Kaura (pronounced kay-aura) was born from the vision of infusing the aggressive power of rock with the haunting and ethereal sounds of ancient instruments. In just the 2 years since the band has formed, they have been invited to open for TOOL in Sacramento by Bill Graham Presents, opened for Rob Zombie in San Francisco, and had A Perfect Circle’s Paz Lenchantin play on their debut EP. In addition they traveled to India, Thailand, Bali, Cambodia, Laos, and Nepal to collect the instruments to bring their vision into focus. They have recently been getting airplay on radio stations such as the world famous KROQ, and are slated to perform at the historic Red Rocks Amphitheater this summer as part of the Monolith Festival. They have taken inspiration from artists as diverse as U2 , Dead Can Dance, and TOOL. “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. “We wanted to have the ability to infuse hammered dulcimers with distorted guitars, gamelan bells and tabla with tribal drums and then add in strings or voices to make this really expansive depth of sound." The Berkeley-based band came to be 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 created. Comprised of Malcolm Guess (vocals), Benjamin Jones (drums), Michael Cates (Bass), Ben Rojas (guitar), and Mr. Yosh (Dulcimer,Piano, Gamelan), the band sought to not only seek 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 rock bands" says Guess. They documented to entire trip for a DVD, Kaura Travels, released independently in 2006. The band is looking forward to touring and releasing their first album in Fall 2007.