Gong reveal new album The Universe Also Collapses - listen to The Elemental

Gong have announced that their new studio album will be released this spring.

It’s titled The Universe Also Collapses and it’ll launch on May 10 via Kscope.

To mark the announcement, Gong have released a radio edit of their track The Elemental and announced a run of UK tour dates, both of which can be found below.

Gong’s singer and guitarist Kavus Torabi says: “We wanted to make what we thought of as the ultimate psychedelic rock album.

“The word ‘psychedelic’ gets bandied around a lot, and a great deal of the stuff that gets called psychedelic nowadays doesn’t match up to the description. I want to hear music that makes me feel like I’m on drugs."

He adds: "We wanted to put Gong back at the heart of being an absolutely psychedelic band. From the start we wanted to make delirious, psychedelic, head music that you could actually dance to!

“It’s not a prog record, it's not a jazz fusion record – it’s a psychedelic record.”

The Universe Also Collapses is the band’s first since 2016’s Rejoice! I’m Dead! and their second without the late Daevid Allen, who died in 2015.

Torabi adds: “Gong has always been a force for propulsive, forward-thinking open-mindedness. The last album was partly us paying tribute to Daevid, but I think maybe Daevid would have seen that as a bit too sentimental.

“He was more, ‘Fuck that you guys, do your own thing.’”

Torabi is joined in the lineup by Fabio Golfetti on guitar, Dave Sturt on bass, Ian East on saxophone and Cheb Nettles on drums.

Ozric Tentacles’ Ed Wynne will join Gong as a special guest on the UK tour, and he'll be playing in support of his new solo album Shimmer Into Nature.

Gong: The Universe Also Collapses
1. Forever Reoccurring [20:37]
2. If Never I'm And Ever You [02:27]
3. My Sawtooth Wake [13:14]
4. The Elemental [06:43]

Gong 2019 UK tour dates
May 16: Brighton Patterns
May 17: London Oslo
May 19: Leeds The Wardrobe
May 21: Glasgow Audio
May 22: Nottingham Rescue Rooms
May 23: Cardiff The Globe
May 24: Bristol Thekla
May 25: Southampton 1865
May 26: Seaton The Gateway

Scott has spent 37 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in 2014 before moving into e-commerce in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, highlights deals, and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more. Over the last 12 years, Scott has written more than 11,500 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from news and features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.