What do you get when you cross Pythagorean philosophy with orchestral and electronic music? E.S. Posthumus.
Based on the philosophy that music is made from a harmonization of opposites and the conciliation of warring elements, E.S. Posthumus was a music group that produced cinematic-style music. The group's music style was classical with a sprinkling of modern drum and electronic elements.
The group was formed in 2000 by brothers Helmut and Franz Vonlichten. Both of them played the piano. Franz worked in music studios since graduating from high school, and Helmut went to UCLA to study archeology. If you've ever seen any popular movies, trailers, or television shows you may have heard some of their work. If you're an NFL fan, their composition "Posthumus Zone" has been the theme music for CBS' NFL coverage since 2003.
The group met an untimely end when Franz died in 2010. At the time, the brothers had begun work on a Christmas album, but only one track from that project had been (mostly) completed, "Christmas Eve". Helmut completed the track, released it that November as a tribute to his brother, and a year later formed a new band, Les Friction, that remains active.
Discography:
- 2001 - Unearthed
- 2008 - Cartographer
- 2010 - Makara
This band contains examples of:
-
Colbert Bump: E.S. Posthumus received one when the brothers worked with Jay-Z and Rihanna for the Super Bowl in 2010. - Concept Album: Cartographer is about a map that was discovered in 1929 and the race of explorers that could have made this map.
- Indecipherable Lyrics: They're meant to be undecipherable, as they're from a fictional Latin derivative. Doesn't stop some people from trying to translate them.
- Location Theme Naming: All of the tracks of Unearthed are named after ancient cities/locations of varying significance.
- Menouthis, a sacred city in Ancient Egypt, was submerged in the 8th century AD due to earthquakes or flooding.
- Meaningful Name: The band's name stands for Experimental Sounds (ES) and "posthumus" is Dog Latin for "all things past."
- Their albums often have meaningful names as well.
- Ominous Latin Chanting: In most of their songs: Numanian
/Numadian, Helmut Vonlichten says, is "a Latin derivative language and, therefore, sounds similar to many of the Romance languages. The use of a secret language encourages the listener to engage their own imagination and, thereby, create an unique personal interpretation." - Symphonic Metal
- With Lyrics: Cartographer.
