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| DJAM KARET |
| Cuneiform Records |
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Gayle Ellett - Guitars
Mike Henderson - Guitars
Chuck Oken, Jr. - Drums
Henry J. Osbourne - Bass
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Established in the fall of 1984, Djam Karet grew out of the ashes of several Los Angeles based bands. It was founded by Gayle Ellett, Mike Henderson, Chuck Oken, Jr., and Henry J. Osbourne, who shared the desire to play purely improvised rock music, regardless of it's popularity or accessibility. The band's early live performances featured music that was a free-form mixture of guitar-dominated instrumental rock and textural eastern drone music. They rapidly gained recognition on the southern California collage circuit as a live band, playing various collages and universities in the LA area until the summer of 1986. Djam Karet then began a period of introspection, working to develop conceptual themes and events that kept reoccurring during their improvisational performances.
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Out of this process of musical exploration and thematic conceptualisation emerged the music which became their 1st album, The Ritual Continues. Released in the fall of 1987, The Ritual Continues brought the band recognition far beyond California, as it received excellent reviews in Rolling Stone, Guitar Player, Bass Player, Keyboard, CD Review, Electronic Musician, and numerous other music journals in the USA, Europe and Japan.
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Following another year of live performances, Djam Karet entered the summer of 1988 by purchasing recording equipment. This enabled the band to use the studio as another tool in the creative process of music making. Their next recording, Reflections From The Firepool came out in June 1989. Released like their first on their own label, it eventually reached world-wide sales over 6000 copies - an astonishing amount for a self-released project - and garnered still more positive reviews and attention.
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In September 1991, the band simultaneously released two discs, each showing a different side of their work: Burning The Hard City and Suspension & Displacement. These were followed by Collaborator [1994], a more electronic-oriented work, and The Devouring [1997], the band's first recording for Cuneiform. On all these releases, the band received global radio play and world-wide distribution, expanding Djam Karet's fan base from Canada to Brazil and from Australia to the former Soviet Union. Among followers of progressive rock, Djam Karet had become a legend, developing a sound notable for incorporating heavy rock pieces together with ambient and electronic textures.
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In 1998, Djam Karet were invited by Baltimore's Orion Sound Studio to perform for two consecutive nights at the Progressive Rock Showcase Series. The concerts in Baltimore on September 25th and 26th, 1998, were the bands first East Coast shows. Live At Orion presents the best of the band's performances from those nights. Recorded live without overdubs on Orion's 24 track equipment, the CD features Djam Karet performing reworked material from four of their previous albums as well as long improvisations. Released on the band's 15th anniversary, Live at Orion is celebratory overview of Djam Karet's music past and present.
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Since 1998, Djam Karet have performed live numerous times on the West Coast. In May 1999, they perform at Progfest Day Zero, part of the Exposé Concert Series.
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Live at Orion is Djam Karet's 10th CD release. Besides their numerous CD releases, Djam Karet have done extensive film and television soundtrack work. They have written music for six television series (including Hard Copy), for films (including The Search), and for several televised commercials.
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