We are happy to present this interview with Djam Karet's Gayle Ellett composed via e-mail April-May 2001. Our thanks to Gayle for taking the time to do this. For more info on Djam Karet, visit www.djamkaret.com and check out the reviews of their albums here on the site.

Well, to start off how about a brief history of the band?  What were your goals musically, and how did you feel your recorded output has met your expectations?  Where there any bands or artists that particularly inspired you to form Djam Karet?

Gayle: We formed in 1984 to play and perform only totally improvised music with no predetermined structure or form. Just tune up and play. Our goal was to have fun! Now, we've added more structure to our music, yet we retain some of that improv element. We are inspired by many of the great 70's prog bands like Pink Floyd and King Crimson, as well as many other groups like: Allman Brothers, Jimi Hendrix, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Yes, Gentle Giant, Gong, Goblin, Brand X, and others. Our albums have come close to capturing what we are after, and for the most part, we are happy with them.
 

You just recently released two solo albums. What else are you involved in when not  working as Djam Karet? Are you and the other members of the band full time musicians?

Gayle: I released 2 new CDs under the name THE MASKIT CHAMBER. They are mostly Electronic/Prog. Only I am a full time musician, although Mike Henderson also plays a lot with his other group Hybrid Vigor and other players. I write and perform music for TV and Film projects, and recently sold some music I wrote to a music library. It was in the style of traditional Folk music from Japan, China, Bali, Morocco, played mostly on real traditional instruments, like Koto, Bazuki, and Oud. Its great fun playing music in different styles, and its challenging to learn music from other countries.

You cover many different styles with the band.  How do you guys feel you fit in to the current "progressive rock" scene?

Gayle: I don't really know how we fit in to the Prog scene. Our musical style is a bit broad, sometimes a bit Electronic, other times very Fusiony. We sort of picked up the ball where the 70's prog groups dropped it, adding newer styles and techniques to the traditional Prog/Art Rock concept. In our group we are very free to play what we want, regardless of its style or commercial considerations.
 

You have some upcoming live dates with NEARfest 2001 and the post NF show in NYC.  What kind of a reception do you usually receive live, and how do you feel your music translates into that environment? How often do you play live?

Gayle: Usually when we play live, women shower the stage with their underwear, and backstage we have big parties with lots of naked women. Actually, I lied. Our typical fan is a computer programmer guy or science teacher about 30 years old, pot bellied and good natured. Most of our fans seem to be brainy people. I think our shows accurately reflect our sound, except we can't do overdubs and layering with the keyboards, so live we're a little edgier. We rarely play live, maybe a few gigs every few years usually to promote a new CD.

Speaking of NEARfest, what is your reaction to an event like this which sells out 1000 seats in a matter of hours? Most progressive bands have a hard time securing gigs. Do you think that the large-scale festivals like this are the best way of showcasing live progressive music?

Gayle: NEARfest is run in a professional manner by people who know what they're doing (THANK GOD!!). So we are very happy to be apart of it. It is a great way for people to see many great groups in one weekend, and it draws fans from around the USA and around the world as well. I think NEARfest has been successful, while others have failed, because  they haven't gotten too big or over estimated the interest in this type of music. Usually these shows are run by people who love prog so much they figure EVERYONE ELSE loves it too, which they don't. Only a small fraction of people in the USA are into it, so you have to be realistic and organized which the NEARfest guys are.
 

Due to the variety of styles the band covers, you must draw upon many different influences. What are they? Specifically, what influences, if any are drawn from progressive rock? What are some of your favorite albums?

Gayle: We like long winded jamming type tunes and textural music, styles that groups like Pink Floyd and Yes are famous for. We like the prog idea of having the instruments, even the bass and drums, up front with a focus on performing complex fiery music. Chuck owns a record store, so we listen to a very wide range of music from: 70's prog, fusion, ethnic world music, heavy metal, blues. The list goes on and on. Too many favorite albums to list.
 

How do you go about putting together songs? Do writers bring ideas to the group rehearsal in complete form, or is the majority of the music composed from the jam style illustrated on Still No Commercial Potential?

Gayle: Basically I write all the music, the other guys are total losers!! Just kiddin'!! Actually, its like you said above. Someone will bring in a song fragment/a skeleton of a tune/a chord progression, and we'll all add to and re-arrange it. And other times ideas will come about from our taped jams that we do every rehearsal. We jam about 45 minutes each time we get together, to warm up our fingers and minds. These jams often contain bits that are later worked up by the group into complete tunes. Its very democratic and a fun way to work. Mostly, everyone contributes about equally to the compositional process, as well as recording and production.
 

New Dark Age will be the 11th album you've recorded with this lineup of the band. How do you think the group has progressed over the years? In retrospect, which albums do you see as your most successful?

Gayle: New Dark Age, and its companion release Ascension, will be our most successful albums so far along with The Devouring and Reflections From The Firepool. These 4 albums I think are our best. Over the years we've gotten a little more structured, and we've tried to improve the arrangements so they don't wander around too much. I think now we're a little more focused, and we've gotten better at recording/producing albums. Recently, we've upgraded our personal recording studio to a fully digital automated system that we used for Ascension and New Dark Age.
 

Where do you see progressive rock heading?  There has been a recent resurgence thanks to bands like yourselves as well as festivals such as NEARfest, but do you think this momentum is sustainable?  Do you think it's a little retrogressive for a lot bands to be retreading areas that were already explored in the 70's, or is that what "progressive rock" has become today?

Gayle: I think this type of music will never be popular in the USA. Here it is Pop or you're a flop. Its Pop or nothing. Even big jazz masters are unknown here. In Europe it's a little different. They have a wider musical interest, they embrace more styles. Modern music right now, I mean MTV and all that, does contain a huge amount of retreading past styles of music. There is very little new music out these days. There are groups like ours that try to move forward with Prog/Art Rock, and then there are groups that try to re-create the exact sound and style of 70's Prog. I think there is room for both styles. We certainly love Anglagard and Anekdoten.
 

Finally, what's on the horizon for Djam Karet? With the upcoming release of the new album and EP, how long do you think it will be before we see another album?

Gayle: The "EP" in now a full length album, 46 minutes long, called Ascension (our 12th release so far, a Limited Edition release of 750 copies pressed only), and is sort of a Volume 2 to our other new CD New Dark Age. Both were recorded at the same time. Ascension is released by Djam Karet ourselves, and Cuneiform Records is releasing New Dark Age. It will probably be about a year or two before we release another CD. We'll probably change directions for the next CD. There are so many fun music styles we'd like to explore. We'll see. Our main goal is to have fun, and I hope that shows through in our music. Thanks for the chance to let me talk about our group!! We appreciate it!

- Mike Prete [April - May 2001]