Italian neoclassical and darkwave legends Ataraxia release their 30th studio album, Sylfaera The Fair, on 21st May through The Circle Music, concluding a trilogy that began with 2022’s Pomegranate and continued with 2024’s Centaurea.
The title track ‘Sylfaera’ is out now as the band’s latest single, available to stream now alongside a video at RAMzine.
Describing the mystical narrative that governs the song, Ataraxia said:
“In the Emerald Forest on the sharp mountains of Vetolian, six ancient souls, children of the same root and bearers of the symbol of Inner Sight on the palms of their hands, gather to celebrate a ritual agreed aeons ago. Each of them comes from a different realm of water, wind, rock, and flame. The musical rite they will create together will reshape reality, collapsing their forthcoming artistic and epic endeavours into matter.
“Two of these souls, Loona and Muirreann, have met since the beginning of worlds, from lifetime to lifetime, sometimes for a moment, sometimes for a whole lifetime, to honour their mystical union. Each time they greet each other with these words: ‘Do you wish to know me? Lie down upon the fire! Sing your song, and I will rise in love, and from love to wisdom, dancing again and again ascending.'”
Sylfaera The Fair concerns a quest undertaken by five free spirits, artists, and warriors, culminating on a full moon night on a mountain where silvery waterfalls and milky-white stone slabs create an otherworldly dimension. In this symbolic place, the souls of the five manage to cross a dimensional portal, raising their energies and entering a new dimension, bringing into being the law of the octave. From matter to energy, from energy to spirit.
Musically, the album sees Ataraxia exploring new territories, weaving a tapestry of Nordic, dark, and ritual folk. This shift is anchored by the deep, resonant tones of the uilleann pipes and bodhrán, creating a primordial atmosphere that feels both ancient and futuristic.
Notably, the vocal performances on this work utilise glossolalia, an invented, non-linear language that bypasses traditional lyrics to evoke pure emotional and spiritual energy.
The album features the band’s core lineup: Francesca Nicoli (vocals, bells, chimes), Vittorio Vandelli (bouzouki, drums, programming, electric and classical guitars, backing vocals), and Giovanni Pagliari (keyboards, horn, backing vocals, programming). Guests include Gregorio Bellodi (uilleann pipes, bodhrán, low and high whistles, backing vocals) and Alessia Baraldi (backing vocals).
Sylfaera The Fair was recorded, mixed, and mastered by Vandelli between April 2025 and December 2025. The accompanying cinematic video for the new single was shot and edited by Giovanni Pagliari, featuring a guest appearance by Damiano Útburðr Rosati.
The album will be available in three physical editions: a Digi CD, a marbled transparent turquoise and black LP limited to 400 copies, and a Deluxe Black Box embossed in silver, limited to just 100 copies worldwide. The exclusive box set includes a unique silver vinyl pressing with a printed insert, the Digi CD, and a numbered certificate of authenticity. It also contains a ritual Travelling Stone, an exclusive 16-page booklet, and a hand-written oracle by Ataraxia.
The band has created 100 hand-drawn stones (The Travelling Stone) depicting the eye, representing the subtle vision linked to this concept, paired with 100 different oracles, each inspired by a Greek deity or mythological figure. Each person will receive their own unique and original talisman to wear around their neck or place in their hidden sanctuary.
Sylfaera The Fair features the tracks ‘Alabaster’, ‘Breanwinn’, ‘Alqua’, ‘Sylfaera’, ‘Silvertine’, ‘Loona’, ‘Llawarra’, ‘Ojos Sagrados’, and ‘Crowea’, with ‘Muirreann’ as a CD bonus track.
