L-R: Jay Watson, Ambrose Kenny-Smith | Credit: Jamie Terry

Members Of King Gizzard And Pond Announce Supergroup Album

May 9, 2024

Jay Watson – of Pond, GUM and the Tame Impala live ensemble – has teamed up with Ambrose Kenny-Smith of King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard and The Murlocs to form a new duo. Ill Times, the debut collaborative effort between the two, is set for release next month on Friday July 19th on p(doom) Records – the freshly-minted new imprint from King Gizzard, marking the first release for it.

Watson and Kenny-Smith have been friends for 15 years, with their respective bands often touring together and the pair collaborating on music in the past – Kenny-Smith appeared on two of Watson’s GUM songs, ‘Minor Setback’ and ‘Old Transistor Radio’, in 2023. Both will feature on Ill Times, as well as the freshly-released title track from the album – the music video for which can be viewed below.

GUM / Ambrose Kenny-Smith – ‘Ill Times’

In a press statement, Watson explained that he was “was excited to explore stuff our other bands hadn’t really touched on before” with the creation and production of Ill Times. He went on to describe the album as mainly being centred on “funk, soul [and] groove-based music.”

Kenny-Smith, meanwhile, noted that the album was influenced lyrically by the passing of his father – Broderick Smith, frontman of The Dingoes, whose 1973 hit single ‘Way Out West’ was famously covered by James Reyne and James Blundell in 1992. “I learned life is too short to live it in regret or a hole of depression,” said Kenny-Smith of the album’s creative process.

True to both musicians’ prolific nature, Ill Times arrives in the midst of a slew of recent projects. Watson released Saturnia, the sixth GUM album, in September of 2023. Pond are set to release their 10th studio album, Stung!, next month on Friday June 21st.

As for Kenny-Smith, 2023 saw him release two albums with King Gizzard: The heavy metal album PetroDragonic Apocalypse and the electronic album The Silver Cord. He also released his seventh album at the helm of The Murlocs, titled Calm Ya Farm. Next month, on Friday June 7th, The Murlocs will release their debut live album Live at the Teragram Ballroom via ATO Records.