As promised last week, this week's blog is the first part of a Folk Horror triptych. Yesterday I attended the Folk Horror Revival (FHR) event at the British Museum.
So what is folk horror? It isn't an easy thing to define, and as artist, writer and creator of the Folk Horror Revival project, Andy Paciorek explained, nor should it be - for to define it too rigidly might stifle it in its infancy (other genres could take note of this!). In the programme for yesterday's event, Jim Peters (FHR administrator & Collection Manager at the British Museum) suggested that the folk horror revival movement in particular is there "to assist us all in the reawakening and reinterpretation of those ideas and traditions that have informed the darker wyrd of our folkloric past". There are links to landscape, to mood, to a change, to a summoning. It is something that is a feeling as much as anything else; and it can be evoked by art, literature, film and music.
So what is folk horror? It isn't an easy thing to define, and as artist, writer and creator of the Folk Horror Revival project, Andy Paciorek explained, nor should it be - for to define it too rigidly might stifle it in its infancy (other genres could take note of this!). In the programme for yesterday's event, Jim Peters (FHR administrator & Collection Manager at the British Museum) suggested that the folk horror revival movement in particular is there "to assist us all in the reawakening and reinterpretation of those ideas and traditions that have informed the darker wyrd of our folkloric past". There are links to landscape, to mood, to a change, to a summoning. It is something that is a feeling as much as anything else; and it can be evoked by art, literature, film and music.
The event at the British Museum was a first of this scale for the FHR group, as far as I'm aware. I think the popularity of it (sold out well in advance) shows how welcome it was; and I am sure that it will be a springboard for more events (though sadly most of them appear to be planned for the North, rather than the sturdy midlands). Guest included writer, filmmaker and man of many other talents, Ian Sinclair; American writer Gary Lachman, and many more. MC for the event was Chris Lambert, curator of the Black Meadow, who proved to also have a very fine singing voice.
Adam Scovell I was particularly interested in presentations by Eamon Byers on folkmusic. Artists such as Hare and the Moon (who, if you follow the GASP radio show, you will have heard many times) were featured as the epitome of the modern folk-horror music, while other artists merged old recordings with modern music to create something new and disturbing. I found this very interesting, not least because some of the darker folkier elements are now beginning to influence some of my own compositions (you can still download my first solo tune, Poor Jenny, for free from bandcamp - don't forget to set your price to £0!).
Also very interesting was Adam Scovell's presentation on Analogue Hauntings. Adam is a writer and filmmaker who creates some very interesting work, much of it on super8 film. Again, a lot of what I saw is likely to influence any videos I create for music in the future.
Also very interesting was Adam Scovell's presentation on Analogue Hauntings. Adam is a writer and filmmaker who creates some very interesting work, much of it on super8 film. Again, a lot of what I saw is likely to influence any videos I create for music in the future.
Andy Paciorek & Darren Charles Overall, I though this was a very good day. If it were to be improved, I would have welcomed the opportunity to move around a bit more (everything I wanted to see was in the same lecture theatre, which involved sitting down for too many hours in one go!); and I suspect many would welcome a longer event, with chance to see everything on offer rather than having to choose on or the other. It would also have been easier to choose what to see if the programme had been available in advance (it was so dark in the lecture theatre, I couldn't even read the programme until lunchtime). But those are small niggles overall. Many congratulations to all concerned.
Sadly, by the time I got to Treadwells bookshop, ALL of the books from the FHR team had sold out, though at least I was able to pick up the Black Meadow soundtrack to supplement the books I already have on that. Definitely a measure of the success of the event.
Next week look out for FHR Blog part 2: LM's Week of Wanders as I travel the country in search of landscape. I suspect I may find a bit...
Sadly, by the time I got to Treadwells bookshop, ALL of the books from the FHR team had sold out, though at least I was able to pick up the Black Meadow soundtrack to supplement the books I already have on that. Definitely a measure of the success of the event.
Next week look out for FHR Blog part 2: LM's Week of Wanders as I travel the country in search of landscape. I suspect I may find a bit...
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