Both members worked a lot in other projects in the years before. Conny played the violin for more than ten years and performed in many orchestras. She also sang in some classical choruses and as a soloist, and is familiar with baroque and romantic compositions like G.F. Handel, E. Grieg or Pergolesi.
Olaf was in his childhood a member of the "Stadtsingechor Halle", the oldest chorus of the world. Later, he played in many musical projects and bands, and also composed for TV. He studied musicology and philosophy.
In 1994 the second album, "Porta VIII" (Hyperium), was released. It has a concept based on the fairy tale "Ariadne et Barbe Bleue" by Maurice Maeterlinck, but "Porta VIII" is a continuation of the original fairy tale. This album too was selling more than 10 000 copies worldwide and climbed the Mexican charts.
Since 1997 there was a new line-up. Conny left sToa to follow her classical career, and the new singer was Antje Buchheiser. Buchheiser had been playing violin for more than eleven years, and had been singing in the classical chorus "Hallenser Madrigalisten". She performed a lot in classical music, in, among others, Germany, Japan and Cuba.
Another new member since 1996 was Christiane Fischer. She plays cello and is singing the second voice at live concerts. sToa signed to the German publisher Alster Musikverlag. In 1997 the band left their old label Hyperium for various reasons.
sToa performed sporadically at special places or events. They played for example at the Wave-Gotik-Treffen in a one hundred years old and eighty metres high monument in front of more than 1 000 people, at the “Zeche Carl” in Essen, in the Netherlands and several times in Mexico (inter alia with the Goethe-Institut).
In 2001 they finished their album "Zal". It was released worldwide, but first in Mexico at "Samadhi Musik". sToa signed to the German label "Alice in ...", where they released "Zal" for the rest of the world and re-released "Urthona" and "Porta VIII". The singer on "Zal" was Antje Buchheiser.
In 2008 sToa returned with international line-up. The new album "Silmand" was released on September 26th. "Silmand" means soul month. With it the month September is titled in an almost forgotten German dialect. The female voices on the album belong to sToa's new main-singer Mandy Bernhardt and the Australian multi-instrumentalist Louisa John-Krol. Furthermore, the Dutchman Pieter Nooten (Ex-Clan of Xymox) could be engaged as well as the Leipzig-based Ralf Jehnert (Love is Colder than Death). One of the songs on "Silmand" was already used as film score ("Tacitum"). The title of the song "Hanuz Nist" comes from the Persian lyrics written by Hassan Dehlawi at the 14th century.
Maare
sToa Lyrics
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Shikashi Soledemonao kagilinonai
Tshitsujoo Nashiteilu
Sokoshilenu Fukasao himeteilu Omae
(2.) Hateshinai Umiyo umiyo
Hateshinaku Hiloku sokoshilenu
Hateshinai Umiyo Umiyo
(Keiji Sayama/O. Parusel)
The lyrics to sToa's song Maare are in Japanese and speak of a love that is deep and mysterious, almost eerie in its intensity. The song is composed of two main parts, each containing several stanzas. The first part talks about a person (referred to as "omae" throughout the song) who is "never affected" by anything and is "silent as a grave." The singer then goes on to say that this person is a "sheep" who is "being led to slaughter." The second part of the song speaks of an endless sea and the waves that seem to go on forever. The singer describes the sea as being "silent and deep" and "endless like the night sky."
The meaning of the lyrics is open to interpretation, but it's clear that the singer is expressing a sense of deep passion and longing. The imagery of the song is dark and mysterious, as if the singer is trying to describe a love that is both beautiful and haunting. The use of metaphors and imagery in the lyrics is powerful and evocative and adds to the overall atmosphere of the song.
Line by Line Meaning
Keshite Yasura gukotononai omae
You never calm down, always restless, yet you hide your uneasiness.
Shikashi Soledemonao kagilinonai
But you don't show your vulnerability.
Tshitsujoo Nashiteilu
You pretend to be in control.
Sokoshilenu Fukasao himeteilu Omae
You cover up your deep wounds with a calm exterior.
Hateshinai Umiyo umiyo
The endless sea, it goes on and on.
Hateshinaku Hiloku sokoshilenu
Continuing ceaselessly, deep and calm.
Hateshinai Umiyo Umiyo
The endless sea, it goes on and on.
Contributed by Jayce T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.