Costin Chioreanu & Sofia Sarri - Afterlife Romance (2019) Hi Res

The debut of this project by Romanian avant-garde devotee Costin Chioreanu and unearthly Greek singer Sofia Sarri is a sheer instance of the unexpected. From the first listen, “Afterlife Romance” opens the mind towards the nostalgia of a time which never actually happened. Seemingly mimicing a lo-fi rendition, this record takes the touchiness and the spookiness resembling horror soundtracks of the ’70s and ’80s, and places them in a newly created realm between a cult peculiarity and enchanted experiments.

The vision which led to the creation of “Afterlife Romance” came to life while Chioreanu was enjoying an evening in the sunset hues at the huge and impressive Central Cemetery in Vienna. He felt that certain tunes must be written, eerie pieces to tell the story of two ghosts falling in love while going out of their graves during one night, together with all the other neighbouring dead. The narrative in this concept makes use of shivery sensations, creepy scenes, a surrealist imagery and an intense pace, including a particular type of drums found mostly in the wildest kinds of jazz and blues.

Through his art, Chioreanu has explored various corners of the musical underground, ranging from melodic crust punk to black metal to avant-garde – and his solo projects have shown a marked leaning towards the magical, atmospheric side, interwoven with waves of light and darkness, which have led to collaborations with the likes of David Tibet and Attila Csihar. Sofia Sarri has also shown a penchant for metal and avant-garde, but the breadth of her artistic vision and talent means that she has never had to remain wedded to any one particular style. She has ranged far and wide, recording with artists associated with free jazz, improvisation and polyphonic choirs before beginning a solo career with her 2017 album “Euphoria”.

"Afterlife Romance” is the album in which all the musical and conceptual experiences I have so far built came together, and I am beyond excited with the result. However, without Sofia’s gorgeous vocals and her fabulous talent in arranging lyrics and metrics, the result would have been just half of what you will hear. Since I started working with her, and with engineer and producer George Bokos, a new, amazing dimension of magic opened in my life. The final result of our collaboration is very consistent and coherent on all levels, yet extremely complex in terms of musical approach." (Costin Chioreanu)

"We had an amazing time during the entire process, while exchanging ideas and working on the material, and of course during the actual recordings at Grindhouse Studios in Athens, and it is with great excitement that we are finally ready to present this album to the world thanks to Dark Essence Records. Being a fan of the Norwegian avant-garde/metal/dark music scene since a very tender age, I am more than thrilled to be part of the roster of a label that nourishes and represents this kind of sound." (Sofia Sarri)

"Metal hidden in songs with an ambient-jazz flavor, with a common thread that leads straight to the soundtracks of the horror films of the 80s and the previous decade: twisted riffs, absolutely superlative and progressive (not to say jazzy!) Drumming, rhythmic patterns unstable, voice, effects and sounds that depict the grisly and mysterious scene where the facts take place with dramatic realism, where this love develops that claims - rightly - the true and definitive immortality!"