Clones of the Queen, abbreviated ʻCOTQʼ or just ʻClonesʼ, is a three-piece based in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. The band started jamming together in the summer of 2009 in an old bank vault above a coffee shop. With Ara Laylo on lead vocals, Paul Bajcar on guitar, and Matthew McVickar on electronics, the trio delivers songs that are at once ambient and spirited, combining strong vocals, stormy percussion, and heavily-effected guitar lines and synth loops. With lyrics and sound loosely based on a still-unfolding science fiction story, Clones of the Queen derive their band name from the ant species Mycocepurus smithii, in which every individual is a genetic duplicate of the queen. The band is currently playing shows several times a month around Honolulu and is self-releasing their debut EP in December 2010. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.