Sopor Aeternus & The Ensemble of Shadows is a gothic or darkwave band consisting solely of Anna-Varney Cantodea. Not much is known about Anna-Varney, save for the tortured life she lived which led to the band's existence. She has said in several interviews that she spent nearly three decades in extreme states of depression, despair and loneliness, all of which resulted in her discovery of the "Ensemble Of Shadows", otherwordly presences and/or voices who stirred her musical senses and guided her to share the works in her head with the public. She does not speak much on the subject of the Ensemble, nor does she perform live "in front of humans." Anna-Varney does have a sense of humour however, such as admitting she loves Darth Vader and changing the Fruit of the Loom logo to "Fruit of the Tomb", which incorporates his/her face into the design.
The music itself is quite emotional and dreary, using a variety of brass, woodwinds (in particular, flutes), string quartets and various guitars. In some instances, synthesizers and drum machines or real percussion is used. Anna-Varney has clearly stated that she creates her music about herself, solely for herself. Various themes include death, suicide, karmatic pain, loneliness and sadness. A very important concept is the idea of becoming or being a woman, or at least removal of the male genitalia in favour of attaining the female variant (in later album artwork, Anna-Varney is usually shown nude with a vagina which has been edited in by computer rather than having his body surgically altered due to spiritual conflicts; in either case, Anna-Varney is now referred to by the pronoun "she" instead of "he".) There are also several musical themes that reappear in her works; the most notable example is the song "Birth - Fiendish Figuration" which has appeared in at least four forms on separate releases. Other songs contain similar melodic lines or lyrics from an earlier release.
Oyez! Oyez braves gens!! Le cernunnos est un des rares festivals qui mélange non seulement les musiques metal pagan, trad et folk mais qui propose au public un univers médiéval avec des échoppes d'artisans, des animations et des jeux qui font participer tout le monde.
Le 24 Janvier 2010 à l'Elysée Montmartre (75018 Paris) 14h >> 22h30 A l'affiche : ARKONA, BELENOS, ANGANTYR, STILLE VOLK, XIV DARK CENTURIES, HEOL TELWEN, TORNAOD, VIKINGS'N'CELTS
Hey there! Just want to stop by and wish you a great day today and that you have a great week upcoming ... Thanks for the friendship, your new friend Jessica. :)
Oyez! Oyez braves gens!! Le cernunnos est un des rares festivals qui mélange non seulement les musiques metal pagan, trad et folk mais qui propose au public un univers médiéval avec des échoppes d'artisans, des animations et des jeux qui font participer tout le monde.
Le 24 Janvier 2010 à l'Elysée Montmartre (75018 Paris) 14h >> 22h30 A l'affiche : ARKONA, BELENOS, ANGANTYR, STILLE VOLK, XIV DARK CENTURIES, HEOL TELWEN, TORNAOD, VIKINGS'N'CELTS
POORDREAM - 'Immaterial Monarch' CD [33CD001 + SLQ007]
Immaterial Monarch is John Valasis' aka Poordream's own adaptation of a truly exceptional experimental music conception, the absolute experience of an internal trip. Drawing influences mainly from the Zeitgeist movie series, Immaterial Monarch features 3 tracks by Poordream, which carefully blend genres such as IDM, ambient, electronica and experimental world music, as well as the same-titled track remixed by no less than 7 different artists.
With this debut release from his new project, Dave Dando-Moore (Detritus) offers us an intensely composed symphony of unending sorrow. This is as raw, open and confessional as music can get. Drawing comparisons with Max Richter, Deaf Centre, Johann Johannsson and The Protagonist, A Wake A Week will evoke cathartic exorcisms of woe in even the most glacial of hearts.
