Daevid Allen's final album with Gong, the band he created back in Paris back in 1967 and helmed for almost 50 years, I See You, is to be remixed and reissued on double vinyl and CD through Kscope on May 9.
Originally released in 2014, a year prior to Allen's passing, I See You featured Allen's son Orlando on drums and wife Gilli Smith, as well as current Gong members Kavus Torabi, Dave Sturt and Fabio Golfetti.
"I See You sounds like nothing they’ve ever done, yet connects seamlessly with everything they’ve previously achieved," read Prog Magazine's review back when the album was originally released.
The new edition has been remixed from the original multi-track recordings by Frank Byng, producer and sound engineer of the last four Gong albums.
“Daevid Allen's final album, I See You is such a transitional Gong record in so many ways, not that any of us realised it at the time," says current Gong mianstay Torabi, the man Allen tasked with continuing the band. "Work on the album had just commenced around the time I was asked to join and Daevid was in fine health but by the time we were at the mixing stage he was undergoing intense treatment for his cancer which would ultimately prove unsuccessful. As you can imagine, the record was completed under extremely fraught circumstances, very different to the upbeat way it started. Getting it over the line was not an especially joyful process. Decisions needed to be made under a great deal of pressure and, with emotions running high, they weren't always the right ones. Nonetheless, I’m so happy Daevid got to hear it completed, that he loved it and that we got to put it out into the world.
"Hearing Frank Byng’s remarkable new mix, thankfully completed without time constraints, has brought an increased sonic clarity which accentuates the eccentric psychedelic majesty of the original release. I was moved to tears hearing it. For me, this is the definitive version of I See You, the record I always hoped it would be.”
The current line-up of Gong will be touring the UK in May before heading over to the US and then returning for some festival dates in August. You can see the full list of dates and ticket details below.
Gong Tour Dates
May 21: UK York The Crescent
May 22: UK Huddersfield The Parish
May 23: UK Allendale Allendale Village Hall
May 25: UK Liverpool Outer Waves Festival (Invisible Wind Factory)
Jun 6: USA NM Albuquerque Sister
Jun 7: USA CO Colorado Springs Lulu's Downtown
Jun 8: USA CO Denver The Black Buzzard at Oskar Blues
Jun 10: USA UT Salt Lake CityThe State Room
Jun 11: USA ID Boise Shrine Social Club
Jun 13: USA WA Yakima Bearded Monkey Music
Jun 14: USA WA Seattle Rainier Arts Centre (Cascadence Festival)
Jun 15: USA OR Portland McMenamins White Eagle Saloon
Jun 16: USA OR Eugene WOW Hall
Jun 18: USA CA Redding The Dip
Jun 19: USA CA Mill Valley Sweetwater Music Hall
Jun 21: USA CA Studio City, The Baked Potato
Jun 22: USA CA Studio City The Baked Potato
Jun 23: USA CA Costa Mesa The Wayfarer
Jun 25: USA CA San Marcos The Bornemann Theatre
Jun 26: USA AZ Phoenix TBC
Jun 27: USA AZ Tucson TBC
Jun 28: USA AZ Flagstaff The Orpheum Theatre
Aug 29: UK Brighton Psych Festival
Aug 30: UK Manchester Psych Festival
