Mong Tong Shine at the 2024 Bali Joyland Festival

Mong Tong are destined for cult status. That much I'm sure. For those fortunate to have attended the 2024 Joyland Festival in Bali, this was a gig that will be seared deeply into the memory for a long, long time to come. The setting was just perfect. Just imagine a sultry late night in the tropical paradise that is Bali with gentle waves caressing the sandy shores close to where the modestly-sized stage had been set up. 

When the Taiwanese electronic duo emerged, they promptly tied black cloths around their heads to cover their eyes. Incredibly, they would play blindfolded! 

Experiencing Mong Tong's music live is quite a different proposition to listening to their recorded songs, which although brilliant, are more subtle and laid back. Live, though, the music takes on a psycadellic dimension, being notably less melodic but far more intense and catharic. The music was so immersive that the past and future disolved into irellevancy for me and only the moment mattered. But time never stands still and eventually Mong Tong had to remove their masks, and thereby bring the show to an end. What a performance. And what a band!!! 
 
*Mong Tong's music is available for download on Bandcamp and you can, of course, listen to it on Spotify. Some of my fave tracks are: Forest Show, Tropic Sub, Mystery and 717.



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