Devil Doll (band)
Encyclopedia
Devil Doll is an Italian
-Slovenia
n experimental rock
band formed in 1987 by the mysterious "Mr. Doctor
". The band has gained a cult following, taking influences from gothic rock
, classical
and slavonic
folk music
, and fronted by the sprechgesang
of Mr. Doctor himself. Devil Doll albums were all released on small labels in limited quantities. The band is notable for very lengthy epics, none under 20 minutes.
recruits the members of Devil Doll through an advertisement with the heading:
"A man is the less likely to become great the more he is dominated by reason: few can achieve greatness - and none in art - if they are not dominated by illusion."
Originally, two lineups were formed, one in Venice, Italy, and one in Ljubljana
, Yugoslavia
.
The first work of Devil Doll was The Mark of the Beast, recorded in Tivoli Studios, Ljubljana in the last half of 1987. Amongst the sound technicians were Jurij Toni (most known for working with Laibach
), who would work with the band for the next ten years. The Mark of the Beast was finished, and a single copy pressed, in February 1988. The cover to the album was painted by Mr. Doctor himself, who keeps the album in his home to this day. No other copies exist: "This is a painting, not a graphic work". A few passages from the album, however, are said to make "cameos
" in future Devil Doll albums.
. 500 copies of the album were originally pressed, in the beginning of 1989, of which only 150 were released. These were distributed out amongst the audience of the second live performance of the composition (the first had occurred before the pressing of the album), each with a unique inlay created by Mr. Doctor
. Some of these inlays were written in his own blood. The remaining 350 copies of the album were destroyed by Mr. Doctor once he returned home.
In 1989, Mr. Doctor began the work on three different compositions: The Black Holes of My Mind, composition incorporating esoteric quotations and subliminal messages; Mr. Doctor Sings Hanns Eisler, an interpretation of four of German composer Hanns Eisler
's works; and Eliogabalus, inspired by Antonin Artaud
's work "Heliogabalus: Or, The Crowned Anarchist". Mr. Doctor Sings Hanns Eisler was never released, and the two former compositions were, due to budget limitations, cut down to fit on a single vinyl, named Eliogabalus. The shortened version of The Black Holes of My Mind was renamed Mr. Doctor for this release, while Eliogabalus retained its name. Eliogabalus
was released in 1990, in three different pressings, one of 50 and two of 900 copies. One of the pressings of 900 was on CD.
Sacrilegium
was released in May 1992. It was released only on CD, but the Devil Doll fanclub released 900 numbered vinyl copies with inlays designed by Mr. Doctor and Adriana Marac.
In January the next year, a soundtrack to a movie by Mr. Doctor, The Sacrilege of Fatal Arms
, was released. The 900 copies sold out in 72 hours. In March, drummer Roberto Dani left the band, and was replaced by Slovenian Roman Ratej.
At the end of 1994 Mr. Doctor finally agreed to rerecord Dies Irae
. The recording started in January 1995 in Akademik Studios. Devil Doll was backed by the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra
, of which band member Sasha Olenjuk was leader and first violinist. Later, Norina Radovan, a Croatian soprano
, was recruited to sing a duet with Mr. Doctor
on the album. The recording was released in February 1996, and is the only composition to consist of multiple tracks (Eliogabalus
consists of two tracks, but these are two different compositions supposed to have been released on two different albums).
While Devil Doll has never been officially disbanded, nothing has been released since Dies Irae. In 2004, a mailing action was started by a fan and the Fan Club to make Mr. Doctor and Devil Doll produce more material. The letters were printed in a book named A Thousand Letters to Mr. Doctor. Mr. Doctor
replied to the effort in 2005, and sent the fan, who started the mailing action, a gift of appreciation. This gift was Mr. Doctor's personal copy (number 1) of Sacrilegium. Handmade and written in a leather box and accompanied by a handmade, signed artwork with the word 'Astonished' on it.
In 2007, Mr. Doctor released a book called '45 Revolutions', under Hurdy Gurdy Books, another arm of the fan club label Hurdy Gurdy, which revealed his real name to be Mario Panciera. The book's strapline is "45 Revolutions is the definitive book on punk, mod, powerpop, new wave, NWOBHM, and indie singles issued in the UK and in Ireland between late 1976 and the end of 1979. Twenty years in the making. 1173 pages. 4550 color photos. 2885 b&w photos. Details of more than 3000 singles by over 2000 artists. Available only as a superior quality hardback."
In late 2008, Mr. Doctor also gave an interview to 'Burn' magazine, explaining the history of the five Devil Doll releases on the back of a re-release (and remaster) on the Japanese label 'Belle Antique'. He revealed that he continues to write and record Devil Doll music, though he has lost interest in releasing records. He also talks about his inspiration and his influences, as well as discussing his background in law and criminology.
Mr. Doctor also signed and hand numbered 50 of the sold out 100 box sets of the remastered CDs, 30 of which were sold to fan club members.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
-Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
n experimental rock
Experimental rock
Experimental rock or avant-garde rock is a type of music based on rock which experiments with the basic elements of the genre, or which pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique....
band formed in 1987 by the mysterious "Mr. Doctor
Mr. Doctor
Mr. Doctor is the leader of and creative drive behind the experimental rock band Devil Doll.For 20 years, from forming the band in 1987, he kept his identity a secret – revealing little more than that he was born in Slovenia, of Italian extraction, and lived in Venice...
". The band has gained a cult following, taking influences from gothic rock
Gothic rock
Gothic rock is a musical subgenre of post-punk and alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...
, classical
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
and slavonic
Slavic peoples
The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...
folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, and fronted by the sprechgesang
Sprechgesang
Sprechgesang and Sprechstimme are musical terms used to refer to an expressionist vocal technique between singing and speaking. Though sometimes used interchangeably, sprechgesang is a term directly related to the operatic recitative manner of singing , whereas sprechstimme is...
of Mr. Doctor himself. Devil Doll albums were all released on small labels in limited quantities. The band is notable for very lengthy epics, none under 20 minutes.
Formation and The Mark of the Beast (1987)
Mr. DoctorMr. Doctor
Mr. Doctor is the leader of and creative drive behind the experimental rock band Devil Doll.For 20 years, from forming the band in 1987, he kept his identity a secret – revealing little more than that he was born in Slovenia, of Italian extraction, and lived in Venice...
recruits the members of Devil Doll through an advertisement with the heading:
"A man is the less likely to become great the more he is dominated by reason: few can achieve greatness - and none in art - if they are not dominated by illusion."
Originally, two lineups were formed, one in Venice, Italy, and one in Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
, Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
.
The first work of Devil Doll was The Mark of the Beast, recorded in Tivoli Studios, Ljubljana in the last half of 1987. Amongst the sound technicians were Jurij Toni (most known for working with Laibach
Laibach (band)
Laibach is a Slovenian avant-garde music group associated with industrial, martial, and neo-classical musical styles. Laibach formed June 1, 1980 in Trbovlje, Slovenia . Laibach represents the music wing of the Neue Slowenische Kunst art collective, of which it was a founding member in 1984...
), who would work with the band for the next ten years. The Mark of the Beast was finished, and a single copy pressed, in February 1988. The cover to the album was painted by Mr. Doctor himself, who keeps the album in his home to this day. No other copies exist: "This is a painting, not a graphic work". A few passages from the album, however, are said to make "cameos
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
" in future Devil Doll albums.
The Girl Who Was... Death and Eliogabalus (1987 - 1991)
Later the same year, work on a second composition began. This work, entitled The Girl Who Was... Death, was inspired by the 1967 British television series The PrisonerThe Prisoner
The Prisoner is a 17-episode British television series first broadcast in the UK from 29 September 1967 to 1 February 1968. Starring and co-created by Patrick McGoohan, it combined spy fiction with elements of science fiction, allegory and psychological drama.The series follows a British former...
. 500 copies of the album were originally pressed, in the beginning of 1989, of which only 150 were released. These were distributed out amongst the audience of the second live performance of the composition (the first had occurred before the pressing of the album), each with a unique inlay created by Mr. Doctor
Mr. Doctor
Mr. Doctor is the leader of and creative drive behind the experimental rock band Devil Doll.For 20 years, from forming the band in 1987, he kept his identity a secret – revealing little more than that he was born in Slovenia, of Italian extraction, and lived in Venice...
. Some of these inlays were written in his own blood. The remaining 350 copies of the album were destroyed by Mr. Doctor once he returned home.
In 1989, Mr. Doctor began the work on three different compositions: The Black Holes of My Mind, composition incorporating esoteric quotations and subliminal messages; Mr. Doctor Sings Hanns Eisler, an interpretation of four of German composer Hanns Eisler
Hanns Eisler
Hanns Eisler was an Austrian composer.-Family background:Eisler was born in Leipzig where his Jewish father, Rudolf Eisler, was a professor of philosophy...
's works; and Eliogabalus, inspired by Antonin Artaud
Antonin Artaud
Antoine Marie Joseph Artaud, more well-known as Antonin Artaud was a French playwright, poet, actor and theatre director...
's work "Heliogabalus: Or, The Crowned Anarchist". Mr. Doctor Sings Hanns Eisler was never released, and the two former compositions were, due to budget limitations, cut down to fit on a single vinyl, named Eliogabalus. The shortened version of The Black Holes of My Mind was renamed Mr. Doctor for this release, while Eliogabalus retained its name. Eliogabalus
Eliogabalus
Eliogabalus is the second official album by the Italian/Slovenian rock band Devil Doll, released on May 1, 1990 on Hurdy Gurdy Records.A concept by Mr. Doctor, the title of the album is a reference to the Roman Emperor Elagabalus.-Background:...
was released in 1990, in three different pressings, one of 50 and two of 900 copies. One of the pressings of 900 was on CD.
Sacrilegium and The Sacrilege of Fatal Arms (1991 - 1993)
In 1991, the two lineups of Devil Doll were combined into one, and in December, the combined lineup, with the new pianist Francesco Carta, entered Tivoli Studios to record Sacrilegium.Sacrilegium
Sacrilegium
Sacrilegium is the third album by the rock band Devil Doll, released on May 1992 on Hurdy Gurdy Records.A concept created by Mr. Doctor, Sacrilegium is the first album by Devil Doll recorded as a single lineup, located in Ljubljana.-Track listing:...
was released in May 1992. It was released only on CD, but the Devil Doll fanclub released 900 numbered vinyl copies with inlays designed by Mr. Doctor and Adriana Marac.
In January the next year, a soundtrack to a movie by Mr. Doctor, The Sacrilege of Fatal Arms
The Sacrilege of Fatal Arms
The Sacrilege of Fatal Arms is an album by Devil Doll. It is a reworked, remixed, extended version of their previous release Sacrilegium. It is the original soundtrack to the film of the same name, which was written and directed by Mr...
, was released. The 900 copies sold out in 72 hours. In March, drummer Roberto Dani left the band, and was replaced by Slovenian Roman Ratej.
Dies Irae (1993 - 1996)
In July 1993 Devil Doll entered Tivoli Studios for recording of The Day of Wrath - Dies Irae. During a mixing session, the studio caught fire. Both Jurij Toni and Mr. Doctor were able to escape, although Toni ended up hospitalised for several days. Mr. Doctor refused to rerecord the album, and rumours of a split-up began circulating. 20 copies of a book containing the sheet music for The Day of Wrath - Dies Irae, as well as a tape of the unmixed recording, was released, though.At the end of 1994 Mr. Doctor finally agreed to rerecord Dies Irae
Dies Irae
Dies Irae is a thirteenth century Latin hymn thought to be written by Thomas of Celano . It is a medieval Latin poem characterized by its accentual stress and its rhymed lines. The metre is trochaic...
. The recording started in January 1995 in Akademik Studios. Devil Doll was backed by the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra
Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra
The Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra is the national philharmonic orchestra of Slovenia, based in the capital Ljubljana.On the Philharmonic Hall, a pastel yellow building on Kongresni trg., is a plaque stating that the Philharmonic was founded in 1701; though this refers to the founding of the...
, of which band member Sasha Olenjuk was leader and first violinist. Later, Norina Radovan, a Croatian soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
, was recruited to sing a duet with Mr. Doctor
Mr. Doctor
Mr. Doctor is the leader of and creative drive behind the experimental rock band Devil Doll.For 20 years, from forming the band in 1987, he kept his identity a secret – revealing little more than that he was born in Slovenia, of Italian extraction, and lived in Venice...
on the album. The recording was released in February 1996, and is the only composition to consist of multiple tracks (Eliogabalus
Eliogabalus
Eliogabalus is the second official album by the Italian/Slovenian rock band Devil Doll, released on May 1, 1990 on Hurdy Gurdy Records.A concept by Mr. Doctor, the title of the album is a reference to the Roman Emperor Elagabalus.-Background:...
consists of two tracks, but these are two different compositions supposed to have been released on two different albums).
Release hiatus (1996 -)
A last album, The Day of Wrath, soundtrack to the second of Mr. Doctor's movies, of the same name, was scheduled for release in 1997, but was never released.While Devil Doll has never been officially disbanded, nothing has been released since Dies Irae. In 2004, a mailing action was started by a fan and the Fan Club to make Mr. Doctor and Devil Doll produce more material. The letters were printed in a book named A Thousand Letters to Mr. Doctor. Mr. Doctor
Mr. Doctor
Mr. Doctor is the leader of and creative drive behind the experimental rock band Devil Doll.For 20 years, from forming the band in 1987, he kept his identity a secret – revealing little more than that he was born in Slovenia, of Italian extraction, and lived in Venice...
replied to the effort in 2005, and sent the fan, who started the mailing action, a gift of appreciation. This gift was Mr. Doctor's personal copy (number 1) of Sacrilegium. Handmade and written in a leather box and accompanied by a handmade, signed artwork with the word 'Astonished' on it.
In 2007, Mr. Doctor released a book called '45 Revolutions', under Hurdy Gurdy Books, another arm of the fan club label Hurdy Gurdy, which revealed his real name to be Mario Panciera. The book's strapline is "45 Revolutions is the definitive book on punk, mod, powerpop, new wave, NWOBHM, and indie singles issued in the UK and in Ireland between late 1976 and the end of 1979. Twenty years in the making. 1173 pages. 4550 color photos. 2885 b&w photos. Details of more than 3000 singles by over 2000 artists. Available only as a superior quality hardback."
In late 2008, Mr. Doctor also gave an interview to 'Burn' magazine, explaining the history of the five Devil Doll releases on the back of a re-release (and remaster) on the Japanese label 'Belle Antique'. He revealed that he continues to write and record Devil Doll music, though he has lost interest in releasing records. He also talks about his inspiration and his influences, as well as discussing his background in law and criminology.
Mr. Doctor also signed and hand numbered 50 of the sold out 100 box sets of the remastered CDs, 30 of which were sold to fan club members.
Final line-up
- Mr. DoctorMr. DoctorMr. Doctor is the leader of and creative drive behind the experimental rock band Devil Doll.For 20 years, from forming the band in 1987, he kept his identity a secret – revealing little more than that he was born in Slovenia, of Italian extraction, and lived in Venice...
- vocals - Francesco Carta - piano
- Sasha Olenjuk - violin
- Bor Zuljan - guitar
- Jani Hace - bass
- Roman Ratej - drums
- Davor Klaric - keyboards
- Michel Fantini Jesurum - pipe organ
Former
- Edoardo Beato - piano
- Katia Giubbilei - violin
- Albert Dorigo - guitar
- Rick Bosco - bass
- Roberto Dani - drums
- Lucko Kodermac - drums
Discography
- The Mark of the Beast (1988) (only one copy exists)
- The Girl Who Was... Death (1989)
- EliogabalusEliogabalusEliogabalus is the second official album by the Italian/Slovenian rock band Devil Doll, released on May 1, 1990 on Hurdy Gurdy Records.A concept by Mr. Doctor, the title of the album is a reference to the Roman Emperor Elagabalus.-Background:...
(1990) - SacrilegiumSacrilegiumSacrilegium is the third album by the rock band Devil Doll, released on May 1992 on Hurdy Gurdy Records.A concept created by Mr. Doctor, Sacrilegium is the first album by Devil Doll recorded as a single lineup, located in Ljubljana.-Track listing:...
(1992) - The Sacrilege of Fatal ArmsThe Sacrilege of Fatal ArmsThe Sacrilege of Fatal Arms is an album by Devil Doll. It is a reworked, remixed, extended version of their previous release Sacrilegium. It is the original soundtrack to the film of the same name, which was written and directed by Mr...
(1993) - Dies IraeDies Irae (album)Dies Irae is the fourth and final studio album by Devil Doll.A concept by Mr. Doctor, is inspired by the life and music of George Harvey Bone, the poems of Edgar Allan Poe, Emily Brontë, Emily Dickinson and Isidore Ducasse....
(1996)
External links
- VisitMyDreams.net - A forum dedicated to the art of Mr. Doctor and Devil Doll.
- DevilDoll.nl - A website with a fairly large amount of information about the band.
- Hurdy Gurdy - The Official Hurdy Gurdy Books website.
- Mr-Doctor - Mexican Newsgroup
- Mr.Doctor.tk - A website with information about Devil Doll.