Genre: Italian Neofolk

Italian industrial musicians Ain Soph began their carrier over twenty years ago in 1984 with their debut release Ain Soph I, released on cassette. Since 1984 Ain Soph has released seven Lp’s and cassettes, two 7” vinyl records and eleven CD’s. The only aspect of their career that is more impressive than their sheer volume of music is the variety of styles and sound they have explored in the last twenty years. Beginning their career with early noise and sound experiments Ain Soph has progressed through noise, industrial, ritual ambient, neoclassical, medieval, and neofolk music over the their twenty year career. Defining the music of Ain Soph varies greatly depending on what point in the bands discography you are discussing.

Aurora was originally published by Cthulhu Records in 1992. Now more than a decade later the Italian industrial music label Old Europa Café has graciously made this long deleted album available once more. Aurora was shortly forgotten after its initial publication, which garnished a rash of criticism from persons who found the overt political commentary contained in the album to be offensive. Ain Soph’s revolutionary ideology combined with sampled speeches from socialists and totalitarian dictators along with the portrait of Joseph Evola that appears on the CD’s cover was enough to bring out fascist leftists in full force. Like other controversial industrial musicians, Ain Soph made no apologies for their art but rather exercised creative freedom in the face of rabid criticism. This stalwart approach to the creative process would later pave the way for many industrial acts to follow.

Ain Soph’s innovative music was not restricted to politically charged expression. The music of Ain Soph also embraced spirituality and mysticism, which manifested in a very personalized way through the bands music. Much like the eclectic mixture found in the music of Death In June, Ain Soph was able to combine politics, culture, ethnicity, and spirituality into a combined statement that was charged with vitality and life.

When looking back into the history of industrial music Ain Soph stands out as one of the founding and defining members of the genre. Many neofolk music musicians creating music today have been influenced by the aesthetics of Ain Soph as well as their uncompromising creative freedom. Numerous other genres also owe a debt of gratitude to the pioneering work of Ain Soph including the noise, experimental, dark ambient, and ritual ambient genres.

Growing up in the United States and relying heavily upon U.S. based import mail-order companies, I did not have the opportunity to discover the music of Ain Soph until recently. With the help of Old Europa Café a new wave of listeners is now being benefited with the opportunity of discovery these amazing Italian musicians for the first time.

The music on Aurora is a wonderful blend of acoustic folk with strong European ethnic undercurrents. Ain Soph draw upon their Italian ethnicity to create neofolk compositions accented with old world melodies and sensibilities. The instrumentation is a range of predominately-acoustic instruments that includes piano, acoustic guitar, tambourine, organ, and bass guitar. Though the instrumentation remains rather basic throughout the album Ain Soph is able to milk a very unique and individual sound from this instrumental lineup. Consider the possibility of merging café house music with traditional folk and punk rock and you come close to the experience of Ain Soph’s unique neofolk compositions. Leading each song are strong male vocals that are reminiscent of an Italian Jim Morrison. Ain Soph conjures vocals capable of swallowing the listener in the depths of the bands personal soul searching despair. Leading with dark and sexy vocals the male vocalist sings with husky strained vocals that communicate depths of nihilistic torment, agonized romanticism, and political unrest.

Ain Soph would be the perfect music to play amidst friends in a smoky bar as you chug down micro brewed ales and argue about politics, culture and history. Playing Ain Soph on the stereo invokes close quartered Italian bars filled with disenchanted young men gathered together and seeking change through revolution. Aurora could easily be the soundtrack for a disillusioned generation seeking spiritual and political renewal in an age of stagnation and hypocrisy.

If you are not acquainted with the music of Ain Soph, seize this opportunity to discover one of the defining forces of today’s industrial music arena. If you are acquainted already with Ain Soph, take this opportunity to collect this previously deleted title and revel in the Italian basted folk music. Old Europa Café also offers a number of other Ain Soph reprinted albums that feature a glimpse into the bands era of ritual ambient music as well.