2008 Woodie Awards
Black Opium lights up stage
Melissa Swanson
Issue date: 4/10/08 Section: Arts and Entertainment
Black Fortress of Opium recently released their self-titled debut album and is a deceptively small band compared to the many different musical arrangements of their songs. To hear their out-of-the-ordinary sound live, Black Fortress of Opium will be performing at the Plough and Stars in Cambridge on April 10 before moving on up to the Middle East Upstairs on May 20.
Their songs contain a distinctive mix of instruments making them stand out compared to other new artists. These range from strings, including the banjo and mandolin, to the usual instrumentation of the guitar and drums to give the band a folk-like feel at times.
"I like a lot of different sounds and I like to try to incorporate as many [instruments] as possible to the frustration of my bandmates, 'cause I usually drag along what they call a 'yard sale' to every show," said Ajda, the lead singer and lyricist of the band, in a telephone interview with The Beacon. "That's just a part of how I write. I consider myself a composer and part of that is just using the instruments that I know and have."
Along with Ajda, the band consists of Tony Savarino on guitar and Joe Turner on the drums. Their band name comes from the translation of a town in Turkey named Afyonkarahisar that they found inspiring and becomes another one of the many influences that the band incorporates in their music.
The songs on the debut album were written by Ajda and range all different human emotions. Most of the songs that are listed on their MySpace give a more mellow than rock feel. They have a slow pace to them and with the addition of the instruments mentioned earlier, their sound is different than many bands out there. The vocals on each of the tracks aren't screamed and are sung at a slow tempo to match the music. The band classifies themselves in the genres of "alternative, rock, goth/industrial and folk," but in the songs on their MySpace they seem to lean more toward the alternative folk side with a twist of goth and rock thrown in.
Their songs contain a distinctive mix of instruments making them stand out compared to other new artists. These range from strings, including the banjo and mandolin, to the usual instrumentation of the guitar and drums to give the band a folk-like feel at times.
"I like a lot of different sounds and I like to try to incorporate as many [instruments] as possible to the frustration of my bandmates, 'cause I usually drag along what they call a 'yard sale' to every show," said Ajda, the lead singer and lyricist of the band, in a telephone interview with The Beacon. "That's just a part of how I write. I consider myself a composer and part of that is just using the instruments that I know and have."
Along with Ajda, the band consists of Tony Savarino on guitar and Joe Turner on the drums. Their band name comes from the translation of a town in Turkey named Afyonkarahisar that they found inspiring and becomes another one of the many influences that the band incorporates in their music.
The songs on the debut album were written by Ajda and range all different human emotions. Most of the songs that are listed on their MySpace give a more mellow than rock feel. They have a slow pace to them and with the addition of the instruments mentioned earlier, their sound is different than many bands out there. The vocals on each of the tracks aren't screamed and are sung at a slow tempo to match the music. The band classifies themselves in the genres of "alternative, rock, goth/industrial and folk," but in the songs on their MySpace they seem to lean more toward the alternative folk side with a twist of goth and rock thrown in.
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