The California-based Djam Karet has often been called America's greatest undiscovered band. Compared by the press with King Crimson, Pink Floyd, the Grateful Dead, Ozric Tentacles and Porcupine Tree, they are credited with breathing new life into progressive rock, leading the way to the genre's future growth. Impressively, such high praise comes from widely divergent sources; Djam Karet has been written up in mainstream music publications such as Billboard and Rolling Stone, in prestigious musician-oriented publications such as Electronic Musician, Keyboard and Guitar Player, and in numerous magazines, fanzines and webzines published by and for the indie/non-commercial rock communities. Relix recently noted that Djam Karet, "has always been the ultimate jamband...just a little ahead of its time." Expose asserted that Djam Karet was "Arguably the most important band of the last decade, and certainly the most unique" and placed the band "at the forefront of their instrumental genre". Put simply by New Age Voice: "Djam Karet is no ordinary band. [They] gobble up myriad influences...including New Age, fusion, hard rock, electronic music, world, blues, even surf music...and metamorphose them into fascinating musical hybrids. They have never made the same album twice." With the release of their newest CD, Recollection Harvest, Djam Karet makes their strongest statement yet, and shows the world their uncompromising drive and vision.

Djam Karet was founded in 1984 by guitarists Gayle Ellett and Mike Henderson, bassist Henry J. Osborne, and drummer Chuck Oken, Jr., all of whom remain in the band. They chose as the band's name an Indonesian word (pronounced 'jam care-RAY) that translates loosely as "elastic time". Early Djam Karet was a proto-"jam band" whose live, improvisational performances on the southern California/LA area college circuit featured a free-form mixture of guitar-dominated instrumental rock and textural Eastern drone music, as in 1985's cassette release No Commercial Potential. Djam Karet's mode of working and repertoire gradually expanded beyond improvisation to include composition, recording, and studio work. In 1987 the band self-released The Ritual Continues (cassette; later CD). Two years later, they released their first CD, Reflections From The Firepool (2000 Cuneiform reissue), which sold over 7,000 copies - astonishing for a self-released project - and received Rolling Stone's accolade of "#2 Independent Album of the Year".

In 1991, the band self-released two separate CDs: Burning the Hard City and Suspension & Displacement (both 2000 Cuneiform reissues) which "show-cased the [band's] two extreme split personalities...The former was a bone-crushing excursion into heavy power rock with anarchistic guitar solos, and the latter was a brilliant diary of dark, eerie ambient soundscapes." (Expose). Afterwards the band dissolved as a quartet. A reduced duo version of Djam Karet self-released the 1994 CD Collaborator, with guests: Jeff Greinke, Kit Watkins, Marc Anderson, Steve Roach, and many others.

As the 20th Century drew to a close, Djam Karet reformed with its original members and signed to Cuneiform Records. It entered a period of unprecedented creative productivity that only accelerated as the 21st century dawned. It began working on new releases for Cuneiform, initiated a program to repackage and reissue its out-of-print back catalogue on Cuneiform, and began playing live on the festival circuit, performing at Day Zero for 1999's ProgDay (San Francisco); at NEARfest 2001, progressive rock's premier US showcase; ProgWest 2001 (Claremont) and at 2002's ProgDay (North Carolina). When Cuneiform released its first Djam Karet CD in 1997, The Devouring, Innerviews noted that Djam Karet is "back with a vengeance one hell of an album". space.com applauded their expanded sound featuring more keyboards: "As if the band's earlier music hadn't already scorched the ceilings of heaven, this new sonic incarnation burned like a stellar nova." In 1998, Djam Karet performed on the West and East Coasts, recordings a live album for Cuneiform. Live At Orion, released in 1999, was applauded as "one of the best live recordings that I've heard" an easy "top ten selection from my best of '99 list" by Expose. The band began to do more work in the studio, resulting in the 2001 Cuneiform release of New Dark Age. Numerous critics called the CD Djam Karet's best to date. In the words of Progression: "This may be the best Djam Karet recording yet, which is a mouthful, considering that the band's now-voluminous output is amply studded with gems. Their brilliant synthesis of abstract mind-trip and concrete butt-kick is at an all-time high here. Sonically, ...[it] is simply masterful. This is one of the major releases of the year."

Around the same time as New Dark Age's release, and complementary to its work with Cuneiform, Djam Karet launched a series of self-released CDRs, reissues and limited edition CDs for its fans. Within two years, the band self-released 6 CDs, including the limited edition Ascension, featuring studio outtakes from New Dark Age. Out of this creative renaissance arose A Night For Baku. As a distillation of their musical visions across 20 years, A Night For Baku is indeed a diamond in Djam Karet's oeuvre, a true Djam Karet "classic", and featured the addition of new band member Aaron Kenyon on bass. The title derives from Japanese folklore: the Baku are mythical inhabitants of the dream world, valiant warriors who devour nightmares as the spoils of battle. The CD features Djam Karet using more keyboards and electronics, and collaborating on one track with electronic musician Steve Roach, who worked previously with the band on Collaborator.

It is this new line up as a quintet that created Recollection Harvest, their best and most melodic album yet. Actually two albums on one CD, Recollection Harvest is divided into two chapters. The first half is filled with their most melodic and jazzy music released so far, with a strong focus on composition and tight arrangements, Mellotrons and soulful guitar melodies. The second half, titled Indian Summer, features a collection of compositions colored with beautiful acoustic guitars and analog synths, and showcases their more atmospheric side. Together, this release demonstrates the broad and varied world that is Djam Karet. A group that is constantly and consistently growing and expanding their own unique universe. Discover for yourself the music that is Djam Karet.
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