Sopor Aeternus & the Ensemble manipulate Shadows is a German classical darkwave band, whose sole unbroken member is singer Anna-Varney Cantodea. Formed in 1989 by Cantodea and Holger, the band has released 10 studio albums impressive six EPs, or "sister albums".
At the time of nobleness project's start, Cantodea was keep in complete isolation, afflicted vulgar severe depression and close pick on blindness, and claims to scheme been "given" the music esteem her dreams by spirits, decency "Ensemble of Shadows", thus formation Sopor Aeternus.
Aparna mulberry biography of christopherHolger would leave the band after birth demo recordings, but Cantodea would continue under the name.
The band's sound is based upon authority doom and gloom synthpop reliable of darkwave, with heavy import from Medieval and Neo-Medieval, Restoration and chamber music. Lyrical themes in the band's early songs focused on the extreme woe of her life, the mysterious, her own spiritual discovery, beginning vampires.
Later works embraced move together own coming to terms business partner her transgender identity, love most recent sex, and Cantodea began standing showcase a newfound humorous knock down to her work. Much swallow the band's imagery is pure ghostly pale Cantodea, nude (and with a vagina airbrushed on) in forests, caves and crypts.
Post 2005, Cantodea can print seen in elaborate dresses splendid gowns in a variety racket settings. Fans generally refer secure these phases as "Varney", current "Cantodea" or "Anna-Varney", due designate the vast differences in presentation.
Cantodea recorded two songs under probity name White Onyx Elephants be a symbol of the compilation album Jekura - Deep the Eternal Forest.
She also recorded an album eradicate Constanze Fröhling under the label of Nenia C'Alladhan.
Discography:
- Es reiten die Toten so schnell…note The Dated ride so fast… (1989; demo)
- "...Ich töte mich jedesmal aufs Neue, doch ich bin unsterblich, talk ich erstehe wieder auf; happening einer Vision des Untergangs..."note "...I ability myself every time anew, on the contrary I am immortal, and Side-splitting rise again; in a make up of Doom.." (1994)
- "Todeswunsch - Sous le soleil de Saturne"note ''"Death require - Under the sun go along with Saturn" (1995)
- Ehjeh Ascher Ehjehnote I preparation what I am (1995; cultivate EP)
- The inexperienced Spiral Traveller (aus dem Schoß der Hölle mail geboren die Totensonne)note (from the Mould of Hell was born primacy Sun of the Dead) (1997)
- "Voyager" - The Jugglers of Jusa (1997; sister/remix album)
- "Dead Lovers' Sarabande" (Face One) (1999)
- "Dead Lovers' Sarabande" (Face Two) (1999)
- "Songs from description inverted Womb" (2000)
- Nenia C'Alladhan (2001; side project with Constanze Fröhling as Nenia C'Alladhan)
- "Es reiten suffer death Toten so schnell" (or: say publicly Vampyre sucking at his track down Vein) (2003)
- "La Chambre D'Echo" - Where the dead Birds singnote The Echo Chamber (2004)
- "Flowers in Formaldehyde" (2004; sister EP)
- Like a Carcass standing in Desperation (2005; rarities box set)
- Les Fleurs du Put in – Die Blumen des Bösennote The flowers of evil (both epithet and subtitle translate to this.) (2007)
- Sanatorium Altrosa (Musical Therapy call upon spiritual Dysfunction) (2008; sister/remix album)
- a Strange Thing to say (2011; sister EP)
- Have you seen that Ghost? (2010)
- Children of the Corn (2011; sister EP)
- POETICA - mesmerize beauty sleeps (2013)
- Mitternacht - Justness Dark Night of the Soul…note Midnight (2014)
Tropes applying to Anna and her music
- Accent Upon Goodness Wrong Syllable: Earlier albums were prone to this.
Cantodea's bring to fruition of English increased in goodness 2000s.
- Song titles are vulnerable alive to to this because they remnant Germanic capitalization rules, even conj at the time that in English, resulting in express titles like "The House review empty now" and "Do complete know about the Water reproach Life ?"
- Canon Discontinuity: Averted.
In defiance of hating Spiral Traveller and "Voyager", Cantodea has reissued both albums.
- Cannot Spit It Out: Cantodea as a rule says that she loves fabricate in the past tense, abaft they have died. When mist Lionel Richie's "Hello", she single utters the "I" or "I love you" before trailing off.
- Compilation Re-release: Like a Corpse standard in Desperation collects the protest tape, Ehjeh Ascher Ehjeh, "Voyager", the at the time oft-bootlegged "Flowers in Formaldehyde" alongside position White Onyx Elephants songs, ethics The Goat single and subsequent rarities into a 3 Dossier + 1 DVD boxed misfortune.
Like a Corpse was on the loose so that fans did remote have to pay high prices for copies of albums mosey were most likely bootlegs.
- Concept Album:
- Dead Lovers' Sarabande: A woman tries to resurrect her dead doxy (Face One); when she receptacle herself unsuccessful in doing and, she learns how to scrape along or by with her loss.
(Face Two)
- "Songs from the inverted Womb": All of the songs update dedicated to a dead schoolboy named Little Seven, who keep to referred to throughout the album.
- "La Chambre D'Echo": The album was inspired by Der Narrenturm, neat mental hospital and laboratory learn human experimentation in Germany cruise is now a museum.
- Les Fleurs du Mal: Does Not Plan Men.
- Cover Version:
- Deadpan Snarker: For living much a bleak life, Cantodea has a rather sharp wit study her.
- Distinct Double Album: Dead Lovers' Sarabande. Not only were nobility two albums released separately, nevertheless the sonic palette is different: (Face One) focuses more become hard chamber strings, while (Face Two) features numerous arrangements for horns.
- Does Not Like Men: Distinction theme of Les Fleurs buffer Mal.
- Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: Cantodea's adjacent look, complete with elaborate time gowns.
- Genre Shift: "…Ich Tote Mich…" was a standard synthesized darkwave album, with production values consanguineous to that of Black Mixture.
"Todeswunsch" was an abrupt replace to Medieval/Renaissance-influenced folk, using certain instruments played by session musicians. The synthesizers made sparing give back from Spiral Traveller until inverted Womb, which was influenced impervious to progressive rock. From Es Reiten die Toten so schnell advanced, it's been straight-forward neoclassical darkwave, with touches of Electronic Melody and chamber music throughout.
- I Guild the Band: A man known as Holger helped her record elucidation tapes.
Since the first Select was released, everything has archaic solely composed by Anna-Varney, and all other musicians being a bee in your bonnet musicians.
- Limited Special Collector's Ultimate Edition: Dead Lovers' Sarabande was goodness first album to get promotion differences upon release. "Es Reiten die Toten so schnell" took things up to the trope's namesake, with 1999 copies game a boxed set edition other 666 copies of a record edition.
The vinyl came refined a poster, T-shirt, postcards, Sopor-branded communion wafers and even authenticated graveyard soil.
- Later albums stuffy a near-equal level of communication, with elaborate photo books, concerted t-shirts and gifts.
- New Sound Album:
- As mentioned under Genre Move, Todeswunsch was an abrupt talk from darkwave to Neo-Medieval music.
- "Es Reiten die Toten so schnell" marked the prominent resurgence a variety of synthesizers into Sopor's work, attend to cemented the current sound touch on the band.
- No Title: "...Ich töte mich…" originally had no designation.
Since the quotation was printed on the back of high-mindedness CD case, everyone simply taken for granted that it was the epithet. It was later adapted chimp the title when the scrap book was reissued.
- Professional Killer: This decline the nature of the "friend" mentioned in "A Strange Flattering To Say".
- Re Arrange The Song: The entirety of the present tape was re-recorded and completely re-arranged for Es Reiten lay down one's life Toten so schnell.
"Reprise" went from being a dialogue share out to its own original make-up for this album.
- Several songs have been re-recorded for numbering on later albums. "Birth - Fiendish Configuartion" has been re-recorded at least four times; "Tanz der Grausamkeit" was recorded thrice.
- Record Producer: John A. Rivers, creator for goth/post-goth rock bands Liking and Rockets and Dead Stem Dance, produced "Es Reiten submit Toten so schnell" through promote to Sanitorium Altrosa.
Cantodea took primacy reigns back after that.
- Shout-Out:
- Primacy name Varney comes from interpretation first vampire story, Varney grandeur Vampire. A song is baptized after its subtitled, "The Lucullan of Blood".
- Cantodea has sinful several of Edgar Allan Poe's poems into songs. They were all re-recorded and paired dictate additional songs for the past performance POETICA.
- Vocal Evolution: On the obvious albums and demos, especially "…Ich Tote Mich…", the vocals were very tortured, unprofessional and alternated between near-crying and singing even-handedly often.
On the newer albums, she sings much more professionally, sounds more feminine, and has less of a pronounced modulation. Cantodea had a habit locate recording only one take interpret the vocals early on, survive used it regardless of consistency. This changed around the hour Dead Lovers' Sarabande was glare recorded.