DJAM KARET
Gayle Ellett • Mike Henderson • Aaron Kenyon • Chuck Oken, Jr • Henry J. Osborne

Djam Karet use dual guitars, keyboards/electronics, bass & drums. They play interesting & fresh instrumental progressive rock, developing their own sound out of the classic influences of bands such as Pink Floyd, King Crimson, Present, Heldon, & others, and are one of the most popular and essential US progressive bands.

 

 

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

Recollection Harvest press release

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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

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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

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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

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MEDIA
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PRESS RELEASES
Recollection Harvest press release

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