March 18, 2008

After a period of LOQUACIOUS INERTIA, there are two new Djam Karet side projects: FERNWOOD and UKAB MAERD.

The new FERNWOOD CD Almeria is now available, and on sale for $9.99. FERNWOOD, is an all-acoustic, instrumental group. Gayle Ellett (Djam Karet) and Todd Montgomery create contemporary acoustic music that is familiar and exotic, with a strong cinematic and pan-cultural feel. By playing traditional World instruments in new and interesting ways, they have created a new hybrid style that is uniquely their own. Featuring the frail and haunting sounds of Greek & Irish bouzouki, sitar, Chinese ruan, mandolin, harmonium, acoustic guitar, Moroccan oud, gobijen, bulbul tarang, dotara, upright bass and other instruments. All music played by hand, on instruments made out of wood, with a very melodic and sensitive touch akin to some of the lands traveled in INDIAN SUMMER. For more info and sound samples, check out www.virb.com/Fernwood

UKAB MAERD is currently recording music for their first CD due for release later this summer in 2008. Chuck Oken jr. and Gayle Ellett play a wide array of analog and digital synths, guitar effects, sound processors, and percussion, creating ambient spaces and dreamy netherworlds! A must have for all fans of classic electronic music and many of you who enjoy the soundworlds of Djam Karet. You can hear some of our previous LIVE recordings done in 2007 here at their MySpace account.

August 5, 2007

A beginning:

UKAB MAERD was created by the founding members of Djam Karet: Chuck Oken, jr. and Gayle Ellett. Their goal is to compose and peform new Progressive Electronic music. Using a host of analog and digital synthesizers, signal processors and effects, and altered electric guitar, UKAB MAERD makes mind music that blends both modern styles and traditional European Electronic music from the 1970's.

UKAB MAERD masksbackwards to BAKU DREAM and is a reference to the Djam Karet's 2003 album A NIGHT FOR BAKU. The Baku are spirits of the dream world who are devourers of evil dreams and nightmares. The music of UKAB MAERD represents what the Baku dream after spending elastic time in the twilight zone.

Music and more: www.myspace.com/ukabmaerd

July 10, 2007



February 12, 2007

Djam Karet and the independent film “Black Dahlia Movie”, directed by Ramzi Abed. DVDs now available.

Djam Karet has over 20 tracks of music in this brand-new feature-length movie, adding a dark and menacing tone that permeates the entire film. Melancholic and gloomy, Djam Karet’s music helped create the unsettling moods and atmosphere that director Ramzi Abed needed for this project.

The DVD of “Black Dahlia Movie” is now available from us, for just $15.00, plus shipping. Get one now, while they’re still available!

January 15th 2007 marked the 60th anniversary of the day that Elizabeth Short was found murdered and mutilated in a lot at 39th and Norton Ave. The murder captivated Los Angeles and set off a media frenzy fueled by the lurid life and brutal death of "The Black Dahlia". Sixty years later, this crime has still gone unsolved, and still continues to captivate not just Los Angeles- but the entire world.

Filmed before any of the other Black Dahlia-related films (including Brian DePalma's "The Black Dahlia", and Ulli Lommel's "Black Dahlia"), Ramzi Abed’s BLACK DAHLIA MOVIE is a sexy and thrilling journey into the darkness and mystery of Hollywood's most famous unsolved murder case.

When the beautiful Lisa Small (Kristen Kerr) gets the chance to play the tragic victim of the crime, Elizabeth Short, an entire dreamworld awakens all around her. All the while, a killer is on the loose collecting women and killing them in time for the 60th anniversary of the original murder. A spider's web grows around Lisa, as her nightmares and desires intersect. As Lisa delves deeper into her script, she propels herself into living out the last days of the Black Dahlia.

Also contributing original music to the soundtrack are David J (of Bauhaus and Love & Rockets), Ego Plum (and The Ebola Music Orchestra), The LVRS, My Ruin, Nora Keyes (of The Centimeters), Dame Darcy and Death By Doll, Jill Tracy, Red Martian, Abby Travis, Piss Ant, Red Martian, and others. But the majority of the music is by Djam Karet.

An unforgettable and haunting experience, BLACK DAHLIA MOVIE is a truly original post-modern arthouse thriller that examines the legacy of Elizabeth Short's murder, while satirizing Hollywood's exploitation of women. Created to be released in 2007, in time for the 60th anniversary of the discovery of Elizabeth Short's body, BLACK DAHLIA MOVIE is a cult classic that will inspire many interpretations and late-night obsessions.