Shpongle

Simon Posford and Raja Ram are Shpongle, an ambient techno/trance project formed in 1996 after the pair viewed a solar eclipse in India. The two went into the studio and attempted to duplicate the experience in sonic form, and the result was a 20-minute track, "...And the Day Turned to Night," which was featured on a Twisted label compilation titled Eclipse. Shpongle's full-length debut album, Are You Shpongled?, was released in early 1999.

from Wikipedia:

Shpongle is an English psychedelic downtempo/psybient music project formed in 1996. The group includes Simon Posford (aka Hallucinogen) and Raja Ram (one third of The Infinity Project). Their musical style combines traditional music from all over the globe and vocals with contemporary western synthesizer-based psychedelic music. When asked to describe Shpongle's music, Posford has responded that it is "like nothing you've ever heard before." Shpongle's first track, "Vapour Rumours", was released on TIP Records' Infinite Excursions compilation in 1996. Their debut album, Are You Shpongled?, was released in 1998 on Twisted Records.

Posford is generally responsible for the synthesizers, studio work, and live instrumentation while Raja Ram contributes broad musical concepts and flute arrangements. Raja Ram stated in an interview that "Shpongle" is an umbrella term for feeling positive and euphoric emotions. Shpongle's music is heavily influenced by psychedelic experiences and frequently makes use of sonic textures that approximate psychedelic states as well as vocal samples relating to consciousness expansion, hallucinations, and altered states of awarenesss. The track, "Divine Moments of Truth," for example, contains a vocal sample of Raja Ram describing the effects of dimethyltryptamine (DMT).

Shpongle live

Shpongle has played several live concerts and Simon Posford tours frequently, performing live DJ sets. Raja Ram has occasionally accompanied these sets with live flute performances. Shpongle's first live performance was at the Solstice Music Festival at Motosu Highland in Japan in July 2001. They returned to Japan on New Year's Eve 2003 to play the New Maps Of Hyperspace event at Tokyo Bay NK Hall together with 1200 Micrograms (featuring Raja Ram) and Hallucinogen.

On 16 January 2004, they played a live set in Tel Aviv, Israel. As well as Simon Posford and Raja Ram, this featured Abigail Gorton (Hari Om) and Michele Adamson (credited as Michelle on the tickets) on vocals, Pete Callard on guitar, Nogera on drums and percussion, and Ott on keyboards and programming.

Prior to the release of their fourth album, Shpongle played a sold out live concert at The Roundhouse venue in Chalk Farm, North London on 31 October 2008. The band featured Andy Gangadeen (drums), Nogera (percussion), Chris Taylor (bass), Pete Callard (guitar), Harry Escott (cello) and Dick Trevor (keyboards and programming); Michele Adamson and Hari Om (voices), three dancers, and for one song only (Nothing is Something Worth Doing) Manu Delago on hang drum.

This was followed on 20 December 2008 by a concert in Moscow featuring the same lineup. Shows were also planned for 7 and 9 March 2009 in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, but these were cancelled due to non-payment of the deposit by the promoters.

In 2009, Shpongle played a headlining date at the Ozora Festival held near Ozora, Hungary on 15 August; and two album launch shows at the Roundhouse on 30 and 31 October. The duo returned to Moscow to play at Milk on 12 December 2009.

On 3 August 2010, they opened the Ozora festival in Hungary. This was their tenth documented live performance.

In January 2011, Shpongle toured Australia playing dates at the Forum Theatre in Melbourne, the Enmore Theatre in Sydney and headlined the Rainbow Serpent Festival in Victoria, Australia.

New unreleased material from a forthcoming 2012 album is said to be incorporated in shows for the 2011 year. Shpongle will perform at Electric Forest, Coachella, Wakarusa and Bonnaroo in 2011 with their new stage nicknamed the Shpongletron.

Shpongle will play Summer Camp Music Festival, as "The Masquerade".

"Shpongle Live" performed at Camp Bisco X on 8 July 2011 in Mariaville, New York. This is was Shpongle's first ever performance as a full ensemble in the United States and was greatly received by fans and newcomers alike. The band also performed two sold-out American shows on Halloween weekend in 2011, playing at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City on October 28, and at the Fox Oakland Theater in Oakland, California on October 29. As of September 2011, Shpongle has started to work on a new upcoming fifth album as published on their Facebook page.