Golden Congo
I was sitting in my studio with Lee Thomas Taylor working out a new synth set and we wanted to make something with an uncharacteristic rhythm section. The lyrics came quickly and the beats poured out. Lee got all the snares and kicks in the right place and then handed it over. The song was basically done in a single night of wine and good times. And then it fell into a quiet hole for several years. It was unlike anything I'd ever done so it didn't mix well with the prog-rock albums we were working on at the time.
We later toured with this song (Medusae Tour) when we released our last album with Maybe Mars. That album had songs with strange time-signatures and many of the demos originally had electronic drum sections. We eventually turned Reach for Me into an electronic drum track for many shows that year. Lukas had really liked Golden Congo and it seemed that we might try working without a drummer and aim for a more NIN feel to the music, which was where we got Siddhartha from (inspired primarily from Lukas; He planned out those original beats). So the second phase of Golden Congo was guitar heavy and had a distortion drop that slammed you in the face a bit. We actually started every show with that song on that tour. And again, the song went into a quiet hole for another 2 years.
I started a band project called Dizzy Love with Jelly. The idea was to make soundtracks for movies that never existed. The EP we put together was profoundly beautiful, but was too short to tour with. We did a series of shows for HIT FM, a Taiwan Radio Station. And in the hotels we were always looking for ways to make the setlist longer. And so Golden Congo again came out of the hole and into Ableton Live (the DAW used for its production). Jelly made music for Mazda commercials and pop stars and toured with a bunch of huge acts and so he knew a lot about what he liked and didn't. He took a stab at Golden Congo and came up with much of what it is today, sound-wise. I can't even remember if we veer played it live, but most likely not. Either way, it went back into the hole.
2019, many moons later, the file came to the forefront and I just decided that it was time for the song to officially make its way into the ears of the listener. I think about what even a Golden Congo is... what the song means. And yes, it does have a meaning, a vein of naughty child-like nuances. But I'd rather keep that a mystery and let you just enjoy it.