Angela Little: Vocals/Piano
Michael Bridges: Electric Violin/Musical Saw/Irish Banjo
Simon Slee: Bass
Fabian Hevia: Drums / Percussion
Marty Hailey: Guitar
Influences
Music: Arcade Fire, Arkarna, Arvo Part, Bernard Hermann, Beth Orton, Bjork, Brian Eno, Brooke Fraser, Carter Burwell, Cat Power, Claude Debussy, Cocteau Twins, The Corrs, Craig Armstrong, David Gray, Dead Can Dance, Delerium, Dido, DJ Shadow, Enigma, Ennio Morricone, Enya, Eric Satie, Evanescence, Fiona Apple, Frederick Chopin, Garbage, Gorecki, Igor Stravinsky, James Newton Howard, Jane Siberry, Jimmy Webb, Joanna Newsom, John Brion, Kate Bush, Lamb, Led Zeppelin, Lisa Gerrard, Loreena McKennitt, Massive Attack, Maurice Ravel, Miranda Sex Garden, Muse, Nick Cave, Nick Drake, Nine Inch Nails, Nino Rota, Oasis, Peter Gabriel, PJ Harvey, Portishead, Rachmaninoff, Radiohead, Sarah McLachlan, Sia, Silverchair, Snow Patrol, The Sugarcubes, Tchaikovsky, The Tea Party, Thomas Newman, Tool, Tori Amos, Unkle, Yann Tiersen
Cinema: Adaptation, Alice in Wonderland (Jonathon Miller, BBC), An American in Paris, As It Is in Heaven, Bad Boy Bubby, La Belle et La Bete (Jean Cocteau), The Blood of a Poet (Jean Cocteau), Capote, Casablanca, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Cinema Paradiso, Dancer In The Dark, 8 1/2, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Eyes Without A Face, Gone With The Wind, La Strada, La Dolce Vita, Life is Beautiful, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Magdalene Sisters, Magnolia, Marie Antoinette (Sophia Coppola), Moulin Rouge, My Fair Lady, Orpheus (Jean Cocteau), Pandora's Box (GW Pabst), Pan's Labyrinth, Picnic at Hanging Rock, Punch Drunk Love, Romeo & Juliet (Baz Luhrmann), Singing In The Rain, The Sound of Music, Testament of Orpheus (Jean Cocteau), Thoroughly Modern Millie, Threepenny Opera (GW Pabst), The Virgin Suicides, Wings of Desire, The Wizard of Oz
Books: Oscar Wilde "The Picture of Dorian Gray", GK Chesterton "The Man Who Was Thursday", Lewis Carroll "Through The Looking Glass" & "Alice in Wonderland", Paulo Coelho “The Witch of Portobello” & “The Alchemist”, Carl Jung “Man & His Symbols”, Irene Nemirovsky "Suites Francaise", Jean-Paul Sartre "Being and Nothingness", Leo Tolstoy "Anna Karenina", Enid Blyton "The Faraway Tree Stories", Bram Stoker “Dracula”, Jane Austen “Pride & Prejudice” & “Emma”, Jean Cocteau "Diary of a Film"
Paintings: Claude Monet, Salvador Dali, MC Escher, Michelangelo, John William Waterhouse, Raphael
Other Things: Cirque du Soleil, Carnivale (HBO), Impressionism, Romanticism, Surrealism, Philosophy, Psychology, Gothic architecture, the plays of Shakespeare
Sounds Like
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management@opheliaofthespirits.com
PRE-ORDERS FOR THE NEW MINI-ALBUM 'THE SECRET GARDEN' ARE NOW AVAILABLE!
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The mini-album will also available as a download from iTunes store in Australia AND worldwide from 18 September 2009. Follow the link from www.opheliaofthespirits.com/shoppe to buy after this date.
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The great playwright William Shakespeare once said,
“All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts.”
Each of us inhabits many different characters over the course of a lifetime, weaving a delicate web of stories and half-told truths, treading a precarious path somewhere between the real and the imagined. Ophelia of the Spirits is a singer, composer & pianist who stepped into the warm glow of the footlights with the release of her debut EP in 2008, which received airplay on Triple J, ABC, and community radio stations around Australia.
This early success was followed in November by the news that Ophelia of the Spirits was the singer and co-writer of the major love song from Baz Luhrmann’s epic film “Australia”, “By The Boab Tree,” which she performed for the end credits of the film. This track is now available on iTunes worldwide on the "Australia (Music from the Film) EP".
The brainchild and alter-ego of film composer Angela Little, Ophelia of the Spirits’ name derives from a marriage of characters from the works of Shakespeare and Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini. In the Shakespearian tragedy Hamlet, Lady Ophelia, Hamlet’s love, falls to her death from the branches of a weeping willow tree. She is found drowned in the river below, surrounded by flowers she had been weaving into garlands before she fell. It is never known whether her death was an accident or suicide. Fellini’s 1965 film ‘Giulietta degli Spiriti’ (Juliet of the Spirits) tells the story of a woman trapped in a loveless marriage who begins a process of spiritual awakening, experiencing unsettling surrealist visions; a reborn Alice in Wonderland following her subconscious further and further down the rabbit hole.
Influenced as much by folk melodies as by French Impressionists like Eric Satie, or by the weighty ambience of artists like Led Zeppelin and Massive Attack, Ophelia of the Spirits is constantly striving to transcend the perceived barriers between genres, and indeed between different artforms themselves - deriving from film, theatre, ballet, opera, and visual art, her inspiration is underpinned by the belief that all artforms are by nature intertwined. Her spiritual connection with her music is also inextricably linked with her Buddhist philosophy and practice, and her ultimate desire to help people transform darkness into a deep well of strength and hope.
After a busy 2008 which saw her co-composing Additional Music for Baz Luhrmann's “Australia” over a period of 6 months, as well as performing shows in Sydney and Melbourne , Ophelia of the Spirits is back in the studio recording a new album due for release in 2009, and performing her music with her band of jolly minstrels. With a show which features instruments like the electric violin, the musical saw, the Irish banjo, and Tibetan singing bowls, all underpinned by haunting cinematic soundscapes and trance-like visual projections of beauty, horror and wonder, Ophelia’s live show fuses elements of music, sound and vision to take the audience on a journey rarely experienced.
OPHELIA OF THE SPIRITS PRESENTS CELTIC FIRE
COMING IN 2010
OPHELIA OF THE SPIRITS - "A PRETTY PIECE"
LIVE @ THE BASEMENT
OPHELIA OF THE SPIRITS - "GREEDY"
PRELUDE: EXCERPT FROM "MOONLIGHT SONATA"
LIVE @ THE BASEMENT
"HOUSE OF CARDS"
FEATURING AN EXCERPT FROM GW PABST'S 'PANDORA'S BOX'
OPHELIA OF THE SPIRITS @ THE BASEMENT
Photography by Smurfun & Ben Walker
OPHELIA OF THE SPIRITS EP LAUNCH @ THE VANGUARD
Photography by Dean Hammer
Hi Ange...sending love, see you soon, dropped in to get my fix of ''Shame" before i jump on that plane.. thanx for writing playing & singing it, just all too true & beautiful...Win xoxox
I can't access your website anymore. It began some time before The Secret Garden became available for pre-ordering and it still doesn't work. I try every day but the error remains the same: "problem loading the page", "the connection has timed out" :/ I don't understand, everyone else seems to be able to view it..
Anyway, I hope you're having a lovely time! I know I am.. listening to your songs =)
Indifference is the strongest force in the universe. It makes everything it touches meaningless. Love and hate don't stand a chance against it. Joan Vinge from The Snow Queen
A statement that has a ring of negativity to it and yet you cant help but consider the gravity of what Joan said. I think what shocks me most is that she has the nerve to say that "Love and hate don't stand a chance against it." Many have come to believe that love is the most powerful positive emotion in the emotional spectrum, as hate is the most powerful negative emotion.
A disturbing revelation enters my mind. Love and hate are two extremely powerful emotions. But is indifference a lack of emotion? People often put a negative twist on hate, anger, and rage because we readly associate them with violent physical acts. But what about indifference? This word, when I think of it, conjures visions of greys, cold hearts, and that gaze people give you when they don't give a damn.
I think in a way, Joan speaks a truth; a startling truth.
Indifference is the absence of caring; compassionless and void of beauty.
I am terrified by the thought that it is steadly growing in the hearts of many in our society these days. I have seen it and it shakes me to the core. It is a selfish thing in its nature; or perhaps a characteristic of its nature. I see it again and again in the younger generations. My question now is this: How do we overcome indifference? How do we care for those who do not care? And if we do care for them, will it be a meaningless effort?
Maybe someone will read this and be enlightend by my feable perspective on this subject. To change a single heart, that is one step closer to changing the world.
Hello, it's always a pleasure to contact my friends. First, thanks for your friendship and if you have time, there are some new videos on my page. Life is beautiful. All the best - Pat.
The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen. have a blast lol luv pip
Hi Darling! I'm so excited about all your music projects, I'm a big fan of the Celtic genre above all others and you are such wonderful fresh voice in it. May the year bring you the best of everything, have a great Summer!!
I recently got a newsletter in my email about a new mini-album called 'The Secret Garden.' That sounds very exciting! You will be selling them at your preformance at the Vanguard on the 27th of August? I so wish I could go and enjoy it. :( I hope you will also be selling the album online. I would much love to get a copy! 'Black is the Colour' is such a beautiful song. I can definately sense a Celtic influence in it. I believe I hear drums and pipes (bagpipes???). The drums makes me thing of traveling the country-sides of Ireland (or Australia) on horseback. Oh, I just noticed 'Like Rain!' I must give a listen to it and tell you what I think. I am doing well myself. Not much new in my life. My art seems to be at a stand-still. :/ It is frustrating but I know that with some time it will pick up again. I had been thinking of doing a small series on Ophelia in Shakespear's play. I will let you know when I get something done and show you. :)
I had listened to the music tracks on your other Myspace page (Angela Little) and they are equally inspirational. Scared Flame will always be one of my favorites from you. I think it is the musical definition of who you are, mind, body, and soul.
Good to hear from you and that you are doing wonderfully. :) Dante
Every time that we listen & write music... play an instrument... sing & dance... act in a play... or work in some audio/image/video engineering process... something is healing inside...
When we share it with friends... something is healing all over...
Love can drive... in a simple way... everything
We are connected
Vibejays & Friends
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Estimada/o Ophelia of the Spirits,
cada vez que escuchamos o escribimos musica... tocamos un instrumento... cantamos y bailamos... o trabajamos en procesos de ingenieria de audio/imagen/video.... algo se sana por dentro...
Cuando lo compartimos con amigos... algo se sana en todas partes...
El Amor puede conducir... de manera simple... todo...
Ay girl! I already bought your first cd, with shame,house of cards,nothingness...ect. love it! I am so pyched bout the next cd! When are you going to be putting some of the songs from your other myspace site, Angela little, on a cd. They are so gorgeous! I want! If you could make it so I could add it to my playlist or let me know when you're going to be putting those on a cd! Thanx for creating beautiful music Angela!
Well black is the new black apparently! Honey I love the new song it is so beautiful. It reminds me of my favourite Sinnead O'Connor song 'Thief of my Heart'. Do you know it? I can't wait to hear it at the album launch. You just keep getting better and better...keep up the amazing work. Cuppa soon? Christine Jane xox
Hey! Yeah I luv your music! I would love to buy your cd, any and everything you've recorded! Little Princess is soooo beautiful! And I loved Australia, your voice is so ethreal! Panama City is nice and hott right now. Headed to the beach right now. The beaches are amazing here! White Sand & Crystal blue water, Paradise! Hope your weekend is gorgeous! Are you working on any new material? Please let me know where i can get your music!
Hey Ophelia! I am listening to your new addition 'Black is the color.' So beautiful!!! Gonna have to focus on hearing the lyrics. My speakers aren't very good. Good to see you are making progress in your studio! :D I was recently on your website and was skimming through The Mysterious Life Of Ophelia. I am definately going to comment on your publishings! :D I cant wait!
As always, I wish you well with all you do. You are in my thoughts. Dante
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