''Jalamanta'' is the stoner rock and
Palm Desert scene musician
Brant Bjork
Brant Bjork (born March 19, 1973) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the drummer and founder of the influential Californian stoner rock band Kyuss. Bjork has also been a member of Fu Manchu, Mo ...
's debut solo album after leaving
Kyuss and joining
Fu Manchu
Dr. Fu Manchu ( zh, t=傅滿洲/福滿洲, p=Fú Mǎnzhōu) is a supervillain who was introduced in a series of novels by the English author Sax Rohmer beginning shortly before World War I and continuing for another forty years. The character f ...
. Originally released on October 11, 1999, through
Man's Ruin Records, ''Jalamanta'' was later re-released on Bjork's own label,
Duna Records
Duna Records is a record label founded by Palm Desert Scene, desert rocker Brant Bjork.
As of mid-September 2007 the dunarecords.com website no longer hosted tour dates or album information, being replaced with a simple text message ''"Brant Bjor ...
, in 2003, 2006 and 2009. In 2019, Bjork's current label, Heavy Psych Sounds, released a remixed and remastered version of the album with new artwork.
Background and release
Following his departure from Kyuss in 1994, Bjork played and collaborated with several different bands, including producing
Fu Manchu
Dr. Fu Manchu ( zh, t=傅滿洲/福滿洲, p=Fú Mǎnzhōu) is a supervillain who was introduced in a series of novels by the English author Sax Rohmer beginning shortly before World War I and continuing for another forty years. The character f ...
's debut album ''
No One Rides for Free'', and founded the independent label
El Camino Records, later renamed to Duna Records and Low Desert Punk. He released debut albums by stoner rock band Solarfeast and hardcore punk band De-Con through his label in 1995, which he also produced and performed drums on respectively. In 1996, he joined former Kyuss bandmate
Josh Homme in his
Palm Desert musical collective series
The Desert Sessions, appearing on ''
Volumes 1 & 2'' and ''
Volumes 5 & 6'' released in 1998 and 1999 respectively.
Bjork joined Fu Manchu in 1996 and appeared on their ''
The Action Is Go'' album the following year.
In February 1999, Bjork rented a week's worth of studio time at
Rancho de la Luna in
Joshua Tree
''Yucca brevifolia'' (also known as the Joshua tree, yucca palm, tree yucca, and palm tree yucca) is a plant species belonging to the genus '' Yucca''. It is tree-like in habit, which is reflected in its common names.
This monocotyledonous tre ...
for the recording of his debut solo album.
''Jalamanta'' was released on October 11 that same year through
Man's Ruin Records. The album received a positive reception and featured Bjork performing all the instruments, in addition to including lyric and vocal contributions from
Mario Lalli of
Fatso Jetson. ''Jalamanta''
's musical style drew comparisons to Bjork's former band Kyuss, as
BraveWords noted, "If Kyuss represents the desert at its harshest, all heatwaves and howling winds and Gila monsters, then the Jalamanta album is the desert at its most tranquil; peaceful, spacious and calm."
The album would later be re-released through Duna Records in 2003, 2006 and 2009, and for its 20th anniversary in 2019, a remixed and remastered version was released through Heavy Psych Sounds.
Track listing
Notes
* The 2019 reissue features the instrumental intro to "Low Desert Punk", "Bones Lazy", as its own track.
Personnel
*
Brant Bjork
Brant Bjork (born March 19, 1973) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the drummer and founder of the influential Californian stoner rock band Kyuss. Bjork has also been a member of Fu Manchu, Mo ...
– drums, guitars, bass, percussion, vocals, painting, photography, layout; cover art painting (Duna edition); producer, remixer (Heavy Psych Sounds edition)
*Rosa – producer, mixer
*Tony Mason – engineer, mixer; remixer (Heavy Psych Sounds edition)
*Mathias "Schneebie" Schneeberger – mastering
*
John McBain – remastering (Heavy Psych Sounds edition)
*
Mario Lalli – lyrics, vocals ("Toot"), additional guitars
*Gary Arce – additional guitars
*
Frank Kozik – layout
*Cale Bunker – artwork, design, layout (Duna edition)
*DUNArt – artwork, design (Duna edition)
*Ryan Jones – art direction (Heavy Psych Sounds edition)
*Joe Herbick – artwork (Heavy Psych Sounds edition)
*Branca Studio – layout (Heavy Psych Sounds edition)
*Sam Grant – photography (Heavy Psych Sounds edition)
References
{{Authority control
Brant Bjork albums
1999 debut albums
Man's Ruin Records albums