Black Fortress of Opium

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 Garvy J, Ghost Box Orchestra, Jaggery, and Walter Sickert & the Army of Broken Toys. Since their inception, the band has made and released two albums and two music videos, played and recorded on mighty indie station WFMU, and recorded a Magnetic Fields cover for an independent film. In 2012, the band also toured the West Coast. The group's 2008 self-titled debut was the product of a collaboration with Martin Bisi (Sonic Youth, Swans, The Dresden Dolls), who produced and recorded the album in his Brooklyn studio. 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 original incarnation, but other lineup changes have occurred along the way. The current lineup also includes drummer Yuri Zbitnoff. At one time, Rich Cortese (x-Zulus) played bass in the group. "Stratospherical," the 2012 sophomore follow-up to the debut, featured Brian Viglione (The Dresden Dolls) playing drums on all but one track. To make this record, Black Fortress of Opium again collaborated with fifth horseman Martin Bisi, who captured the majority of basic tracks and mixed most cuts. Additional engineers former BFOO bassist Joel Simches (who also produced two cuts), Rafi Sofer at Q Division, 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 has 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. The band is currently in the studio working on a third album for release in late 2014. From reviews of "Stratospherical" (2012): “Both rootsy and ethereal (think Turkey by way of Texas)” – Andrew Wilson, Boston Band Crush "An orchestral majesty that's all too seldom seen in rock music these days" - New York Music Daily "Shocking intimacy...true magic...anthemic...spacious to the point of being luxurious – put on your headphones" - C.D. Di Guardia, CD on Songs “Anthemic nature recalls Velvet Underground at its finest and adds other influences skillfully. This album has a variety of styles, and it all works together as an impressively cohesive work” - Anna Maria Stjärnell, Collected Sounds “Superb.” - Simon Lewis and Steve Palmer, Terrascope “A pattern of dreamy, lush soundscapes and exquisite vocals continues throughout the length of the record without ever becoming boring or predictable. If Black Fortress of Opium continues to craft music that proves interesting to listeners and leaves them wanting more, they will become one of New England’s finest.” - Julia R. DeStefano, The Noise Magazine "Eerie, gypsy-flavored and densely layered, with a delicious underlying tension. Stratospherical contains many gems" - Julie Stoller, Ryan's Smashing Life “Led Zeppelin meets Siouxsie And The Banshees. Awash in a sea of swirling guitars and enchanting harmonies” - Johnny Anguish, Daykamp Music From reviews of "Black Fortress of Opium" S/T debut (2008): "Black Fortress of Opium are a brawling, dark monster of a band that seems like it should be playing shows with, say, Nicki Jaine or the Dresden Dolls rather than Gogol Bordello." – Ned Raggett, All Music Guide "Like Siouxsie & the Banshees as covered by Live Skull" - Lucid Culture "Treading a darker almost gothic path, probably through a Victorian cemetery at dusk, Black Fortress of Opium, are moody and magnificent on their self-titled album...a beautiful collection of brooding and melancholy songs" - Terrascope UK "Intensity and dark regality… dominant feelings of haunting, other-worldliness and mystique…Black Fortress of Opium truly makes you believe that you just may be listening to something highly monumental." – Northeast Performer Magazine "You needn't be a visitor to a drug den to be carried far, far away by this album's potent blend...a truly interesting new band…coming through loud and clear on this amazing debut, and if its exotic stylings were any stronger, they might induce hallucinations...or at least permanent rejection of conformity" – Playback STL ~ Afyonkarahisar ~ http://www.blackfortressofopium.com New album late 2014!