Philemon Arthur and the Dung - Musikens Historia Del 1 Och 2

1992 (1972); 35 tracks

Amazing acoustic lo-fi music from Sweden... I absolutely love the track "Det Femte Hjulet" but there is a melancholy folkiness about their sound I have yet to find in music elsewhere. This is re-released material that was recorded in both 1972 and 1987.

I. LOVE. THIS.

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Mew - A Triumph For Man (Re-issue, Disc 2)

2006 (recorded in 1996); 9 tracks

This is the second disc of the 2006 re-issue of Danish rock band Mew's first ever release, A Triumph For Man. The original album was recorded and released in 1997, and this second disc, released on the re-issue as bonus material/acoustic/demos, was recorded in 1995-1996 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The reason I am putting up only the second disc of the re-issue (I uploaded the first disc here just in case you'd like to hear it as well) is because I am usually much more fond of demos than finished, polished pieces. I do love the album as it was released, but for some reason these 9 looks into the band's most intimate and vulnerable moments of songwriting and experimenting seem to say so much more to me than the rest do. For one, the songs are all incredibly beautiful. Sometimes Jonas Bjerre's voice is so soft you can barely make out the words, and sometimes you can hear background noise and other things that weren't meant to happen. It's just perfect, to me. This disc does not include demos or other versions of every single song on the original album, which has 14 tracks, but I believe that the loveliest ones are these on the second disc. Dreamy, pretty and addictive.

01 Studio Snippet #1
02 Say You're Sorry (ATFM Session)
03 Beautiful Balloon (Acoustic)
04 Web (Demo)
05 Chinese Gun (Demo)
06 Studio Snippet #2
07 I Should Have Been A Tsin-Tsi (For You) Demo
08 Wheels Over Me (Demo)
09 Superfriends (Demo)

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Empyrium - Songs of Moors & Misty Fields + Weiland

Songs of Moors & Misty Fields

1997; 6 tracks

Why can't we be stars?


Weiland

2002; 12 tracks

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This is a very personal band to me, mostly because of how long I listened solely to them and how they were one of the very first bands to actually inspire me. Empyrium was a German neo-folk/doom metal band founded by Markus Stock (Ulf Theodor Schwadorf) active through the mid to later 90s and early 2000s. More recently they released a new track on the 2010 Prophecy Productions compilation Whom the Moon a Nightsong Sings.

These two albums, Songs of Moors & Misty Fields and Weiland, are, in my opinion, the band's most wondrous releases. I do enjoy the rest of their discography, which includes four other full-lengths, one of which was self-released, and an EP, but I have listened to these two countless times in the depths of night, the depths of winter, when I was just coming to know how amazing music can be. Songs of Moors & Misty Fields is, quite simply, a masterpiece of doom metal and neo-folk. Weiland, also, is pure acoustic neo-folk and seems to have been recorded within the heart of a magical forest. I just wanted to post these as the year is coming to an end, but my love for this band will never fade.

the carousel - abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

1994; 8 tracks

the carousel was a dreampop band formed by Elizabeth Price, the vocalist / guitarist of the British indie pop group Talulah Gosh, and Gregory Webster, of the band Razorcuts. The duo released two full-length albums, the second of which being abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz. Lying beneath Price's voice, which is at times ethereal and others shadowy, enchanting acoustic guitars strum away like a heavenly chorus. There are no drums or bass parts, but there is an organ accompaniment on the track "Henry Please Don't Chop Off My Head," which is fitting as the melody is reminiscent of an old English folk tune. the carousel create graceful, celestial sounds of pure inventiveness.

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Fairy World II

2005; 17 tracks

Here is the second in a collection of compilation records by French label Prikosnovénie. The subtitle is an understatement of what you can find on this, "a collection of delicate & spiritual music." Each track is special and a nice introduction to the label. It's a fine compilation of beautiful songs, so check it ouuuut.

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Pinknruby - Garden & The Vast Astonishment

Oh my god. In the music of Pinknruby, I have found true, surrealist beauty. It is one of my favorite new finds, and I am positive you will love it too.

Pinknruby, a duo comprising Slovenian Michaela Repina and Brit Paul Bradbury, began working together in 1998, intending to write dance music with strong melodies. The ensuing garage, drum'n'bass and chill-out tracks generated some interest. Early in 2002, Pinknruby decided to try something entirely different. Carrying folk guitar backgrounds, Repina and Bradbury opted to return to simple acoustic melodies. Their preceding tenure in dance music, however, led to acoustic songs with a dance approach, which led to the use of loops, etc. Their music, warm, acoustic, and performed using guitars and vocals by both members, combines folk with elements from the Mediterranean and eastern Europe. When performing, the musical pair likes to dress colorfully in accordance with the occassion, which adds to the appeal of their shows. Pinknruby's lyrics, in Slovenian, usually present short stories or philosophical comments.

Pinknruby attracted the attention of French underground label, Prikosnovénie in 2002 and released their debut album, The Vast Astonishment with them in 2003. Since then, they have released two more critically acclaimed albums, Garden (2005) and Queen Kale (2008).


2005; 10 tracks

Garden is Pinknruby's second album, and my favorite. Mihaela Repina's soft, high Slovenian-singing voice combines with the purring of a cat in seamless intimacy. I have grown a deep love for this album, which provides a great collection of musical genres and styles - pure acoustic folk to jazzy, up-beat tracks, often accompanied by a violin. Mihaela Repina's voice is utterly gorgeous, reminiscent of Kate Bush and perhaps even Liz Frasier.

"Mihaela Repina and Paul Bradbury make light, mysterious and mostly acoustic music that draws from Eastern European folk and Brazilian samba, with a dash of jazz. Both sing in Slovenian, she in a dusky voice that recalls Lou Rhodes from Lamb, he in a light tenor that reminds one of Ben Watt. The music dances on the edge of being too precious and twee, one song features a cat purring. But the harmonies are solid, the instrumentation inventive, harps, psaltery and cello are added to mix, and Repina's alto is truly bewitching. On such tracks as 'Nader Margh' and 'White Lady Mirror', her dark voice and the soothing, glimmering instrumentation create an indescribable world of dark and light."

Download + Track 1


2003; 11 tracks

The Vast Astonishment is Pinknruby's debut album (with Prikosnovénie).

((I like it but will provide more thoughts after more listens.))

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Váli - Forlatt

2004; 10 tracks

This was one of my first ever purely neofolk albums, excluding some early Ulver. It really is a beautiful example of that genre which produces such lyrical and evocative music, and is usually very intimate.

Váli is a Norwegian one-man neofolk project. The band's first album, Forlatt, features mostly solo acoustic guitar pieces, but occasionally some other instruments make their way into the soundscape. Try this if you haven't heard much neofolk before. This is a very different kind of neofolk than, say, that of Rome, as it is much more nature-based.

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友川かずき (Kazuki Tomokawa) - やっと一枚目 (Yatto Ichimaime)

1975; 14 tracks

"Poet, singer, artist, bicycle race commentator, essayist, actor, drinker.
An artist who miraculously embodies the romance of the vagabond poet, a rarity in an age where our very freedom means we have forgotten how to live."

This is one of the rawest albums I've ever heard in my life. Tomokawa is like... a slightly more folky/melodic (and Japanese) Jandek. This is his first album, and what a debut it is. Here is the tracklisting.

I recently found a series of 3 videos from Vincent Moon called "The Take Away Shows #98" focusing on Kazuki Tomokawa. Here is my favorite, one that shows the attitude of Tomokawa's music quite nicely (you might wanna skip along to 2:05):

Kazuki Tomokawa - A Take Away Show #98 - Part II from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

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Opeth - Watershed

2008; 7 tracks

Opeth is one of the most popular metal acts around today, their sound being one of great diversity and richness. They play a distinct style of progressive metal mixed with doom, and their lead singer, Mikael Åkerfeldt, is notable for his ability to sing with clean and death metal vocals, often side by side.

I was a big fan a few years ago, but my interest in doom metal waned after hearing the same thing over and over again. I bought Watershed on a whim and it really has grown on me, the instrumentation becoming all the more impressive and the atmosphere, which often takes on a life of it's own, more gorgeous. The truth is, Watershed is an incredibly beautiful album. Having listened to it on rainy days countless times, I've yet to find anything monotonous or even boring about it. There is a perfect transposition one experiences from track to track, storylines weaving in and out in flawless synchronicity. The passion that rages in one instant gives way to gentle, heart-stopping elegance... much like the actions of the sea.


Just listen.

友川かずき (Kazuki Tomokawa) - Ore no Uchi de Nari-yamanai Mono

1978; 10 tracks

Kazuki Tomkawa was a Japanese folk singer/songwriter most popular in the seventies, but he still makes music today. A nice biography of the artist can be found here. The title of this, his second album, translates as "Poems that won't stop crying from with me: Nakahara Chuya collection." Chuya Nakahara was an early 20th century Japanese poet and Tomokawa uses his poems as lyrics.

"Tomokawa's style is generally described as edgy, underground folk, which emerged from a Japanese folk revival in the 70s. This studio album, however, features crooning vocals and a rather dated sound, like a hybrid between light disco and traditional Japanese ballad."

This album is a one-of-a-kind acid folk/jazz work, exposing both the tenderly lighthearted and passionately romantic sides of Tomokawa's voice. Also, he is quite dreamy :3

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ゑでぃまぁこん (Eddie Marcon) - 綿の煙の招待状

2009; 10 tracks

Absolutely delightful folk/ambient album from Japanese group ゑでぃまぁこん (Eddie Marcon). The title translates as "Cotton Smoke Invitations." Childish innocence and the purity of summer fuse in this beautiful music that is sunny even in the rain.

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Bluedawn (푸른새벽) - Vol. 3, 보옴이 오면

2006; 11 tracks

I've always loved Korean indie/folk music, particularly Adultchild (어른아이), but this album, 보옴이 오면 ("Boomyi Comes"), is really touching to me.

Bluedawn is a Korean folk duo consisting of Dawn and Sorrow. Their sound isn't exclusively melancholic and gentle, as there are more cheerful songs too. 보옴이 오면 is the group's third album, and my favorite. The other two are beautiful as well, but this album's beauty reaches a much deeper level. Bluedawn was a part of the Pastel Music label, which has released some really incredible music... I highly recommend both them and this album.

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Buffy Sainte-Marie - Illuminations

1969; 12 tracks

Illuminations is the sixth album by Buffy Sainte-Marie, a Canadian Cree singer-songwriter. Sainte-Marie's bold, wavering voice both haunts and warms Illuminations, providing a picture of a wild-hearted individual with "a heart driven by nature, and a mind by the universe." This incredible album needs no words to introduce it.

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Jandek - Raining Down Diamonds

2005; 7 tracks

In Jandek, there is a kind of desolation that must reach you. As though everything were dimmed and reduced to itself. As though the world had contracted, hardened, and was falling in an inward collapse. The rays of the sun burn outwards; but what of an inward ray - what of a ray sent inward, a sun collapsing upon itself? What of darkness falling into darkness and all the way to that terrible void that would draw everything across its horizon?

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Boduf Songs - There is Something Hanging Above You EP

2009; 5 tracks

Boduf Songs is Mat Sweet from Southampton (UK). There is Something Hanging Above You shows a very minimalist side to the musician, although I haven't exactly heard much else from him. I fell in love right away with this album's enchanting, sad atmosphere consisting of, primarily, his voice and his guitar. I love the touching piano parts as well, but "Left Behind Like a Piece of Shit" is my favorite track.

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Purchase

Emmanuelle Parrenin - Maison Rose

1977; 15 tracks

"...'La Maison Rose' ('the pink house') refers to the actual house where Emmanuelle was born and grew up.

Emmanuelle studied ballet from an early age, before she started to study harp. After 2 years in the French Basque province, at the age 17 she discovered a new musical world in Paris, presented by some hurdy-gurdy artists (like the contemporary/traditional folk artist Christian Gour’han who also had worked with G.Yacoub (Malicorne) and the medieval folk artist René Zosso, which inspired her interest for the hurdy-gurdy.

It is a unique album that shows how a series of experiences and backgrounds can lead musically, to inspiration and stimulation (just what the house came to signify for Emmanuelle Parrenin, personally)." - Psychedelicfolk

Just wanted to provide a little introduction to her as a person before you listen to this!

This album, by Emmanuelle Parrenin, is stunning. It is a soft folk masterpiece that incorporates the avant-garde with the ethereal voice of Parrenin, strange and wonderful instruments with the atmosphere of small French villages and sunlit mountainsides. I just got this and I know it will be a favorite of mine.

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Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago

2007; 9 tracks

I didn't know what to think of Bon Iver at first, but I can safely say now that this is a wonderful wintry folk album. Re:stacks makes my heart melt on repeat.

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Jandek - Interstellar Discussion

1984; 15 tracks

Jandek is a one-of-a-kind musician, artist, visionary. His music is both haunting and comforting - spectacular and, yet, misunderstood. Listen to this album and soak yourself in the dark, cold, outsider energy of Jandek's off-putting voice and lonesome guitar.

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Circle of Ouroborus - Tree of Knowledge

2009; 8 tracks

Fuck. Yes.

I think Tree of Knowledge is wonderfully atmospheric and beautiful, if you disagree fuck you -.-

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Eddie Marcon - 過冷の絵空事

2009; 6 tracks

Beautiful ambient folk/psychedelic music from Eddie Marcon, or ゑでぃまぁこん. Truly amazing.

Click here for the correct tags.

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