Born on July 8: Rodney Orpheus (The Cassandra Complex), high priest of dark wave

Forty years dedicated to the underground and a form of occultism. The career of Rodney Orpheus, born in 1960, is far from straightforward. It’s rather “Complex.” That’s the least one can say...

Born in Northern Ireland, Rodney Orpheus spent his childhood in Leeds (England), where his band, The Cassandra Complex, was formed in the early ’80s. Although it wasn’t until March 1985 that their first self-produced single—aptly titled “March”— was released... Rodney has the soul of a nomad. He’s traveled from Hamburg, Germany (where he set up a recording studio) to Brussels—the home base of his label Play It Again Sam —in the early ’90s, as well as to California. Still fascinated by technology, he now serves as a lecturer at colleges and music schools.

He also writes books that could be described as esoteric, such as Abracadabra, which, in his own words, aims to “better understand the Thelemic magic of Aleister Crowley,” one of the leading figures of 19th-century English occultism.

For over 40 years, Rodney has been releasing music at regular intervals under the name The Cassandra Complex, a band clearly centered around his personality. Musically, the sound leans toward post-punk incantations tinged with industrial electro that inevitably evoke Joy Division or Sisters of Mercy. Although a touch of humor can sometimes be detected on tracks such as “Hotline To Elvis.” 

For about a year now, Rodney has once again revived his band and hit the road to spread the word and celebrate The Cassandra Complex’s 40th anniversary in style, supported by Paul Dillon and Andy Booth, who are also founding members of the project.

As a reminder, the Cassandra syndrome (or complex), inspired by Greek mythology, refers to those situations we’ve all experienced when we choose to ignore warnings or alarming signs. During the Trojan War, Cassandra tried in vain to convince her fellow citizens that the horse of the same name was a trap…

Photo: Rodney Orpheus (fourth from the left) with The Cassandra Complex before their concert at Les Halles de Schaerbeek in Brussels (Belgium) on October 9, 1986