WITH a slot under the Manics next week, a gorgeous new album and an orchestral spectacular planned for Christmas, it's going to be a busy autumn and winter for Gorky's Zygotic Mynci. All five of them told Matthew Blythe about their respective headaches.

"THERE'S about as much chance of George Bush going pro-abortion as we have of getting on Top of the Pops," said Richard James, bassist and comedian. A shame, as Britain's long-past- its-sell-by-date music prog could do with some of GZM's succulent harmonies to soak up the pap.

Gorky's new album, How I Long to Feel the Summer in My Heart, is full of the kind of music you could roll around in in a quiet kind of way like Cider with Rosie, a mellow wine, good times with the sun in the sky. The band obviously thinks it's pretty special, as they are to play it in its entirety with orchestral accompaniment in London this winter.

"It's a real headache," said Euros Childs, singer, and the man behind most of the band's songs. "At this minute we are trying to work out how much we can afford."

At present their budget could stretch to an eight-piece string section with mini choir, plus other accompanying musicians.

"We'll use people from the album with brass players we've been playing live with and singers from Mynci 2000," said Megan Childs. "It's going to be an exciting headache." GZM's albums have grown new layers with each one's passing (they're up to seven in ten years) and they have basically got better as the group has developed musically and philosophically - how many bands can you say that about?

The sumptuous harmonies and arrangements have always suggested bigger things, such as orchestras, choirs and a host of other delights dancing about their skulls, financially out of reach. How I Long to Feel That Summer in My Heart follows 2000's stripped-down The Blue Trees and the acclaimed Spanish Dance Troupe, which was their first album sung in English and one of their most popular.

"It's not a matter of topping it," said Megan. "They are all (the albums) very different and recorded differently. This one was very enjoyable to record. Spanish Dance Troupe was recorded in the light of not having a record label. There was a lot of certainty there, having to do bibs and bobs, here and there. But with this one we went into the studio with more resources."

Richard took a slightly different standpoint: "From a personal point of view, I think the spirit might be better, through the album and the arrangement and production is getting better all the time, as well as the playing."

Euros said: "Spanish Dance Troupe was good, but something like Desolation Blues we are playing better live now than it was on record."

Lead track Where Does Yer Go Now? is eight years old, said Euros: "It was going to go on the third album, then the fourth. It was going to be on every album. We demoed it a couple of times and tried to do it for a Peel session." Megan: "Did we?"

Euros: "Don't you remember, we did but we didn't like the... (lost in thought) I reckon we did Patio Song combined with Where Does Yer Go Now. I think we did the verse of the Patio Song and the chorus of Where Does. It was lack of confidence with the verse." Richard: "You had lack of confidence with the verse... I thought it was good! (much hilarity ensued) I think for a couple of albums we just forgot about it."

With seven albums, a bewildering number of EPs and singles you'd think GZM would've released everything down to the last grunt, but no, there're more hidden gems: "There's a couple of good ones. Sometimes it just takes a middle eight to finish a song. Sometimes you need more words and they're hard to find."

For the recording of How I long to Feel That Summer in My Heart GZM went into Monmouth's Rockfield Studios, their first time there, but they have stuck with long-time producer and secret sixth member Gorwel Owen who has produced all the albums bar number one, Patio. The recording process, however, has changed. The Gorkies were joined by Teenage Fanclub's Norman Blake and Cardiff's folk primate Teflon Monkey. "The problem with some of our old recordings was we recorded everything live and just keep the drums and build up on top of them, which is a bit of a weird way of going about it," said Richard.

"Basically, we played each song all day and listened to it the next day and picked the best take we had," said guitarist Rhodri Puw.

With such a warm sound and sentiments, the idea of the individual Gorkies imprisoned in their own booths is about as appealing a proposition as moving to Terry Gilliam's Brazil. The sing-song melodies and floating arrangements feel as though they'd need as much human interaction as possible to record, so it's nice to know they do.

After supporting the Manic Street Preachers in Cardiff International Arena the Gorkies play the Reading and Leeds festivals. It will be their first time on the same bill as the Manic Street Preachers in five years, when they supported the Manics on their first tour after losing Richie James.

The Gorkies plan to spend October and November touring America, where they last toured with Grandaddy to rapture. You'd been waiting five years! How I Long to Feel That Summer in My Heart is out on Mantra Recordings on Monday, September 24, preceded by the first single from the album, Stood On Gold, on Monday, September 3.