Ordo Equitum Solis

Ordo Equitum Solis (abbr. OES) are an alternative music band consisting of Leithana, pseudonym of Nathalie Herrera, French (vocals, keyboards, zither, percussions) and Deraclamo, pseudonym of Paolo De Marco, Italian (vocals, guitar). The duo formed in 1988, released albums between 1990 and 2000 and made many tours. In 2001 the band suddenly broke up. Recent announcements report a reunion of OES. The musical style of OES does not fall into a precise category. While the early albums have pronounced industrial, esoteric darkwave and a touch of medieval influences, with time their musical style matured, embracing multi-faceted sonorities between neofolk, experimentalism and ballad songs. The albums, that include also instrumental tracks, are characterized by a significant switch and mix of genres, making OES’ music unusual, various, intimistic and hard to describe. Distinguishing features are Leithana’s nice voice, Deraclamo’s folk guitar, lyrics in various languages (English, French, Latin, Italian), highly-emotional melodies, experimental effects, romantic and decadent atmosphere, and remarkable, sometimes provocative, elegant arrangements. Ordo Equitum Solis’ releases had often been concept-albums, inspired by symbolic themes or personal experiences. The albums denote also the duality of the band, between Leithana’s often inflexible creative genius, and Deraclamo’s instinctive inspiration.