Orkustra
Encyclopedia
Orkustra was a band that tried a synthesis between symphonic orchestra and psychedelic band
. The result was a sort of freeform psychedelia. According to member Bobby Beausoleil
, the group was originally known as "The Electric Chamber Orchestra." The name was changed to avoiding limiting bookings to small venueshttp://www.beausoleil.net/wizard/Orkustra%20Story.htm. The band existed a little more than a year before splitting in the summer of 1967. Beausoleil went onto work with Kenneth Anger
and played the main role in the film Lucifer Rising
before becoming involved with Charles Manson
and his gang. Another player was David LaFlamme
who later founded It's a Beautiful Day
. Beausoleil has called the group "a launch pad to all of its members" http://www.beausoleil.net/wizard/Orkustra%20Story.htm During their heyday the band released no recordings, but RD Records of Switzerland has now released an LP with Orkustra music in collaboration with Beausoleil.
Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
. The result was a sort of freeform psychedelia. According to member Bobby Beausoleil
Bobby Beausoleil
Robert Kenneth "Bobby" Beausoleil is a convicted American murderer and associate of the Charles Manson "Family" who is serving a life sentence. He killed music teacher and fellow associate Gary Hinman on July 27, 1969, and has been imprisoned since his arrest for that crime...
, the group was originally known as "The Electric Chamber Orchestra." The name was changed to avoiding limiting bookings to small venueshttp://www.beausoleil.net/wizard/Orkustra%20Story.htm. The band existed a little more than a year before splitting in the summer of 1967. Beausoleil went onto work with Kenneth Anger
Kenneth Anger
Kenneth Anger is an American underground experimental filmmaker, occasional actor and author...
and played the main role in the film Lucifer Rising
Lucifer Rising (film)
"Lucifer Rising" is a short film by director Kenneth Anger. The film was completed in 1972 but was only widely distributed in 1980.-History:Anger began filming around 1966, hiring a young musician named Bobby Beausoleil to act and compose the soundtrack. The film was abandoned in 1967 because Anger...
before becoming involved with Charles Manson
Charles Manson
Charles Milles Manson is an American criminal who led what became known as the Manson Family, a quasi-commune that arose in California in the late 1960s. He was found guilty of conspiracy to commit the Tate/LaBianca murders carried out by members of the group at his instruction...
and his gang. Another player was David LaFlamme
David LaFlamme
David LaFlamme is a virtuoso violinist in both classical and rock music.David's mother was from a Mormon family in Salt Lake City, and when he was eight years old, the family moved there to be near her family...
who later founded It's a Beautiful Day
It's a Beautiful Day
It's a Beautiful Day is a band formed in San Francisco, California in 1967, the brainchild of violinist David LaFlamme.LaFlamme, a former soloist with the Utah Symphony Orchestra, had previously been in the band Orkustra, and unusually, played a five-string violin...
. Beausoleil has called the group "a launch pad to all of its members" http://www.beausoleil.net/wizard/Orkustra%20Story.htm During their heyday the band released no recordings, but RD Records of Switzerland has now released an LP with Orkustra music in collaboration with Beausoleil.