* En anglais uniquement
Rangda are named for the Javanese demon queen of the leyaks. This power trio is an instrumental psych rock and no wave-styled noise unit. The bandmembers are guitarists Sir Richard Bishop (
Sun City Girls) and
Ben Chasny (
Six Organs of Admittance,
Comets on Fire,
Current 93), and drummer
Chris Corsano (
Björk,
Dredd Foole, Jandek,
Sunburned Hand of the Man,
Six Organs of Admittance,
Jim O'Rourke, etc.).
Bishop,
Chasny, and
Corsano live in three distinctly different parts of the United States, making rehearsals difficult. They came together over time first as an idea, since each man's schedule was quite heavy. Assembling as a touring unit, they tried out their very original material before recording their debut
False Flag full-length. It was released by
Drag City in May of 2010. The album was greeted with nearly unanimous critical acclaim, and the band supported it with a slew of touring.
Rangda recorded and released their sophomore effort,
Formerly Extinct, in 2012. Two limited vinyl releases containing live
Rangda recordings appeared in 2013: a split LP with
the Dead C (on Ba Da Bing!) and a 10" EP Live in Krefeld (on German label Unrock). The trio returned to
Drag City in 2016 with the release of their third proper full-length,
The Heretic's Bargain. ~ Thom Jurek