Tel Basta

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Alternative Press (Low Profile), June 1994 (excerpts)

"Spiritualism, joyfulness, and a worship of mother earth dominate the atmosphere projected by the San Francisco group Tel Basta. Named after Bast the Egyptian cat goddess, the bands exudes arcane of Egyptian mythology along with Christian allusions to angels, matrys, prophets and sacred bells. Still, there's a dark undercurrent that flows through the music."

(Daniel on the creation of Tel Basta)
"I tried to reinvent myself (after the death of Katharsis), take my understanding of eastern mythology and try to westernize it. I did this solo tape with a weird, dark, eastern, Egytpian feel and then Pine came along and spread gold dust on it".

 

American Music Press, July 1994 (excerpt)

"Tel Basta" is an ancient Egyptian city where they worshiped the cat goddess Bast," defined Daniel James, programmer, vocalist, and guitar player for the band. "When I was a kid, I read Egyptian Mythology... I did the Egyptian Book of the Dead as a book report in the eight grade... they thought I was a Satanist..." he laughs.

Tel Basta, not at all abashed, admit an active interest in all things "classical", it explains somewhat their musical angle and intent. "We read a lot of Dante, and we all read a lot of the classics... you know, we try... to... get through the classics" says Pine, vocalist. Everyone snickers at the idea of them actually being this erudite. "But whether we do or not" Pine humorously hurries on, "there is this appreciation of them on our part. I mean, not as a whole, but... WHAT?" Pine exclaims as everyone looks highly amused..

Dewdrops (review of Lavender)

"For their second album, Tel Basta have easily surpassed their first with improved songwriting and more complex and lush arrangements. The whole album just radiates exquisite beauty and melancholy with Pine's lovely vocals, a combination of Eastern and Western musics and a strong sense of percussion (all, remarkably, from a masterfully programmed drum machine!) Laid Up In Lavender should sit right at the top of your want list if you include among your favorites Collection d,Arnell-Andrea, Dead Can Dance, or Eden."
-- Brent Nelson

Dark Velvet (review of Lickerish)

From the Circular Reasoning division of Charnel Music comes Tel Basta's "Lickerish". This disc is a must have fans of Faith and the Muse and Faith and Disease. Pine's lovely female vocals resemble Gitane Demone's newer vocal style (not the deadly wails of Christian Death) and the music has a middle-eastern folk like flavor with almost tribal percussion. Probably best compared to post-Serpent's Egg Dead Can Dance. Unfortunately, Tel Basta seems doomed to appear on labels near their end--the now defunct C'est La Morte and the almost gone Circular Rcasoning/Charnel Music. Maybe some larger label hoping to cash in on the familiar sound delivered by Tel Basta will sign them soon.

BSide (review of Lavender)

Definitely a classy group this time out...I think I like them all! I feel like the bad parent. Much as i really did like these releases, there is one I did like the best. TEL BASTA simply knocked me over. Yeah, yeah, another C'est La Mort release, heavy on atmosphere and, yeah, like I thought, female vocals. But...BUT...after that it's the old adjective city. It's one of those intriguing releases that sounds very different for many reasons. It's exotic, erotic, dark and romantic all at the same time. This sounds like someone hijacked a group of wan- dering middle ages minstrels and plopped them into a studio and stepped back. There's violins, viola and even though it's not listed I swear I heard a lute in there. The group mixes all this together and then layers the music with vocals from Pine and Brett Klinker. And it's here where they are very clever indeed. As pleasant as the vocals are, if they were floated on top, the release wouldn't be half as strong. There's something in the way that the vocals haunt the inner core of the music that really gives this a beautifully dreamy quality. If all the music I found could be this great, I'd be listening to every CD we get. Alas, that's not the case and I have to wait few and far between for this kind of beauty. Thanks for it!
-- Nick C