Based in Paris and formed in 1981 by Axel Kyrou, a self-taught musician with Greek, French and Palestinian origins. Vox Populi’s first official release (Ectoplasmies) was typical of this era, with industrial, ambient and strong coldwave influences.

With the addition in 1984 of Axel’s future wife, the singer Mitra, and her brother Arash on percussions and ney, the music took a new direction and dimension. This was very far from a typical world music act, since all the musicians were self-taught and not indebted to any musical tradition, thus opening opportunities for explorations in different ways. The “alchemy” also came from living together, and from a shared interest for the freedom spirituality of philosophers, such as Krishnamurti and Alan Watts. Axel set up a shifting musical environment which favored spontaneity and accidental processes, taking sometimes the music to esoteric heights.

The band was prolific till the beginning of the 90s, when it fell apart for various reasons. Axel went solo – still under the Vox Populi banner – releasing an EP and a CD with long-time friend and musical collaborator Pacific 231.

The rise of musical blogs raised a strong interest for the band, culminating in a series of reissues, including the musical milestone Half Dead Ganja Music and a vinyl-on-demand retrospective. In 2013, the compilation Funk Off, featuring VP and Pacific 231, was produced by DJ Cut Chemist, which exposed VP’s music to a larger audience.

Axel and Mitra reformed the band in 2013, with the help of drummer Pierre-Jean Grappin and bassist Stephane Lucido. In 2017, The Sublunar Society signed a record deal with Vox Populi and released Half Dead Ganja Music digitally. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.