Must Be the Season of the Witch

Nomen Est Omen Sessions (photo: Mihai Plămădeală)

In 2012 we celebrate 10 years since the release of the CD Witchcraze, the most appreciated (by the public) of the 12 albums made by Nomen Est Omen by now. A year ago we unexpectedly recovered the recording sessions from a decade ago, which led us to the idea of ​​a remaster. The anticipated title is Session of the Witch, and the album will contain, besides the songs from Witchcraze, some bonus tracks recorded than which did not entered in the final version, but also some original songs. A number of instruments will be replaced and new voices will be combined with the existing ones. For the moment, Nomen Est Omen is working to another album, and we hope to launch it in Sighisoara, Sibiu and Arad this summer, but it would be an good idea to finish the Sessions by November, the month when Witchcraze was (officially) released in 2002 in Club A. The "re-release" in the same club sounds interesting, but there’s a lot to do until than. At the time of writing these lines, (intense) work it’s done for the cover.

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Stella Splendens 2005

Stella Splendens is another album already out in conditions typical of Nomen Est Omen, namely a project carried out within five days, between two tours. The Ensemble performed some concerts extremely well received by the public in the Hunyad Castle from Hunedoara, many people asking, later inquiring about albums. Being the first contract in that city, for a first edition of the festival, stage appearance was not accompanied by the usual media campaign or stand for compact discs. Public interest has led to the idea of multiplying a new batch of albums Witchcraze for next weekend's festival, where Nomen Est Omen was to perform several concerts. Returned to Bucharest in a Monday just to leave next Thursday (evening) to Mures, Nomen Est Omen members have decided to remain in the studio and started to record another album, with songs from the tours repertoire because three years had elapsed from the previous one, anyway into circulation from some time ago in Targu Mures and Sighisoara. For the new project was contacted old friend and collaborator, George Pătrănoiu, that did the postprocessing of the first Nomen Est Omen nine years before. Recordings were made over three days and nights in July 2005, a period of hot weather with temperatures above 40 degrees in the shade. A fourth day was intended for mastering, making the covers and multiplication of the first few hundred copies. The album was put on circulation the following days, at the famous medieval art festival in Sighisoara, again freely distributed. The contracts signed in the near future, some indirect result of the album Stella Splendens, have covered the costs of production. A notable event of this discographic step was that just before recording the first seconds of music, the lamp of a microphone burned, without any logical explanation to be found then or later. Microphone, a Brauner VM 1S, perfectly in function when tested before, could not be repaired anymore.

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Nobilis Humilis (studio concert) 2001

In 2001, Nomen Est Omen signed a contract for six concerts in the Medieval Art Festival of Sighisoara - an ideal opportunity to launch a new album. Membership of the band's previous album was partially different from that of the time, recordings were made in principle under the expectations and, if appropriate processed materials, copyrights were pending. In these circumstances, Nomen Est Omen opted for fast recording of a studio album made entirely in four hours, a few days before the festival, until the beginning which were multiplied five hundred copies (tapes). Underground aspect that characterized the band so far, has been preserved this time too: order for the studio being insignificant, the project materialized courtesy of sound engineer (friend and former colleague at the Conservatory "Ciprian Porumbescu" with one of the Nomen Est Omen members) without money, receipt and owner's knowledge, after hours, ie at night. The album, without taxes payed (and legal rights to sell it) was distributed free, the expenses being covered by donations.

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Nomen Est Omen I 1996

It is the first discographic project of Nomen Est Omen, recorded in an apartament room, with a multitrack Yamaha 8 Chanels and four Sennheiser microphones. The album, released only on tape, in an edition of 1,300 copies, can be regarded, by technical features and intentionality, as part of the  lo fi genre. The resulting material consists of 40 medieval and Renaissance musical themes in arrangements from two to six voices, totaling 60 minutes. 45% of the sessions were recorded (on channels) by Mihai Plămădeală, who initially intended to produce a solo album, 45% by Plămădeală toghether with (the composer) Şerban Ian Ursachi, who visited him at that time and ended by involving in the project, and 10% by both of them toghether with Eugen Oigăn Nuţescu (the lender of the multitrack device; the future guitarist from  Kumm ) and Dan Radu (later voice /guitar / flute at Byron ), who were invited to participate in the day before the established deadline  (the device had to be returned in Cluj, a city situated at more than 400 km from Bucharest, where the project was held). The recording sessions lasted seven days and the post processing was done in one day by George Pătrănoiu (future to be in Metrock, The Order, Act, Schimbul 3, Krypton, Taxi ). Eponymous album appeared in English and Hungarian graphic versions and was re-edited on a 46 minute tape (31 tracks). The official release took place at the Medieval Art Festival in Sighişoara in 1996, where, together with Mihai Plămădeală & Nomen Est Omen, the above mentioned people were invited to attend. Dan Radu was to remain as part of the band for another year and a half and to take part to more radio recordings in Cluj and Sighişoara, yet unrealised.

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