Ataraxia details 30th studio album ‘Sylfaera the Fair’ and reveals title track video
Ataraxia
Italian neoclassical dark folk band Ataraxia will release their 30th studio album “Sylfaera the Fair” on 21 May 2026 via the Greek label The Circle Music. The record closes a trilogy that began with “Pomegranate (The Chant of the Elementals)” in 2022 and continued with “Centaurea” in 2024.
Musically “Sylfaera the Fair” offers dark and ritual folk that draws on medieval and nordic musical colours, built around uilleann pipes, bouzouki, tribal percussion and layered vocals, with keyboards, guitars and timpani providing the orchestral backbone. The album’s narrative follows a quest undertaken by a fellowship of artists and warriors, culminating on a plateau of white stone and waterfalls under a full moon, where their energies move from matter to spirit and into a new psycho-spiritual state.
The story links directly to the band’s concept of “travelling stones”: one hundred hand-drawn stones painted with an eye motif, each paired with a handwritten oracle inspired by a Greek deity or mythic figure. Buyers of the limited box set receive one unique stone as a talisman together with an individual oracle.
“Sylfaera the Fair” will be available in three physical editions through The Circle Music:
- A standard edition Digi CD with a 16-page booklet.
- A marbled transparent turquoise and black vinyl edition limited to 400 copies. It comes with a printed inner sleeve.
- A luxurious black box embossed in silver, limited to 100 copies worldwide. It contains a silver vinyl pressing of “Sylfaera the Fair” with printed insert, the Digi CD, a numbered certificate of authenticity, a 16-page art booklet, one of the hand-painted Travelling Stones with pendant necklace, and a handwritten oracle by the band.
Note that “Muirreann” (CD bonus track) is not included on the LP edition.
The album was recorded, mixed and mastered by guitarist Vittorio Vandelli between April and December 2025, with artwork concept and layout by Nicolas Ramain. The core line-up consisted of Francesca Nicoli (vocals, bells, chimes), Vittorio Vandelli (bouzouki, classical and electric guitars, drums, programming, backing vocals) and Giovanni Pagliari (keyboards, horn, backing vocals, programming), with contributions from Gregorio Bellodi (uilleann pipes, low and high whistles, bodhrán, backing vocals) and Alessia Baraldi (backing vocals).
Watch and stream the new Ataraxia single ‘Sylfaera’
The title track “Sylfaera” is already available as a digital single on platforms such as Spotify and Tidal. The band has also released an official video for “Sylfaera”.
About Ataraxia
Ataraxia is a neoclassical dark wave and dark folk band from Modena and Reggio Emilia in northern Italy. The group was founded in the second half of the 1980s by vocalist Francesca Nicoli and guitarist Michele Urbano, with the line-up stabilising around Nicoli, guitarist and composer Vittorio Vandelli, and keyboardist Giovanni Pagliari in the early 1990s. Their work combines electronic technology with archaic and acoustic instruments, and their lyrics frequently reference nature, ancient cultures and mythological themes, often performed in historically resonant locations.
In their first years Ataraxia issued self-released recordings such as “Prophetia” and “Nosce Te Ipsum” before working with labels including Energeia and Cruel Moon International, gradually building an extensive discography across cassette, CD and vinyl formats. Late-1990s albums such as “Historiae” explored medieval and liturgical atmospheres; the album was later issued by Ark Records and documented both studio and live recordings, including material captured in a medieval court in 1998.
During the 2000s the band continued to refine its blend of neoclassical, ethereal and folk-influenced material on releases like “Suenos” and “Os Cavaleiros do Templo,” with several titles later revisited. Twilight Records reissued long-deleted works including “Saphir” and “Os Cavaleiros do Templo.”
In 2016 Ataraxia released “Deep Blue Firmament” via Sleaszy Rider Records. Subsequent full-lengths included “Synchronicity Embraced” (2018) and “Quasar” (stylised as “ΘUASAR”).
The collaboration with The Circle Music began with the 28th studio album “Pomegranate (The Chant of the Elementals)”, released in 2022 on digital, CD and vinyl formats. Ahead of that album the band issued several videos, including “Hlara Aralh” and “Aura Magi.”
Ataraxia’s 29th studio album “Centaurea” followed in 2024, again on The Circle Music in digital, CD and vinyl editions. Singles and videos from this period included “The Source,” “Galen,” “Viriditas,” “Coelestis” and “Ignis Pater.”
And now there is the band’s 30th album “Sylfaera the Fair”.
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