Land of the Blind

"Land of the Blind, our favorite band for this event, will again grace the stage for our "rite so good party" so of course, we will be trance-dancing the energy about. ...Land of the Blind with Cyoakha Grace are ready to lead you.. This tribal-trance ensemble promise that their 6th Witches Ball will be quite wicked, as they pull new rabbits out of their little pointed hats.

"Big fat beats" is where she is going now says red headed ringleader Cyoakha...she's been in the studio in San Francisco creating like a madwoman, adding new world dance beats to Blind's wonderfully witchy songs. They feature exotic instruments such as the didgeridoo, sitar, dulcimer, harmonium, for a bed for Cyo's suborbital award-winning vocals."

- Wow Hall

"this album is really cool...I would recommend it to people who like "world music", Middle Eastern or Native American. It is like mixing Dead Can Dance with the vocals of Tori Amos and Siouxie and the Banchees. I am so inept and unable to categorise here! They are so awesome though. I have seen them four years in a row at the Eugene Witches Ball, this year I missed them, let me just put it this way, my night was ruined! They are so creative, great dancing, trancing music! - amazon.com

"Lead vocalist Cyoakha wails with the intensity of Kate Bush, sparse and haunting, her voice alternating between breathy whispers and nots of startling clarity. Like Laurie Anderson is singing with the Women's Bulgarian Choir." - WFXN, Boston

"San Fransisco band Land of the Blind will headline the Eugene Witches Ball. Blind creates a sound that is much larger than the sum of it's parts, bringing the inner world of spirituality to vibrant life.

They call themselves "tribal-trance-world-dance" but no string of adjectives can adequately discribe their intent. Cyoakha Grace, who formerly called Portland home, has won the ASCAP award for young songwriters two years in a row based on material from two self-produced CDs, OM and Chaos. OM is the third cd and includes songs that appear in the film TREESIT about Julia Butterfly Hill's environmental activism.

Grace creates what has been called "pop music for druids", an exotic melange of inspirations from this world and beyond. The group's music expands upon their own inner spiritual worlds, attempting to build a bridge for the listener from our consumer-based disppposable culture to a deepr tribal sense of community and responsibility.

An impressive array of instruments from around the world contributes to the sese of global idenity, including the didgeridoo, sitar, african hand drums and the most persuasive instrument of all, the voice. - Eugene Weekly

"2 things about OM, it's worth the wait and it's a lot more than ordinary! Church of the Holy Trees, a song written for Julia Butterfly, is a spiritual chant celebrating the holiness & sacredness...they are avant-guard cutting edge creations, full of intellence, insight, innovations and exploration...

Laurie Anderson, the angst of Diamanda Galas, the unquie signture of Kronos Quartet...I hear the far-off exotic sounds of remote & distant countries and ancient civilizations. I feel drawn into another universe, strange, unfamilar, exciting, frightening, elements of creation, no solid ground to stand on. Basically, it's the kind of music that really excites me, the kind of music I want to tell other people about and share it as much as possible. We have a treasure in our midst, Land of the Blind. Jack Sutton, Harmony Ridge - Harmony Ridge Women's Music Catalog

"A free-wheeling, high-spirited caravan of world beat rhythms, shivery chants, esoteric instrumentation and atmospheric pop...all chased by the soaring sub-obital voice of Cyoakha Grace. World music, yes, sure, pick a world, any world..." - The Rocket, Seattle

"Land of the Blind is great live! While I quite like the albums, seeing them live (especially Cyoakha!) was a revelation. They're almost electric. I will never miss them again when they come to Seattle. Musicially, they were crisp and tribal, both. I'd like to say it's what Dead Can Dance would be like if they weren't dead." - Ectoguide to Good Music

Years ago, Melbourne singer Wendy Rule was off on her first adventure overseas...folks on the east coast of America suggested meeting musician Cyoakha Grace, one half of San Francisco's electronic duo, LAND OF THE BLIND. The pair met by email, discovered they were both Wild Scorpio Witch Singers and had to meet and play music together. So they did. And it was Ace. On the eve of their shared Lammas celebratory gig at The Grand Central, in Melbourne, here's the latest.

WHO EXACTLY DOES WHAT IN THE BAND?
"I write the beats and the music, but closely with partner Krystov because I consider his didjeridu to be the equivalent of the Western bass, an intricate part, keeping the groove going, adding the bottom or the earth sound. He also plays the dulcimer, which adds a homey folky flavor to our electronic side. I sing, but in some songs I use my effects to become more like a violin part than a traditional singer. I also play my looper, in the way that I layer up live, creating new parts to a song right in front of the audience, so that no two performances are ever exactly the same. It's a delightfully fun tool for me to harmonise with myself, layering up until we hit ecstatic heights."

IT SEEMS LIKE YOU ARE VERY BUSY, WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING IN AMERICA?
"I finished my first full length soundtrack, a H.P. LOVECRAFT movie then put out an album of the avant music from the movie, which is doing great. I am creating a soundtrack to a zombie movie right now, as well as releasing a new live BLIND album called EDGEWALKING BLIND, uber chill music, on this tour of Australia! "

YOUR MUSIC IS VERY SPIRITUAL, HOW DO YOU DESCRIBE YOUR SPIRITUAL OUTLOOK ON THE WORLD?
" My outlook is a real mix, strong political activism to save what is left of the natural world, along with a pagan witchy belief that we can actually change our ways, learn and grow, mixed in with a West Coast hippie laid back attitude of "it will all work out how it's supposed to man". My lyrics express my spiritual being, an odd combo of Paganism, Activism & Christianity, (I call it PAC) and the need to connect, love and be in touch with higher forces, whether you call it God, Goddess, Mother Nature, Allah, Grandfather or Grandmother." - INPRESS, Melbourne,Australia