Prince Rama Confirms Split; Taraka Flies Solo

I’ve been aware of Prince Rama’s breakup since January 2017, when Nimai Larson told me she’d left the band amicably, their last show having taken place a few weeks earlier in Dallas on New Year’s Eve. But it wasn’t widely known public knowledge, and I kept it that way. Last month, they made it official with an Aug. 20 announcement by Nimai’s sister Taraka Larson on the band’s Facebook page.

“Writing these songs, playing them with my sister and friends, and sharing them with each one of you has saved me time and time again and infused my life with immeasurable joy, sorrow, celebration, mystery and awe – saying good-bye feels like saying good-bye to my arm or leg. Prince Rama has been a part of my flesh, my blood, my soul,” Taraka stressed. “Yet, I realized that continuing Prince Rama without Nimai would be like continuing Guns n Roses without Slash; it’s just wrong. So even though this has been perhaps one of the most difficult decisions I have ever had to make, I have chosen to fully embrace the death of the band so that the music can be free to be re-born and evolve into new forms.”

The farewell is not without a parting gift. Rage in Peace, a 7-inch EP of three previously-unheard songs, is already sold out of its 100-copy vinyl edition (with hand-painted cover and, supposedly, ashes of the band’s torched stage outfits, flyers, manifestos, records, etc. infused into the vinyl), but is still obtainable in the digital sphere, along with reissues of their first three albums recorded when they were known as Prince Rama of Ayodhya.

As for the sisters, Nimai has exited music (for now at least) and has been living happily in Austin, Texas, where she’s the creative conductor of her life. Taraka, meanwhile, has continued writing new material (and occasionally DJing events in New York City), and will play her first solo show Oct. 9 at Baby’s All Right in Brooklyn. Being that Prince Rama was one of the most creative and unique musical entities we’ve encountered in the past ten years, we can’t wait to hear what she’s been cooking up.