KONG

Dutch instrumental quartet KONG have been following their own path for more than 30 years, melting elements of heavy metal, progressive rock, electronica and ambient.

Kong’s music is 99% instrumental and performed live in their signature ‘quadraphonic’ setting where each of the four members is positioned in a corner of the venue with the audience in the middle.

Signing with Peaceville Records, Kong debuted with Mute Poet Vocalizer (1990), and toured regularly across Europe, drawing widespread praise from in-the-know critics and building a selective but dedicated fan base. Two more albums (Phlegm, Push Comes To Shove) were released before the band moved to Roadrunner Records. The music obtained a more fluid, danceable, even lighthearted approach resulting in Earmined (1997) and Freakcontrol (1999).

After a 7 year break the band was revived in 2007 with a 3/4 new line-up and started working on new material, returning to the heavier, more experimental sound of the early years. This resulted in the albums What It Seems Is What You Get (2009), Merchants Of Air (2012) and Stern (2014). Concerts were again played quadraphonically but the band also appeared on several festivals (Roadburn, Progpower Europe) in a ‘normal’ one-stage setting.

In 2020 an EP entitled Phlegmatism with rerecorded songs of 1992’s Phlegm was released. And finally, in 2021 Kong started recording material for a new album, which resulted in the album Traders Of Truth released on 03.03-2023.