Queen Elephantine
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Queen Elephantine

Providence, Rhode Island, United States

Providence, Rhode Island, United States
Band Rock Avant-garde

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"Snakes and Ladders (Scarab, 2013)"

Since making their debut on the same 2006 split that marked the first recorded appearance of Elder, Providence-by-way-of-Hong-Kong-and-Brooklyn experimental doomers Queen Elephantine have been consistently hard to pin down — and not just geographically. Their latest full-length, Scarab (on Heart and Crossbone Records/Cosmic Eye Records for CD and vinyl, respectively), finds the amorphous outfit as ever led by guitarist Indrayudh Shome working with two drummers and exploring a drone-based mysticism that seems in partial conversation with Om's 2012 outing, Advaitic Songs, but taken to a more exploratory degree. The 50-minute album is comprised of four extended tracks — "Veil" (8:12), "Crone" (18:16), "Snake" (10:44) and "Clear Light of the Unborn" (13:05) — and each one builds its own flow within the overarching progression of Scarab as a whole. Joining Shome on his journey are two drummers, Ian Sims and Nathanael Totushek, bassist Matt Becker, returning tanpura player Srinivas Reddy and Brett Zweiman, who played bass on Queen Elephantine's last outing, 2011's Garland of Skulls, but here contributes slide guitar and other drones, and the songs were recorded in one day (I would suspect entirely or at least mostly live) by Sims with a mix by Shome himself and a mastering job from Billy Anderson. The result of all their work is a varied but ultimately satisfying listen of heavy drone, and Queen Elephantine have done increasingly well over their last couple albums in shirking expectations and definitions of what "heavy" means. That continues on Scarab as well and makes their stylistic sprawl all the more boundless and more importantly, all the more their own. Almost immediately, "Veil" commences with a meditative drone and percussion, sparse guitar and bass that in another context might be akin to Earth metering out slow lines over a subtle build both in tempo and clash. Vocals arrive after the instrumental bombast peaks in spiritually desperate wails, and a lighter swirl plays out buried by heavier guitar strum and gradual return the winding line that delivered Scarab's first offering to its point of highest energy. Already we hear the flow is liquid.

It remains so for the duration. At 18-plus minutes, "Crone" is an undertaking unto itself, but it unfolds with hypnotic patience and makes a consuming follow-up to "Veil," working in a similarly-slow, temple-style atmosphere. An underlying synth-style drone — what might be referred to in the credits as "divine mosquito" and credited to Zweiman — plays out steadily beneath the minimal guitar-led progression, and even when the vocals arrive, the sense of open space is maintained. There's room between the music overtop and that buzz, and it's in that room that the listener is most likely to get placed, feeling one overtop and the other underneath, surrounded; especially at louder volumes. After five minutes or so, Queen Elephantine embark on a mild cacophony, and again the double percussion plays a major role. Guitar and bass get louder, and vocals return, the band moving within the sort of undulations of energy that they're crafting to bring the track forward, then draw it back, all the while the drone underneath stays put. There is an instrumental push as they approach 10 minutes in that provides "Crone" a noisy apex at about 13:00, but they soon drop to quieter spheres as Shome establishes a bouncing sort of guitar nod that leads the way through the remaining time, punctuating pops and the bassline adding dimension as the drone finally comes forward near the end of the song before fading out again. If you're not on board with Scarab yet, you won't be. The record's first half is a challenge that the second half rises to meet, but if you're immune to the trance they're working in and bringing their listeners into, the course is set. It's not like they're going pop once "Snake" hits, is what I'm saying. Rather, with a current of Reddy's tanpura, they resume the droning course, bringing vocals in early as they did on "Crone," and revel further in the torch-lit contemplations. It is atmospherically gorgeous and a sure sign of Queen Elephantine's maturity that they're able to maintain such a patient sense throughout Scarab, and if it turns some listeners off, it's hardly the band's loss. "Snake" never gets quite as rambunctious as did "Crone," but string-esque drones give a sense of emergency all the same as the metered lurch is mounted.

Ultimately, side B of Scarab – that is, "Snake " and "Clear Light of the Unborn" — offers little in terms of ambience that "Veil" and "Crone" didn't already convey, but as "Clear Light of the Unborn" gets underway with sampled prayer chants, Queen Elephantine reinfor - The Obelisk


"Your Brand New Eastern Drone Gods... (Kailash, 2009)"

Your Brand New Eastern Drone Gods

Since Nick (the bastard) beat me to the punch to review the new Mercury Program album by literally an hour and a half, I'll do this instead. I was literally on my way to this prestigious website to give a glowing, if somewhat reserved, review of Chez Viking. Nick, I've never met you, but you are a bastard. I was even going to make a crack about how it's been released in several vinyl colors. Jee-zus.

But anyway, enough about my shortcomings and jelousy. Queen Elephantine, and their latest, Kailash. That's what this is about.

If you like (or heard of) Ginunngagap, Warduna, or Black Math Horsemen, you're going to love this. Psychedelic drone folk headphone happiness.

If Hinduism turns out to be true, and their version of the end of the world starts happening, this is the soundtrack. Formed in Hong Kong in 2006 by some dude named Indrayudh Shome (the only remaining original member) and somehow currently based in NYC, this band knows how to slow-burn. Seven songs over a little more than 71 minutes. This is the sort of thing that makes me happy. The opener, "Search for the Deathless State" and track six, "Godblood" are the only songs containing anything resembling vocals, but the comparison is stretched, as is more chanting than anything else. Songs float along, never exactly ambient, but not quite picking up a beat either. Excellent tabla drumming gives the side of me that loves Talvin Singh a reason to smile.

There is one thing that drives me nuts, however. When this album was released, the average age of the band members was a measly 19. They started making music together when they were 16. When I was 16, I was jacking off in a Tool and Helmet rip off band with this guy. I stand to turn 31 in slightly more than a month. Pardon me while I vomit over my lack of progress.

Surely this deserves better, but I'm bitter about being old. Only a 4.237 our of 5. Taking away my curmudgeon-ness, 4.9 out of 5. - RockSellOut


"Your Brand New Eastern Drone Gods... (Kailash, 2009)"

Your Brand New Eastern Drone Gods

Since Nick (the bastard) beat me to the punch to review the new Mercury Program album by literally an hour and a half, I'll do this instead. I was literally on my way to this prestigious website to give a glowing, if somewhat reserved, review of Chez Viking. Nick, I've never met you, but you are a bastard. I was even going to make a crack about how it's been released in several vinyl colors. Jee-zus.

But anyway, enough about my shortcomings and jelousy. Queen Elephantine, and their latest, Kailash. That's what this is about.

If you like (or heard of) Ginunngagap, Warduna, or Black Math Horsemen, you're going to love this. Psychedelic drone folk headphone happiness.

If Hinduism turns out to be true, and their version of the end of the world starts happening, this is the soundtrack. Formed in Hong Kong in 2006 by some dude named Indrayudh Shome (the only remaining original member) and somehow currently based in NYC, this band knows how to slow-burn. Seven songs over a little more than 71 minutes. This is the sort of thing that makes me happy. The opener, "Search for the Deathless State" and track six, "Godblood" are the only songs containing anything resembling vocals, but the comparison is stretched, as is more chanting than anything else. Songs float along, never exactly ambient, but not quite picking up a beat either. Excellent tabla drumming gives the side of me that loves Talvin Singh a reason to smile.

There is one thing that drives me nuts, however. When this album was released, the average age of the band members was a measly 19. They started making music together when they were 16. When I was 16, I was jacking off in a Tool and Helmet rip off band with this guy. I stand to turn 31 in slightly more than a month. Pardon me while I vomit over my lack of progress.

Surely this deserves better, but I'm bitter about being old. Only a 4.237 our of 5. Taking away my curmudgeon-ness, 4.9 out of 5. - RockSellOut


"There comes a point when listening to a record becomes more of a religious experience than a musical one... (Garland of Skulls, 2011)"

There comes a point when listening to a record becomes more of a religious experience than a musical one. Queen Elephantine’s 10th release is one such experience. Indy Shome and his merry musicians from the NYC have once again crafted a singular flowing piece of belching doom chords, ringing Middle-Eastern tanpura twangs and neo-gospel vocals to accompany the thematics of Tibetan Buddhist mythology.

A short release for a full length, ‘Garland of Skulls’ wastes no time in dragging you across a floor of distorted bass for 30 minutes plus. The simplistic bass riffing becomes so repetitive that before you know it the record has nigh on finished and you’ve been swallowed up into a hypnotic trance for a half-hour! It’s sometimes difficult to tell with such long and disjointed pieces of instrumentalism, quite what is written and planned songverse, and what is simple improvisation to fill in the gaps. Vocals are few and far between, and when they do surface it sounds like a trio of lonely church-goers praying to the dead at dusk inside a cavernous and isolated cave. It’s certainly far from cheery on all accounts as half-riffs drop down off-kilter, like tombstones collapsing under the humid weight of damp smoke in a deserted graveyard. When drums do kick in and some form of tempo is set, the tanpura (a sitar-like creation) becomes the instrument of mystery, shaking off conventional string arrangements to create a nervous ambience; uncertain and eerie in its textures.

It’s hard to make comparisons to the dense, suffocating atmosphere here, which is almost drowning in a pool of its own wonder. Sleep’s ‘Dopesmoker’ comes close with its hour-long droning riffs and almost liquid heaviness, but Queen Elephantine are one step beyond, kneeling at some long-lost stone altar in the middle of a snow-smothered winter forest of pines. This music is primal, raw and natural in its composition, and with the master of the decks himself Mr Billy Anderson’s name proudly billed in the mixing position, the heaviness of the guitars is dutifully cranked up to add an extra weight crushing down on the skull behind the ears. The swirling noise-box sounds echoing out of the final title spook the mind to the same effect as seeing a UFO briefly settle down on the Earth to dump some trash, having a quick peruse around the local villages before vanishing silently and undetected into the night. Jeepers.

Another strong and forceful record this from the prolifically active New Yorkers. Each listen produces new sounds that previous attempts glossed over, and ultimately this is not a piece to listen to whilst doing anything else as it will be over before you even realise it has begun. Anderson’s impact pays its due with those bassy guitar riffs rumbling like church pews in a summer hurricane and the volume of the notable silences inflicted between the musical motions further exaggerates the sheer weirdness of the concoction brewed.

A difficult and partially unhinged outing, ‘Garland of Skulls’ leaves you feeling as if you’re walking out of a monastery, enlightened by the confusion you’ve left behind. - The Sleeping Shaman


"Extremely impressive debut... (Surya, 2008)"

Imagining the earth as a vast, scorched, barren wasteland, inhibited by large, lumbering prehistoric creatures might give you a bit of a mental picture of what you're in for musically on this massive sounding release Surya from an outfit that goes by the name of Queen Elephantine, currently based out of New York City. Recorded just over a year ago in Hong Kong, Surya is just now seeing a proper CD release after previously only being available digitally and through a self issued CD-R. However you want to classify the music made by these four promising young musicians and we could use such typical words as stoner, doom, psych, sludge etc… the fact is this 5 song disc is an epic and sprawling collection of kick ass jams designed to penetrate the thickest cranium.

The world of Queen Elephantine begins appropriately enough with the song named after their creators. This track commences with the hypnotic droning sound of a tanpura, before the thick, throbbing bass kicks in and light percussion along with the chant style vocals take over. The ritual has indeed begun. "Ramessess II" starts almost the same way with more droning tanpura, (in fact this instrument serves as an anchor for four out the five tracks on Surya) before bassist Daniel Quinn slams out another absolutely killer bass line. Before you know it the beast has lumbered off with guitarist Indrayudh (Indy) Shome in tow, providing more chanted vocals to match the equally colorful, psychedelic textures of his guitar playing. This monster which clocks in at an exhausting sixteen and half minutes is nothing short of pure, primal sludge that goes for broke and eventually threatens to self destruct by breaking into an all out freak out towards the end. Next up is "Kabir" which begins with light percussive touches and a slinky bass line, sounding briefly like a darker, murkier version of Sabbath's "Planet Caravan"before the tension gradually builds and morphs into something much more menacing.

While the majority of the music on Surya could easily be dismissed as being fairly repetitious, I have to admit that this was initially a concern of mine after the first few spins. However, with more listens I came to appreciate the time it takes for these improvised jams to fully unfold. The compositions on Surya have such a fabulously hypnotic quality to them, primarily due to these drawn out and repetitive progressions, that the lines quickly blur from one track to the next. As if the band had intended to save the best for last, the final two tracks "Plasma Thaw" and "Bison" add up to an almost forty minute, unrelenting dose of pure ominous sounding ultra-heaviness. Out of the two "Plasma Thaw" is certainly the groovier track and probably the fastest on the album as far as tempo is considered. Straight out of the introductory count in, the band immediately locks into a super tight groove and then spends the next ten minutes carving through the murky fog. The hard hitting drums and furious percussion work really propels this one into the stratosphere. "Bison" on the other hand is a completely different ball of wax though. Expanding to almost thirty minutes this composition is a prime example of just how adept these guys are at crafting, slow, brooding songs that utilize the tension and release method to sheer perfection.

Surya is an extremely impressive debut effort and one that will keep listeners enthralled from beginning to end. If your musical tastes run towards the sounds of early Sleep, Earth or even elements of Om , then Queen Elephantine should be able to comfortably secure a place somewhere between them on your CD shelf. - Sea of Tranquility


"Extremely impressive debut... (Surya, 2008)"

Imagining the earth as a vast, scorched, barren wasteland, inhibited by large, lumbering prehistoric creatures might give you a bit of a mental picture of what you're in for musically on this massive sounding release Surya from an outfit that goes by the name of Queen Elephantine, currently based out of New York City. Recorded just over a year ago in Hong Kong, Surya is just now seeing a proper CD release after previously only being available digitally and through a self issued CD-R. However you want to classify the music made by these four promising young musicians and we could use such typical words as stoner, doom, psych, sludge etc… the fact is this 5 song disc is an epic and sprawling collection of kick ass jams designed to penetrate the thickest cranium.

The world of Queen Elephantine begins appropriately enough with the song named after their creators. This track commences with the hypnotic droning sound of a tanpura, before the thick, throbbing bass kicks in and light percussion along with the chant style vocals take over. The ritual has indeed begun. "Ramessess II" starts almost the same way with more droning tanpura, (in fact this instrument serves as an anchor for four out the five tracks on Surya) before bassist Daniel Quinn slams out another absolutely killer bass line. Before you know it the beast has lumbered off with guitarist Indrayudh (Indy) Shome in tow, providing more chanted vocals to match the equally colorful, psychedelic textures of his guitar playing. This monster which clocks in at an exhausting sixteen and half minutes is nothing short of pure, primal sludge that goes for broke and eventually threatens to self destruct by breaking into an all out freak out towards the end. Next up is "Kabir" which begins with light percussive touches and a slinky bass line, sounding briefly like a darker, murkier version of Sabbath's "Planet Caravan"before the tension gradually builds and morphs into something much more menacing.

While the majority of the music on Surya could easily be dismissed as being fairly repetitious, I have to admit that this was initially a concern of mine after the first few spins. However, with more listens I came to appreciate the time it takes for these improvised jams to fully unfold. The compositions on Surya have such a fabulously hypnotic quality to them, primarily due to these drawn out and repetitive progressions, that the lines quickly blur from one track to the next. As if the band had intended to save the best for last, the final two tracks "Plasma Thaw" and "Bison" add up to an almost forty minute, unrelenting dose of pure ominous sounding ultra-heaviness. Out of the two "Plasma Thaw" is certainly the groovier track and probably the fastest on the album as far as tempo is considered. Straight out of the introductory count in, the band immediately locks into a super tight groove and then spends the next ten minutes carving through the murky fog. The hard hitting drums and furious percussion work really propels this one into the stratosphere. "Bison" on the other hand is a completely different ball of wax though. Expanding to almost thirty minutes this composition is a prime example of just how adept these guys are at crafting, slow, brooding songs that utilize the tension and release method to sheer perfection.

Surya is an extremely impressive debut effort and one that will keep listeners enthralled from beginning to end. If your musical tastes run towards the sounds of early Sleep, Earth or even elements of Om , then Queen Elephantine should be able to comfortably secure a place somewhere between them on your CD shelf. - Sea of Tranquility


Discography

**Full Length**
Scarab (CD, LP 2013)
Garland of Skulls (CD 2011)
Kailash (CD 2010, tape 2009)
Surya (CD 2007)

**EPs / Splits**
8XI08 Live in Brooklyn (CDR 2010)
Split with Alunah (7” 2009)
To Tartarus (Mp3 2008)
Yatra (Mp3 2008)
Split with Sons of Otis (CD 2007)
Split with Elder (CDR 2006)
Queen Elephantine (CDR 2006)

Photos

Bio

The group formed in 2006 in Hong Kong as the drone duo of Indrayudh Shome and Danny Quinn, and at the end of 2007 moved base to New York. With a fluid lineup and various experiments in approach over the course of their four albums, Queen Elephantine is a nebulous worship of mood and time. Modal psychedelic doom.

"A fuzzy muscle play of distorted dirge and Hindu atmospherics that easily embodies the slow majesty of bands like Earth but this is a rawer, far heavier brew, buckling the confines of the medium, so over-saturated that it almost struggles for definition. The instruments take on a scary dynamic, like a vibrating cloud of flies, distorted in the heat. It's hard to avoid the magnetic pull of that turbine shackled hertz, or that accompanying tinsel soak from the cymbals, even the words seem to be dragging you through the dusty soil on mystic hooks."
Rottenmeats

"Formed in Hong Kong in 2006 and relocated to the United States a few years later, Queen Elephantine has produced some of the finest doom albums and splits (with Sons of Otis, Elder, and Alunah) in recent years, driven by sheer originality and mystical force embodied in resplendent shrines of sound....

Deep, heavy sounds straight from the soul-realm woven through the geometries of the cosmos - A funerary procession danced by a mighty double-trio of two axes, two drumsets, and two insectoid drones...

A chariot of headless horses heaving a monolithic obsidian temple across the dense, lightless extremes of space."
Heart & Crossbone Records