Country of origin: UK
Location: London, England
Status: Active
Formed in: 1987
Style: Neofolk
Last label: Auerbach Tonträger, Prophecy Productions (7" 2013)
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
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LastFMSol 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.
Overview
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.
Imagery and content
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."
The band also had considerable interest in heathen and Mithraist themes, often reflecting an explicit antipathy to Christianity: the 1997 album The Blade incorporates an Odinic chant, Gealdor, into its varied laments. Wakeford tended to write from a melancholic position of doomed Romanticism, which lamented the loss of beauty, love, and culture. He saw the American influence on global culture as very damaging to Europe, something he expresses with black humour in the song "Death of the West", from the album of the same name. The later albums have seen a turn to a more personal writing style, as interest in what Wakeford calls "knee-jerk anti-Americanism and anti-Christianity" has been rejected.
Sol Invictus album artwork has often showcased the expressionist paintings of American artist, musician and friend Tor Lundvall.
Controversy
Wakeford's mid-1980s membership in the British National Front and the appearance of a track from his band, Above The Ruins, on the "No Surrender!" compilation released in 1985 by Rock-O-Rama Records, alongside the Nazi groups Skrewdriver and Brutal Attack, has meant that Sol Invictus have been accused of neofascism. Wakeford has responded to this criticism various times, stating that his involvement with the National Front "was probably the worse (sic) decision of my life and one I very much regret", and that various members of his band (including his wife of eight years at the time) "would be at best discriminated against or at worse dead if a far-right party took power" and further that "none of the artists I work with hold such views either, and I doubt they would want to work with me if they thought I did." In June 2011 the band, following attempts to cancel one of their concerts in London, stated that all its members "are personally completely and unequivocally opposed to fascism, racism, anti-semitism and homophobia, [...] and our work makes no attempt to appeal to an audience looking for this kind of message", also stating explicitly that they did not have "any sympathy with national anarchism, or any desire to work with its adherents".
sourceAlbums
Against The Modern World 2 versions L.A.Y.L.A.H. Antirecords 1988
In The Jaws Of The Serpent 2 versions S.V.L. Records 1989
Trees In Winter 5 versions Tursa 1990
Current 93 / Sol Invictus / Nurse With Wound - Horse / Lex Talionis / Lumbs Sister (3xLP, Ltd + Box, Ltd) Cerne Cerne K0123 1990
The Killing Tide 8 versions Tursa 1991
King & Queen 2 versions Tursa 1992
Let Us Prey 2 versions Tursa 1992
Current 93 / Death In June / Sol Invictus - Frankfurt Sound Depot 24-03-1991 (CD, Album) World Serpent WSCDL 001 1992
Lex Talionis 4 versions Tursa 1993
Black Europe 4 versions World Serpent 1994
Death Of The West 2 versions Tursa 1994
In The Rain 4 versions Tursa 1995
The Blade 3 versions Tursa 1997
In Europa 2 versions Tursa 1998
In A Garden Green 2 versions Tursa 1999
The Hill Of Crosses 3 versions Tursa 2000
Trieste (CD, Album) Tursa TURSA 024 CD 2000
Sol Invictus / :Of The Wand & The Moon: / Matt Howden / Unveiled - Bringing Light And Darkness (LP, Ltd) Bragagild BRAG 001 2001
Brugge (CD, Album, Ltd) Tursa TURSA ARCHIVE 001 2001
Thrones 3 versions Tursa 2002
The Devil's Steed 2 versions Dark Vinyl Records, Tursa 2005
Sol Invictus / Rose Rovine E Amanti / Andrew King - A Mythological Prospect Of The Citie Of Londinium (CD) Cold Spring CSR75CD 2006
La Croix (CD, Album, RE, Ltd) Auerbach Tonträger AB 041 2011
The Cruellest Month (CD, Album) Auerbach Tonträger AB 031 2011
Cupid & Death (CD, Album, RE, Ltd) Auerbach Tonträger AB 044 2012
Singles & EPs
Nurse With Wound · Sol Invictus · Current 93 - ????! 2 versions Yangki 1989
Sol Invictus / Current 93 - Abbatoirs Of Love / The Summer Of Love (7", Ltd) Cerne Cerne 004 1990
See The Dove Fall / Somewhere In Europe 3 versions Shock 1991
Looking For Europe 2 versions World Serpent 1992
Eve (7", Pic, Ltd) Tursa TURSA 026 2000
Sol Invictus / HaWthorn / Sieben - Writ In Water (CD, Maxi, Dig) PREcordings PRE001 2004
The Bad Luck Bird (7", Single, Ltd) Auerbach Tonträger AB 024 2010
Mr Cruel (7", Single) Auerbach Tonträger, Prophecy Productions AB 064, none 2013
Compilations
Sol Veritas Lux 4 versions S.V.L. Records 1990
All Things Strange And Rare 2 versions Tursa 1998
The Giddy Whirls Of Centuries (2xCD, Comp) Tursa TURSA 030 CD 2003
The Angel (CD, Comp) Tursa TURSA T1 2004
The Collected Works (27xCD, Album + 3xDVD + Box, Comp, Ltd) Auerbach Tonträger AB 032, AB 033, AB 034, AB 035, AB 036, AB 037, AB 038, AB 039, AB 040, AB 041, AB 042, AB 043, AB 044, AB 045, AB 046, AB 047, AB 048, AB 049, AB 050, AB 031 2011
Miscellaneous
Sol Invictus / Tony Wakeford / Triple Tree, The - These Cold Hands (File, MP3) Woven Wheat Whispers, Tursa none 2005
Unofficial
Albums
Death In June / Sol Invictus / Current 93 - Live At The Loft Club, Tokyo (Cass, Unofficial) Not On Label none 1988
Current 93 / Death In June / Sol Invictus - The Day Of Dawn 2 versions Not On Label 1991
Black Europe (CD, Album, Unofficial) Backdoor Records BR 50029302 1992
Live In Bochum, Zwischenfall Germany 05.06.92 (Cass, Unofficial) Not On Label (Sol Invictus) none 1992
Rite Of Spring (LP, Unofficial) Not On Label (Sol Invictus) none 1992
Storm Clouds Over Europe (LP, Ltd) Anthropophagus Records AR002 1995
Videos
Live In Trieste 1999 (VHS, PAL, Unofficial) Not On Label (Sol Invictus) none 1999
