Kaura : ' Kay-Aura '
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 Berkeley-based band formed in 2005, they have racked up an impressive list of accomplishments. Bill Graham/Livenation invited them to open for TOOL and Rob Zombie at SF Area shows, A Perfect Circle's Paz Lenchantin guested on their self released EP. 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 their "Travels" DVD. They have received airplay on Bay Area radio stations such as 105.3 and 107.7 as well as Los Angeles's World Famous KROQ.
The band has been on tour in 2008, which included 4 shows during South By Southwest and landed the band's song 'Now or Never' in a Ford national advertising campaign. They are currently in the studio finishing their first full-length album, which has included sessions with Tool, Prince, and System of a Down Producer/Engineer Sylvia Massy. The band hopes to have it released in early 2009.
We didn't want to make it obvious as to what instruments you were listening to but rather blend them in subtly, explains drummer Benjamin Jones about the bands sound. 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. The 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 created. Comprised of Malcolm Guess (vocals, guitar, tabla), Benjamin Jones (drums, percussion), Michael Cates (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. The band is finishing their first album and Guess promises We've but only hinted at what's to come.