Daevid Allen sometimes credited as
Divided Alien, an Australian
poetA poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
,
guitaristA guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, singer,
composerA composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and performance artist is co-founder of
psychedelic rockPsychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
groups
Soft MachineSoft Machine were an English rock band from Canterbury, named after the book The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs. They were one of the central bands in the Canterbury scene, and helped pioneer the progressive rock genre...
(in the UK, 1966) and
GongGong is a Franco-British progressive/psychedelic rock band formed by Australian musician Daevid Allen. Their music has also been described as space rock. Other notable band members include Allan Holdsworth, Tim Blake, Didier Malherbe, Pip Pyle, Gilli Smyth, Steve Hillage, Francis Moze, Mike Howlett...
(in France, 1970).
Biography
In 1960, inspired by the
Beat GenerationThe Beat Generation refers to a group of American post-WWII writers who came to prominence in the 1950s, as well as the cultural phenomena that they both documented and inspired...
writers he had discovered whilst working in a Melbourne bookshop, Allen travelled to
ParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
where he stayed at the
Beat HotelThe Beat Hotel was a small, run-down hotel of 42 rooms at 9 Rue Gît-le-Cœur in the Latin Quarter of Paris, notable chiefly as a residence for members of the Beat poetry movement of the mid-20th century -Overview:...
, moving into a room that had recently been vacated by
Allen GinsbergIrwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet and one of the leading figures of the Beat Generation in the 1950s. He vigorously opposed militarism, materialism and sexual repression...
and
Peter OrlovskyPeter Anton Orlovsky was an American poet.-Life and work:Orlovsky was born in the Lower East Side of New York City, the son of Katherine and Oleg Orlovsky, a Russian immigrant. He was raised in poverty and was forced to drop out of Newtown High School in his senior year so he could support his...
. While selling the
International Herald TribuneThe International Herald Tribune is a widely read English language international newspaper. It combines the resources of its own correspondents with those of The New York Times and is printed at 38 sites throughout the world, for sale in more than 160 countries and territories...
around Le Chat qui Peche and the
Latin QuarterLatin Quarter is a part of the 5th arrondissement in Paris.Latin Quarter may also refer to:* Latin Quarter , a British pop/rock band* Latin Quarter , a 1945 British film*Latin Quarter, Aarhus, part of Midtbyen, Aarhus C, Denmark...
, he met
Terry RileyTerrence Mitchell Riley, is an American composer intrinsically associated with the minimalist school of Western classical music and was a pioneer of the movement...
and also gained free access to the jazz clubs in the area.
In 1961, Allen travelled to England, renting a room in
LyddenLydden is also the name of a hamlet in the Manston, Kent civil parishLydden is a civil parish and small village in the Dover district of Kent, England...
near
DoverDover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
and soon began to look for work as a musician. He first replied to a newspaper advertisement for a guitar player to join Dover-based group the Rolling Stones (no connection with the later famous band of that name)
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Daevid_Allen_letter.jpg who had lost singer/guitarist
Neil LandonNeil Landon is an English singer, who has been credited with singing on a number of hits in the UK Singles Chart...
, but he did not join them. After meeting up with
William S. BurroughsWilliam Seward Burroughs II was an American novelist, poet, essayist and spoken word performer. A primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodernist author, he is considered to be "one of the most politically trenchant, culturally influential, and innovative artists of the 20th...
, and inspired by philosophies of
Sun RaSun Ra was a prolific jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, poet and philosopher known for his "cosmic philosophy," musical compositions and performances. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama...
, he formed the
free jazzFree jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
outfit, the Daevid Allen Trio, which included his landlord's son, 16-year old
Robert WyattRobert Wyatt is an English musician, and founding member of the influential Canterbury scene band Soft Machine, with a long and distinguished solo career...
. They performed at Burroughs' theatre pieces based on the novel
The Ticket That ExplodedThe Ticket That Exploded is a novel by William S. Burroughs first published in 1962 by Olympia Press and later published in the United States by Grove Press in 1967. It is the second book in a trilogy created using the cut-up technique, often referred to as The Nova Trilogy...
. In 1966, together with
Kevin AyersKevin Ayers is an English singer-songwriter and was a major influential force in the English psychedelic movement...
and
Mike RatledgeMichael Roland "Mike" Ratledge is a British musician. Ratledge was part of the Canterbury scene and a long-time member of Soft Machine.-Biography and career:...
, they formed the band
Soft MachineSoft Machine were an English rock band from Canterbury, named after the book The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs. They were one of the central bands in the Canterbury scene, and helped pioneer the progressive rock genre...
, the name having come from the Burroughs novel
The Soft MachineThe Soft Machine is a novel by William S. Burroughs, first published in 1961, two years after his groundbreaking Naked Lunch. It was originally composed using the cut-up and fold-in techniques from manuscripts belonging to The Word Hoard...
. Ayers and Wyatt had previously played in
Wilde FlowersThe Wilde Flowers were a popular music group based in the vicinity of Canterbury, England. The group was active between 1964 and 1967 but never released any records during its existence; however it led to the formation of two other groups that became well-known and influential: Soft Machine and...
.
Following a tour of Europe, Allen was refused re-entry to the UK because he had overstayed his visa on a prior visit. He returned to Paris where he took part in the 1968 Paris protests which swept the city. He handed out
teddy bearThe teddy bear is a stuffed toy bear. They are usually stuffed with soft, white cotton and have smooth and soft fur. It is an enduring form of a stuffed animal in many countries, often serving the purpose of entertaining children. In recent times, some teddy bears have become collector's items...
s to the police and recited poetry in
pidginA pidgin , or pidgin language, is a simplified language that develops as a means of communication between two or more groups that do not have a language in common. It is most commonly employed in situations such as trade, or where both groups speak languages different from the language of the...
French. He now admits that he was scorned by the other protesters for being a
beatnikBeatnik was a media stereotype of the 1950s and early 1960s that displayed the more superficial aspects of the Beat Generation literary movement of the 1950s and violent film images, along with a cartoonish depiction of the real-life people and the spiritual quest in Jack Kerouac's autobiographical...
.
Fleeing the police, he made his way to Deya, Majorca, with his partner
Gilli SmythGilli Smyth is a musician who performed with the bands Gong, Mother Gong and Planet Gong as well as several solo albums and albums in collaborations other members of Gong...
. It was here that he recorded
Magick BrotherMagick Brother is the 1970 debut album from Gong, featuring Gilli Smyth and Daevid Allen. It has been rereleased on CD. It has also been listed as Magick Brother, Mystic Sister.- Track listing :Side one...
(released on
BYG ActuelBYG Actuel was a French record label specializing in free jazz. The label also released a small number of non-jazz recordings by artists such as Musica Elettronica Viva, Freedom and Gong.-History:...
in 1969), the first album under the name
GongGong is a Franco-British progressive/psychedelic rock band formed by Australian musician Daevid Allen. Their music has also been described as space rock. Other notable band members include Allan Holdsworth, Tim Blake, Didier Malherbe, Pip Pyle, Gilli Smyth, Steve Hillage, Francis Moze, Mike Howlett...
. They were joined by flautist
Didier MalherbeDidier Antonin Malherbe is a saxophonist and flautist. He was one of the founders of the Canterbury sound band Gong....
, whom they claim to have found living in a cave on
Robert GravesRobert von Ranke Graves 24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985 was an English poet, translator and novelist. During his long life he produced more than 140 works...
's estate.
In 1970 Allen recorded and released his first solo album,
Banana MoonBanana Moon is a 1971 studio album by Daevid Allen. The album is sometimes referred to as Bananamoon and it was also reissued as a Gong album....
(sometimes spelled
Bananamoon). The album featured Robert Wyatt, amongst others.
In 1971 Gong released
Camembert ElectriqueCamembert Electrique is an album by Gong, recorded and originally released in 1971. The album was recorded at Château d'Hérouville near Paris, France, produced by Pierre Lattes and engineered by Gilles Salle...
. They formed somewhat of an anarchist commune in rural France between 1972 and 1974. In 1972 they were joined by electronics musician
Tim BlakeTimothy 'Tim' Blake , keyboards, vocalist instrumentalist and composer with both Gong, and Hawkwind. Blake is best known for his Synthesizer and Light performances as Crystal Machine, with the French Light Artist Patrice Warrener...
and later, after signing with
Virgin RecordsVirgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
,
Steve HillageSteve Hillage is an English musician, best known as a guitarist. He is associated with the Canterbury scene and has worked in experimental domains since the late 1960s...
and
Pierre MoerlenPierre Moerlen was a French drummer and percussionist, best known for his work with Gong and Mike Oldfield.-Biography:...
joined to record the
Radio Gnome Trilogy which consisted of
Flying TeapotFlying Teapot is an album by Gong, originally released by Virgin in 1973. A later edition was issued by BYG in France and Japan in 1976. Co-titled "Radio Gnome Invisible Part 1", it is the first of the Radio Gnome Trilogy of albums, and was followed by Angel's Egg and You...
,
Angel's EggAngel's Egg is an album by Gong, recorded and originally released on Virgin Records in 1973.It was recorded using the Manor Mobile at Pavillon du Hay, France, and mixed at The Manor, Oxfordshire, England...
and
YouYou is an album by psychedelic rock band Gong, recorded and originally released in 1974.Recorded at The Manor, Oxfordshire, side 1 was mixed at Pye Studios, Marble Arch, while side 2 at the Manor...
.
Allen left this incarnation of Gong and recorded three solo albums,
Good Morning (1976) and
Now Is The Happiest Time Of Your LifeNow Is The Happiest Time Of Your Life is Daevid Allen's second solo studio album, originally released in 1977, and re-released in a digitally remastered version in 2009.- Track listing :# "Flamenco Zero"# "Why Do We Treat Ourselves Like We Do?"...
(1977) and N'existe pas! (1979).
During these years, Allen lived in a hippie collective in the village of
DeiàDeià is a small coastal village on the northern ridge of the Spanish island of Majorca. It is located about ten miles north of Valldemossa, and it is known for its literary and musical residents...
(Majorca) and contributed to the production of the Book of Am, the album of a band called Can Am Des Puig, by loaning them a four-track TEAC reel-to-reel tape recorder.
In 1977 he performed and recorded as Planet Gong, and rejoined the early-70s version of the group for a one-off show at the Hippodrome in Paris. Portions of this concert (which was several hours long) was released on a double-LP entitled
Gong Est Mort? Vive Gong.
In 1980 Allen teamed up with
Bill LaswellBill Laswell is an American bassist, producer and record label owner....
for the punk-influenced
New York GongFor the rock band of the same name, see The MaterialMaterial is a musical group formed in 1979 and led by bass guitarist Bill Laswell.-1978-82: The band:...
. This effort yielded an LP called
About TimeAbout Time is a 1979 album by Daevid Allen and Gong-offshot New York Gong. The basic line-up of New York Gong would continue as Material....
. More projects followed, including Invisible Opera Company Of Tibet, Brainville, Ex (not to be confused with the Dutch punk band The Ex), and Magic Brothers.
In 1981 Allen returned to Australia, taking up residence in Byron Bay where he worked on performance pieces and poetry. He performed with performance artist David Tolley using tape loops and drum machines. He is currently involved with a project entitled you'N'gong (a play on the phrase "Young Gong") with his son, Orlando, and members of
Acid Mothers TempleAcid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U.F.O. is a Japanese psychedelic band, the core of which formed in 1995. The band is led by guitarist Kawabata Makoto and early in their career featured many musicians, but by 2004 the line-up had coalesced with only a few core members and frequent guest...
(the collaborations are performed under the name Acid Mothers Gong), as well as an improvisation outfit entitled Guru And Zero.
For many years now, Daevid Allen has been a member of the University of Errors, who have released four albums, and of the jazz rock band Brainville 3. He has also recorded with
Spirits BurningSpirits Burning is a musical collective that has released a combination of ambient, jazz and full-on space-rock with input from many of the genre's luminaries, most notably Gong's Daevid Allen and members of Hawkwind. Spirits Burning is overseen by American composer/producer Don Falcone.-History:In...
, a space rock supergroup whose members include
Alan DaveyAlan Davey may refer to:* Alan Davey , chief executive of the Arts Council England* Alan Davey is best known as the former bassist with Hawkwind. He is now the bass player/vocalist for Gunslinger as well as Hawklords, Meads of Asphodel, and Thunor....
,
Bridget WishartBridget Wishart is a vocalist and performance artist who performed with Hawkwind from 1989 to 1991, appearing on the albums Space Bandits, Palace Springs, California Brainstorm and Take Me to Your Future and, among others, the Nottingham 1990 video.She obtained BA in Fine Art from Newport Art...
,
Karl E. H. SeigfriedKarl E. H. Seigfried is a German-American jazz, rock, and classical bassist, guitarist, composer, bandleader, writer and educator based in Chicago....
, and
Simon HouseSimon House is a composer and classically trained violinist and keyboard player, perhaps best known for his work with space rock band Hawkwind. His arrival in 1974 introduced a new element to the band's style...
. Some of Daevid Allen's most experimental work has been with the long running noise band
Big City OrchestraBig City Orchestra is a long running art/anti-art group based generally in California. They have an ever rotating cast of musician and nonmusician members...
including live performances, and more than a half dozen CD releases.
In November 2006 a Gong Family Unconvention was held in
AmsterdamAmsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, which included a reunion of many former Gong members from the "classic" early 70s lineup. Further Gong concerts were held in London in June 2008, featuring many of the same lineup, including Allen himself, Gilli Smyth, Steve Hillage, Miquette Giraudy, and Mike Howlett.
In November 2007, Daevid Allen held a series of concerts in Brazil, with a branch of Gong, which was called Daevid Allen and Gong Global Family (Daevid Allen on vocals and guitar, Josh Pollock on guitar, megaphone and percussion; Fred Barley on drums and percussion; Fabio Golfetti on guitar, bass Gabriel Costa, Marcelo Ringel on flute and tenor saxophone), along with his other band University of Errors (Daevid, Josh Pollock, Michael Clare, Fred Barley). The presentations took place in São Paulo on 21 and 22 November and San Carlos on November 24. These musicians—less Marcelo—recorded some new songs in the studio Mosh, in São Paulo. The São Paulo concert—21 November—was then released only in the United Kingdom as a DVD and a CD by Voiceprint Records.
It has been hinted that Allen may be creating a record label to realise new material.
Discography
- 1963 Live 1963 (Daevid Allen Trio)
- 1971 Banana Moon
Banana Moon is a 1971 studio album by Daevid Allen. The album is sometimes referred to as Bananamoon and it was also reissued as a Gong album....
- 1973 BMO Vol.16 : Gong on Acid 73(w/Gong
Gong is a Franco-British progressive/psychedelic rock band formed by Australian musician Daevid Allen. Their music has also been described as space rock. Other notable band members include Allan Holdsworth, Tim Blake, Didier Malherbe, Pip Pyle, Gilli Smyth, Steve Hillage, Francis Moze, Mike Howlett...
)
- 1976 Good Morning (w/Euterpe
In Greek mythology, Euterpe + τέρπειν terpein ) was one of the Muses, the daughters of Mnemosyne, fathered by Zeus. Called the "Giver of delight", when later poets assigned roles to each of the Muses, she was the muse of music. In late Classical times she was named muse of lyric poetry and...
)
- 1977 Now Is the Happiest Time of Your Life
Now Is The Happiest Time Of Your Life is Daevid Allen's second solo studio album, originally released in 1977, and re-released in a digitally remastered version in 2009.- Track listing :# "Flamenco Zero"# "Why Do We Treat Ourselves Like We Do?"...
- 1977 BMO Vol 1: Studio Rehearsal Tapes 1977 (w/Euterpe)- Released on CD in 2008
- 1978 Mother - Gilli Smyth (Daevid Allen guests on a few tracks and produced the album.)
- 1979 N'existe pas!
- 1980 BMO Vol 9: Divided Alien Playbax Disk 2 Released on CD in 2009
- 1980 BMO Vol 8: Divided Alien Playbax Disk 1 Released in 2009
- 198- BMO Vol 3: Self Initiation
- 1982 Ex/Don't Stop (w/David Tolley)
- 1981 Divided Alien Playbax 80 (Reference original album cover for the 1981 release date as Import from the UK)
- 1984 BMO Vol.14 : Radio Art 1984
- 1988 Live Spring '88: The Return
- 1989 The Owl and the Tree
The Owl and the Tree is the 7th studio album of Mother Gong and was released in 1990.-Track listing:# "I Am a Tree" – 4:40# "Lament" – 3:36# "Hands" – 3:15# "Ally" – 4:11# "La Dea Madrí" – 7:05# "Owly Song" – 6:36# "I Am My Own Lover" – 14:31...
(Mother Gong)
- 1990 Stroking the Tail of the Bird (w/Gilli Smyth & Harry Williamson)
- 1990 Australia Aquaria
- 1990 Seven Drones (VoicePrint)
- 1990 The Australian Years (VoicePrint)
- 1990 BMO Vol 10: Melbourne Studio Tapes (w/Invisible Opera Company of Oz)
- 1992 Who's Afraid (w/Kramer)
- 1992 Live at the Witchwood 1991 (Magick Brothers)
- 1993 12 Selves
- 1995 Hit Men (w/Kramer)
- 1995 Dreamin' a Dream
- 1995 BMO Vol 4: Bards of Byron Bay (w/Russell Hibbs)
- 1998 Eat Me Baby I'm a Jellybean
- 1998 22 Meanings (w/Harry Williamson)
- 1998 BMO Vol.11 : Live in Glastonbury Town (w/Magick Brothers)
- 1998 BMO Vol.15 : Solo @ The Axiom, Cheltenham '98
- 1999 BMO Vol 2: Live in the UK (w/Brainville)
- 1999 The Children's Crusade (Brainville)
- 2001 Sacred Geometry (w/Micro Cosmic)
- 2001 Nectans Glen (w/Russell Hibbs)
- 2002 BMO Vol.17 : Beauty the Basket Case(w/Guru and Zero)
- 2004 Makoto Mango (w/Guru & Zero)
- 2004 BMO Vol 6: Live @ the Knit NYC (w/Nicoletta Stephanz)
- 2004 BMO Vol.7: The Mystery Disque (w/das)
- 2004 BMO Vol.13: Altered States of Alien KWISP(w/Altered Walter Funk)
- 2005 Sacred Geometry II (w/Micro Cosmic)
- 2006 BMO Vol.12: Glissando Grooves (SFO Soundtribe 3)(w/Don Falcone
Don Falcone is an American musician and producer. Originally a poet-performer in Pennsylvania, he relocated to San Francisco at the beginning of the 1980s. He was a member of Thessalonians and the original Melting Euphoria...
)
University of Errors
- 1999 Money Doesn't Make It (University of Errors)
- 2000 e2x10=tenure (University of Errors)
- 2000 BMO Vol 5: Live in Chicago (w/University of Errors)
- 2001 Live at Schuba's 2001 (University of Errors)
- 2002 Ugly Music For Monica (University of Errors)
- 2002 Go Forth and Errorize! Live in the USA (University of Errors)
-
- BMO(Bananamoon Obscure) series are official bootleg series his rare recordings
- Please see Gong
Gong is a Franco-British progressive/psychedelic rock band formed by Australian musician Daevid Allen. Their music has also been described as space rock. Other notable band members include Allan Holdsworth, Tim Blake, Didier Malherbe, Pip Pyle, Gilli Smyth, Steve Hillage, Francis Moze, Mike Howlett...
and Mother Gong discography also
External links