Karnataka evolved out of a recording project started by Ian Jones in 1996 - Ian's plan was simply to record some songs written with previous bands Dream Circle and The Big Pink. The Big Pink also featured ex-Karnataka members Rachel Cohen, Jonathan Edwards and Gavin Griffiths. The band achieved some success around South Wales with their unique brand of anarchic pop/prog, including winning the Swansea 'Battle Of The Bands" and culminating in a performance at the 1992 Heineken Festival which also featured the rapidly rising Manic Street Preachers. The band ran its course and eventually the band members parted company. By the mid 90's Ian was keen to return to working on original material and put together a studio to start recording songs largely written by himself, Rachel and Jonathan. Ian had begun sequencing keyboard parts and programming drums and decided to bring in additional musicians to help with the recording. Keyboard players Jim Law and Phil Lloyd were the first to try out before Jonathan once again teamed up with Ian and Rachel. As the recording progressed the line up was augmented by drummer Gavin Griffiths and guitarist Paul Davies. Whilst the intention had been just to record the songs, by the end of the recording everyone felt it was too good an opportunity not to continue as a band and the decision was made to release the songs on an album. The band needed a name.... Ian had recently spent some time in the south Indian state of Karnataka and it was his experiences there that provided the inspiration for the band name - KARNATAKA. Ian J - River Kaveri, Karnataka, India 1995 The debut album 'Karnataka' was released in 1998 on Ian's own label 'Immrama Records' - Immrama is a medieval Irish word referring to a tradition of story telling, usually based around sea voyages and often with a supernatural element. Following the release of the album the band were brought to the attention of The Classic Rock Society who recognised the band's potential and gave them their first real break with the opportunity to perform in front of the CRS Rotherham audience. Karnataka released their second album The Storm in 2000 and it was this album that brought the band to the attention of a much wider audience. The album was featured by Bob Harris on BBC Radio 2 and a track from the album, 'Heaven Can Wait', featured on the cover CD of Classic Rock magazine further increasing the bands exposure. Constant touring helped the band develop an envied reputation as an outstanding live act. The success of The Storm culminated in the band winning 'Best New Band' and 'Best Album' awards from The Classic Rock Society. The band received the Classic Rock Society's Gig Of The Year award for 2001. Their extensive touring included prestigious European concerts with Porcupine Tree and culminated in the release of their live DVD " Karnataka - Live in Concert ", filmed at London's Mean Fiddler. The band also performed at The Classic Rock Festival in the USA at the Patriots Theatre, New Jersey . The concert was also filmed and released on DVD. In 2003 the band released their third studio album 'Delicate Flame Of Desire' to widespread acclaim. The band had teamed up with highly regarded Warner/Chappell producer Steve Evans and engineer Joe Gibb to produce an outstanding work of exceptionally strong, melodic songs with dynamic and evocative symphonic arrangements set against a highly polished production. The album reinforced the bands position as one of the leading lights in a new wave of female fronted rock bands. The band continued to tour and made appearances at the Canterbury Rock Festival sharing the bill with Robert Plant. In 2004 the band released a double live album 'Strange Behaviour' capturing the bands superb live performances. In 2004 the original line up disbanded with various band members pursuing new projects. Jonathan formed Panic Room with Anne-Marie, Paul and Gavin, and bassist Alun Vaughan, whilst Rachel joined The Reasoning. Ian had started a new project Chasing The Monsoon, initially teaming up with Steve Evans and guitarist Ian Simmons with Lisa Fury later joining on vocals. Their debut album will be released in 2010. In 2005 Ian met up with keyboard player Gonzalo Carrera, a superb musician whose musical credits include working with John Helliwell (Supertramp), John Etheridge (Soft Machine) and Hugh McDowell (ELO). They began writing and very quickly struck up a strong musical partnership - the sound was unmistakeably Karnataka and the decision was taken to relaunch the band. The line up continued to expand and evolve arriving at the current line up of Ian Jones, Lisa Fury (vocals), Gonzalo Carrera (keyboards), Enrico Pinna (guitars) and Ian Harris (Drums). The band toured in 2007 and 2008 before heading into the studio to record the new studio album The Gathering Light - a beautiful, ambitious work that promises to take Karnataka's sound to new heights. The story continues........