[DID NOT ATTEND: November 2, 2026] Ak’Chamel / Ecology: HomeStones
I saw a clip of Ak’Chamel on KEXP and thought, wow, these guys are wacky. I wonder if they ever play Philadelphia? And, lo and behold, the next day they announced this tour, with a show at The Rotunda, which I had never heard of.
So here’s The Rotunda
The Rotunda, located at 4014 Walnut Street in Philadelphia, PA, is a community-gathering place that is fueled by the belief that art is a catalyst for social change and that the arts can lead to the formation of meaningful partnerships between the University of Pennsylvania and surrounding neighborhoods. Over 300 events are offered every year, including live music, film, spoken word, theater, art, dance, education, youth programs, arts incubation, and various experimental genres. As an alcohol-free, smoke-free venue, The Rotunda provides a critical social alternative for all ages. At its core, The Rotunda is a shared space fostering learning, enrichment, and community support while empowering the public to present, produce, and promote their work.
But what about Ak’chamel? Well
Ak’chamel has built a solid reputation as a compelling stage project. Wearing nightmarish costumes and engaging in hallucinatory “rituals”, their singular sound comprising desert-scorched psychedelia, post-apocalyptic shamanism, and lo-fi ritual-folk is as unique as the physical theater of their live performances.
They have drums and guitars but also middle eastern wind instruments and. They’d be interesting to see live, but we’re going to be away so I don’t need to decide if I want to experience this.
Ecology: HomeStones make noise. There’s no nicer way to put it. One song called Fanfare is 12 minute drone with washes of engine noise? scraping string? Their first song on Tidal is Once I Step Behind the Curtain, I Never Come Out the Same. The song begins with 30 seconds of sped up vocals chanting the title. The rest is really fast hardcore drumming with some kind of failing electrical components creating the main sound. There come what could be voices or just another squealing machine. Who knows. This might be the noisiest, most unpleasant thing I’ve ever heard, and that’s saying a lot!
This is hard to listen to and probably doubly so live. Although evidently the visual component is important to the music, so check then out on youtube.
Just to clarify things, their blurb on Instagram says: “harphing is a noble fire unlit by deldon”
Another blurb says “Ecology: Homestones is a cartoon-industrial noise project following the dramatization of past and future events concerning the mutilation of eight carrot farmers, all coincidentally named Robert. The organization behind this fantasy, The FPPC, is on a mission to provide you with the information you need for a fast and enjoyable recovery.”
