From the ashes of legendary Newcastle drone metal band Bong comes Bong II, as vocalist & bassist Dawn Terry reunites with drummer Mike Smith whilst welcoming Smote’s Daniel Foggin on guitar.
“I very much wanted it to be a continuation – being the original Bong but minus one member, it’s not far off,” Dawn explains. “I really love what Amon Düül did with Amon Düül II, so it’s a little bit of a nod to them. There’s a certain absurdity already to the name of the band, Bong, and to add the II on the end, it adds a whole new layer of ridiculousness to it which I really enjoy.”
Although the original Bong line-up had been dormant for a few years, a chance meeting with Foggin through Newcastle’s vibrant experimental music scene got the wheels in motion for the project’s rebirth.
“I went to see Smote play about four years ago or so, just after the Lubber [Fiend, Newcastle DIY venue] had opened, I thought they were great and ended up chatting to them all backstage and they seemed to enjoy Bong as well,” says Dawn. “He’s slotted in really well, he’s really enjoying playing without worrying about the rest of the band because Smote is very much his baby, so he can have much more of a stress-free time and just really enjoy playing guitar. Obviously he’s heard a lot of Bong before, so he knows roughly what direction to go in with Bong II as a continuation of the sound.”
Whilst Foggin still has his hands full with Smote, Dawn says this hasn’t posed any real logistical problems for Bong II.
“[It’s] no more awkward than people just having busy lives really. I’ve got a 9-5 job to fit things around, and kids and everything else, and we all have our own busy lives but find enough time to have a weekend away together and do stuff, so yeah, it’s not been an issue.”
After all, Bong’s members have had no shortage of side-projects over the years anyway, with Dawn also continuing to work on solo material utilizing accordion and vocal loops. When asked if this is something that could potentially feed into Bong II’s sound, Dawn suggests “maybe not the accordion, but the vocal loops thing has definitely bled through from my solo stuff.”
Keen eared listeners will have already heard a taste of this on the band’s new song ‘Some Brief Triumph Emboldens The People Of The Ducts’, which was premiered by Supersonic Festival organizer Lisa Meyer on Stuart Maconie’s Freak Zone earlier this month. “That’s got a vocal loop all the way through it, that I add to in various parts, and that very much comes from my solo experimentation,” explains Dawn.
With the band currently gearing up for a performance at this year’s Supersonic Festival, it appears Lisa has been instrumental in spurring the band on.
“We had a bunch of practices last year and fit them in where we could, and then Lisa got in contact about Supersonic because I mentioned it was a possibility to her when I played last year, back in August,” says Dawn. “She was very excited, so she said, ‘Do you want to play this year?’ So we were like, ‘Well, we’ve gotta get our arses into gear, start recording and kick things up a notch!’”.
Although it’s still unclear what form these recordings will take – “We’ve got a couple of tracks recorded and we’re pretty happy with them, so maybe an EP, maybe an album – they’re quite long tracks, obviously!” – Bong II have got plenty of live shows lined up to tide us over until we find out.
“We’re doing Helgi’s [in London] on the 24 April, then Supersonic on 25 April and we’re also doing Rammel Club in Nottingham on 26, the day after. We’re doing a debut gig in Newcastle on the 21 March which has just been announced, with Rainbow Grave and Louse, that’s going to be really good,” Dawn reveals. “It won’t be a million miles away from the original Bong, but obviously with different people, I think it’s got more of an optimistic feel to it, more triumphant. I think we’re all just enjoying things a lot more than previously.”
“Think of Bong II as a different band, doing the same sort of music but as a different band, certainly, we have a different vibe to how we operate together and I think with how we interact with people.”
Bong II play Supersonic Festival in Birmingham which runs 25 – 26 April
