Consisting of Hong Kong-born vocalist/guitarist Tom Ng and Montreal-born bassist Joshua Frank, Gong Gong Gong create heady fusions of heavy guitar-based melodies and hypnotically deep bass-driven rhythms. Swapping traditional percussion for lively string-based beats, their sound is both innovative and unique – with vocals sang in Ng’s native Cantonese.
Coming together in 2015 the duo draws on inspirations from a variable of sources including Bo Diddley, Cantonese opera, West African desert blues, drone and electronic music – and what is pretty damn cool is that you can pick out each and every element as they seamlessly fuse together in this dynamic tapestry. This sound is exciting and dramatic, rooted in both old tradition and modern instrumentation. Its raw, minimal and yet exceedingly full-on and stirring, creating compelling and atmospheric soundscapes through gritty, stripped-back guitar and bare-boned bass.
Releasing their debut 7″ in 2018, Siren 追逐劇 was accompanied by b-side, Something’s Happening 突發. A year later came Gong Gong Gong’s debut LP, Phantom Rhythm, which consists of 10 equally enticing tracks, all of which pulls you in with alluring drawn-out intro’s full of mystery and promise whilst lyrics cover abstract tales of absurdity and doubt, desire and lust. It’s been quite difficult selecting a song to feature today given that all 10 tracks have a completely individual draw of their own, but Some Kind of Demon is a shapely beast of slick rhythmic proportions and slow-burning, coiling melodies. Its one of those ‘its not the destination, but the journey’ kind of tracks and I’m really quite enjoying the ride! Check it out above and listen/purchase the whole album from here.
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