Sfinx -

Sfinx was a Romanian symphonic/hard-rock band that released two singles, two EPs, and three albums between 1972 and 1984 on Electrecord. Their first album, Lume Albă, includes the national rock classic “Om Bun.” In 1978, they made a concept album based on the Greek diety Zalmoxe.

Members: Corneliu “Bibi” Ionescu (bass), Octav Zemlicka (vocals, guitar), Idu Barbu (keyboards), Cristian Valica (drums), Petre Iordache (French horn), Sergiu Zagardan (drums), Toni Niculescu (keyboards), Adrian Ivaniţchi (guitar), Marian Toroimac (drums), Dan Andrei Aldea (vocals, guitar, keyboards, violin, recorder, harmonica), Silviu Hera (guitar), Doru Donciu (flute), Mişu Cernea (drums, vocals), Sandu Grosu (keyboards), Dan Bădulescu (guitar, vocals), Nicolae Enache (keyboards), Sorin Chifiriuc (vocals, guitar), Doru Apreotesei (keyboards), Edwin Surin (keyboards), Mircea Romcescu (guitar)

Background

Sfinx formed in Bucharest in 1963 when singer-guitarist Octav Zemlicka assembled a lineup with bassist Corneliu “Bibi” Ionescu and drummer Cristian Valica. The group made its first public appearance at Casa de Cultură “1 Mai” in Bucharest and spent the following summer season on the Black Sea circuit.

Their early lineups added Mecet guitarist-harmonica player Victor Florescu, then saxophonist–French horn player Petre Iordache. The group reached Romanian radio with “Îmi place muzica” and “Sfinx” before the 1967 lineup of Zemlicka, Ionescu, Iordache, keyboardist Idu Barbu, and drummer Sergiu Zagardan. Sfinx then welcomed multi-instrumentalist Dan Andrei Aldea, a Bucharest music high-school student who had played with Toroimac in the Romanian group Memphis.

Aldea left after several months to form Cărăbuş, while Sfinx continued with Ionescu, keyboardist Toni Niculescu, drummer Marian Toroimac, and guitarist Silviu Hera. Aldea returned in 1970 and remade Sfinx as a trio with Ionescu and Toroimac.

Sfinx worked Bucharest rooms such as Student Club and Modern Club 303, with further appearances at Teatrul Ţăndărică. The trio introduced original titles including “Şir de cocori,” “Doină,” “Blues absurd,” “Purgatoriu,” and “Verde crud.” Sfinx appeared at the second Club A Festival, where the group performed “Languir me fait,” an Aldea adaptation of a George Enescu lied, and won the composition prize for “Şir de cocori.” The group also began music-and-poetry work at Teatrul Lucia Sturza Bulandra with Gil Dobrică, Florian Pittiş, Ion Caramitru, and Mira Moreno.

Toroimac left before the first single, leaving Aldea and Ionescu in a drummerless configuration with flautist Doru Donciu. In 1972, Sfinx made their vinyl debut with “Şir de cocori” (b/w “Languir me fais”) on Electrecord.

Sfinx

Sfinx released their four-song EP Sfinx in 1974 on Electrecord.

The EP presents compact rock and folk-derived settings with vocalist/guitarist Dan Andrei Aldea, bassist Corneliu “Bibi” Ionescu, vocalist/drummer Mihai Cernea, and guest reed/horn player Petre Iordache. Cernea wrote the opening pair, Aldea wrote “Fiii soarelui,” and Iordache set a Mihai Eminescu text for “Peste vîrfuri.”

Iordache adds saxophone to “Coborîse primăvara” and French horn to “Peste vîrfuri.” Sfinx use the trio’s guitar-bass-drum frame on “Coborîse primăvara” and “Fiii soarelui.” “Ziua ta” and “Peste vîrfuri” place the sung line in a lighter folk-pop setting with piano and horn tone.

A1. “Coborîse primăvara” [Spring Had Descended] (2:18) – Cernea / Carianopol
A2. “Ziua ta” [Your Birthday] (3:36) – Cernea
B1. “Fiii soarelui” [Sons of the Sun] (2:55) – Aldea
B2. “Peste vîrfuri” [Over the Peaks] (2:52) – Iordache / Eminescu

Lume Albă

Sfinx released their debut album, Lume Albă, in 1975 on Electrecord.

Lume albă blends progressive rock, hard-rock, folk, and short jazz-colored passages with guitarist/keyboardist Dan Andrei Aldea, guitarist Dan Bădulescu, bassist Corneliu Ionescu, and drummer Mihai Cernea — all vocalists barring Ionescu. Aldea wrote music for five credited pieces, while Cernea and Bădulescu composed three and two, respectively.

“Răsărit, Călătorul și Copacul” pivots from a bright synth jaunt into a stripped piano passage, then settles on buoyant sung lines and violin detail. “Secolul Vitezei” charges through hard accents and animated key runs. “Sinteze” marches under electric solo passages, then drops into a section where the guitar figure turns percussive against the kit. “Magelan” twists through a darker theme, a sharp early section change, clean synth leads, and clear voice placement. “Lume albă” slows around wordless voices, reverberant lead figures, background low-end motion, and a spacy upper-register line.

“Hora de Băieți” enters with a heavier edge and direct song movement. “Norul” gallops with firmer rock drive and more active lead work. “Muntele” tightens around matched guitar-and-bass motion, semi-symphonic keyboard runs, hard breaks, and shifting climates. “Om Bun” recedes into archaic folk color with poetic voices, traditional flute lines, and light low-register support.

A1. “Răsărit / Călătorul și copacul” [Sunrise / The Traveler and the Tree] (4:20) – Bădulescu; Cernea / Pann
A2. “Secolul vitezei” [The Age of Speed] (3:20) – Aldea
A3. “Sinteze” [Syntheses] (6:55) – Aldea
A4. “Magelan” [Magellan] (2:50) – Bădulescu
A5. “Lume albă” [White World] (2:30) – Cernea

B1. “Horă de băieți” [Boys’ Hora] (4:35) – Cernea / Arghezi
B2. “Norul” [The Cloud] (4:35) – Aldea / Shelley, Philippide
B3. “Muntele” [The Mountain] (6:55) – Aldea / Gott
B4. “Om bun” [Good Man] (3:05) – Aldea

Sfinx recorded Lume Albă with producer Iulia Maria Cristea and engineer Theodor Negrescu, who worked beforehand with Aura Urziceanu and Phoenix.

Zalmoxe

Sfinx released their second album, Zalmoxe, in 1978 on Electrecord.

Zalmoxe sets Alexandru Basarab texts around the Dacian figure Zalmoxe, the Geto-Dacian religious figure associated in ancient Greek accounts with immortality and the afterlife. Guitarist/keyboardist Dan Andrei Aldea composed six of nine pieces, performed with bassist Corneliu “Bibi” Ionescu, drummer/percussionist Mihai Cernea, and keyboardist Nicolae Enache.

“Ursitoarele” intones an archaic choral opening, then breaks into a heated instrumental passage with guitar over soft key beds and firm kit accents. “Blana de Urs” brightens through close harmonies, rounded refrain shapes, and a clean pop-prog lift. “Mierea” hovers in wider space, with bell-like cymbal accents, period synth padding, and a measured guitar solo. “Peștera” rattles through hand-played percussion and sitar-like color before a compact synth lead. “Epiphania” opens on soft padding, acoustic-guitar figures, and ballad-placed voices, then swells after the midpoint into broader key figures and large kit fills.

“Furtuna cu Trup de Balaur” thickens the arrangement with later-seventies sheen while older hard-rock accents still ground the track. “Călătorul Prin Nori” drifts in open, ethereal tones before its second half expands without much forward motion. “Kogaion” creeps through a darker chant-like theme, low register, and unsettling left-right kit placement. “Epilog” descends into a low, slow close with a broad final contour.

A1. “Ursitoarele” [The Fates] (5:30) – Aldea / Basarab
A2. “Blana de urs” [Bear’s Fur] (4:00) – Aldea / Basarab
A3. “Mierea” [Honey] (4:28) – Cernea / Basarab
A4. “Peștera” [The Cave] (4:10) – Aldea / Basarab
A5. “Epiphania” [Epiphany] (4:11) – Aldea / Basarab

B1. “Furtuna cu trup de balaur” [Storm with a Dragon Body] (4:53) – Enache / Basarab
B2. “Călătorul prin nori” [The Traveler Through Clouds] (6:26) – Cernea / Basarab
B3. “Kogaion” [Kogaion] (5:28) – Aldea
B4. “Epilog” [Epilogue] (3:00) – Aldea / Basarab

Zalmoxe sessions occurred under returning soundmen Iulia Maria Cristea and Theodor Negrescu, who engineered recent titles by FFN, Marius Popp, and Progresiv TM. Alexandru Andrieș designed the Zalmoxe graphics.

Sfinx 2 | “Focuri vii”

Sfinx released the three-song EP Sfinx 2 in 1980 on Electrecord and issued “Focuri vii” / “’49–’50” on the same label.

The 1980 releases present the last Aldea-era studio material. Sfinx 2 pairs Dan Andrei Aldea with Corneliu “Bibi” Ionescu and Mihai Cernea. “Focuri vii” reinstates keyboardist Idu Barbu beside the core trio. “Fetele albinele” uses the Arghezi poem “Miere și ceară” and carries a 7/8 pattern with synthesizer detail.

A1. “Din nou acasă” [Home Again] (4:31) – Aldea / Iosif
B1. “Zmeul” [The Kite] (2:41) – Cernea
B2. “Fetele albinele (Miere și ceară)” [The Bee Girls (Honey and Wax)] (2:22) – Aldea / Arghezi

A. “Focuri vii” [Living Fires] – Aldea / Barbu
B. “’49–’50” [1949–1950] – Cernea / Barbu

Iulia Maria Cristea produced Sfinx 2 with engineer Theodor Negrescu. Mugur Midan designed the sleeve.

Sfinx

Sfinx released their third album, Sfinx, in 1984 on Electrecord.

The album also carries the informal title Albumul albastru [The Blue Album]. Sfinx rebuild the lineup around drummer/vocalist Mihai Cernea, bassist Corneliu “Bibi” Ionescu, guitarist/vocalist Sorin Chifiriuc, and keyboardist/vocalist Doru Apreotesei. Guest keyboardists Călin Alexandru and Alexandru Grosu appear with percussionist Mircea Marcovici.

Sfinx moves the band into shorter song forms with bright keyboard registers, electronic percussion surfaces, and compact sung refrains. “Într-un cer violet” appropriates the baroque waltz theme of “Golden Brown” by The Stranglers.

A1. “An după an” [Year After Year] (3:57) – Cernea / Turconi
A2. “Pe pămînt pace” [Peace on Earth] (4:23) – Chifiriuc / Andrieș
A3. “Rostul vieții” [The Purpose of Life] (6:25) – Apreotesei / Odangiu
A4. “Cîntă cu mine” [Sing with Me] (4:00) – Apreotesei / Andrieș

B1. “Patru anotimpuri cu tine” [Four Seasons with You] (5:42) – Apreotesei / Andrieș
B2. “Zîna serii” [The Evening Fairy] (3:13) – Cernea / Andrieș
B3. “Într-un cer violet” [In a Violet Sky] (3:40) – Chifiriuc / Andrieș
B4. “Carul Mare” [The Big Dipper] (5:11) – Chifiriuc

Sfinx sessions occurred under producer Ștefan Cărăpănceanu (Holograf, Magneton) and returning soundman Theodor Negrescu, who worked concurrently with Iris and Táltos.

Postlude

After Sfinx, Mișu Cernea directed a remade lineup through a late-eighties circuit built around foreign discotheque contracts. The 1985 configuration placed Cernea with singer–percussionist Zoia Alecu, singer–keyboardist Crina Mardare, guitarist Florin Ochescu, and keyboardist Mihai Coman. Doru Apreotesei remained in Denmark after a 1985 engagement, and Mircea Romcescu returned for a later lineup. Between 1987 and 1990, singer-guitarist Laurențiu Cazan and guitarist Adrian Ordean also worked under the Sfinx name.

The Sfinx name split in the early nineties. Bassist Corneliu “Bibi” Ionescu led a short-lived Sfinx Pro with Mihai Coman, guitarist Cristi Rus, and Paul Negoiţă, while Cernea formed Sfinx Experience with keyboardist–trumpeter Doru Căplescu, vocalists Mardare and Alecu, singer Paul Csucsi, and bassist Marcel Avădanei. Ionescu soon moved Sfinx Pro from a performing unit into a stage-equipment company, later renamed Stage Expert.

Sfinx Experience became the active branch of the name. The group played the 1994 Cerbul de Aur festival in Braşov, worked mostly outside Romania during the mid-Nineties, and appeared at the 1997 Mamaia festival. Cernea revised the lineup again in 2000, then issued the Sfinx Experience albums Balcano and Sfinxstambul. His later Sfinx Experience company moved into concert production and event staging in Bucharest.

Discography: