Thyrsis – Durnovaria

“The music swells with overpowering pastoral beauty" The Quietus.

“Brigg Fair brings images of pre-Raphaelite maidens and gallant knights” The Times.

Thyrsis is a project inspired as much by literature as music. Dominic Baum (vocals, piano, clarinet) describes these 2 elements as being "of equal status" in his mind, with the musical side tracing back to his "intense and somewhat repressive" early experience of choral music. Baum is not easily drawn on the content and themes of his lyrics, but speaks more liberally about his love of poets such as Walter Scott and Alfred Tennyson as well as fantasy authors such as William Morris and Mervyn Peake.

Baum's musical education began at school in Oxford, where he rehearsed and performed 6 days a week in the prestigious New College Choir. It took him around the world from the age of 10, touring countries such as Estonia, Latvia and the US, but Baum is less than effusive about the experience, describing it as "relentless" and "disorienting". Nevertheless, the fruits of that training are apparent in Baum's music today, most notably in his countertenor vocal style.

Although Baum's commitments as a chorister and a music scholar allowed him little time for creative pursuits of his own, he and classmate Nat Jones (guitar) used the scarce time available to them to write. They were active on the Oxford music scene throughout their teenage years, frequently playing venues such as The Jericho Tavern and The Cellar, accompanied by their friend Ebyan Rezgui (saxophone/flute), amongst others. It was at this time that they met Jake Kavanagh (drums) and Tim Davies (trumpet), a school friend of Jones who recorded many of their early demos. Though the songwriting is now done primarily by Baum, at Thyrsis' core is over a decade of collaborations and Friendships.

Having left school, these 5 went their separate ways to University. Baum retired music and began his studies in Philosophy at Cambridge University. However, Baum soon felt a desire to write again, and finding his Cambridge education only a little less confining than New College, he dropped out of Cambridge halfway through his first year and moved to London. Since then, Baum has been slowly developing an individual approach to songwriting, with the assistance of a number of old collaborators: an approach shaped by both the "love and resentment" he feels for traditional classical music. Thyrsis now perform as a 6 piece, completed by Frank Wright (double bass).

They have released 2 songs with Broadside Hacks since 2021. The first of those was Baum's adaptation of the folk song "Brigg Fair" for their "Songs Without Authors Vol. 1" compilation (It featured Katy J Pearson, Daragh Lynch (Lankum), Naima Bock, Yorkston Thorne Khan amongst others). The second of those was a recording of Thyrsis' original song "Godstow Bridge", recorded live at Real World Studios for British Underground's short film "The Broadside Hack".

Their early-2022 single release 'Rosalia' saw a collaboration with producer Taylor Skye (Jockstrap), the 2 having been introduced over Zoom during the pandemic. Their most recent single "Durnovaria" was recorded at Laylow with the production assistance of Nina Madley, and features harp from Slow Dance signing Aga Ujma (Crack Cloud/Broadside Hacks). Noting that "Durnovaria" was the Roman name for the town of Dorchester in Dorset, Baum remarks that "with it being the home of both my mother and Thomas Hardy, it's a place I think about often". After reading Robert Graves' Claudius novels and his translation of Suetonius, Baum was inspired to explore the Roman history of the region. Like the demos of their teenage years, the record was mixed and mastered by Tim Davies, who also played trumpet on the track.

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