Celestial Sophia and other Revolutionaries and freedom fighters everywhere.
Miss Billie Holiday, Dr. Martin Luther King, Malcom X, Eleanor Roosevelt, Karl Marx, Gandhi, John Lennon, Kurt Cobain, Rrose Selavey, Emerson, Byron, Sherman Alexie, The EFF, John Trudell, The transcendentalists, Nietzsche, Rilke, Carl Jung, Baudrillard, Rolland Barthes, Foucault, Lou Salome, Mark Ryden, Marion Peck, Jasper Marks, Todd Haynes,The Dada and Surrealist schools, Breton, and Ernst.
Flotation Toy Warning, David Bowie, Thanksgiving, Final Fantasy, Steven, Brian Eno, Kate Bush, Stravinsky, Dresden Dolls, Shannon Wright, Tom Waits, Beck, Peter Gabriel, The Cure, Tom Yorke, Tori Amos, Acarde Fire, Roxy Music, Queen, Dylan, Bartók, Beatles, Radiohead, Quasi, Tracy and The Plastics, Crossover, Bjork, Joni Mitchel, Nirvanna, Neil Young, Talking Heads, The Clash, Sonic Youth, The Jackson 5. Arnold and Blessing Semler, Bach, Virginia Rothman, Adam Klugman, Yoki, Buddha, Zuzu, Tanya Smith, Adrian Orange, Howard Wuelfing.
Sounds Like
Hypnosis, Forests, Cities at dusk, the smell of asphalt when it is raining, angels in outer space, golf, Jesus, the American mall, Brecth, Television, revolution, transcendentalism, sentimentality, innocence.
E merging from the verdant depths of Portland, Oregon, Sophe Lux, soldiers of the green ray, align to ignite the divine spark. Fully cognizant of the dearth of spirituality in these fucked up times, these creatures of the revolution have embraced the mission of awakening the spirit that sleeps. Wielding instruments of redemption, The Sophe Lux Revolutionary Army liberates creative joy and celebrates the geometry of being. Join the revolution as we strive to see the world with a loving eye.
"There must be something in the water out in Portland, Ore., that turns perfectly normal musicians and bands into fancy-dressed, concept-loving, rock-opera terrorists. That would explain why the smallish city that produced the Decemberists has now also birthed Sophe Lux. This Weimar-infused, accordion-loving experimental cabaret is led by the blond and beautiful Gwynneth Haynes, whose octave-jumping soprano could easily turn from indie rock to Brecht-Weill torch songs. A multitalented sextet slips unexpected elements like glockenspiel, sax and gong into the piano-heavy mix, embellishing their strange songs about a Marie Antoinette robot and the perils of consumerism.”
- PHILADELPHIA WEEKLY
"I've been listening to Sophe Lux's CD Waking the Mystics nonstop for a week or so, and just loving it. The Portland, OR eclectic glam band is fronted by Wendy Haynes, who sounds a little like PJ Harvey by way of Freddy Mercury. The songwriting is often hilarious, sometimes profound, and the songs veer from faux-psychedelic 1960s clavier rock ("God Doesn't Take American Express") to luscious sci-fi rock opera ("Marie Antoinette Robot 2073") to bouncy numbers like "Little Soldiers of Time." It's singable, it's danceable and the concert DVD I've been perusing suggests that this is the kind of thing you want to see live, too."
-Cory Doctorow, BOING BOING
Spin Artist of the Year nominee Sophe Lux is having a good year.
Glowing reviews in SPIN.COM, BOING BOING, VERY SHORT LIST, STYLUS, and countless features compare the theatrical baroque-pop sextet to Queen, The Arcade Fire, The Dresden Dolls and The Decemberists.
Their stunning debut National release "Waking The Mystics" has been charting on the CMJ with strong debut numbers on hundreds of radio stations across the US and Canada. On their first US tour the band was invited to play live on New York City’s NPR station’s “Sound-Check.”
"The band's tumbling melodies, trippy lyrics, eclectic instrumental
arrangements, and all-out pageantry have dazzled. Waking the Mystics, Sophe Lux's second full-length, was mixed by Adam Selzer (the Decemberists, M. Ward) and drops via Zarathustra Records. Sophe Lux blend elements of the Dresden Dolls, Queen, a French opera, Ella Fitzgerald, and, yes, Dante to achieve some awesomely bizarre, dark and sweet soundscapes. The collective employs tinkling bells, harpsichords, and carnivalesque accordions as Haynes theatrically croons lyrics inspired by the works of Nietzsche and William Blake. "Fill Me Up with Grace" and "Time of Light" take the jazzy center stage of Waking the Mystics, while "Target Market" and " Marie Antoinette Robot 2073 (A Rock Opera)" hold down the dreamlike sideshow tent."
-SPIN.COM
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RECENT PRESS:
"This is so enjoyable a record that it's difficult at first to notice its
greatest accomplishment: the way it gathers from carnivals, cabarets, and the band's own live show a hundred darkling pleasures and carries them gently into the light; the way it cradles them, singes them, loses a little, gains a little more. It isn't a matter of how much of a dream is preserved, but of how well, and of how sumptuously the rest is recalled."
-STYLUS MAGAZINE
"Portland’s purveyors of pastoral pop Sophe Lux take the theatrical approach of the Fiery Furnaces and max it out. The band—led by singer/songwriter Gwynneth Haynes—aims to channel a lot of ideas through Waking the Mystics, its second album...Haynes is an enchanting vocalist, cascading into a trilling falsetto from a plaintive lounge-jazz croon without a moment’s hesitation. The regular off-kilter instruments line up and gleefully partake in the action—accordions, harpsichords, glockenspiel, and so on. Waking the Mystics is a strange, hypnotic visitation to a land inhabited by astute literary figures, psychotic philosophers and mindless freaks; in other words, figure the band as a Paris-via-Oregon experience."
-THE SILENT UPROAR
“Walking The Mystics: A cool, glam, genre-busting album.”
-VERY SHORT LIST
“Sophe Lux sounds like Kate Bush fronting The Decemberists”
-Jon Schaefer, WNYC NPR HOST
“Fandango guitars, martial snare drums, hurdy-gurdy carnival rhythms and
Operatic choruses converge in mysterious melodies swirling around thoughtful lyrics. It's a kaleidoscopic ride through sonic landscapes seldom explored in recent years.”
-SHEPPHERD EXPRESS
“Seriously well crafted pop songs, dark, provocative lyrics, sung by a killer
voice and gloriously catchy pop hooks. This is the art-rock I grew up with back with a vengeance.”
- DUGGUP
"It was love at first listen. Now, I'll admit, that I'm a sucker for any group
that can incorporate baroque music sensibilities with thought provoking lyrics,
but songs like "Target Market" drive me wild with their glam-Bach arrangements."
- DELUSIONS OF ADEQUACY
“From the cabaret to the theatre to the lit class to the recital hall – and then
down the rabbit hole – the record touches on a number of styles, and pulls them all off with panache, thanks in large part to Haynes’ inspired songwriting and versatile vocal dramatics.”
-RED ALERT (Featured Interview)
“Glamorous, ethereal, mysterious, and playful.”
- CD UNIVERSE
"This band has been dazzling the music scene with waltz beats, organ riffs, and angelic sounding choruses about things like robots and hypnosis. With addictive pop hooks and talent galore their new album "Waking The Mystics" is one you'll want to play over and over again."
- PORTLAND MERCURY
"Cups overflow in operatic pop group Sophe Lux's debut album ‘Waking the
Mystics.’ What, you don't know what operatic pop is? Well, think the heart of
Queen with the mindset of a Renaissance Fayre. But then add in some unusually catchy melodies, a delightfully smooth production and a punchy, quirky sense of story -- are you with me yet? No? Well, this Portland, Oregon band has an original vibe and if you like a bit of kink with your melodic indie pop, you'll like ‘Waking the Mystics.’ Think a female-fronted The Darkness circa 1968. Or the Tiger Lillies with a contemporary indie rhythmic thrust. Or... well, Sophe Lux."
-ABOUT ALTERNATIVE MUSIC
"Like some deranged cross-breeding of Lene Lovich's operatic vocal style, the
Dresden Dolls' fondness for Kurt Weill, and the Decemberists' love of both
unfashionable prog rock and a good old-fashioned sea shanty, Sophe Lux are
unique primarily for the sheer wide-ranging variety of artists they cheerfully
pilfer from. Sophe Lux (rough Latin for "the light of wisdom") is primarily a
showcase for the highly theatrical singer and songwriter Gwynneth Haynes, who comes by her artsy tendencies naturally: her older brother is the highly
respected filmmaker Todd Haynes."
-ALL MUSIC
“Operatic, ambitious and more than a little glam, the members of Sophe Lux craft sophisticated, theatrical pop. While the band clearly channels influences like Kate Bush and David Bowie, it continues to push artistic boundaries, both
sonically and visually. Unafraid of outrageous costumes and mini-operettas,
Sophe Lux is the rarest of musical birds – which is to say it’s unique and
unforgettable, particularly in a city that tends to favor knit caps and a lo-fi
aesthetic over frills and trills.”
- PORTLAND TRIBUNE
"Haynes’ vocals are nothing short of amazing as she easily pushes from one
style to another with ease to put the exclamation point on her works. Art and
music, expression and thought, all belong together. Thankfully, the
rock-cabaret of Sophe Lux keeps it alive, even if outside of mainstream
appreciation. For those of us who can extract the communications from these
songs, enjoy the different shell of sound, and appreciatively differentiate from the vast oceans of styles found on recordings like Waking the Mystics, we have a universe of music to never tire of."
-MUSIC TAP
“This ensemble is helping to carve out a new genre in American music that has no limits to the influences that can be drawn from. The fact that they come to their performances in costumes of the various characters that populate their songs only adds another beautiful and bizarre layer to the band.”
-Brian Rademakers, Northeast Times
With well-crafted songs and an expressive leading lady, Waking the Mystics is
poised to be a cult classic."
-INDIANA UNIVERSITY DAILY
"Sophe Lux is what you would get if you brought a group of European street
players from a hundred years ago, gave them a crash course in modern music history, and shoved modern instruments into their hands."
-IOWA STATE DAILY
"Like the progenitors of the form, Queen, and the torchbearers of today, The
Decemberists, this Portland, Ore., group isn’t afraid to add pageantry and
spectacle to its music. Its second CD, “Waking the Mystics,” is so layered and
heavily orchestrated that it’s simply too much to absorb in one listen. The
ostentatious display may seem overdone at first but reveals more of its genius each time. Combining music that never goes for easy hooks with equally deep lyricism, “Waking the Mystics” is the kind of effort you wish more artists were daring and adventurous enough to attempt."
-NUVO.NET
"There’s enough Kurt Weill influence here to make the Dresden Dolls sit up and take notes on how you translate cabaret to the rock arena and enough Kate Bush influence to attract the attention of the songbird’s fans."
-THE WICHITA CITY PAPER
WOW! Your CDs are the best!! Creative but fluid, beautiful, and invokes both instinctual and intellectual reactions. Don't EVER stop doing that voodoo that you do so well...
Walk the Wildwood Trail in Forest Park someday. I miss Portland very much at times. The forest at the end of Thurman Street... And Mount Tabor. Once I dwelt in a little place just 10 minutes away from these places!
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