{{Unreferenced, date=December 2010
Orkustra was a band that tried a synthesis between symphonic orchestra and psychedelic band. The result was a sort of freeform psychedelia. According to member
Bobby Beausoleil
Robert Kenneth Beausoleil (born November 6, 1947) is an American murderer and associate of Charles Manson and members of his communal Manson Family. He was convicted and sentenced to death for the July 27, 1969 fatal stabbing of Gary Hinman, w ...
, the group was originally known as "The Electric Chamber Orchestra." The name was changed to avoiding limiting bookings to small venue The band existed a little more than a year before splitting in the summer of 1967. Beausoleil went on to work with
Kenneth Anger
Kenneth Anger (born Kenneth Wilbur Anglemyer, February 3, 1927) is an American underground experimental filmmaker, actor, and author. Working exclusively in short films, he has produced almost 40 works since 1937, nine of which have been grouped ...
and played the main role in the film '' Lucifer Rising'' before becoming involved with
Charles Manson
Charles Milles Manson (; November 12, 1934November 19, 2017) was an American criminal and musician who led the Manson Family, a cult based in California, in the late 1960s. Some of the members committed a series of nine murders at four loca ...
and his
gang
A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collectivel ...
. Another player was
David LaFlamme
David LaFlamme (born May 4, 1941 in New Britain, Connecticut) is an American singer and violinist best known for his longstanding association with the San Francisco band It's a Beautiful Day.
LaFlamme's mother was from a Mormon family in Salt La ...
who later founded
It's a Beautiful Day
It's a Beautiful Day is an American band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1967, featuring vocalist Pattie Santos along with violinist David LaFlamme and his wife, Linda LaFlamme, on keyboards.
David LaFlamme, who as a youth had once p ...
. Beausoleil has called the group "a launch pad to all of its members During their heyday the band released no recordings, bu RD Records of Switzerland has now released an LP with Orkustra music in collaboration with Beausoleil.