Harry Williamson and Friends

Harry Williamson's involvement in Mother Gong began in 1979. Working with Gilli Smyth, formerly of Gong and known for her 'space whisper', he wrote recorded 'Fairy Tales' for Charly records and toured the US with Georgio Gomelsk's ZU manifesival. The tour line-up included reknowned bassist and producer Bill Laswell, Daevid Allen, drummer Stu Martin (Charly Parker) and 16 other musicians, including Kramer. Three LP's later they formed MotherGong with brilliant saxophonist Robert Calvert, percussionist Rob George and Conrad Henderson on bass. Harry helped to create a vast catalogue of musical explorations to accompany Gilli's poems and invocations in the years 1979 -1991Harry Williamson appears as producer/musician/composer on many of the Gong family releases of the 80s. He was part of the Gongmaison incarnation of Gong (Gongmaison 'Live at Glastonbury' CD, available through GAS), engineered and produced releases for Daevid Allen ('12 Selves' and 'Australia Aquaria') (Voiceprint), was behind the Australian Invisible Opera Company of Tibet's self-titled CD and for 12 years was the main composer/producer for MotherGongHarry's classical affinity produced structures not usually associated with this freeform style of music. It was a new way of working that he particularly appreciated. It enabled his musical boundaries to expand to yet another level and the result is some very intriguing music. 'Wild Child' is perhaps the epitome of this elegant and emotionally moving process, recorded in a few wild full moon days in a studio in Wales prior to the 1989 UK tour. 'Magenta/She Made the World' also highlights this style.Harry's official involvement with Mother Gong ended in 1991, but a recent resurgence of interest has resulted in the reissue of 6 CDs in 2004. The Battle of the Birds, Tree in Fish, The Owl and the Tree, Histories and Mysteries of the Plant Gong, Mother Gong 'Greatest Hits' compilation, have now been released on Voiceprint. They were all extensive remastered and recompiled by Harry in Melbourne during 2003, and include new tracks . Another compilation, Mothergong live at Glastonbury 79/ 81 has been completed in May 2004Harry and Daevid Allen recently collaborated on a new CD, '22 Meanings - the art of glissando guitar', available on the Gliss label. This CD features the extraordinary drone of the Angel Guitar.He is now looking for a deal with his collaboration with Afghani Sitar maestro Khalil Gudaz and has recorded an eponymous CD with Melbourne Ladino quintet Soleluna, and developing a musical, called LACEIn 2000 he released his first solo CD which was called 'Life in the World Unseen' (available from Voiceprint) after the book by Luis Borgia. It is a collection of instrumental as songs and includes a suite, mainly in 7/8 time inspired by the book - which deals with life in the spirit world - where building are made of music.Soleluna is available from CD Baby in North America