Stoa

sToa was founded in 1991 in Germany. Olaf Parusel (composition/arrangement) looked at this time for a new way to connect his musical and philosophical thoughts. He found a voice in Conny Levrow. In the same year the first song "Stoa" was released on the compilation "From Hypnotic ... to Hypersonic" (Hyperium). The CD "Urthona" (Hyperium) followed in 1992. This CD sold ten thousand copies worldwide. Both members worked a lot in other projects in the years before. Conny played the violin for more than ten years and performed in many orchestras. Besides this she sang in some classical choruses and as a soloist. She is familiar with baroque and romantic compositions like G.F. Handel, E. Grieg or Pergolesi. Olaf was in his childhood a member of the "Stadtsingechor Halle" the oldest chorus of the world. Later he played in many musical projects and bands. He also composed for TV. He studied musicology and philosophy. In 1994 the second CD "Porta VIII" (Hyperium) was released. This CD is an album with a concept based on the fairy tale "Ariadne et Barbe Bleue" by Maurice Maeterlinck. But Porta VIII is a continuation of the original fairy tale. This album too was selling too more than 10.000 copies worldwide and climbed the mexican charts. Since 1997 there was a new line-up. Conny left sToa for following her classical career. The new singer was Antje Buchheiser. She was playing violin for more than eleven years. And she was singing in the classical chorus "Hallenser Madrigalisten". She performed a lot in classical music for example in Germany, Japan, Cuba ... Another new member since 1996 is Christiane Fischer. She plays the Cello and is singing the second voice at live concerts. sToa signed to the german publisher Alster Musikverlag. In 1997 sToa left their old label Hyperium for various reasons. sToa performed sporadically at special places or events. They played for example at the Wave-Gotik-Treffen in a one hundred years old and eighty metres high monument in front of more than 1.000 people, at the “Zeche Carl” in Essen, in the netherlands and several times in Mexico (inter alia with the Goethe-Institut). In 2001 they finished their album "Zal". It has been released worldwide first in Mexico at "Samadhi Musik". sToa signed to the german label "Alice in ...".There they released "Zal" for the rest of the world and re-released "Urthona" and "Porta VIII". The singer on "Zal" was Antje Buchheiser. In 2008 sToa returns with international line-up. The new album "Silmand" will be released on September 26th. "Silmand" means soul month. With it the month September is titled in an almost forgotten German dialect. The female voices on the album belong to sToas new main-singer Mandy Bernhardt and the Australian multi-instrumentalist Louisa John-Krol. Also the Dutchman Pieter Nooten (Ex-Clan of Xymox) could be engaged as well as the Leipzig-based Ralf Jehnert (Love is Colder than Death). One of the songs on "Silmand" was already used as film score (Tacitum). The title of "Hanuz Nist" song comes from the persian lyrics written by Hassan Dehlawi at the 14th century.