History Rosa†Crvx

Since 1984 the multilayered art project from Rouen, France, cultivates its own cosmos, which combines sacred and rock music with martial industrial and neoclassical elements, an overly expressive vocal style and an apocalyptic artwork to create the so called dark ritual atmosphere. Subcultural and artistic elements were led so closely together that the project was able to be interspersed in the Gothic Underground scene as well as on large art installations and music festivals. Unquestionably the extravagant stage performances add an absolutely unique note, as one must have actually seen the giant bell pendulums with crew to believe it. Also elements of body techniques from archaic societies play a substantial role within the work of Rosa†Crvx: Earth, dust, organic substances and physical nakedness are a firm component of the concise shows, and the self developed metal instruments of bandleader Olivier Tarabo add a post-industrial primitivism.

Displaying several disciplines together on stage: Music, film projections, choreographies and staggering machines, Rosa†Crvx explore man's unfathomable depths through genuine stage shows... Of those machines probably the best known and the most prominent one is the so-called B.A.M. (Batterie Acoustique Midi), a set of genuine drums played by a programmable electromagnetic process, that won the price of sound inventions in Paris in 2001. Their more "simple" stage-set includes the B.A.M., eight churchbells and a grand piano and is built around the well-known two-man performance "La Danse de la Terre".

More extended sets include an additional giant metal cage in which a man takes place and is smashed against a large iron gong, but the most spectacular stage-set is called "The Iron Games" and needs almost 300 m of space to be set up. It includes a whole series of inventions, rat hurdy-gurdies, resonating cones, crane-actuated lyres, water clocks, bells and gongs of all sorts, dancers covered in sound sensors, gigantic double-basses and a lot more.

The official website can be found under http://www.rosacrux.org

The official MySpace profile: http://www.myspace.com/rosacrux

Current line-up:

Olivier Tarabo - Guitars, Lead Vocals

Isabelle Jolivet

Claude Feeny - Piano, Carillon

Hugo Lafitte - Doublebass

Benjamin Canu - Bagpipes

Rosa†Chordis - Choral Ensemble

Juliette Bates - Performances

Aurore Giffard - Performances

Nicolas Lelandais

Releases:

Jeux de Fers (Cass, Ltd, Box)

Ales et Fèles (12")

Eli-Elo (2x7")

Eli-Elo (7")

Les Vielles (3")

Danse de la Terre (CD, Mini)

St. Ouen Les Profanations (7")

Performances (7", Promo)

Jeux de Fers - Performances (VHS, Ltd)

Proficere (CD)

Noctes Insomnes (CD, Enh)

In Tenebris (CD, Enh)

In Tenebris (12", Pic)

Lux.In.Tenebris.Lvcet (CD, Album, Ltd + DVD-V, Ltd)

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