| Act IV 2003 Shortlist Profiles-Rakshasa |
Formed in the recesses of the greater Vancouver area and known
briefly as Dead Angel Project, Rakshasa boasts a mixture of
thrash rock, experimental electronics, and textured ambiance. With
collective influences including the Smashing Pumpkins, Faith No
More, The Tea Party, and Radiohead, the band's sound allows room
for an almost theatrical energy live. As entertainers, Rakshasa
make creative, engaging stage shows a priority.
Over a 3-month period in late 2000, with the help of now defunct
promoters, "Alien Peace Records" (based in Texas), some earlier
versions of the songs which made it onto the band's current demo
managed to accrue over 32,000 song plays and downloads from their
mp3.com page. Not to mention that some of the songs appeared
on the soundtracks of a few independent short films. Since the
inception of the Project's latest incarnation as a live band in March
2003, they have been actively setting up, promoting, and playing
shows around the Vancouver area; slowly but steadily, gaining
recognition, as well as a notable following. In addition to the standard
Vancouver circuit of bars and clubs, the band has also performed at
a number of all-ages events and on UBC's CiTR 101.9fm.
Rakshasa's first demo effort, Dusk Kapre, was recorded
and produced over a period of a few months at the band's small home
studio using a few desktop computers equipped with consumer-level
audio hardware and off-the-shelf editing software. The recent addition
of a new guitar player to the lineup has allowed for a dramatic
expansion in the way these songs are able to be performed: the band
and their current material are well suited to both, heavy aggressive
rock sets and humbler acoustic arrangements. Rakshasa
is currently in the process of developing new material and crafting a
more unified sound.
Selected songs for download:
"Daphne Descends"
Update: During 2003, as previously noted, Rakshasa changed their
name to Dead Angel Project. Then they went back to being
Rakshasa. Around 2004/2005, they had released an EP and had
plans for an album that never came to fruition. Then in 2006, the band
along with the other Act IV 2003 shortlist bands were being
considered for inclusion on Ghost Children 2. Jessie Barber (aka
Castillo), the lead singer re-recorded "Daphne Descends" but his
band broke up, so it was listed on the compilation under his new
band, This Week in History. After releasing one EP in 2007, Jesse's
new band has since rebranded itself as The Saints Collapse.
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