I just read that drummer Pierre Moerlen died a few months ago.

[Baculus]

I just recently learned that Pierre Moerlen died on May 5, 2005.

Pierre Moerlen is a name that isn't too familiar to many drummers and music fans, but as the drummer for Gong and various musical units, he is worth noting. personally, he's been an inspiration ever since I heard Gong's music around 1988, and to this day I am still trying to figure out what the heck he's playing on classic Gong albums such as You and Espresso II. His playing was very technical - jazz, funk, and rock infused - and full of creativity and life. As a classically trained musician, his approach to percussion was open-ended, always striving for an idea or a twist on a rhythm. I hear drummers talk about greats such as Neil Peart, but Moerlen always impressed me more so, and unfortunately was unheralded for his technique and playing ability.

Gong is hard to describe, musically - they were, and stilll are, a psychedelic band with roots in the 60's. But they are much more then a mere "weird" psychedelic band - they eventually branched off, sometimes in different incarnations, into other music explorations. Moerlen's Gong was more fusion, jazz-oriented, and different then original Gong frontman Daevid Allen. Some of Pierre Moerlen's mid-70's Gong albums are, to me, some of the best fusion (if it can be simply defined as that genre) of the era. I remember the first time I listened to Espresso II (the beat on the song "Soli" is simply amazing) and I loved how the vibraphone and marimba was such an integral part of the sound. (I was a hope music major at the time and beginning to study these instruments. I later changed majors after deciding I just wanted to play percussion and trapset.) After hearing this music, among other music I was listening to at the time, I began to listen, play, and approach music in an "out of the box" fashion. And Pierre Moerlen was a huge part of this change in my musical thinking.

So even though most people here will probably not care too much about this drummer, I thought perhaps it'll inspire someone to give a listen to their music and his playing. And if not, I am at least paying a tribute, albeit a bit late, for a musician that had such a musical impact upon me. Gong isn't for everyone, but that is how music goes, eh?

Thanks, Pierre.

[Guest Gichin13]

interesting ... somehow, never heard of Gong. I will need to f/u on that one.

[Baculus]

Gong aren't well known to a lot of people, but they definitely have a cult following. They also have musical ties to a lot of different people, from the Orb, Steve Hillage, Mike Oldfield, Mick Taylor, Here and Now, among others. Many musical family and associates, which always infused their music with new ideas. They are one of those "greatest bands you've never heard" type deals. And since there became different versions of Gong at a later time, it depends upon which you are listening to.

[Baculus]

Gichin, if you want to take a quick listen, this playlist has a toon from one of Gong's early albums. It isn't great quality, and doesn't necessarily show cases some of Pierre's later brilliances, but the tune, I Never Glid Before, is a fun little song. Some of their other stuff is a bit different in nature, especially Pierre's later stuff.

http://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/14994

Sorry to spam my own thread. :-P