Queen Elephantine

Queen Elephantine
Live at Space Mountain, 2013.
Background information
Also known as	The Weapon of the King of Gods
Origin	Hong Kong, Republic of China (2006 - 2007) New York, New York, USA (2008 - ?) Providence, Rhode Island, USA (Current)
Genres	Psychedelic Rock, Experimental Rock
Years active	2006 - Present
Labels	Concrete Lo-fi, Abandon Ship, Cimmerian Shade, Argonauta, Cosmic Eye
Associated acts	Molten Lava Death Massage, Agnosis, Fashion Week, Kine, Scowl
Website	Queen Elephantine Facebook

Queen Elephantine are a psychedelic rock/experimental rock band.

With origins in Hong Kong and emigrating to New York City and then Providence before settling in Philadelphia, this psych collective has went from a guitar-and-bass drone duo to a freeform collective with a rotating cast. The core founding member of the group is guitarist/vocalist Indrayudh "Indy" Shome, starting the project in 2006 while still in his teens.

While vocals and lyricism are relatively sparse Queen Elephantine draw their themes from a host of different sources, mainly spiritual themes. A lot of song titles are inspired by secular states, hinduism, buddhism and some middle eastern religions. The sound of the band is also ever-changing, ranging from psychedelic rock but also peering into drone, stoner metal and doom metal.

Since the birthing of Queen Elephantine in 2006 the band has managed to release five studio albums, gaining further notoriety among the stoner rock circles with 2009's Kailash and 2011's Garland of Skulls. The band has also released a host of split and EP releases bridging the gaps between albums.

History

Surya and Kailash (2006 - 2010)

Queen Elephantine started off as a guitar-bass duo consisting of Indrayudh ("Indy") Shome and Danny Quinn, valling themselves "The Weapon of the King of Gods". At the time of the band's formation in 2006, Shome was 16 and still relatively active with his other band Molten Lava Death Massage while Quinn had just turned 17. Working with independent label Concrete Lo-fi the band's first release would come in the form of a Split Cd with Elder that fall. The band also incorporated more people in their lineup and began playing out live in Hong Kong and Japan. The band would follow up with a split CD with Sons of Otis, released on 1 April 2007 and featuring the 26-minute composition "The Battle Of Massacoit (The Weapon Of The King Of Gods)". By that point the band had also begun work on their debut album. Around the same time of this release a major change happened for the band when Indy Shome moved to New York City in early that year, recruiting various members of the NYC music scene to culminate a live band. The earliest known live performance of the band in the States was on 5 March 2007 with The Brought Low, Wrecketh, Black Tusk and Weedeater.

With themes inspired by The Sun and martian deserts, Queen Elephantine's debut album Surya saw it's release via Concrete Lo-Fi on 1 September 2007 to positive reviews among the scene, with a short tour in support of the album. The next year would see the band playing with the likes of Black Pyramid and Elder among others, while a host of material saw release digitally, some of which for free. Along with a split with Alunah, the band saw release of their second album Kailash late that year. The album takes its name and guiding spirit from the mystical Himalayan peak on which the Destroyer dwells in the state of perpetual meditation, in the deathless state.

Garland of Skulls and Scarab (2011 - 2015)

The band would go dormant for roughly a year while working on their third studio album. Sometime around this point the band would relocate to Providence, Rhode Island. Working again with Concrete Lo-fi, the band would release a three-part piece entitled Garland of Skulls on 10 August 2011, touring in support of the record with Fashion Week. Garland of Skulls would gain positive reception via The Sleeping Shaman, The SludgeLord and Doom Mantia among other critics. The band would perform mainly local gigs in 2012 including an event entitled The Day The Music Died on 30 March 2012 with Black Pyramid, Elder, Villainer and Woozy.

Now working with Cosmic Eye Records along with Heart & Crossbone Records, Queen Elephantine had their fourth album ready to go. Scarab would be released on 10 May 2013 to positive reviews, described by Heart & Crossbones in the following: A work of grandeur which finds the band digging even deeper into delirious and psychedelic threnodies, abysmal doom observances and mild invocations, offering 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. The band would tour around the Northeastern and Midwest United States throughout sporadic points of the year, including appearances at experi-MENTAL Festival in New York.

2014 and 2015 would see the band performing with a host of newer psych/experimental bands on the rise such as Insect Ark, Satan's Satyrs, Of The Sun, Darsombra, Aqua Nebula Oscillator, The Golden Grass and Heavy Temple among others. On 1 June 2015, Queen Elephantine would release a 70-minute retrospective "EP" entitled Omen, featuring a collage of recordings spanning the band's entire career from Hong Kong to New York to now.

Kala and Gorgon (2016 - Present)

On 17 May 2016 it would be announced that Argonauta Records would sign Queen Elephantine to present their fifth studio album on CD with other labels handling different formats throughout the world (Cimmerian Shade in the United States handling the LP, Tartarus Records in the Netherlands releasing the cassette and France's Atypeek Music presenting the digital version) Inspired by Hindu Goddesses and featuring current and past members, Kala was released on 21 October 2016. While the band would perform a host of shows in Rhode Island and New York, the band would do a mini-tour supporting Oxbow the next summer.

Queen Elephantine remain active in the stoner scene though many of the members have involvement in a host of various side projects. On 14 March 2019 Queen Elephantine would announce a Northeastern United States tour and their sixth album entitled Gorgon, set for a fall release via Argonauta Records. On 27 September 2019 a new song in "Mars" would be unveiled along with a release date for 8 November 2019. A list of tour dates would also be revealed in support of Gorgon.

Discography

Studio Albums

• Surya (2007, Concrete Lo-fi)
• Kailash (2009, Concrete Lo-fi)
• Garland of Skulls (2011, Cimmerian Shade)
• Scarab (2013, Cosmic Eye)
• Kala (2016, Cimmerian Shade / Argonauta)
• Gorgon (2019, Argonauta Records)

Other Releases

• Double EP (Split with Elder) (2007, Concrete Lo-fi)
• Queen Elephantine / Sons of Otis (Split with Sons of Otis (2007, Concrete Lo-fi)
• To Tartarus (7" That Never Was) (EP) (2008, Self-Released)
• Queen Elephantine (EP) (2008, Self-Released)
• Yatra (EP) (2008, Self-Released)
• Song Of The Sun / Mephistopheles (Split with Alunah) (2009, Catacomb)
• 8 XI 08 - Live In Brooklyn (Live Album) (2010, Faunasabbatha)
• Omen (EP/Compilation) (2015, Atypeek)

Members

NOTE: The current, past and recurring members are only listed as such based on live footage and performers on the record. Queen Elephantine's official pages list all of the members among their list of "members" in the context of a collective as many past members have returned for live or studio releases.

Current Lineup

• Indrayudh "Indy" Shome - Guitar, Vocals (2006 - Present)
• Mat Becker - Bass (2012 - Present)
• Ian Sims - Drums (2012 - Present)
• Derek Fukumori - Percussion (2014 - Present)
• Camden Healy - Bass (2017 - Present)
• Josh Yelle - Cello (2014 - Present)

Past and Recurring Members

• Danny Quinn - Bass (2006 - 2007, 2010 - 2011, 2016)
• Michael Scott Isley - Drums (2006 - 2007, 2010 - 2011, 2016)
• J. Alexander Buck - Percussion (2007)
• Rajkishen Narayanan - Acoustic Guitar, Vocals (2008 - 2012)
• Brett Zweiman - Slide Guitar, Tabla (2008 - 2013)
• Andrew Jude Rotto - Bass (2008 - 2010)
• Chris Dialogue - Drums (2010 - 2012)
• Oliver Ignatius - Performer (2009 - 2010)
• Srinivas Reddy - Tanpura (2009 - Present), Guitar (2016)

List of Known Tours

• Surya North American Tour (2007)
• March 2008 Mini-Tour (With Black Pyramid, Ichabod) (2008)
• 2009 Mini-Tour (With Black Pyramid, Elder) (2009)
• Garland of Skulls North American Tour (With Fashion Week) (2011)
• 2013 Mini-Tours (With It's Not Night, It's Space, Black Norse) (2013)
• 2014 North American Tour (2014)
• 2017 Mini-Tour (With OXBOW) (2017)
• Gorgon North American Tour (2019)

External Links

• Queen Elephantine Official
• Queen Elephantine Soundcloud
• Queen Elephantine Myspace
• Live in Hong Kong 2007!
• Live on WFMU 2016
• Such Hawks Such Hounds Flyer
• Live set via Free Music Archive
• Review of Kala via The Obelisk