QUEEN ELEPHANTINE

Queen Elephantine biography
QUEEN ELEPHANTINE was formed in Hong Kong by teenage musicians Indrayudh Shome (guitar) and Danny Quinn (bass). The band started to play meditative heavy psychedelic music with jam character and developed their own style based on a high proportion of doom and stoner rock elements over the course of time. Together with Michael Scott Isley and Andrew Chu alternating behind the drum set their eponymous demo album with three jams appeared in 2006.

One year later the 'Ramesses' suite followed, completely improvised without any modification, as the contribution to a split CD worked out together with the band ELDER, this time with drummer Daniel Murphy. After some months the line-up changed once more. Isley rejoined whilst moving to Hong Kong as well as old friend Alex Buck (percussion). This four-piece lineup played several shows and started gaining a reputation.

QUEEN ELEPHANTINE then recorded the split album with SONS OF OTIS and the song 'The Sea Goat' as a sampler contribution for Catacomb Records. Not much later the group's first full-length album 'Surya' was released. When all members graduated from school the band broke up. Shome went to New York entrusted by Danny Quinn to hold up the band's spirit. In his school mate Rajkishen Narayanan (vocals, guitar) Shome found a new partner and congenial songwriter soon.

They played with a lot of musicians furthermore to find a suitable line-up including bassist Andrew Jude Riotto for their first few shows. Finally settling on Chris Dialogue (drums) and Brett Zweiman (bass) they recorded their first compositions together which were released as the EP 'Yatra'. Three tracks from sessions in April 2008 are unreleased but available online on their homepage under the title 'To Tartarus'.

QUEEN ELEPHANTINE is currently based in New York City. Reduced to the core members Shome and Narayanan they are working on the forthcoming sophomore full-length album 'Kailash'.

former members:
Faraz Usmani - bass
Brett Zweiman - bass
Kabir Hingorani - guitar
J. Alexander Buck - percussion/drums
Michael Scott Isley - drums
Daniel Murphy - drums
Chris Dialogue - drums
Daniel Quinn - bass

occasional & guest members:
Arthur Uriquola - guitar
Kyle Banick - guitar
Andrew Chu - drums

Rivertree (Uwe Zickel)