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+ THE ADVENT OF SONIC UTOPIA + Spawned from the vernal heat of the Florida swamps amidst swirling
patterns of pine orchards and pre-Columbian artifacts, Prince Rama of
Ayodhya was whispered into the ears of Taraka Larson, Nimai Larson,
and Michael Collins in the summer of 2007 by the clanging of prayer
bells and goat-skin drums. They left the Hare Krishna farm where they
were staying and formed a creative nucleus in Boston, MA where they
gained a cult following in the underground art and psychedelic folk
and noise circles who were mesmerized by their captivating blend of
campfire surrealism and transcendental anthems of every cosmic order.
Taraka studied experimental film in art school, and her songwriting
reflects an almost cinematic quality, taking listeners on labyrinthine
sonic safaris with sparkling lyrical imagery intensified by Nimai's
tribal drumming and elevated to the astral plane by Michael's sci-fi
synth lines; the result is a sonic experience that takes the listener
through celestial residue and archaeological constellations of a
timeless civilization pining for self realization, while conjuring
lingering anthemic melodies that haunt the fringes of the collective
psyche. At times, one can hear echoes of eclectic influences
stretching from weird folk and hallucinatory operas set to thunder
drums to a plethora of ethnographic recordings of Native American and
Southeast Asian rituals; yet, the culminating holistic sound is one
that is strikingly unique.
In a short time, the trio was picked up by the British-based
psychedelic label, Cosmos Recordings. After sending them a handmade
tape with a few dozen tracks recorded in forests and candle-lit
bedrooms Cosmos released a collection of these lo-fi recordings as
"Threshold Dances" in August 2008 and flew them out to England to
tour, play a radio session for the BBC, participate in the Stockton
International Fringe Festival and Greenman Festival and record a
second album, “Zetland”, which Prince Rama self-released in June 2009
to coincide with a series of extensive US tours.
In their young lifespan, Prince Rama has toured the UK and US several
times over, traveling with Teeth Mountain and sharing stages with
Caribou, Wooden Shjips, Magik Markers, Psychic Ills, Indian Jewelry,
Pocahaunted, and Kurt Vile and playing festivals with Pentangle,
Spiritualized, Iron and Wine, Clinic, Black Mountain and many others.
Their engaging and often unpredictable live shows reflect their
eclectic pool of mysticism; amidst collective chants, werewolf
summonings, and Sanskrit invocations, they have been known to
distribute hand drums, conch shells, bells, gongs, and other various
percussion to members of the audience to create the ultimate communal
ritual experience.
They are currently working on their latest record, “Architecture of
Utopia” which is a unique collaboration with the internationally
acclaimed visionary artist, Paul Laffoley, that explores the act of
mapping utopia through the means of a one-sided vinyl record that
traces the journey from the far reaches of the cosmos to the center of
the earth via the mandalic architecture of the record. They performed
the project at the opening of Laffoley’s solo exhibition at the Kent
Gallery in New York in January 2009, and are preparing to give another
performance of it at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris in late November, in
conjunction with a European tour with Amen Dunes. In response to the
project, the London Institute of Contemporary Art deemed Prince Rama
“a group not of this planet”.
2:30 PM
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