Kavus Torabi

Kavus Torabi (born 5 December 1971) is a British musician, composer, record label owner and radio broadcaster. Described as a "psychedelic polymath", he is a multi-instrumentalist known for his work in the psychedelic, avant-garde rock field. Rising to prominence as a member of Cardiacs, Torabi has fronted the progressive rock band Gong since 2014 and led the band Knifeworld from 2009 to 2018. He has since been active as a solo artist and one-third of the electronic band the Utopia Strong. Born in Iran of English and Iranian decent, Torabi moved to the UK in 1973 and was raised in Plymouth. He was a founding member of the Monsoon Bassoon, whose album I Dig Your Voodoo (1999) was produced by Tim Smith, the leader of Cardiacs. Torabi worked as Cardiacs' guitar technician for eight years and, after the breakup of the Monsoon Bassoon, replaced Jon Poole as second guitarist and vocalist for three shows in 2003 performing the band's early material captured on the live album The Special Garage Concerts (2005). Torabi wrote the words for the 2007 single "Ditzy Scene", his first Cardiacs studio work, and was a member when the band went into an indefinite hiatus in 2008 due to Smith experiencing neurological problems following a cardiac arrest. Knifeworld, with Melanie Woods as Torabi's co-singer, carried forward Cardiacs' melodic, complex type of music. Five years after Smith's death, LSD was released in 2025 as the only Cardiacs studio album with Torabi. With the snooker player Steve Davis, Torabi co-presented the radio show The Interesting Alternative Show on Phoenix FM between 2010 and 2018 and has DJ'd at events. Through the show, Torabi was introduced to Gong founder Daevid Allen by Davis and joined Gong as an additional guitarist, debuting on the 2014 album I See You. Due to Allen's cancer, from which Allen died in 2015, Gong continued with Torabi as frontman and principal songwriter, releasing the studio albums Rejoice! I'm Dead! (2016), The Universe Also Collapses (2019), Unending Ascending (2023) and Bright Spirit (2026). Torabi's first solo venture, the EP Solar Divination, was released in 2018, followed by the solo albums Hip to the Jag (2020) and The Banishing (2024). Torabi and Davis also co-founded the Utopia Strong with Michael J. York in 2018, and wrote the joint autobiography Medical Grade Music (2021).