A Closer Listen
Welcome to Folklore Tapes‘ Ceremonial County Series: 48 artists composing 48 pieces inspired by England’s 48 counties, presented on 24 tapes in 24 months, with research notes and a housing box. Each tape will also be available separately. The attractiveness of this project cannot be overstated, especially for those who love England and cassette culture. Folklore Tapes has been a trusted source of quality experimental music since its inception, having released multiple prior series and box sets, but this is their largest project to date. While football fans are territorial, and would never dream of wearing another team’s jersey, county residents are different, and should be able to enjoy the music inspired by other counties without feeling that they are cheating on their own. The joy of hearing the series will be seeing how each county is represented and reflected by the musicians involved, many of whom are working in collaboration.
The first tape has already been released, and covers the counties of West Sussex and Cheshire. Carl Turney | Brian Campbell | Pete Smyth‘s “Cheshire – The Legend of the Wizard of Alderly Edge” is a pleasant surprise, cuing the listener (and reader) in to the hidden histories that have made Folklore Tapes a label that lives up to its name. In an ancient tale, a farmer and his horse meet a wizard who shows them 140 knights who need one more horse before they fight “the last battle of the world,” The music flows like a chapter book or mix tape, with multiple twists and turns, starting with a magical synthesizer flowing into birdsong and guitar, setting the mood. Each shift in timbre is like the turning of a page, the switching of a scene: percussion, static, backward masking, buried snippets of sampled song. A music box twirls; footsteps crunch on grass and wet tile; a heartbeat slams into an electric guitar. The impression is of staying awake past midnight, slowly turning the wheels on a transistor radio, traveling through space and time. Places are not only what they are, but what they were, an accumulation of facts and folklore, experiences and impressions.
Otis Jordan’s “Sussex – Seven Scenes of the South Downs” is inspired by the “Knucker Holes” which are said to lead to the other side of the world. A famous dragon was believed to live in one of these holes, whose waters were known to have curative properties. A local lad killed the dragon with a poisoned pie, cut off its head and went to celebrate at a local pub, where he was himself poisoned. One might ask the obvious questions: why would you ruin a perfectly good dragon and a perfectly good pie? Better to enjoy the fanciful music, which sounds a bit like the medieval song that might accompany the telling of a folk tale in a pub – the early version of an audiobook – and to imagine a world filled with magic and opportunity and fantastic beasts. Jordan’s tone is wistful, a reflection of wonder lost or at best, merely forgotten. One can hear the water flowing between the notes, a reminder of the depths, not only of the Knucker Holes, but of the things which are imagined and may yet be true. Tell me a story, and play me a song.
With 46 tales still to come, there is plenty to look forward to. We invite listeners to discover the hidden histories of England, county by county, a patchwork of folk tales that once complete will form an amazing quilt. (Richard Allen)
Sat Mar 09 00:01:41 GMT 2024