Post-neofolk Neofolk bands

[ASBO]

http://www.fejd.se/
http://www.gjallarhorn.com/
http://www2.qnet.fi/rus-project/Viking_music.html
http://www.varttina.com/
http://nest.atolonen.cjb.net/
http://www.garmarna.se/
http://www.gaate.no/
http://www.silence.se/hedningarna/
http://www.vasen.se/

I can't stand neofolk. Hate the concept, hate the execution, hate the product. HATE!!!

But the above has potential, and higher musical standards.

It's not neofolk... postmodern folk?

[Devamitra]

The above bands are classified as "ethno-rock" or "traditional music" in the local libraries, and have been around longer than the modern neo-folk phenomenon.

These bands' music is based on rural and traditional Nordic music, rare instruments, medieval music, vanishing languages and ethnic minorities (because in some places they are the only people who still remember traditional rites and music) and generally the recreation of the music of the lower class of Europe in times past.

Neo-folk is born part from psychedelic/hippie folk rock and part from post-punk/industrial experiments. It has very rarely to do with traditional music except for some influences because of an interest in paganism.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_music_terminology

At the same time as rock and roll became international, so did so-called "protest songs" , pleading for international peace and tolerance. This was a new meaning of the word folk song, and brought confusion into the terminology. The change can be charted by the words used in the Grammy Awards.

    * 1959 "Best Performance Folk" (first appearance of the word "Folk" in the Grammys)
    * 1970 "Best Ethnic or Traditional Recording (including Traditional Blues)" (first appearance of "Traditional")
    * 1987 "Best Traditional Folk Recording"
    * 1987 "Best Contemporary Folk Recording"

We can see that "Folk" disappeared from the awards in 1970, to be replaced by "Traditional". In 1987 there were two awards - one for "Traditional Folk" and one for "Contemporary Folk".

[istaros]

Gåte is (was) quite impressive, and their vocalist's particular talent was notable on its own accord. not familiar with the rest yet

[Goluf]

Neo-folk is born part from psychedelic/hippie folk rock and part from post-punk/industrial experiments. It has very rarely to do with traditional music except for some influences because of an interest in paganism.

Really? I sensed that many of these bands received their impetus from the radical traditionalism associated with the black metal movement. Fejd in particular has a metal history.

[Devamitra]

Neo-folk is born part from psychedelic/hippie folk rock and part from post-punk/industrial experiments. It has very rarely to do with traditional music except for some influences because of an interest in paganism.

Really? I sensed that many of these bands received their impetus from the radical traditionalism associated with the black metal movement. Fejd in particular has a metal history.

I have no idea about this project, there I was referring to Death in June, Current 93, Sopor Aeternus, Forseti, Ordo Equilibrio and the like. That's the neo-folk scene which has totally different people and totally different audience from the traditional/ethno scene of Garmarna, Hedningarna, Värttinä, Gjallarhorn etc. None of the mentioned have a metal background AFAIK. Ironic or not, in fact many from the latter group are projects by jazz musicians.

[41|>5]

These bands' music is based on rural and traditional Nordic music, rare instruments, medieval music, vanishing languages and ethnic minorities (because in some places they are the only people who still remember traditional rites and music) and generally the recreation of the music of the lower class of Europe in times past.

There is a German band, Corvus Corax, who play medieval music on traditional/authentic instruments. Some of their songs sound something like Absurd's "Totentanz" on "Werwolfthron" or "Dies Irae" from Bergman's "The Seveth Seal".

[kontinual]

The above bands are classified as "ethno-rock" or "traditional music" in the local libraries, and have been around longer than the modern neo-folk phenomenon.

These bands' music is based on rural and traditional Nordic music, rare instruments, medieval music, vanishing languages and ethnic minorities (because in some places they are the only people who still remember traditional rites and music) and generally the recreation of the music of the lower class of Europe in times past.

Neo-folk is born part from psychedelic/hippie folk rock and part from post-punk/industrial experiments. It has very rarely to do with traditional music except for some influences because of an interest in paganism.

Agreed about this characterization.

I've dabbled in, for lack of a better term, "world music" folk, but usually find it wanting.  I'm thinking of acts like those on the prolific Northside label where the implied jazz backgrounds are usually obvious.  Do any of those listed in the original post hold up better?

[desidia]

Fejd, i heard a song on their website: decent. Downloaded the album of theirs on audiofile: pop music syndrome. individual songs reasonable, but by the 4th I was horribly bored. I think - tentatively - there is not enough real energy there. In a lot of (neo)folk, in modern recordings, I think there is not enough energy. It is done too solemnly and becomes boring as hell.Listening to Varttina now and enjoying at, but probably it appeals more to my novelty seeking side on account of how weird it sounds.

[Devamitra]

I've dabbled in, for lack of a better term, "world music" folk, but usually find it wanting.  I'm thinking of acts like those on the prolific Northside label where the implied jazz backgrounds are usually obvious.  Do any of those listed in the original post hold up better?

From the above list maybe Garmarna's "Guds Speleman" which is very traditional, with no noticeable jazz influence. I also enjoy Hedningarna's "Trä" and "Hippjokk" but they have the bad tendency to put pop/groove in the material.

For pure traditional sounds, Baltic and Finno-Ugric groups are better, such as Kulgrinda, Toorama and also Skyforger with their acoustic album "Sword Song".

[pagan980938127]

Most of those bands could be listed under the umbrella term of "fusion" or "world fusion", a blend of influences and traditions from multiple cultures.  If there's rock, jazz, or electronic instruments involved, it's no longer (historically) traditional music.  Anyway, this is a fairly circular argument, since all of those styles refer back to European folk music on some level - rather than being disjoint.  And so-called traditional European folk music is not exempt from external influences - would you say the violin was invented in Norway?

Thus it doesn't bother me on principal, if folk fusion is reminiscent of jazz, but I will say that I've rarely heard this done well.  Matt Howden's project, Sieben stands out in my mind, while most of the Nordic attempts seem to fail miserably.

I know what you mean by the word "neofolk," although in my collection I use the term far more loosely.  It allows for easier organization, if I don't have 20000 separate genres   So in keeping with the topic of the original post, here are some diverse suggestions:

Blood Axis - incorporates many styles: classical, industrial, folk - Blót: Sacrifice in Sweden (1998)
Hagalaz' Runedance - sort of ambient folk music with pagan references - Frigga's Web (2002)
In Gowan Ring - psychedelic/progressive folk music, quite poetic - Hazel Steps Through a Weathered Home (2002)
Мельница/Melnitsa - Russian contemporary folk; alternately fun and melancholic - Перевал/Pereval (2005)
Sieben - electronic violin-driven music; intended for live improvised, one-man performance - Ogham Inside the Night (2005)
Sturmpercht - part music of the alpine region, part of their own creation; it's unique - Geister im Waldgebirg (2006)
Tenhi - Finnish progressive/folk rock; I only recommend Kauan (1999)
Vàli - instrumental acoustic music; drawing from traditional Nordic folk - Forlatt (2004)

Also I'd recommend the John Barleycorn Reborn compilation, for a collection of mostly underground folk artists, interpreting traditional British music in some surprising ways.  The label seems to have shut down.

[Cadaver]

I take a huge dislike to "neofolk" bands or the American conception of "folk music" in general. To me folk music is the millennia-old tradition of peasant music, the music of the common man, a part of the repertoire of a nation's culture, not some hipster crooning over an acoustic guitar or some "post-industrial" bullshit. Alan Lomax's collections of "primitive and traditional" music are good introductions, I find, to the raw and authentic sounds of European folk music. Most of the recordings are over half a century old and straight from village musicians.

Here's something I wanted to share: instrumental renditions of traditional folk music from Romania. The recording quality is great, and some of the tunes are well-known songs with lyrics but the translation to all-instrumental isn't bad.

Greetings From Romania, vol. 1

Greetings From Romania, vol. 2

And while we're on the subject, here's a stream to a national Romanian radio station that broadcasts mostly folk music. Since it's a real radio station there are also newscasts and spoken word programmes (usually about agriculture), and your mileage may vary with regard to your timezone since the station isn't active late at night in Romania (if you hear English language pop music, try again later). Contrary to the grassroots stuff on Alan Lomax compilations though, the majority of what they play is very "cleaned up" sounding, the aftermath of Communist-era "folk ensembles".

http://www.srr.ro/stream/sate.asx - Radio Antena Satelor (Radio Station of the Villages) Romanian Folk Music Radio Stream
http://sate.srr.ro/ - Official Website