Kaura (pronounced kay-aura) was born from the vision of infusing the aggressive power of hard, yet melodic rock with the haunting and ethereal sounds of ancient instruments. In the short time since the band formed in 2005, they have been invited to open for TOOL, Rob Zombie, and Godsmack by Bill Graham Presents, and had A Perfect Circle’s Paz Lenchantin play on their self-released EP, which has gotten attention as well as continued airplay on radio stations including L.A.'s "World Famous" KROQ FM. In addition, they traveled to the distant lands of India, Thailand, Bali, Cambodia, Laos, and Nepal to seek out instruments and experiences to fully realize their vision; all of which was captured on video and made into their “Travels” DVD.
“We wanted to have the ability to infuse hammered dulcimers with distorted guitars, gamelan bells and tabla with tribal drums to create this really expansive depth of sound." Benjamin explains. The Berkeley-based band came to be after many years of envisioning the message, mood, sights and sounds that would be used to create the unique palette from which the vision of Kaura would be painted. Comprised of Malcolm Guess (vocals, guitar, tabla), Benjamin Jones (drums, percussion), Adam LaBay (bass), Ben Rojas(guitar)and Yosh(hammered dulcimer, gamelan, percussion); the band sought to not only carve out a unique musical voice but also a different lyrical voice. "The lyrical focus is more on themes of evolution, re-birth, social and personal consciousness rather than the standard self-loathing, angry at-the-world fare of most hard rock bands" says Guess. Drawing from his experience as a sound engineer, Guess recorded and produced Kaura’s self-titled 5-song EP released in mid 2005.
Returning from their travels in early 2006, they began writing material with their new instruments and the inspiration of their adventures. Though they have accomplished and created a lot in the short amount of time being a band, Guess suggests “We’ve but only hinted at what’s to come”.
...hey guys...i've known you since that fantastic song here on myspace called "dividing lines"...and was shocked, in a positive way, how you progressed in these years since then...sera phi is one of the most beautiful tracks i've heard in years!!!...any chance to come see you live here in hamburg/germany...???...i'll sure be there...you're great!!!
sweet. Thank you for the info. I believe I will be out of town that night performing in salt lake City. But please keep me posted. I do wanna come see you guys play for sure. Peace. Premo
Sounds great guys! Send me an invite to your next gig and if I'm in town I'll come check you out. I also co-manage Bay Area Rock Promotions(bayarearockpromotions.com). Cheers! Eric
Hey my bro showed me ur guys' band and I gotta say you're all awesome.
In all honesty Tool is one of my favorites bands because of the deep lyrics and because they are one of the few bands where all the musicians blend together in near perfect harmony in my opinion. That being said, I think it's safe to say you guys could be the next Tool if not bigger than them.
