Unearthed

“We had no idea if our experiment would appeal to anyone, ourselves included. Our first run of CDs was under 1000 and we figured that we would sell maybe 11 and the other 989 would end up as coasters. Thankfully, we were wrong.”
Helmut Vonlichten, 2008

Profile

E.S. Posthumus was formed in 2000 by brothers Helmut and Franz Vonlichten.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, they studied music with their mother, a classically trained pianist. Out of high school, Helmut attended and graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a degree in Archaeology. Franz set his sights on recording studios and honed his skills in engineering and producing. Their compositions are inspired by the Pythagorean Philosophy which states that “music is the harmonization of opposites; the conciliation of warring elements”. They find beauty in contrasts and apply this principle to melody, harmony, rhythm and orchestration.

Track Listings

Front Cover

The Inspiration of Saint Matthew by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio.

Notes

• The track titles refer to names of archaeological sites and ancient cities or provinces that once stood in history, except for a few of them which are still around to this day.
• In a similar fashion to Cartographer, it’s likely that the lyrics used throughout the album are based on a derivative language created by the Vonlichtens, a combination of languages to make it difficult to decipher.
• The melodies and instruments utilised seem to be somewhat indicative of the location, despite Franz having once stated that there’s no unifying theme to the geography.
• The Ulaid were a people of early Ireland that lived on an old province known as Ulster. The Uilleann Pipes used throughout Ulaid is a characteristic instrument of Ireland.
• The vocals in Antissa are not performed by Luna Sans. She was introduced to the Vonlichtens in 2002.