Kaura (pronounced 'kay-aura') was born from the vision of Malcolm Guess (vocals and instrumentation) and Benjamin Jones (Drums and instrumentation) to create a band that would subtly blend the aggressive power of hard, yet melodic rock with the haunt [+]Kaura (pronounced 'kay-aura') was born from the vision of Malcolm Guess (vocals and instrumentation) and Benjamin Jones (Drums and instrumentation) to create a band that would subtly blend the aggressive power of hard, yet melodic rock with the haunting and ethereal sounds of ancient instruments. Coming from a rock background, the two had always sought to push the boundaries of the genre and create a sound that was dramatic and distinctive. The key elements to bring their vision into focus were discovered when their travels took them to such far away and exotic places as Thailand, Bali, and Java, and Appalachia. Benjamin explains, "We were enchanted by the sounds of various instruments that we had never heard before and the feelings they invoked. We both were especially captivated by the sound of the hammered dulcimer and it integrated into our sound very naturally." To the band, having more sounds to pull from rather the standard guitar, bass, and drums was very liberating. "We wanted to infuse the hammered dulcimer or gamelan bells with distorted guitars or tabla with tribal drumming, to create this really expansive depth of sound...It was important to us that it wasn't obvious as to what instruments you were listening to, but rather blend them in subliminally to create unique textures that enrich the music." says Malcolm.
Following the lead of other successful bands helmed by two members such as A Perfect Circle and Queens of the Stone Age, Malcolm and Ben formed the band in late 2003. This was after many years of seeking out these exotic instruments and modifying existing ones to create the unique palette from which the sound of Kaura would be born. "We spent time altering some of our guitars to turn them into a hybrid of a six string, twelve string and a sitar. We also use wood-rimmed drums to give the drums more tone and warmth to the songs" says Benjamin.
The two sought to not only seek out a unique sound but a different lyrical voice as well. "The lyrical focus is more on themes of evolution, re-birth, and social and personal consciousness rather than the standard self-loathing, angry at-the-world fare of most hard rock bands" says Malcolm. Drawing from his experience as a sound engineer, Guess recorded and produced Kaura's self-titled
|
 |
Genre/Tags: 
Ringtones
Full Tracks
