| “As I started to attempt to document and make sense of what had happened, I wanted to call the album ‘Now I’m The Antichrist’, much to the consternation of almost everyone I told about it” Kavus reveals “As I got towards the end of the recording, however, I settled on The Banishing which, while referring to my banishing from London really describes how I thought of the process of making it which, in magical terms, was a banishing ritual” A sense of revelation is manifest throughout The Banishing, taking a circuitous path along the way, whether in the opening dreamscape The Horizontal Man – which Kavus notes as ‘starting at the point of healing – or the unsettling and haunting finale. Unteathered. En route however, it traverses with grace through both the kind of polyrhythmic song-craft that he’s made his trademark (as on the bewitching Heart The Same) and the eerie and gravitas-laden lament Push The Faders. Manifold and eclectic influences made their presence felt on The Banishing, from a documentary on multi-disciplinary artist and mystic Brian Catling (which prompted The Horizontal Man) to William Blake, whose Songs Of Innocence And Experience inspired Kavus’ own sleeve art, to Tim Smith, to whom A Thousand Blazing Chariots is a tribute. |
| Meanwhile however, the drive to make a positive and uplifting record has ultimately succeeded against all adversity. Mountains Of Glass, the beatific and hymnal epiphany which was inspired by what he calls “the most profoundly mystical and visionary experience of my life so far, a completely atheism-dissolving hour” is radiant testimony to this. “Recording The Banishing became a form of therapy, a dialogue with myself” Kavus reflects “I started to ‘live’ the album and the completion became an act of alchemy; to transform the pain, hurt and sadness into something beautiful.” At the very least, The Banishing represents mission accomplished. Yet more than this, it’s the sound of a maverick artist using their creative process as not only a bulwark against psychic oppression but a transformative force to guide them through life. Far from merely banishing the dust of the everyday, it’s a psychic spring-clean that renders the world anew, a journey that opens more doors than it closes. Vinyl & CD Pre-Orders Streaming / Download |
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| Following a triumphant “Artist In Residence” set commissioned by Roadburn Festival entitled “Lions of the Lords Elect” in April and while continuing to travel the globe as Gong’s frontman, Torabi has jammed the diary full of UK shows this Spring / Summer including the Acid Horse Festival in Wiltshire, a co-headline run with the Witching Tale and two performances at Glastonbury Festival itself.May 24th WILTSHIRE Acid Horse TICKETS June 8th TAMWORTH Mabfest TICKETS June 16th SWINDON, The Victoria TICKETSJune 29th GLASTONBURY Glastonbury FestivalJune 30th GLASTONBURY Glastonbury FestivalAugust 1st LONDON, Putney Half Moon TICKETS * August 5th HASTINGS, Mo’s Lounge **August 6th READING The Face Bar TICKETS ** August 7th BRIGHTON, Komedia Studio TICKETS** August 9th PLYMOUTH, Steel Brew TICKETS ** August 10th FROME The Treehouse ** August 11th BIRMINGHAM The Hare and Hounds TICKETS** August 22nd HEREFORD, The Victory August 23rd SHEFFIELD, The Dorothy Pax August 24th ALLENDAlE, High Forest Community Centre TICKETS August 27th MANCHESTER, Night and Day Cafe TICKETS August 28th HULL, Wrecking Ball TICKETS August 29th IPSWICH, Smokehouse TICKETS August 30th MARGATE, Justine’s TICKETS August 31th PORTSMOUTH, Edge of The Wedge TICKETS * Supporting Custard Flux** Joint headline with The Witching Tale |
The Rocker - The Artist Formerly Known As Zeitgeist. TAFKAZ 
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