Djam Karet's official website
RECOLLECTION HARVEST RUNE 219 |
With Recollection Harvest,
Djam Karet has again succeeded in making a powerful and beautiful album
of progressive rock. Recollection Harvest is also a landmark in the
band’s restless sonic evolution. In the band’s own words, Never content
to just sit on our ass, we worked diligently to explore a more melodic
and orchestrated vision of high energy progressive rock. Deeply
disturbing atmospheres and netherworlds await. Acoustic guitars,
generous use of vintage analog synths and mellotrons, and the use of 2
bass players for compositional ideas, are paired along with familiar
aspects of the Djam Karet sound: ripping dual lead guitars, a dynamic
pounding rhythm section, and electronic treated field recordings and
soundscapes. Recollection Harvest is the band’s 16th studio recording,
and is actually two albums combined on a single CD. The first half,
Recollection Harvest, is Djam Karet’s most extensive foray into high
energy melodic rock underpinned by vintage and modern keyboards. It
also shows Djam Karet revisiting its "fusion" roots. The second half,
titled "Indian Summer", is a quieter, more introspective and evocative
work in which Djam Karet explores a variety of electro/acoustic sounds
and moods. The instrumentation ranges from acoustic guitars and
bazouki, to hand percussion, modular analog synths, and field
recordings from the Middle East. "All
the clichés ever used about instrumental prog rock at its best would be
appropriate here – soaring,anthemic, powerful, gorgeous, cosmic, and so
on...that’s good news for anyone who wants to revisit the glory days of
the genre – or find out why this type of music still has so many
fans.... Their music has a sweeping, epic sound very much in the
tradition ..." – Bill Tilland, All Music Guide |
A NIGHT FOR BAKU RUNE 169 |
The title, A Night For Baku,
derives from Japanese folklore: the Baku are mythical inhabitants of
the dream world, valiant warriors who devour nightmares as the spoils
of battle. A Night For Baku is a journey through Djam Karet’s musical
universe, an immersion in its aural dreams. This finds Djam Karet
utilizing more keyboards and electronics than in the recent past, and
collaborating on one track with electronic musician Steve Roach. The
band's work is legendary, and this release will only help continue to
raise their profile. |
NEW DARK AGE RUNE 149 |
New Dark Age
is the band's 11th release. Featuring dual guitar and keyboard driven
"rockers" and dark soundscapes woven from an array of electronics, it
showcases how Djam Karet's signature sound has evolved after over 15
years of playing together. Interweaving elements from the hard
rock/progressive and ambient/trance schools, Djam Karet has created a
progressive rock that remains outside of any single stylistic time; a
true "classic" progressive sound. Djam Karet are firmly in the
tradition of progressive rock, but they are exciting and powerful and
sound like no one but themselves. |
REFLECTIONS FROM THE FIREPOOL RUNE 139 |
Originally released in 1989 and eventually selling over 10,000 copies, Reflections From The Firepool
was the album that brought the band to the attention of the general
public & was such a powerful release that even mainstream
publications such as Billboard and Rolling Stone took notice & gave
glowing reviews. Over a decade later, it's still a fresh blending of
complex heavy guitar rock and electronics. |
SUSPENSION & DISPLACEMENT RUNE 129 |
Burning the Hard City and Suspension & Displacement are reissues of the two albums that were released simultaneously in 1991, each showcasing a very different side of their work. "Djam Karet took the two main drivers of their music, hard-edged guitar work and electronic ambient, and forcibly separated them...this was...the ultimate defining moment for Djam Karet, as it proved just how broadly talented, visionary and artistic the band could be, while also showcasing their finest songwriting to date". – Exposé "While not a full-fledged dark ambient album, Suspension and Displacement
unmistakably bears that genre's stamp, full of shifting, unsettling,
arhythmic soundscapes that drift like fog into the listener's
subconscious. Found sounds, tape experiments, white noise, and acoustic
instruments supplement the arrangements, which evoke not only more
modern ambient music but also spacy progressive rock from the '70s; in
fact, one of the most obvious touchstones is the creepiest material on
Brian Eno's Another Green World. Like Burning the Hard City,
Suspension and Displacement isn't really representative of Djam Karet's
signature sound, but for fans, it's a fascinating stylistic excursion
that resembles little else in the group's catalog." – AllMusic |
BURNING THE HARD CITY RUNE 128 |
Burning The Hard City and Suspension & Displacement are reissues of the two albums that were released simultaneously in 1991, each showcasing a very different side of their work. "Guitars crunch, slash, crash and bang through a bundle of hard driving prog rock cookers. Think 1973 and King Crimson..."- Keyboard "Djam Karet took the two main drivers of their music, hard-edged guitar work and electronic ambient, and forcibly separated them...this was...the ultimate defining moment for Djam Karet, as it proved just how broadly talented, visionary and artistic the band could be, while also showcasing their finest songwriting to date". – Exposé |
LIVE AT ORION RUNE 119 |
In
Sept., 1998, Djam Karet were invited to play their 1st ever East Coast
shows, during a two night stand at Baltimore's well known Orion Sound
Studios. The shows were recorded and Live At Orion
is the result. The vital playing of D.K.'s dual guitar instrumental
attack is perfectly captured here, & the performances are really
exemplary, capturing a band at their absolute peak! Released on the
band's 15th anniversary, this is an excellent summation of their work,
& a perfect introduction to the band. "The
near telepathic chemistry displayed by these four musicians was
dead-on, and they proved themselves masters of their chosen
instruments." - Progression |
THE DEVOURING RUNE 99 |
The Devouring
is a summation of over a decade's worth of work, incorporating elements
from all their previous releases. It is most notable for incorporating
heavy rock pieces together with ambient and electronic textures. This
is their sixth record and their first on Cuneiform. Featuring all of
the heavy & wild dual guitar work, flowing basswork &
rock-solid drumming we have all come to expect from Djam Karet, as well
as creepy mellotron, & synth leads. A heavy progressive rock fan's
dream come true! "The Devouring is the best progressive rock album of
the 1990's" -Dr. Robert LaDuca (Nearfest co-founder). "...the greatest undiscovered band in the world." - Electronic Musician "Pink Floydian dreamscapes intersect with the jagged complexity of King Crimson." – Rolling Stone |
PRESS RELEASES
Recollection Harvest press release