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Shpongle (UK)
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May 30, 23:59
YotaSpace 
With over 80 years experience collectively Simon Posford and Raja Ram are more than qualified for the exploration into the unclassifiable music frontiers they have ventured into; Shpongle is a new world of traditional sounds, acoustic guitars, Moroccan drums, Turkish operatic singing, cello, double bass, backing vocals and silver flute blended together with the computer wizardry of Simon Posford's studio production. The duo are considered to be one of the progenitors of the psybient genre - a genre combining world music with psychedelic trance and ambient. Their musical style combines traditional music from all over the globe and vocals with contemporary western synthesizer-based psychedelic music. The duo was formed in 1996.
Simon Posford (aka Hallucinogen) has long had a reputation as the, "Hallucinogenius" a imitable pioneer in sound experimentation, from his seminal first album, "Twisted" which reached # 28 in the French charts selling over 50,000 copies worldwide, up to his recent Millennium hit, "Mi-Loony-Um" with its up-to-the minute modem melodies. His international fan base has flowered from country-wide to world-wide in the last ten years, since his humble beginnings at Youth's Butterfly Studios in Brixton, this year alone he has played over 16 sell out gigs around the world, each with a capacity of over 1500 people, in Australia, Israel, New York, Pittursburg, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Moscow, Geneva, Montreal, Tokyo to name just a few. In Tokyo he has received a lot of TV and press coverage for their ambient project, Shpongle which has intrigued the Japanese audience with its international blend of traditional world music and modern musical mastery.
Raja Ram, is the innovative sonic co-pilot producing alongside Simon and providing inspirational artwork for the album covers and the website as well as his unmistakable flute solo's in C Major. A founding member of the band Quintessence in the sixties Raja has many years of band experience in the music industry. Not only a band member but also the creator of TIP Records along with their infamous party sound and energy, he is not only a brilliant flautist but the inspirational man behind the Shpongle concept.
When asked to describe Shpongle's music, Posford has responded that it is "like nothing you've ever heard before." Shpongle's first track, "Vapour Rumours", was released on TIP Records' Infinite Excursions compilation in 1996. Their debut album, Are You Shpongled?, was released in 1998 on Twisted Records. The second album, Tales of the Inexpressible, with its further explorations into diverse sound production unleashed the multiversity that Shpongle is. 2005's Nothing Lasts... But Nothing featured many live musicians and vocalists in combination with computer-generated sounds and spoken-word samples. Stylistically the album can be described as a fusion of world music, intelligent dance music, and psychedelic trance. It is dedicated to the memory of author and psychedelic researcher Terence McKenna, whose voice and ideas are used throughout the album. According to Simon Posford, the album actually has eight songs divided into 20 tracks. Each part symbolizes a phase in the dream sequence. Ineffable Mysteries from Shpongleland is the fourth studio album by Shpongle released on November 2009. Songs from the album began to trickle to the public in live form, being played at many of Shpongle's 2009 concerts. With Ineffable Mysteries From Shpongleland they have given the most mature album from their glowing discography.
Shpongle has played a lot of live concerts and Simon Posford tours frequently, performing live DJ sets. Raja Ram has occasionally accompanied these sets with live flute performances. Shpongle's first live performance was at the Solstice Music Festival at Motosu Highland in Japan in July 2001. They returned to Japan on New Year's Eve 2003 to play the New Maps of Hyperspace event at Tokyo Bay NK Hall together with 1200 Micrograms (featuring Raja Ram) and Hallucinogen.
Prior to the release of their fourth album, Shpongle played a sold out live concert at The Roundhouse venue in Chalk Farm, North London on 31 October 2008. The band featured Andy Gangadeen (drums), Nogera (percussion), Chris Taylor (bass), Pete Callard (guitar), Harry Escott (cello) and Dick Trevor (keyboards and programming); Michele Adamson and Hari Om (voices), three dancers, and for one song only (Nothing is Something Worth Doing) Manu Delago on hang drum.
This was followed on 20 December 2008 by a concert in Moscow featuring the same lineup. Shows were also planned for 7 and 9 March 2009 in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, but these were cancelled due to non-payment of the deposit by the promoters.
In 2009, Shpongle played a headlining date at the Ozora Festival held near Ozora, Hungary on 15 August; and two album launch shows at the Roundhouse on 30 and 31 October. The duo returned to Moscow to play at Milk on 12 December 2009.
On 3 August 2010, they opened the Ozora festival in Hungary. This was their tenth documented live performance.
In January 2011, Shpongle toured Australia playing dates at the Forum Theatre in Melbourne, the Enmore Theatre in Sydney and headlined the Rainbow Serpent Festival in Victoria, Australia. In June 2011 Shpongle played at the Electric Forest Festival with the all mighty Shpongletron.
New unreleased material from the forthcoming album was incorporated in the 2011 tour, the Shpongletron Experience. The tour featured the Shpongletron, designed by visual artist Zebbler. The Shpongletron included a DJ booth, and multiple custom-made, video-mapped projection surfaces.
"Shpongle Live" performed at Camp Bisco X on 8 July 2011 in Mariaville, New York. This was Shpongle's first ever performance as a full ensemble in the United States and was greatly received by fans and newcomers alike. The band also performed two sold-out American shows on Halloween weekend in 2011, playing at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City on 28 October, and at the Fox Oakland Theater in Oakland, California on 29 October. As of September 2011, Shpongle has started to work on a new upcoming fifth album as published on their Facebook page. They debuted the first track from this album, Museums of Consciousness, on 28 October 2011.
For 2012, Shpongle toured the United States performing DJ sets entitled "Shpongle presents The Masquerade". The last set of this tour was performed on October 31st, 2012, at Terminal West in Atlanta, GA. On November 3rd, they performed with Younger Brother, Hallucinogen, and other Twisted Records artists. Their set included live keyboards and flute, and debuted many new tracks from their upcoming album Museum of Consciousness.
In July 2013 Shpongle returned with a new album Museum of Consciousness and showed that much has changed. Music production isn't something for just enthusiasts anymore, and the tools needed to make an entire album in your bedroom are becoming increasingly available and affordable. Yet this just makes Shpongle's return all the more welcome. In a time where more and more focus is put on commercialization and churning out quick hits Simon and Raja's latest work is a welcome breathe of fresh air wedded to nostalgia, and proves that the group isn't ready to become stagnant anytime soon. One of the more immediately noticeable aspects of Museum of Consciousness is the emphasis on the bass lines; the entire album is far more driven and upbeat when compare to its predecessor. This is a most welcome change, providing heft and even more of an inclination for the listener to dance or just let go.
The opening moments of "Juggling Molecule" are prime examples of this, with the tracks layered claps and vocal repetition complimenting this emphasis on bass perfectly and adding a sense of urgency that just seemed lacking in the groups previous album. Ambiance isn't forgotten however, "The Aquatic Garden Of Extra-Celestial Delights" should make longtime fans feel right at home as the duo channels moments from "Around The World In A Tea Daze" and "My Head Feels Like A Frisbee" to create a song that, while familiar, is poised to be a listener favorite.
Coming after the predominantly laid back Ineffable Mysteries From Shpongleland, Museum of Consciousness is a welcome change of pace and easily carves its niche in the Shpongle catalog; this is an album highly recommend to old and new fans alike.
One year after Shpongle known also as Hallucinogen will return in YotaSpace club with solo DJ-set accompanied by the hard video show. His last concert in Moscow was dedicated to the Museum of Consciousness album of 2013.
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