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Fun Stuff => BAND => Topic started by: KharBevNor on 11 Apr 2006, 21:15
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Anyone else here interested in/listen to neo-folk?
I am absolutely in love with neo-folk. My first exposure to the style was when I picked up 'EmptinessEmptinessEmptiness' by :Of The Wand And The Moon: based on a last.fm recommendation. I really liked it, but for some reason, I didn't really bother seeking out anything else in the same style until I really got into Agalloch. Upon finding out that 'Kneel to the Cross' was a cover, I dug out 'Death of the West' by Sol Invictus, and was instantly hooked. A quest for similiar artists picked me up 'Cats Drunk on Copper' and '...And the World Dissapears' by Current 93 and 'Rose Clouds of Holocaust' by Death in June, and then it went on from there. I'm now in the process of writing material for and recording my own neo-folk project, entitled 'Ill Met By Moonlight'.
Neo-folk and related bands I like:
Agalloch
Backworld
Der Bluthsarch
Boyd Rice and Friends
Changes
Coil
Corvus Corax
Current 93
Dead Can Dance
Death in June
Finntroll*
Fire+Ice
Gae Bolg & The Church of Fand
In Gowan Ring
Íslandsklukkur
The Moon Lay Hidden Beneath a Cloud
Nest
Nurse With Wound
:Of The Wand And The Moon:
One For Jude
Ostara
Paul Giovanni and Magnet
Sol Invictus
*Listen to 'Visor Om Slutet' pure neo-folk brilliance.
Anyone got any thoughts? Good recommendations? I'm leaving out there all the renaissance folk, new-age, celtic, folk rock, irish pub etc. stuff I listen to, although arguably Paul Giovanni falls into that. I include him simply because of how influential the Wicker Man soundtrack has been acknowledged to have been.
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Dead can Dance rules, aside from them, which one of those would you especially reccomend?
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The three albums I'd recommend are:
Current 93 - Cats Drunk on Copper
Death in June - Rose Clouds of Holocaust
Sol Invictus - The Devils Steed
Those three bands could be said to be the 'core' of Neo-Folk, and those three albums give a good cross-section of the sort of sounds neo-folk encompasses. Sol Invictus - rawer finish and a lot of orchestrated depth, gives a sort of bleak feeling. Current 93 - simple, even sparse instrumentation and intense vocals and lyrics. Death in June - very atmospheric, very much the 'stereotypical' neo-folk sound. Neo-folk lyrics are generally quite good however: What I love about neo-folk is that it's similiar to extreme metal, in that topics are dark, thoughtful, mystical and there are no areas out of bounds.
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Personally more into freak-folk (Banhart, Newsom) and modern folk-rock (Bright Eyes, Okkervil River, etc.) myself.
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I'd recommend Songs of Green Pheasant, but it may be a bit too acoustic for you. Still worth checking out.
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How is it possible to be 'a bit too acoustic'?
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Well, there could be too much sound.
You see, because all sound is technically acoustic... I'm going to shut up now.
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Feathers and Fursaxa are two neo-folk (or rather psych-folk) bands (OK, so Fursaxa is one person, I think) that I've been getting into recently. I mean, I think they're folky.
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I'll probably get around to checking out some more of these bands, but Agalloch's The Mantle was one of my favourite cds all through highschool. Grand grand album.
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How is it possible to be 'a bit too acoustic'?
How about "not as ambient/industrial as most neo-folk" then? (by which I mean, it's not neo-folk, unless neo-folk is redefined as "modern-folk")
I'm going to shut up now.
Promise? ;)
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Some bands
Fuck I never know what you're talking about. You're cool though.
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Neofolk is brilliant. Although I started listening to it only earlier this year it completelly hooked me. Death In June, Sol Invictus and Of The Wand And The Moon are my personal favorites.
I also have two Neofolk collection CDs with bands like Sonne Hagal, The Well Of Sadness, Division S, Novo Homo and such.
BTW, anyone heard of this (http://hydepark.hevre.co.il/hydepark/upload07/060214_132531-999_FlyerDIJengl3.jpg) contest?
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I like the World Serpent stuff and :Of The Wand And The Moon: but most newer folk noir/neo-folk bands disappoint me*. If everything goes as planned, I'll see Current 93 live in Prague at the end of May. Death In June's gig in Tampere, Finland a few years ago was very good. I'm still angry at myself for not going to Coil's show in Finland back when they still existed.
* mostly because they consentrate on releasing extremely limited editions of their 3 song mini albums in handmade wooden boxes made from some tree species developed by nazi scientists during the glory of the Third Reich or some shit like that.
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Corvus Corax
Saw em live several times, quite funny.
I think you have to add fiddlers green and flogging molly to your list.
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BTW, anyone heard of this (http://hydepark.hevre.co.il/hydepark/upload07/060214_132531-999_FlyerDIJengl3.jpg) contest?
Holy SHIT I gotta enter that.
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I already have a photo I took in Auschwitz to go with the lyrics from This Is Not Paradise.
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I've never really gotten into the genre, but I pretty much like everything I've heard of it. Which really is limited to Agalloch, Visor Om Slutet and a little Sol Invictus.
Also, Khar, where are Íslandsklukkur from? I'm Icelandic and I've never heard of them.
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Er, they're from Iceland I believe :o
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Every band on your list is either kickass, or being currently downloaded.
However, no Qntal = wtf. Seriously. :)
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Two Gallants, anyone?
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Here's a YSI download for Qntal II for anyone who doesn't know the band. (http://s63.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2BFFHLT1SAJMQ2I0LBEC16DZDD)
My fave neo-folk band ever, and honestly you could quite possibly take "neo-folk" out of that statement. Seeing them live last summer was a quasi-religious expderience.
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I don't really care much for Neo-folk. I only came to know of it through a feature Geiger(danish music mag) had on World Serpent. That and having listened to :Of The Wand And The Moon:'s Lucifer, which was a bit boring. Beyond I have heard a couple of Death in June tunes(She Said Destroy and others) but nothing really sparked my interest. But it is still hella cool that Kim Larsen rocks his pagan neo-folk, even if as good as no danes listen to it.
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I have a feeling you might like Current 93. In fact, I have a feeling a lot of indie-type people might like Current 93, if Dave Tibets intensity isn't too uncool or something. He mainly sings about kittens, Aleister Crowley, the unbearable pain of existence, christian and buddhist gnostic mysticism, horsies etc. etc. He's done some collaborative work with Nick Cave. It's just...so fucking DEEP. I mean fuck. Cats Drunk on Copper [Live at the Union Chapel] sends shivers down my spine every time I listen to it. I'm sure a good number of the audience must have been reduced to tears.
Current 93 - A Song For Douglas After He's Dead (http://s52.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2U82YWU4W034P3VQU0JVM6YPDO)
Current 93 - The Bloodbells Chime (http://s53.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3L1VEIDY8Z2JH0MU6S3JAUU7QI)
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I'm certainly a C93, Death in June and Coil fan, and to this I have but one thing to say: Legendary Pink Dots. L... P... D.
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It's not bad, I am not sure if I really his solemn voice but that mentioning of pussydom manage to keep it out of self-parody.
But this is a long way from stuff like Dogs Blood Rising right?
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Yeah, the earlier stuff, Dogs Blood Rising, In Menstrual Night etc. are completely different. I don't spin them much. It's good stuff, but I can only take so much nursery rhymes sung over machine gun fire and screams of JESUS WEPT JESUS WEPT, you know?
I'll tell you something that is good in that vein though, 'Bright Yellow Moon' by Current 93/Nurse With Wound.
YOU GOTTA GO TO HELL ON DE BLACK DIAMOND TRAIN
YOU GOTTA GO TO HELL ON DE BLACK DIAMOND TRAIN
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Current 93 - A Song For Douglas After He's Dead
Hav'nt listened to it yet, but is Tibet reffering to Dougles P.?
I still cant believe I dont know Current 93.
As you probably know, they (DIJ,SI,C93,NWW) were all friends and members of various left wing punk bands (like Crisis, with Dougles P. of DIJ and Tony W. of SI). Tony was also in DIJ when it first started.
BTW, whenever you hear that that scene is nazi, its pretty much bullshit. Hell, two years ago DIJ had a concert here in Tel Aviv. And Der Blutharsch were very close to go live here with Novo Homo. But some Israeli ministers got mail with "proof" that Der Blutharsch were nazi, and the concert was cancelled. Der Blutharsch issued a special collection CD to Israeli fans and a t-shirt that had the band's logo on it and written in hebrew "Ha-Gdood Ha-Ivri" which means "The Hebrew Regiment".
All can be found here (http://www.theeasternfront.org/)
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I'm certainly a C93, Death in June and Coil fan, and to this I have but one thing to say: Legendary Pink Dots. L... P... D.
LEGENDARY PINK DOTS FTW
Also, Neo Folk is amazing stuff.
And to whoever said that Flogging Molly should be added to the list: Fuck off. No, seriously, just... No. (shitty) Irish rock is not neo folk.
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If you're referring to my comment, I don't imply that all neo-folk artists are right-wing fucks, just that there are some who go beyond the aesthetic. Just like there are in the industrial scene, the black metal scene and so on.
I wouldn't support Death In June and their kin, if I'd think they're nazi/fascist/racist/whatever.
He's done some collaborative work with Nick Cave.
Also with Björk, on the album Island. What is it with crazy industrial/occult types going to Iceland? Current 93 and Killing Joke have both done it. I was this close to going to Iceland as an exchange student, but I ended up here instead.
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I know you didnt, I just wanted to mentoined it. I came across an artical about how DIJ and NON are nazis who had connections with the KKK. I just wanted to call bullshit on that before someone gets the wrong idea.
Every scene has its assholes and nazis, you just have to ignore them. People who are new to said scene can think that the nazis and assholes are the scene because those fuckers allways want attention. While the quality stuff is happy with making music.
edit: now listening to Current 93, its brilliant.
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On the whole, 'DIJ are Nazis' front, I'm just gonna cross-post from my blog.
"Please fuck will someone get a brain, learn french and actually read the lyrics of Death in June - Klaus Barbie and think about them.
I will translate them for you:
Where is Klaus Barbie?
Where is Klaus Barbie?
Where is Klaus Barbie?
Where is Klaus Barbie?
He is in the heart.
He is in the heart.
He is in the black heart.
He is in the heart.
Where is Klaus Barbie?
Where is Klaus Barbie?
Where is Klaus Barbie?
Where is Klaus Barbie?
He is in the heart.
He is in the heart.
He is in the black heart.
He is in the heart.
Liberty
This is a dream.
Where is Klaus Barbie?
Klaus Barbie is the Butcher of Lyon. The song is in french. Klaus Barbie is represented here as a symbol for the lurking specter of genocide, the fatal flaw of hatred and violence at the heart of humanity that forever denies us freedom. It's not a nazi track. What are their other Nazi tracks? Rose Clouds of Holocaust is about the German people being led through the concentration camps and being shown what was done in their name. People will tell you it is holocaust denial, but 'When the Angels of Ignorance fall down from your eyes' becomes obvious if you've ever seen the newsreel footage of a German citizens reaction to seeing the lampshades of human skin, and, if you think about it, the song just doesn't make sense as holocause denunciation. Go find the lyrics to an actual holocaust denunciation song (Skrewdriver and Prussian Blue have some I believe, I'm not a RAC expert) and see what I mean. What else supports the idea they're nazis. The Totenkopf-6? Please people, Joy Division are named after the official SS Whores and the intro and chorus of Warsaw is Rudolph Hess's prisoner number. Throbbing Gristle constantly used concentration camp photos in their artwork. Nazis? No. It fits exactly into the punk/post-punk/early industrial obsession with the power of Nazi imagery. Remember when Siouxsie and the Banshees wore Swastika armbands? Anyone calling them Nazis? No. It seems people cannot deal with poetry and ambiquity, because people are fucking dumb. Want more evidence?
Death in June - Lullaby to a Ghetto
So, this is your life
This is your world
In a lullaby to a ghetto
Where you murder boys and girls
Ashes of a butterfly
On a blood-soaked wand
Painted, all decorated
Absent and missing
Like secret dreams
And, broken promises
Like all our dead
And thoroughbred
Let the absence of life begin
To form an ash
And diamond lake
Revisionist, rust-torn and red
Black sun baked
Frank eyes never lie
They weep and shine
With that emptiness
Feral inside them
That mirrors can't define
Don't look to God
He's turned away
Savaged by the smell
Of the first of seven days
So, this is your life
This is your world
In a lullaby to a ghetto
Where you murder boys and girls
ACTIVE DENUNCIATION OF HOLOCAUST DENIAL. Real Nazis don't even MENTION Ghettos and Auschwitz. They try and paint it white.
Oh, and don't forget Douglas Pearce is a gay socialist WHO USED TO BE IN CRISIS.
TO ALL THE PEOPLE CALLING DEATH IN JUNE NAZIS AND USING THE SAME BRUSH TO TAR CURRENT 93, SOL INVICTUS AND EVERY OTHER NEO-FOLK BAND:
FUCK OFF"
Also, I can speak a bit of Icelandic, and plan on going there in the next two or three years. Part of this, I gotta say, is actually based on an immature desire to go to all the places mentioned in my favourite neo-folk songs. To complete Horsey, all I have to do is go to Reykjavik and have a conversation. I've already walked around in Barcelona ("Down the Ramblas we're walking...In Reykjavik we're talking...").
I think it's just that Iceland is so fucking...well, so fucking neo-folk. Black beaches? Endless windswept plains and glaciers? Vikings? It'd be black metal mecca as well if they didn't already have Norway.
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Yeah, but the music scene doesn't really reflect that. I could not name you a decent Icelandic viking metal band, I know of one good black metal band here, and apparantly we have a neo-folk a band as well. The scene here is mostly indie, experimental and punk.
However, if you still want to come to Reykjavík, I'll totally have that conversation with you.
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Yeah, I blame your standard of living. Whole countries too fucking happy.
I'm coming anyway, I love Iceland.
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Yeah, if we were miserable we would totally rock.
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In a way it makes sense:
Iceland = historical Vikings = no viking metal
Finland = no historical Vikings = viking metal
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I guess Finland has to compensate for not being in on the whole Viking business.