Translucia

It’s probably not fair for me to write on this next band, for various reasons, but it’s my blog and I’ll do as I please. Sometime in the mid to late 90’s (I can’t be certain but I believe it was ’95) three musicians in Rochester came together to form a band that will forever be renowned by the fortunate few who got to hear them. Their music was Dark and hauntingly beautiful. They only had two releases, an EP and an album, but the emotion conveyed in those two albums is almost overwhelming. The vocals were from a girl I only know as Lisa. The guitar was played by a guy I only know as Erick. And the bass was played by, someone I was fortunate enough to know personally, Cavalier Anton Romagnolo, better known as Tony. Why he went by Tony rather than the much cooler sounding name Cavalier I will never know. What I do know was that he was an amazing bassist, producer and friend. Translucia was the name of the band they formed. Their music has an ethereal gothic (in the modern term) sound. I hate that the only band I can liken them to is the Cocteau Twins, but that’s the only band which has a sound in the same vein as them. Theirs is not a genre I’m overwhelmingly knowledgeable about. Their two releases were a 4 tack long self-titled EP and a 9 track, hour and 13 minute long, album Ghostpheria. I would never have known anything about them had it not been for the fact that my girlfriend at the time was one of Tony’s best friends. After I found out he had been in a band I asked a few time to hear some of his music. One day my girlfriend came over and she had a CD he had burned me with both albums on it. While I expected it to be good, I had no idea just how good it would be. Of all the music I’ve heard from any of the musicians I know personally, this stands out and above all of them (and I’ve got a friend with a Grammy). Of course personal preference dictates just how much you may like them, but the level of talent is undeniable. Translucia broke up in early 2000 and never released another album. Then tragically, my friend Tony passed away on November 29 of 2008. I’d only known Tony for a short period of time, but in that time he gave and taught me a lot. He taught me a lot about how music is made and which artists I should look into. I’m grateful for what time I had, though regretful for the things I didn’t get a chance to share. Translucia’s music is virtually impossible to find now. Both the EP and album are now out of print. I considered uploading and posting them, but don’t feel I have the right to give away their music. I will however post one track so that you can at least get a feel for who and what they were. You should be listening to Translucia, unfortunately, you likely never will…

See ya when I see ya Tony…
"WitherLily" 8:26 by Translucia from the Tranclucia EP