Beijing-based art punks Gong Gong Gong have shared their new single Some Kind of Demon 某一種惡魔. The track is a meditative slow-burner, and is the second single lifted from their debut LP ‘Phantom Rhythm 幽靈節奏’ (due out October 4th via Wharf Cat Records). Take a listen to the track via YouTube below.
Gong Gong Gong’s Tom Ng expands on the song’s meaning: “This is probably the most slow and meditative song on the LP, and one of our favourites. The lyrics are a kind of self-reflection or internal monologue, combining Cantonese words to look at different possibilities or things that could have happened:
“然後 又再 或者 假設 可會 若然是
Then / Again / Or / What if / Maybe / If it is
即使 且 不過 反正 或 仍然
Even though / And / However / Anyway / Or / Still
難道 豈不是
Could it / Wouldn’t be
但 要不然
But / Otherwise
可惜只要 方可 卻沒 還是
It’s a pity / As long as / Can only / But not / Still
然後 又再 或者 假設 可會 若然是
Then / Again / Or / What if / Maybe / If it is”
It’s a way of experimenting with language and creating a narrative that is both very evocative and completely open to interpretation. The words and the vocal melody create a flowing framework for internal reflection.”
In support of the release, Gong Gong Gong will be heading out on a Chinese tour, with US and EU dates to follow. Full Chinese tour dates can be found below.
Formed in 2015, Gong Gong Gong played their earliest shows in Beijing underpass tunnels and DIY spaces. Members Tom Ng and Joshua Frank are both outsiders in the the city they call home, with Ng, who sings defiantly in his native Cantonese, born in Hong Kong, while Frank, originally from Montreal, has lived in Beijing on and off since childhood. They came charging out from Beijing’s underground scene with a distinct vision and uncompromising sense of purpose in 2017, with the release of their first 7 inch, Siren 追逐劇. The two song release came out to coincide with the band’s first US tour, a run of dates with Parquet Courts, which was followed by further US shows with Flasher, and a European tour with Bodega, and the band’s limited first exposure to audiences outside of China created immediate excitement, drawing praise from outlets like The New Yorker, Interview Magazine, Stereogum, Loud & Quiet and BrooklynVegan.
Drawing on inspirations as wide-ranging as Bo Diddley, Cantonese opera, West African desert blues, drone, and electronic music. the band eschew traditional rock percussion, the locomotive chug of Ng’s guitar combines with Frank’s thumping, harmonics-laden bass lines to conjure an aura of ghostly snare hits and timpani overtones. Over Frank’s enigmatic melody, Ng sings in Cantonese, piecing together abstract tales of absurdity, doubt, desire, and lust.
‘Phantom Rhythm 幽靈節奏’ is out October 4th via Wharf Cat Records. It’s available for preorder here. The
Track list
1) The Last Note 最後的音符
2) Notes Underground 地下日記
3) Ride Your Horse 騎你的馬
4) Moonshadows 月後殘影
5) Inner Reaches II 慾望的暗角二
6) Gong Gong Gong Blues 工工工布魯斯
7) Wei Wei Wei 喂喂喂
8) Some Kind of Demon 某一種惡魔
9) Night’s Colour (Chongqing) 夜色（重慶）
10) Sound of Love 愛歌
