Opium Den was a 90's gothic rock/ethereal wave band out of Boston. They have also described their music as psychedelic rock and art rock. Christian Gilbert's Spanish-classical influenced guitar playing is combined with the poetry of Annette Farrington's lyrics.

It was formed in the early 90's when Christian Gilbert and Mike Demma were looking for a singer for a psychedelic band they wanted to form. Annette was coming off touring with a Boston theater company and soon joined them. They then auditioned John DeGregorio as a bass player and they liked his unique style and musical creativeness.

The genesis of the name explained by Annette Farrington "the name invokes a multi layered meaning the social context and the literal meaning of an opium den. I wanted to invoke the state of where I thought the social consciousness lay. As a nation we are asleep in an Opium Den, asleep to consciousness and clarity. The drug being, materialism, greed, lack of connection to spirit. But we also wanted to invoke the transformative nature of being in a state of altered consciousness. We grew up in an apocalyptic society. There was so much fear, internal and outer. We felt a need to express the emotional struggle of finding a way to maintain a sense of purpose and hope in our lives."

Phi is the Greek letter assigned to the Golden Ratio (1.618) which, like Pi, is a constant proportion that is seen in nature in both the living and the nonliving beauty which the atoms and molecules of the observable world mystically align themselves to as if by some unseen hand.  The ratio reflects the quotient a/b, where (a+b)/a = a/b.  This nesting-like quality lends itself to spirals, fractals, nested polygons, and so much else.  It underlies beauty and symmetry, as well as strangeness and randomness of the 3-dimensional universe we get to enjoy and experience for a fleeting moment of space-time.  

Likewise, the music of Phi is an exploration of sonic beauty, as well as strangeness and randomness.  Its intent is to not be bound by form or genre, and hopefully it comes to evoke a range of emotion... but its common thread is introspection.  It is the soundtrack to my journey, and I hope perhaps it serves you on your journey as well.  

If you are a like-minded musician, I am VERY open to collaboration!!

Enjoy!

A solo project of Victoria Chapman. A combination of haunting piano, ethereal sounds, hammered dulcimer, flutes, vocals and electronic influences.

Ever since I was a little girl, I had a deep love of stories. As I grew older, I acquired a deep love of music. I can't say exactly what it was...I think I fell in love with the way a story could become so much more than just a story with music woven into the background.

Toronto NoiseMaker
Singer/Songwriter | Multi-Genre Producer
Hertz to be Me

Flowte is pronounced "float" and is derived from "flow" (see Mihály Csíkszentmihályi) + "float", because I sailed a lot in my former life. Currently a land-bound web developer, music is a passion.  See YouTube channel for video scores.

Aquaence is following