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. On 9 September 2014, Posford confirmed beginning work on a sixth album, which was eventually announced as Codex VI and set for release in October 2017. On 3 October, even before the release of Codex VI, the duo announced via a Facebook video that they have begun working on their seventh studio album.
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 awareness. For example, the track "A New Way to Say 'Hooray'", contains a vocal sample of Terence McKenna describing the effects of DMT.
A New Way to Say 'Hooray!'
Shpongle Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There is a cheer. The gnomes have learned a new way to say hooray.
The walls, such they be, are crawling with geometric hallucinations.
Very brightly coloured, very irridescent. Deep sheens and very highly reflective surfaces everything is machine-like and polished and throbbing with energy but that is not what immediately arrests my attention. What arrests my attention is the fact that this space is inhabited.
The lyrics in Shpongle's song A New Way to Say 'Hooray!' can be seen as an ode to the experience of taking psychedelic drugs, specifically DMT, and the surreal and seemingly mystical experiences that come with it. The opening lines describe the act of inhaling the vapors of the substance, with the flowing and repetitive "mmmmmmmmmm" sound potentially representing the initial rush of the drug.
The subsequent lines describe the vivid hallucinations and sensory distortions that typically accompany DMT use. The "gnomes" referenced may be a common hallucination associated with the drug, and the idea that they have found a new way to say "hooray" may represent the profound feeling of joy and wonder that can result from the experience. The description of the hallucinations as "geometric" and "machine-like" also suggests a sense of otherworldliness and wonder.
The final lines, which mention the entities in the space making gifts for the listener, may represent a sense of benevolence or higher purpose - that the experience of taking the drug is not simply an escape from reality, but a journey to a place of greater understanding and enlightenment.
Possible interpretations aside, it's worth noting that the lyrics themselves are somewhat nonsensical and open-ended, which is not uncommon in psychedelic music. The focus is often on creating a trippy and immersive experience, rather than conveying a specific message or narrative.
Line by Line Meaning
So! You take let us assume a third toke; long and slow.
You take a third hit of the substance, inhaling it slowly in a measured way.
You vaporise and you take it in and in and in...
You inhale the vaporized substance deeply and repeatedly.
and there is a sound like the crumpling of a plastic bread wrapper or the crackling of a flame and a tone.
As you inhale, you hear a crackling sound like that of a flame and a tone in the background.
A mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm and there is this.......
You hear a prolonged 'mmmmmmmm' noise that gradually intensifies.
There is a cheer. The gnomes have learned a new way to say hooray.
You experience a feeling of celebration as the hallucination of gnomes appear to have learned a new way of expressing joy.
The walls, such they be, are crawling with geometric hallucinations.
You observe that the environment around you is covered with hallucinations of geometrical shapes and patterns that move around like creatures.
Very brightly coloured, very irridescent. Deep sheens and very highly reflective surfaces everything is machine-like and polished and throbbing with energy but that is not what immediately arrests my attention.
You notice that everything around you is shining with bright colors and reflective surfaces, giving the impression of a machine-like world that's pulsating with energy.
What arrests my attention is the fact that this space is inhabited.
What really captures your attention is the realization that the hallucinated space is inhabited by creatures.
And so like jewelled self dribbling basketballs these things come running forward and what they are doing with this visible language that they create is they are making gifts!
You see these creatures approaching you, resembling self-dribbling basketballs encrusted with jewels, and they start creating gifts using a visible language that they have developed.
They are making gifts for you and they will say...
The creatures are creating gifts specifically for you and they will communicate with you.
Contributed by Blake D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@belovedconsole
So!
You take, let us assume, a third toke.
Long and slow
You Vaporize
And you take it in, and in and in.
And there is a sound.
Uh, like the crumpling of a plastic bread wrapper
Or the crackling of a flame
And, a tone.
A tone.
A mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm [SOUND]
And there is this
And there is this
[SOUND]
There is a cheer.
The gnomes have learned a new way to say, "HOOOOOOOOOOORRRRAAAAAYYYYYYY"
[SOUND]
The walls, if such they be, are crawling
With geometric hallucination
...surfaces, everything is a sheen, like a collation of throbbing with energy
But that is not the immediate view. [But that does not arrest my attention.]
What arrests my attention is the fact that this space {this space}
Is inhabited.
[SOUND]
Inhabited, inhabited, inhabited.
And so like jeweled self-dribbling basketballs
These things come running forward
And what they are doing with this visible language that they create
Is,
They're making gifts.
They're making gifts for you.
And they will say,
[SOUND]
@denizb.6882
fuck... Terence McKenna makes this song!
beginning kills me already ....
"So........ you take - let us assume - a third toke....."
and then before the hook
"The Gnomes..........have found a new way..... to say....hoooooooooooooooooooo........"
Makes me smile every time. Thanks this is heaven in a mp3!
damn... forgot about the
"The walls - such there be - ...." part :_-D
How can you not love this guy?!
@signaldream
So! You take let us assume a third toke; long and slow. You vaporize
and you take it in and in and in... and there is a sound like the crumpling of a plastic bread wrapper or the crackling of flame and a tone.
A mmmmmmmmmmmmmmMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!
And there is this...
There is a cheer. The gnomes have learned a new way to say hooooooraaayyy...
The walls, such they be, are crawling with geometric hallucinations...
The walls, such they be, are crawling with geometric hallucinations. Very brightly colored, very iridescent. Deep sheens and very highly reflective surfaces. Everything is machine-like and polished and throbbing with energy but that is not what immediately arrests my attention. What arrests my attention is the fact that this space is inhabited...
And so like jeweled self dribbling basketballs these things come running forward and what they are doing with this visible language that they create is they are making gifts! They are making gifts for you and they will say (gibberish)
@ArvindRao420
My late younger brother loved this track. He would play it every single time we tripped. Life's one long drawn out trip without him but this track makes it a little better. Love you loads, Shanky!
@Ner0mancer
Sorry for your loss pal, one day you'll trip together again in the dimensions of the afterlife 💚
@georgemansell
Bless you man. My late eldest son loved it too.
@georgemansell
Reminds me of my late son. Peace and love
@ArvindRao420
@@georgemansell Peace and love. ❤️
@CAMAROZSS
@@Ner0mancer They will both be where we go when we trip.
@gooey915
The synesthesia I got from this is like a firework show
@andypower5531
This came out in 2001 lol...so ahead of the game.
@sex6cult9revolution
There is no ahead/behind the game, my friend, only a fleeting glimpse of eternity from the vantage point of now. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Syd wrote about the gnomes in 1967, Terence McKenna gave these talks on DMT in the 80's and 90's and Simon Posford released this in 2001. And it sounds as good as ever. Peace.
@mattjohnston3893
Loving the tryptamine buzzing tones so accurate