The third Shpongle album, "Nothing Lasts", is finished and up for release soon. In what ways will the new album be a development from the previous albums and where did the inspiration come from this time?
 
I think the new album sounds very mature and confident... it is a summation of everything we learned using the live instruments on tales of the inexpressible... but also a return to the electronic moods of shpongle 1.... but done with a more modern and psychedelic approach. i never really know where the inspiration comes from.... i guess it is a combination of everything we experience throughout life.... movies,books,relationships,experiences... but we did have a slight concept this time, if that is what you are driving at....we wanted to make an album that is like dreaming... you move seamlessly in and out of different locations and moods.... 1 minute you are at the rio carnival, and the next you are flying over the abyss.... it has re-occuring themes...but really is one large piece of music spread over an album
 
 
 
When do you expect it'll hit the streets?
 
maybe feb/march? it depends on how quickly we can get the artwork wrapped up.... we are starting this week
 
 
 
The final tracklist, counting 20 tracks, has made people hope for a double album. Would this be the correct assumption or is it still 8 tracks divided into 20 parts?
 
it is still 1 cd. kind of like 8 tracks divided into 20 parts but each track is a different part of the Dream Sequence
 
 
 
Does the title indicate that this will be the final chapter of the Shpongle tale?
 
well, never say 'never again!' to quote somebody.... but at the moment it is unlikely we will do another shpongle album. that doesn't mean that raja and i won't collaborate again... we love working together....but we both like the idea of a trilogy. i like releasing music when people have limited expectations... before the 1st shpongle, there was no shpongle, so people didn't really know what to expect, and so the 1st album really got to them... then, already, when you start the 2nd album people have ideas and conceptions about how that album should be, based on their ideas of the 1st album....

The release date of Unusual Suspects 2 has been postponed several times even though, seemingly, it was good to go in mid-summer. Could you elaborate a bit on the nature of these delays?
 
Yes... Twisted has recently taken a serious blow, by the bankruptcy of our main distributor, EFA.... this meant we lost a lot of stock and money, and had to find new distribution... i would urge fans of twisted to actually buy the CDs, instead of just downloading it, in order to see future releases!

Shpongle is back, with a new album, 'Nothing Lasts' a reference to Terence Mckenna and one of their many influences, the imitable audio pioneers, Simon Posford & Raja Ram remind us not only the about the impermenance of life but also how to rewrite the ambient agenda with yet more spell binding music from their outer cosmos that is 'Shpongle'. With sonic waves in a sea of synths, battalions of brazilian batucada beats, flamenco solo's, piano solo's, vocal soarings from Hari Om and trancey dubs this really is more music from the otherworld. A place of undefinable and indescribable beauty where all cultures collide, genres are rode over roughshot, and nothing is outlawed. For those that know them these will be sentiments they recognise and welcome as further evidence of Shongle's reputation. To those that don't, welcome to a new universe one with it's own language and musical map, a place of beauty and impermenance.