Gilli Smyth first came to the attention of the rock buying fraternity through her work with her then husband Daevid Allen in Gong.

Gong came into being almost by accident in the late sixties when Daevid Allen was refused entry back into Britain following European dates with Soft Machine. Deciding to stay in Paris Allen began working with Gilli Smyth and various musicians on what would eventually be recognised as Gong. The first recognised recordings from the band were Magick Brother, Mystic Sister in 1970. Followed by albums such as Camembert Electrique, Flying Teapot, Angels Egg and You. The first three albums released followed the fortunes of Zero The Hero and told the tale of the pothead pixies and was told over the course of the next three albums and became the Radio Gnome Invisible Trilogy. This mythological story was extremely popular and the resultant albums sold exceptionally well however following the departure of core members Daevid Allen, Gilli Smyth and Steve Hillage citing the age old musical differences reason for leaving the band Gong moved in a more jazz oriented direction with the addition of Allan Holdsworth alongside Pierre Moerlen and Didier Malherbe. Allen, Smyth and Hillage have all recorded as solo artists and Smyth subsequently formed the offshoot Mother Gong.

Mother Gong's first album Mother was released in 1978 and the band found Gilli Smyth collaborating with many musicians including Harry Williamson and various friends and family including on this album Owl In The Tree from 1990, former partner Daevid Allen. The album is split into two halves and both Allen and Smyth work well within the limitations set out by vinyl bearing in mind that the days of vinyl made for a more convenient division, which is defined, by the individual styles of both Allen and Smyth. The album is a mix of both styles including Allen's blissed out space rocker style and Smyth's more laid back fairy tale recitations and a smattering of typically Gong like instrumental work.