FULL WOLF MOON (30 January 2010)

The musick dedicated to this Esbat is:

ARBOGAST LUC

HORTUS DEI


Original Issue: 2007 Private Release (No Number) Buy it here!!!

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

Margot-meter: 5 moons / 5

For this Esbat I'd like to use the bit of visibility this blog has gained (thank you, folks) to promote the work of a French artist I've recently encountered during my travels across Europe: Luc Arbogast.

More details about him below.

Please if you like the musick (and I know lots of you will) come into contact with the Artist and buy his CDs that I consider real gems in the modern medieval revival trend. Essential listening!!!

His "Hortus Dei" is in heavy rotation in my CD player since day one I purchased it :)

Cheers,
Margot

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

1. Morgenstern
2. La rosa enflorece
3. La valse du miroir
4. In memoriam Alesia
5. Pälastina lied
6. Dame de Cataluña
7. Non sofre Santa Maria
8. Beold de maï
9. Entre moi et mon ami
10. Unicornus
11. Hortus Dei
12. Ange

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

from http://www.ubikann.com/:

It’s been a long time since I had such an unusual and memorable experience and it happened while we were looking at the cathedral in Strasbourg. A guy sitting on a stool started playing an instrument (called a bouzouki) and singing. He is pretty large guy and has several tattoos on each arm.

You look at him and expect a real husky voice. To begin with his voice was pretty low and slowly started crescendo. What was astonishing was the power and pitch of his voice. He is labelled as a “Countertenor mezzo-soprano”. For myself and maybe others this means he got to really high notes and was able to hold them at great ease ! I didn’t have anything I could use to record him and although a friend recorded the voice on a phone, the quality isn’t good.

To describe the overall style I suppose I would say medieval or Shakespearian, a really beautiful moment and after searching on the Internet I can only tell you that the disc is not yet available on the Internet anywhere. The guy is called Luc Arbogast and from what I understand he also plays with his wife Mélusine who wasn’t there on this occasion.

Before he started singing there were maybe five or six people in front of the cathedral and when he finished I would guess there were over fifty in a semi-circle around him. He switched from German to French with great ease after singing, talking to people wanting to buy his CD. He has a French father (from Strasbourg) and German mother.

YULE (21 December 2008)

The musick dedicated to this Sabbat is:

IDITAROD (THE)

THE GHOST, THE ELF, THE CAT AND THE ANGEL

Original Issue: 2002 Bluesanct (INRI 065)

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

Margot-meter: 4,5 moons / 5

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

1 The Roots Of The Butterfly Bush (3:31)
2 Black Strung Bow (1:00)
3 Afternoons Like This Are Hard To Come By (7:22)
4 Raga (In D#) (6:44)
5 Cycle Circle (4:40)
6 The Falling Of The Pine (9:54)
7 Ich Tanzte Weit (2:09)
8 New Magic In A Dusty World (1:58)
9 Let No Man Steal Your Thyme (3:55)
10 The Nameless One (4:08)
11 Unfortunate Lass (5:40)

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

from All Music Guide:

Though they're from Rhode Island, the duo comprising Iditarod (Carin Wagner and Jeffrey Alexander) sound quite a bit like a British psychedelic-tinged folk or folk-rock act.

Those enamored of the sound of vintage artists in that tributary, like Donovan, the Incredible String Band, and Pentangle -- and of more recent artists that obviously owe something to that style, like Robyn Hitchcock and (far more obscurely) Damien Youth -- might well be inclined to enjoy this record, though it's not explicitly imitative of any of those artists.

While the music's often acoustic guitar-based, the pair play a pretty impressive range of instruments on this CD, from moog and wine glasses to tamboura, singing bowl, and chimes, with some other musicians adding touches on cello, recorder, bouzouki, and more. As the title indicates, there's a mythological-stroll-in-the-forest tinge to their approach, with some electronic effects and backwards-distorted guitar lines adding a bit of psychedelia, without ever submerging the essentially folky ambience.

They may be mood-setters more than they are songwriters, but the mood's a good one: melancholy, subdued, and slightly eerie folk-rock, with quite a bit of varied texture, and an avoidance of the drone and monotony that afflict many other bands working similar territory. The vocals, as befits such material, are suitably fragile and wistful, if not exceptional, broken up by haunting instrumentals that have a touch of exotic (sometimes Indian) mystery.

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

from Dusted Reviews:

The Iditarod, a pagan folk-psych duo (Carin Wagner and Jeffrey Alexander) from Providence, Rhode Island, is group of such artists. Their latest full-length The Ghost, The Elf, The Cat, and The Angel combines eclectic acoustic instrumentation (acoustic guitars, tamboura, dulcimers, bongos, bells, singing bowls, musical saws) with electronics (moogs, turntables, phonographs) in meandering arrangements and ambient treatments of medieval folk songs.

Titles like "The Roots of The Butterfly Bush", "Afternoons Like This Are Hard To Come By", and "New Magic in a Dusty World" might lead one to think that The Ghost, The Elf, The Cat, and The Angel should be catalogued along side the Brit-folk romps of The Pentangle, Fairport Convention, and The Incredible String Band, but this is not the case.

Electronic drones and layers of low-end strings expand the songs and turn them into brooding pieces of ambient bad vibe. Although the influence of 60's British folk is clearly evident on their cover of the traditional "Let No Man Steal Your Thyme" (a song that Pentangle made famous in '68) The Iditarod's somber approach gives the song a hollow funereal feel that sounds like it is being sung by heavily sedated Nico or a half-asleep Mary Timony.

These comparisons could be compliments or insults depending on your politics, either way I don't believe The Iditarod have hit their stride yet. The ever present Grimm's fairy tale and druid aesthetic wears thin after a couple of minutes and the band too often sacrifices the subtleties of songcraft in favor of dark atmospherics (a fate I'm afraid too many psych-bands succumb to).

Fans of Loren Mazzacane Connors and Ghost (two Terrastock faves) may enjoy The Ghost, The Elf, The Cat, and The Angel, but I only say this because the patience I lose with The Iditarod is the same patience I lose with them. Too much attention to texture and mood simply leaves the songs self-conscious and unmoving. Mixing the detached ethereality of great British folk with the tones and textures of the contemporary avant-garde can be a match made in psych-heaven, but more often than naught, it comes across as forced and transparent.

If you really need such a thing to get you through the night, you might do better by P.G. Six's recent Parlor Tricks And Porch Favorites, the Tower Recordings re-issue of Folkscene, Appendix Out's The Night Is Advancing, or even Alastair Galbraith's Cry.

PINK MOON (feminine musick)

MIRANDA SEX GARDEN

FAIRYTALES OF SLAVERY

Original Issue: 1994 Mute Records (CD STUMM 129) Buy it here

Margot-meter: 4,5 moons / 5

1. Cut
2. Fly
3. Peep Show
4. Wooden Boat
5. Havana Lied
6. Cover My Face
7. Transit
8. Freezing
9. Serial Angels
10. Wheel
11. Intermission
12. Monk Song
13. Fairytale About Slavery

from Progarchives:

Since their debut with the exclusively vocal "Madra", Miranda Sex Garden kept making changes in the music and lineup, 1994 is not the exception, before the release of "Fairytales of Slavery" Kelly McCusker left the band and is replaced by the talented vocalist and keyboardist Hepzibah Sessa and the band recruits Kim Fahey to take care of the bass, leaving Trevor Sharpe only in charge of drums and percussion due to the complexity of the rhythm section of this album.

The first problem is how to describe this album, still we can listen the evident and main Gothic/Folk/Medieval influence but with a more aggressive edge that leaves them closer to Industrial and Post Rock with a touch of Symphonic, probably if we listen carefully we'll find some other genres but the main thing is that this is a clearly Progressive Rock album.

It’s a pity that “so called” critics have lumped this band into the underground Goth genre keeping it hidden from the world, because it’s not accurate, they are Gothic in the classical sense of the world because they are Medieval and as we know Gothic is the name that was given to the last two centuries of Middle Age music (For God’s sake, their first album is only composed of Madrigals from the 1600’s, how more classical and late Medieval can it get?).

Of course is obscurantist because the Middle Ages were dark and obscure but this self proclaimed experts probably believe that the main genre is Goth (The black, vampire inspired rock sub-genre) and not just a commercial derivation of this classical epoch, in the case of Miranda Sex Garden they keep the Gothic sound intact but adding many different influences in a complex and perfectly elaborated way.

If you are searching for epics and abrupt changes maybe you'll be disappointed, but if you love atmospheric, dark and aggressive music, well this is a good choice, sounds like RENAISSANCE meets FANTOMAS, the result is absolutely scary but excellent, somehow like "The Director's Cut" sung by Annie Haslam.

But lets go to check the 13 tracks (Cabalistic number by the way):

The album starts with an unusual rock oriented track based in a strong guitar and the wonderful vocals that seem to float above this chaos of sounds, the violent violin by Donna McKevitt is simply delightful, frantic from start to end with perfect synchronicity between bass and drums, no time to breath, of course the usual strange sounds add the darkness required.

“Fly” starts with a mysterious guitar surrounded by low bass and keyboards absolutely dark and haunting, the vocals slowly blend with this phantasmagoric atmosphere until a sudden explosion shows us that they have enough power, but again they return to the softer and dark sound and again another explosion that marks the end of the track.

“Peep Show” starts so soft that is almost not audible for the first 30 seconds, but in a fraction of second and out of nowhere the band and vocalists attack us based mostly in drums, bass and guitar, the vocals sound as being in a second but different plane, by moments I feel some Oldfield like sections. But of course with Katharine distinctive vocals.

“The Wooden Boat” sounds much more Medieval, like a return to their early Madrigals album, but the soft instrumental arrangements and strange sounds reminds us they have a post rock edge, very experimental song even when not one of my favorites.

“Havana Lied” is a Cabaret song in German (Creating some sort of WWII atmosphere), Andrew Blick’s trumpet (Guest musician) is simply perfect for an excellent recreation, this song prove once again that this band is really weird but imaginative and original. “Havana Lied” is a repetitive but interesting experimental track.

“Cover My Face” is brilliant, so strong, so violent and at the same time softened by the beautiful vocals that seem to hide behind all this aggression, some ancient maybe Egyptian influences that can be barely listened above the Industrial background, one of the best tracks by Miranda Sex Garden, no abrupt changes, but absolutely dramatic, the ending is an absolute chaos, simply love it.

“Transit” of course starts with the guitar drums and keyboards simulating the sounds you can listen in a traffic jam, honestly too weird for my taste, the instruments seem too fight one against the other and Katharine uses his voice only to hound like a police or ambulance siren.

“Freezing” starts almost like Overture from Tommy, the guitar reminds clearly of Pete Townsend, but the howling by Katharine and the other girls return us to a different reality we’re before another strange track, short but effective.

“Serial Angels” is one really beautiful track, different to all the previous, the vocals are not so important, the problem is that the first half is recorded so low that you have to rise the volume to the max to barely listen it, but then a soft guitar and drums that go in crescendo mark the change, to a more rhythmic section where all the melody is provided by a soft chorus.

“Wheels” is like a time machine, from the late XX Century we return to the XIV or XV, this is almost like a cyclical song that describes perfectly a carousel, seems absolutely repetitive but don’t let this impression fool you, each repetition or cycle is different to the previous, as I said starts clearly medieval, but in the next round an instrument is added, first some chords, then bass, keyboards and at the end a beautiful and shocking chaos, almost the same procedure used by Mike Oldfield at the end of Tubular Bells side one, but more chaotic.

“Intermission” is just a collection of sounds like an Orchestra of bagpipes, but in the deepest part of this sounds there’s a haunting melody, pretty scary but short.

Now if you want weirdness “The Monk Song” is your best choice starts with the strangest vocal arrangements, lots of howling and moaning perfectly synchronized by the three women who have an incredible vocal range, all this screams supported by the drummer playing the metals, interesting and advanced but absolutely out of this world.

The album is closed with the best song “A Fairytale about Slavery” wonderful and magic track that starts absolutely Medieval with piccolo, drums and completely haunting vocals, creating a beautiful melody, the rest of the instruments especially keys and violins blend progressively creating a second tune in the background that slowly starts to take the lead and relegate the vocals to a second plane, until it reaches a point where the aggressive instrumentation and the vocals mix loudly with a very heavy and distorted guitar, creating as usual a dreamy mixture of the ancient and sacred with the modern and Pagan, a collision between two worlds and two conceptions of music, at the end the melody dissolves as if it was blending with the air and we can only listen the repetitive piccolo. 100% Progressive Rock, lovely and brilliant.

Hard to rate it, maybe some people will say this is subjective and too high, but something as adventurous, weird, dramatic and beautiful can’t be rated with less than 5 stars, yes it’s shocking for people used to melodic Symphonic, but Progressive Rock must also be innovative and dramatic.

If you never heard of this band, start with “Fairytales of Slavery” I’m sure that Symphonic, Post Rock, Folk and even Industrial fans will love it, probably is too weird and aggressive for Art Rock and Neo Prog fans because of it’s extreme complexity, but not everybody has to love the same music.

Iván Melgar-Morey