Shpongle is an English psychedelic music project formed in 1996. The group includes Simon Posford (aka Hallucinogen) and Raja Ram (one third of The Infinity Project). 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. 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. Simon has stated that they are already considering the production of a sixth album.
Posford is generally responsible for the synthesizers, studio work, and live instrumentation while Raja Ram contributes broad musical concepts and flute arrangements. Raja Ram stated in an interview that "Shpongle" is an umbrella term for feeling positive and euphoric emotions. Shpongle's music is heavily influenced by psychedelic experiences and frequently makes use of sonic textures that approximate psychedelic states as well as vocal samples relating to consciousness expansion, hallucinations, and altered states of awareness. For example, the track, "A New Way to Say 'Hooray,'" contains a vocal sample of Terence McKenna describing the effects of DMT, and the most popular song from their first album, 'Divine Moments of Truth', alludes to DMT in its initialism.
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.
01. Ineffable Mysteries 10:21
02. Beija Flor 6:05
03. Dorset Perception 7:59
04. Periscopes Of Consciousness 3:35
05. I Am You 10:20
06. Star Shpongled Banner 8:20
07. My Head Feels Like A Frisbee 8:43
08. When Shall I Be Free ? 8:03
09. No Turn Unstoned 8:34
10. Divine Moments Of Truth 11:22
11. Interlude 1:57
12. Nothing Is Something Worth Doing 7:44
13. Once Upon The Sea Of Blissful Awareness 8:17
14. Around The World In A Tea Daze 13:55
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