Black Fortress of Opium has been around the Boston area since 2006, making their name playing shows and festivals around the Northeast and Eastern seaboard with international touring acts like Serena Maneesh (4AD), Barbez (Tzadik), Dame Darcy, and Paul Wallfisch (Botanica/Firewater/Little Annie Anxiety), as well as local favorites Shea Rose, Jaggery, Walter Sickert & the Army of Broken Toys, and Garvy J. Since the release of their 2008 self-titled debut, the band has made a music video, played and recorded on mighty indie station WFMU, and recorded a Magnetic Fields cover for an independent film.
The group's debut was a product of a collaboration with Martin Bisi, who produced and recorded the album in his Brooklyn studio, and had previously worked with acts including Sonic Youth, Swans, and The Dresden Dolls. The album was warmly received by the press, garnering favorable reviews in the Boston Metro, All Music Guide, Terrascope, Northeast Performer and more.
The duo of Ajda the Turkish Queen and Tony Savarino has remained as the core of the band since its inception, but other lineup changes have occurred along the way. The current lineup also includes original bassist Joel Simches and drummer Yuri Zbitnoff. At one time, Rich Cortese (x-Zulus) played bass in the group.
The follow-up to the debut is a new album titled "Stratospherical," being released March 6th, 2012, on which Brian Viglione (The Dresden Dolls) played drums. Black Fortress of Opium once again collaborated with fifth horsemen Martin Bisi, who recorded basic tracks and mixed most cuts. Additional engineers Rafi Sofer at Q Division, bassist Joel Simches (who also produced two cuts), and Danny Gold, as well additional instrumentalists, contributed to the effort - a marked change from the sparse personnel on the debut, being only the band's 4 members at the time plus Bisi.
Notable elements of the band's signature rootsy yet ethereal sound include nuanced female vocals, uniquely sophisticated guitar wizardry, periodic use of the mandolin as a lead instrument, melodic Joy Division-like bass playing, and other occasional eclectic instrumentation (electric sitar, melodica), but especially featured is the alternately delicate and powerful interplay between its members. The material is quite varied, some songs being softer, more acoustic Allison Krauss/Robert Plant meets Eno-inspired numbers, ranging to heavier, low-end grooves reminiscent of PJ Harvey and Nick Cave. Hints of blues and country make appearances here and there, not surprising given the singer's Texan heritage plus the other members' love and respect for many genres.
Black Fortress of Opium have at least two anthems - one being a battle cry about their namesake town in Turkey and its lore, and one about true love at the Model Cafe in Allston, MA.
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