Arktau Eos

Formed in early 2005, Arktau Eos are a Finnish ritual/dark ambient duo comprised of A.Ioh.L. and A.Ioh.H. Arktau Eos have never considered themselves a ‘band’ in the usual sense of the word, although their experience in many bands has certainly lent them an edge in working with sound as a transmitting medium. Arktau Eos did not begin as a ‘band’ and certainly not as a ‘project’; behind the scenes, it is more akin to an esoteric exploration unit, a vessel of initiation. Since the beginning, the group has enjoyed a great rapport from outside the music scene, with many independent researchers confirming or augmenting their observations. Like a past bio put it: “The fact that Arktau Eos is not concerned only with the musical dimension can not be stressed enough – taken to the extreme, one could even be justified in claiming that creating music is just an extension of hand from us towards a common context, in which ‘those in the know’ may recognize each other – in silent understanding. Arktau Eos is – should be, will be – pure being, a stream flowing through us, even if by default coloured by our own predilections.” Arktau Eos firmly believe in the power of music as much more than entertainment, given it is nurtured in a proper environment and treated as sacred, with a focused, serious spiritual intent. To this end, Arktau Eos work meticulously in the confines of their special temple-laboratory, an analog studio, and employ field recordings and snapshots of unheralded apparitions in the mix. Most of the time, they record on real, old-time reel tape, using a host of unusual, ethnic and self-built instruments of wood and bone, gongs, large frame drums, as well as various synths and modular synthesizers. Never prophets on their on own land, and not interested in being such either, Arktau Eos have held the majority of their performances overseas: in the U.K. (including London’s Equinox Festival), Russia (three mini-tours with performances in places ranging from clubs to museums); in the United States (at the Esoteric Book Conference in Seattle, and twice at Stella Natura Festival in Sierra Nevada); Romania, Norway, Sweden and Germany (Wave Gotik Treffen). They were also invited to contribute a track to Tesserae 1.0, a musical supplement to Abraxas: International Journal for Esoteric Studies no 2. (Fulgur Limited 2011). The music of Arktau Eos has also been used at Muzeum Alchymie in Kutná Hora, Czech Republic.