Sol Invictus (band)
| Sol Invictus | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | England |
| Genres | Neofolk, post-industrial |
| Years active | 1987–present |
| Labels | Prophecy Productions |
| Associated acts | Orchestra Noir The Triple Tree The Wardrobe |
| Website | www.tursa.com |
| Members |
Tony Wakeford Renee Rosen Caroline Jago Lesley Malone Eilish McCraken |
| Past members |
Ian Read Liz Gray Gary Smith Karl Blake Leithana Eric Rodgers Sarah Bradshaw Nick Hall Céline Marleix-Bardeau Nathalie Van Keymeulen David Mellor Andrew King Guy Harries M Lloyd James |
Sol Invictus is an English neofolk and neoclassical group fronted by Tony Wakeford. Wakeford has been the sole constant member of the group since its inception, although numerous musicians have contributed and collaborated with Wakeford under the Sol Invictus moniker over the years.
After disbanding his controversial project Above the Ruins, Wakeford returned to the music scene with Sol Invictus in 1987. Since then Sol Invictus has had many musician contributions, including Sarah Bradshaw, Nick Hall, Céline Marleix-Bardeau, Nathalie Van Keymeulen, Ian Read and Karl Blake.
Wakeford repeatedly referred to his work as folk noir. Beginning with a mixture of a rough, bleak, primitive post punk sound and acoustic/folk elements, the band's music gradually evolved toward a lush, refined style, picking up classically trained players such as Eric Roger, Matt Howden, and Sally Doherty. In the mid-1990s, Sol Invictus spun off a side project called L'Orchestre Noir (later changed to Orchestra Noir) to explore an even more classically influenced direction. 2005 saw the departure of longtime contributors Roger and Blake, leading to a new line-up including Caroline Jago, Lesley Malone and Andrew King.
In 1990, Wakeford formed his own label, Tursa, to release his material and the music of other artists. The World Serpent Distribution Company previously distributed this material worldwide, followed then by Cold Spring Records. In July 2007, the label was re-launched as a partnership with Israeli producer and musician Reeve "M" Malka. In 2009, Sol Invictus signed to Prophecy Records. In June 2011, Sol Invictus announced the end of their partnership both with Cold Spring Records and musician Andrew King.
The name Sol Invictus, which is Latin for 'the unconquered Sun', derives from the Roman cult of the same name.
The band's imagery and lyrical content, in its early days, was influenced by traditionalism and antipathy towards the modern world and materialism. A superficial interest was the Italian philosopher Julius Evola who Wakeford admits to "shamelessly stealing from" for song titles even though he found his books "unreadable". A more serious influence was the poet Ezra Pound: "I think Pound is one of the greatest poets ever, although some of his work is mind-numbingly obscure. I disagree with his antisemitism but that should not blind people to his worth as an artist."
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