Gonga are one of the acts Portishead chose as a Ones To Watch in Issue 29 of Clash magazine, read more and download a free compilation of the tracks here.
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Riffing you say? Nothing like a good old fashioned chug to get things moving and no one does it better than new breaking band Gonga.
This riff obsessed four-piece, at the heart of a thriving Bristol scene, were the first signing to the Geoff’s Invada label and specialise in grindingly heavy doom and furious rock with some fleeting mellow moments.
“It’s difficult to find music these days that’s actually moving anything forward,” Geoff claims. “I listen to a lot of things but I don’t always get very excited about it. They are really heavy and utterly committed to where they are going. I find them totally exciting.’
Gonga’s bowel-shakingly heavy force is down to a combination of guitar and bass working together, where guitar work compliments the heavy basslines.
After the completion of their recently released second album, ‘Transmigration’, singer Joe Volk left the band and has been replaced by Matt Williams (AKA Team Brick). George, Gonga’s guitarist says: “It is unfortunate that we have lost Joe. Matt is an interesting new element to the band though. It is working out really well. We’re pretty excited now about what is happening.”
Band Members: George Elgie (guitar), Thomas Elgie (drums), Peter Theobalds (bass) and Matt Williams (vocals)
Listen to: The epic ‘La Pique’ off ‘Transmigration’. George says: “This track sums up our turbulent journey making this album. It’s a great landscape of riffs and bodies with a real groove.”
Fact: Their website is called Thee Temple Ov Riff Worship.
