Category:Bands:Sol Invictus

Sol Invictus

 * https://www.discogs.com/artist/49848-Sol-Invictus
 * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Invictus_(band)

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.

Overview
Wakeford was an original member of the English political punk band Crisis from 1977 until the band's termination in 1980. He then formed Death In June with fellow Crisis founder Douglas P. Wakeford then recorded one album as Above the ruins, showcasing a post-punk and dark rock sound influenced by his previous work with Death In June. After taking a few years off, he returned to music and formed 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 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. Tursa is now distributed by Cold Spring Records. In July 2007 the label was re-launched as a partnership with Israeli producer and musician Reeve Malka. The label's roster includes Orchestra Noir, The Triple Tree, The Wardrobe, Zunroyz, Andrew King, and Wakeford's solo work. In 2009 Sol Invictus signed to Prophecy Records.

Wakeford has described Sol Invictus as a "cabaret band from Hell for the fin-de-siècle" and has referred to his work as folk noir. Beginning with a rough, bleak, primitive sound, 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 to explore an even more classically influenced direction. In 2006 Wakeford changed the name to Orchestra Noirwith a new line-up and musical direction.

Etymology
The name Sol Invictus derives from the pre-Christian Rome-based cult of the same name. Wakeford chose the name, which is Latin for 'the unconquered Sun', because "The sun has always been an important symbol and as the cult of Sol Invictus nearly defeated Christianity at one point it seemed a good name to use. I also love the sound of Latin."

Imagery
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, "despite, not because of, his anti-Semitism".

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
Due to Tony Wakeford's then membership in the British National Front he was asked to leave Death In June. Wakeford claims no connection or interest in such ideas for 20 or more years. 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 by detractors. Wakeford has responded to this criticism various times, stating that his involvement with the British National Front "was probably the worst decision of my life and one I very much regret," and that various members of his band (including his then 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."