lyricist, noted for his complex and innovative compositional style. He and his brother were the only constant members in the band's regularly changing lineup.
The Monsoon Bassoon were an English independent rock band active between 1995 and 2001, notable for their exceptionally complex and energetic music. During their lifespan, the band won the NME's Single Of The Week award three times. They were an integral part of the "London math-rock" scene of the late 1990s and had a passionate underground following, particularly inspiring other bands.
The Rise & Fall is the fourth studio album by English ska band Madness, released on 8 October 1982 by Stiff Records. This album saw Madness at their most experimental, exhibiting a range of musical styles including jazz, English music hall, and Eastern influences. NME described it at the time of its release as "the best Madness record". It has often been retrospectively described as a concept album.
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Archive Cardiacs is a compilation album by English rock band Cardiacs. The album is composed of early tracks by the band recorded from 1977 to 1979. The tracks were compiled from Cardiacs' demo albums The Obvious Identity (1980) and Toy World (1981), as well as three pieces recorded by Tim Smith and Dominic Luckman for a side project that never saw fruition.
Kavus Torabi is a British-Iranian musician, composer, record label owner and radio broadcaster. A multi-instrumentalist, he is known for his work in the psychedelic, avant-garde rock field. Torabi was one of the founding members of the Monsoon Bassoon, was a member of cult progressive rock group Cardiacs, and fronts and plays guitar for the current lineup of legendary psychedelic band Gong.
Stars in Battledress are an English musical duo featuring brothers Richard and James Larcombe. They are notable for their complex but tuneful compositions, their unorthodox fusion of folk music sources and British/American art rock influences, and for their intricate and allusive lyrics.
Spratleys Japs are an English psychedelic rock band formed by Cardiacs leader Tim Smith and Joanne Spratley in 1998. The band changed their name to Tim Smith's Spratleys Rats in 2021 to distance themselves from the negative connotations of the derogatory term Jap.
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The Utopia Strong are a British electronic band formed in Glastonbury, England in 2018. The group consists of Steve Davis, Kavus Torabi, and Michael J. York. They released their self-titled debut album in 2019 and their second, International Treasure, in 2022.
Believers Roast is a record label formed in 2009 by musician Kavus Torabi, initially to only release recordings by Torabi and his band Knifeworld. The label expanded with the fundraising album Leader of the Starry Skies: A Tribute to Tim Smith in 2010 and has since released the collaborative album The Exquisite Corpse Game (2013) and albums by artists including Thumpermonkey, The Gasman, Karda Estra, Arch Garrison, and respective band members.
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