VIDEO: JeGong Reveal New Single & Video 'Ghost City'

JeGong is the amalgamation of two distinct forces within post-rock and heavy music, Dahm Cipolla, drummer of MONO (Japan) and Reto Mäder of Sum Of R. Bursting with new ideas, the group's energies focus on the crossroads between ambient, experimental, kraut and post-rock, while blazing trails with their electronic-forward approach.

Their debut album I is out next Friday via Pelagic Records and today they've shared new single "Ghost City" alongside its video which completes their visual trilogy surrounding the release. JeGong explain, "In 'Ghost City' we wanted different elements to collide with each other. It was not about the destructive collision as such, but about the calm and awakening afterwards. A collision as a means to an end."

The videos for Stable Off, Sowing Dragons Teeth and Ghost City form a three-part chronologic series that creates a dystopia in which the world is recreated by a species after the collapse, with a monolith as a memorial for the downfall. JeGong note "'Ghost City' is the beginning and tells the story of an abandoned city and its ghosts in the form of floating particles that will transform into a new species in the near future."

JeGong use krautrock as a launchpad to move into uncharted realms- thereby conjuring the original, truly bold spirit of the style. The result is a record without inhibition- delving deep into psychedelia, repetition, post-rock and even elements of dystopian sci-fi soundtracks like Blade Runner and Metropolis during the LP's 70+ minute runtime.

Created in the tail end of 2019, the LP was an exercise in social distancing with Mäder recording all of the instrumentation at Hinterzimmer in Bern, Switzerland and Cipolla adding in the drums at BC Studio in NYC with Martin Bisi (Swans, Sonic Youth), where it was also partially mixed. With additional mixing and mastering taking place in Finland with Jaakko Viitalähde (Oranssi Pazuzu, Dark Buddha Rising), the wholly remote record presented a challenge in creating a collaborative effort while separated by half a world at every turn.

Consisting of 14 tracks, I is emblematic of the adventurous spirit at the dawn of electronic music converging with the wide-eyed wonder toward experimentation found at the height of the psychedelic movement. Using processed guitars and heavily manipulated synths, Mäder creates vast atmospheric architecture in which Cipolla's tasteful yet propulsive percussion adds a backbone and unexpected twists.

I is out October 16 via Berlin-based Pelagic Records on all digital platforms, CD and vinyl. To pre-order go here.

Watch the video for "Ghost City" here:

Photo Credit: Sandro Klopfstein

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