PANTALEIMON (pan-ta-lay-mon) is the pseudonym of Andria Degens (dee-jens). The use of the name Pantaleimon was inspired by Lyra’s dæmon portrayed in the ‘Northern Lights’ trilogy by Philip Pullman.
Andria Degens was born on the 8th November in Caterham, Surrey, England and is descended from Dutch and Irish ancestry. Whilst in her early twenties, she took what she thought would be a brief trip around the globe, but it ended up lasting two and half years. During that long journey she experienced a series of epiphanies opening up another world to her . That world was the inspiration behind the music of Pantaleimon.
In the early nineties, Andria made little guest appearances with the band Wire (live at the Clapham Grand), Dirty Three (Andria appears on ‘Horse Stories’), and she has also contributed to the projects of Current 93 (‘Black Ships Ate The Sky’), Susan Stenger’s (Band of Susans) ‘Soundtrack For An Exhibition’, Irr. App. (Ext.), Nurse With Wound and Marc Pilley’s Hobotalk. Pantaleimon have also contributed music to Cam Archer’s film ‘Wild Tigers I Have Known’.