Manas
Manas
"First LP by Manas, a duo comprised of guitarist Tashi Dorji and drummer Thom Nguyen. Tashi, who's based in Asheville NC these days, has been cutting a wide swathe through the guitar underground over the past few years. Originally focused on acoustic weaponry, he has added electric guitar to his arsenal, without giving up any of the weird angular bite of his initial work. Thom is known to have played with a couple of Asheville free rock bands, Nest Egg and Mendocino, but this is the first exposu…
III
"Unlike World War 3 II, which referred to the second album by that thuggish UK band, or Manfred Mann's Chapter III, which referred to the third outfit led by Mr. Mann, Manas III is neither the third album by Manas, nor the third iteration of the band. Rather, it refers to the number of participants on the second album by this spectacular Asheville NC unit, previously known primarily as a duo. The two main actors in question are guitarist, Tashi Dorji, and drummer Thom Nguyen. Tashi's earliest re…
Alone We Are Alone As Far Down As the Sediment
2025 stock Originally released February 12, 2022. MANAS -- otherwise known as the duo of iconoclastic guitarist Tashi Dorji and drummer extraordinaire Thom Nguyen -- have made tsunami-sized waves in the free jazz and improv scene with their numerous tape and LP releases (drawing praise and support from such luminaries and fellow-travelers as Bill Nace and Ben Chasny) and their face-melting live shows, including high profile touring with Godspeed! You Black Emperor. Back in the summer of 2019 the…