I saw Fabulae Dramatis for the first time in February this year. Their music immediately appealed to me and after their performance at my birthday party I became very curious about their album ‘Solar Time’s Fables’. Members Isabel (vocals, sitar, harmomium), Hamlet (bass, vocals), Daniel (guitar, bass) and Teo (drums), who joined the band after the recordings, collaborated with Isadora Cortina (Ancestral Legacy), Maxime Moreira and Wesley Beernaert (ex Lemuria) for this album, but also with other international musicians playing violin, cello, accordion, djembe, …
Fabulae Dramatis chose to be inspired by natural elements for this album. When you look at the cover of ‘Solar Time’s Fables’, you see an image of Isabel holding her sitar, surrounded by snakes and it’s not very clear whether she’s standing in front of the tree behind her or if she’s becoming one with the tree. When you browse through the booklet, you see the nature element on which the song is based as a background of the lyrics. In the middle there’s the same photo as on the back of the album cover. What makes this photo unique is that every member I mentioned before is on this album cover.
With the first song ‘Agni’s Dynasty (Fire I)’ Fabulae Dramatis emphasize the different vocals. Wesley‘s grunts alternating with Hamlet‘s theatrical voice brings a unique sound. Isabel her angelic soprano voice sounds very nice with Isadora‘s voice when they sing together. The combination of their different voices brings a lot of variation from the beginning. There’s also a lot of variation in music. This song and ‘Sati (Fire II)’ has the element fire, wherein peaceful parts turn into dramatic parts and the other way around which clearly represents the unpredictable.
The other elements are also perfectly translated into their songs. ‘Heresy (Steel)’ for example changes a lot in rhythm and sounds tight. ‘Nok Terracottas (Mud)’ on the other hand is a calm song which emphasizes the mysterious and ‘Forest’ reminds me of Spanish tango music and the piano plays a rhythm like someone’s running or tripping.
Fabulae Dramatis brings a unique sound that you’ve never heard before. They translated the natural elements so well into their music that you can just dream away when you listen to ‘Solar Time’s Fables’.
Release date: September 30th, 2017
Label: Independent release
Tracklist:
1. Agni’s Synasty (Fire I)
2. Stone
3. Heresy (Steel)
4. Sati (Fire II)
5. Sirius Wind
6. Coatlicue, Serpent Skirt (Earth)
7. Nok Terracottas (Mud)
8. Forest
9. Roble Para El Corazon (Wood)
10. Smoke For The Clouds (Ahuiran’s Water)
11. Barren (Gravel)
