Their landmark 30th studio album, Sylfaera the Fair, is out now via The Circle Music, and Italian neoclassical and darkwave legends Ataraxia continue to issue singles and accompanying videos from it.
Thematically, ‘Alabaster’ moves away from the Mediterranean rites of the previous single towards the frost laden peaks of the North, while introducing a warrior shaman into the band’s unfolding mythos. In the world of Sylfaera the Fair that Ataraxia have created, Alabaster is a free spirit and a shaman deeply entwined with wolf species. He roams the snow capped Northern mountains, a formidable warrior who balances the disciplined grace of martial arts with the raw, savage power of the wilderness. As a member of the Fellowship of the 9, Alabaster embodies the sacred masculine. He is a body shifter, moving between the forms of man and wolf, his identity defined by the pale hue of his skin and fur. He is the first to arrive at the ritual grounds of Loona under the light of the full moon, acting as the vanguard who opens portals through arcane formulas.
The band comment on the track’s significance: “Alabaster acts as a bridge between the physical and the spiritual. On the night in Loona, he longs to reunite with his group soul, moving not as an individual, but as a single spiritual entity guided by powerful instinct. He knows the shadows, the tracks, and the smells of the wild. He represents that primal, intuitive force that exists within the sacred masculine.”
The song features Francesca Nicoli on vocals, set against music that includes bouzouki, electric guitar, and ritualistic programming by Vittorio Vandelli, and keyboards by Giovanni Pagliari, plus uilleann pipes by guest musician Gregorio Bellodi. Wampyrion directed the accompanying video.
Prior to this, Ataraxia issued ‘Llawarra’, which dived deeper into the Mediterranean’s mystical roots and the universal concept of cosmic regeneration, as taken up by the band.
“This song unveils archaic Mediterranean hierogamic rites, the sacred marriage (from the Greek hieròs gámos, ‘sacred marriage’) between two deities, between a king and a priestess, or between two spiritually prepared humans, aimed at cosmic regeneration and rebirth and harmony between earth and heaven, embodied on our plane by two human consciousnesses,” explained the band. “The boundaries between the divine and the human are transcended to create a circle of ever flowing sacred energy. The text uses ancient symbols such as the ibis, the fish, the bee, the cave, water, milk, fire, dance, the sphere, the lotus, the Elysian sun, bread, the womb, and the heart.
“The video shows rites from different cultures across the continents united by this primal purpose. The focus is often on female figures who embody the creative energy that, in Greco Roman culture, we call Aphrodite-Venus. In other cultures we find Inanna, Astarte, Isis, Turando, Xochiquetzal, Radha, Rati, Lakhsmi, Freya, Yoruba, Benzaiten.”
The track features the addition of Katerina Gerakari on spoken vocals, Alessia Baraldi on backing vocals and Gregorio Bellodi on low and tin whistles.
The videos for both singles can be watched here at RAMzine.
