Previously unreleased recordings from psychedelic pioneer and guitar great Steve Hillage. 70 minutes of Hillage surfing the golden vibe in 1973. The recordings are part of a series of archived tapes liberated from deep storage by Hillage for the box set, and this tape was labelled ‘Wata Trip 1973’. It was recorded when Hillage was 21, living in the Gong communal house in Sens, France with Miquette Giraudy, as the band began to develop the music that would form the core of Gong’s ‘Angel’s Egg’. The tape contained 3 hours and 12 minutes of engaging sonic wonderment, full of gorgeous crackle and hum, utilising tape echo, fuzz and sometimes also Wem copycat with every single note, guitar body bang, buzz, harmonic and bit of audio echoing into infinity and beyond. It seemed to encapsulate a vibrant moment in Steve’s life and was like an organic, fully formed, almost naturally occurring psychedelic ambient album. These selected recordings represent a bubbling, rich cauldron of motifs, sounds and themes within which can be recognised younger forms, glittering shards and even complete deep elements of future songs, some still years from conception. These are the preparatory sketches and watercolours, an appreciation of which can only enhance one’s enjoyment of the of the completed ‘masterwork’, and which even have a beautiful coherent integrity of their own.

The CD edition of The Golden Vibe is in a Digipack packaging complete with an 8-page booklet featuring liner notes by Jonny Greene of GAS and photos of Hillage from the time. The vinyl edition is a black double LP in a gatefold sleeve featuring liner notes from Jonny Greene of GAS and photos of Hillage from the time.