Sopor Aeternus and the Ensemble of Shadows
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Sopor Aeternus & The Ensemble of Shadows is a 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.[citation needed] 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", otherworldly 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 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 her 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.
On December 18, Sopor Aeternus announced that they had finished recording yet another studio album. Release is set for April 13 2007. The album is titled "Les Fleurs du mal" (The Flowers of Evil), as seen in the album teaser downloadable from the official website.
[edit] Discography
- Es reiten die Toten so schnell... (demo tape) (1989) - limited to 50 copies
- "...Ich töte mich jedesmal aufs Neue, doch ich bin unsterblich, und ich erstehe wieder auf; in einer Vision des Untergangs..." (1994)
- "Todeswunsch" - Sous le soleil de Saturne (1995)
- Ehjeh Ascher Ehjeh EP (1995) - limited to 3000 copies
- "The inexperienced Spiral Traveller" (1997)
- "Voyager" - The Jugglers of Jusa (1997) - limited to 3000 copies
- "Dead Lovers' Sarabande" (Face One) (1999)
- "Dead Lovers' Sarabande" (Face Two) (1999)
- "Songs from the inverted Womb" (2000)
- Nenia C'alladhan (2002) - side project with Constance Fröhling
- "Es reiten die Toten so schnell" (or: the Vampyre sucking at his own Vein) (2003)
- "La Chambre D'Echo" - Where the dead Birds sing (2004)
- "Flowers in Formaldehyde" EP (2004) - limited to 2000 copies
- The Goat / The Bells have stopped ringing 12" vinyl (2005) - limited to 1000 copies
- Like a Corpse standing in Desperation (2005) - re-release box set, limited to 3000 copies, including first-ever Sopor Aeternus DVD
- Les Fleurs Du Mal (2007) - limited to 2000 copies
"...Ich töte mich..." and "Todeswunsch" were repackaged and re-released in 1999; "Todeswunsch" was repackaged and re-released again in 2003.
