Alter-Destinies by Carrom

Carrom is the latest musical outing of Toronto-based experimental guitarist, artist, and DIY label owner Chandan Narayan. Emerging a couple of years ago with "Prehistories," a highly-limited but much-lauded self-released cassette, Carrom's new EP "Alter-Destinies" reveals that their debut was no mere fluke. Situated somewhere between swirling psychedelic scrawl, SST punk, and the Indus Valley, Narayan's music hints at the legacy of classic 1960s Indian and Pakistani electric guitar bands like The Fore-Thoughts, The Panthers, and The X-Lents, as well as American and British bands like Pell Mell, Polvo, and Josef K.

As on their previous tape, Carrom's signature guitar-based instrumentals melt in and out of historical found-sounds and field recordings, while a vibrant list of guest musicians brush on varying texture of violin, synthesizers, and Balinese suling. Here the sonic palette has been significantly expanded though, whether it's woven into the spacious float of "Chinvat Bridge" or creeping through their gnarled re-arrangement/adaptation of the Meat Puppets classic "Up On the Sun" - now re-framed around a looped Andamese chorus and Narayan's twisting lead guitar improvisation. Narayan's academic study of Sanskrit linguistics and Dravidian culture informs the thematic arc here, with each song touching on different aspects of ancient South Asian history in subtle but profound ways.

Radio Khiyaban presents Carrom's "Alter-Destinies" in a limited run of 100 professionally-duplicated cassettes. Please note that for North American customers the band will soon have copies available for order as well so you are best off going to them in order to save on postage!

Tracklist

1.	Toda Cosmologies	4:15

2.	Couple's Quarrel	0:41

3.	Spice Traders	4:19

4.	Thinking of Empire	4:30

5.	Chinvat Bridge	2:13

6.	Up On the Sun	2:36

Credits

released June 5, 2020

Chandan Narayan: guitar, bass VI, bass, swaramandal, glockenspiel
Dylan Strzynski: bass (tracks 1-2, 4, 6) drums (track 5)
Scott DeRoche: second guitar (tracks 1-2, 4)
Chuck Sipperley: analog synths (tracks 1-2, 4)
Chad Pratt: drums (tracks 1-2, 4)
Nathan Smith: violin (track 1)
Andrew Timar: various Balinese sulings (track 3)

Recorded by Jim Roll except: track 5 and all overdubs recorded by Chandan Narayan. Mixed by Sandro Perri (tracks 1-2, 4) and Jeremy Goody (3, 5).

NOTE: additional artwork, recording information, and liner notes included in the physical cassette insert.

Front cover collage by Lee Henderson
Cassette tape layout by N.R. Safi for Radio Khiyaban

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