Shindig!, Electronic Sound, John Coulthart, Starburst, Fortean Times and Bob Fischer of The Haunted Generation have been longstanding supporters of A Year In The Country and have included reviews etc of AYITC releases for a fair few years now. Along which lines, in this post are a few examples of their recent and recent(ish) coverage of two of the AYITC books.
First off is a double header from Shindig!, which includes reviews by Sarah Gregory of the A Year In The Country: Lost Transmissions and A Year In The Country: Threshold Tales books:
“For any self-respecting hauntologist, A Year In The Country is a treasure trove of wyrd delights… Blissfull, we’re immediately in familiar territory, delving deep into the world of the occult and near-dystopia interweaved with the aural and visual cues that underlie this leftfield esoterica…” (Sarah Gregory writing about A Year In The Country: Lost Transmissions in issue 143 of Shindig!)
“Prince continues his hauntological ‘deep dive’ into the ‘otherly pastoral’, investigating the uncanny links between nature, the land and the urban world… [and in this new book he describes] his personal journey across the ‘psychic borderlands’ of film – cinematic episodes in which boundaries between past and future are blurred.” (Sarah Gregory writing about A Year In The Country: Threshold Tales in issue 147 of Shindig!)
Shindig! magazine’s site is here.
Next up is a piece in the ongoingly wallet endangering front section of Electronic Sound, which covers and rounds up culturally mouth watering book, synth, tech, music etc releases:
“It won’t be too long before writer Stephen Prince opens his own University of Hauntology, probably located down some muddy English bridleway… this new book takes in the ‘haunted soundscapes of electronica’ and promises ‘dystopic visions, alternate realities, paranormal quests and exploratory electronic’… As ever, it’s a must-read…”
Electronic Sound’s site is here.
And talking of wallet (and time) endangering things… Lost Transmissions and Threshold Tales were also included in two of the “Weekend links” posts at artist and designer John Coulthart’s feuilleton website where he “catalogues” his “interests, obsessions and passing enthusiasms”.
Next up is Bob Fischer’s “The Haunted Generation” column for Fortean Times where he regularly “rounds up the latest news from the parallel world of popular hauntology”:
“For almost a decade Stephen has been exploring all manner of rural strangeness through his constantly evolving project, A Year In The Country. He has a virtually unparalleled enthusiasm for TV, film and music from the more overgrown corners of the pastoral realm, and this passion is evident in both Lost Transmissions and Threshold Tales.” (Bob Fischer in his The Haunted Generation column from Fortean Times issue 439.)
Bob Fischer is a notable standard bearer for all things hauntological and “wyrd” via his Fortean Times column, his The Haunted Generation site, live events and more. For even more wallet and time endangering things(!), his site can be visited here and Fortean Times’ site can be visited here.
And then nestled amongst the digital pages of the “world’s longest running magazine of fantastic film and television” is Alan Boon’s review for Starburst of A Year In The Country: Lost Transmissions:
“[A Year In The Country’s books have delivered] a series of exploration into the haunted worlds of film, television, music and literature that have become set texts for the folk horror and hauntology connoisseur.”
Read the full review at Starburst’s site here.
Well, after writing this post and revisting those magazines and sites it seems like much of my day may well be taken care of exploring a Japanese VHS video cafe, Belbury Poly’s parallel world time machine-esque soundtrack creations and the like (!)
Thanks and as always a tip of the hat to all concerned: Jon ‘Mojo’ Mills, Andy Morten and Sarah Gregory at Shindig!; Isaak Lewis-Smith, Push and all at Electronic Sound; John Coulthart; Bob Fischer and all at Fortean Times; and Ed Fortune, Alan Boon and Jordan Royce at Starburst.
Cheers!
