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Folklore Tapes and the Wyrd Britannia Festival – Journeying to Hidden Corners of the Land/the Ferrous Reels and Explorations of an Arcane Research Project: Chapter 41 Book Images

Folklore Tapes-logo

“Folklore Tapes began in 2011 and is described on its website as being:

‘…an open-ended research project exploring the vernacular arcana of Great Britain and beyond; traversing the myths, mysteries, magic and strange phenomena of the old counties via abstracted musical reinterpretation and experimental visuals. The driving principle of the project is to bring the nation’s folk record to life, to rekindle interest in the treasure trove of traditional culture by finding new forms for its expression.'”

Cheshire-Devon-Landcashire Folklore Tapes-Calendars and Customs-covert artwork and packaging

“The core of the project’s activities is a series of generally themed music releases that have been split into often geographical groupings such as Devon Folklore Tapes, Lancashire Folklore Tapes, Cheshire Folklore Tapes and the more seasonally based Calendar Customs.”

Folklore Tapes-various cover art designs

“The themes of these releases have included “Mid-Winter Rites & Revelries”, “Inland Water”, “Ornithology”, “Memories of Hurstwood”, “Stanton Drew Stone Circle” etc.

Day 7-Devon Folklore Tapes Vol IV-Magpahi and Paper Dollhouse-A Year In The Country 2

The packaging is an inherent part of the releases and will often include booklets, essays, film work and accompanying ephemera such as seed envelopes that act as a further space or accompaniment for the exploration and expression of the themes.”

David Chatton Barker is the instigator of the project and has created much of the Folklore Tapes visual imagery and presentation which, as referred to in the website text above, delves in amongst folkloric and pastoral layers and signifiers of culture from other eras and related overlooked esoteric corners and artifacts, retaining their spirit but also reinterprets them to create thoroughly modern visual work. The music/audio collaborators and contributors to the series have included Rob St John, Children Of Alice (members of Broadcast and Julian House of Ghost Box Records), Magpahi, Sam McLoughlin, Ian Humberstone, Anworth Kirk and David Orphan (an alias of David Chatton Barker).

David Chatton Barker-Folklore Tapes-Magpahi Paper Dollhouse-A Year In The Country Day 7-Devon Folklore Tapes Vol IV-Magpahi and Paper Dollhouse-A Year In The Country 1

Of these earlier releases, a particular favourite is Devon Folklore Tape Vol. IV – Rituals and Practices, which was released in 2012 and features Magpahi and Paper Dollhouse.

The Magpahi side contains haunting folkloric vocals and a certain left-of-centre almost at times pop sensibility would be a starting point of reference, while Paper Dollhouse wanders off into early morning free-floating word association.

Wyrd Britannia Festival-A Year In The Country

“Folklore Tapes have also been involved in a number of live events, one of which was the Wyrd Britannia festival of 2012 that took place in Halifax and Hebden Bridge.

The event seemed like one of those times and events where somebody who works for the council/public services was given the go ahead to put something culturally rather leftfield that they were genuinely passionate about into the world.

Organised by James Glossop, the festival was to mark the relaunch of the Calderdale libraries Wyrd Britannia collection of films, books and music. The collection and the festival explore and reflect not dissimilar territory to Folklore Tapes itself, which is reflected by the following quote from the council’s site which says that the collection:

‘…reflect(s) the dark and complex underbelly of English rural tradition and beliefs.'”

The Wicker Man-The Directors Cut-DVD cover-strokeRobin Redbreast BFI dvd-A Year In The CountryPendas Fen-David Rudkin-A Year In The Country

The festival featured screenings of some of the core films and television of what could be called British hauntological folklore or folk horror: The Wicker Man (1973), Robin Redbreast (1970) and the at the time pre its DVD/Blu-ray release by the BFI the then rather rare Penda’s Fen (1974).”

Magpahi EP-Alison Cooper-Finders Keepers Records-A Year In The CountryTales-from-the-Black-Meadow-Chris-Lamber-Nigel-Wilson-book-front-coverAlbion Dreaming-Andy Roberts-book cover

Also featured in the festival were readings and performances by Alison Cooper (Magpahi) collaborating with David Chatton Barker and Sam McLoughlin of Folklore Tapes, Chris Lambert who is the author of the hauntological folkloric Tales from the Black Meadow collection of stories published in 2013 and Andy Roberts on his Albion Dreaming book from 2012 which focuses on the history of LSD in Britain.

Tales from the Black Meadow-Chris Lamber-Nigel Wilson-book-front and back covers

First up was Chris Lambert, reading from his book Tales from the Black Meadow and informing us about this multi-faceted project which takes as its starting point the imagined history of Professor R. Mullins who was alleged to have gone missing in The Black Meadow atop the Yorkshire Moors in 1972.

Tales From The Black Meadow-A Year In The Country Tales From The Black Meadow-A Year In The Country Tales From The Black Meadow-Professor R Mullins-Chris Lambert-A Year In The Country

As a project Tales from the Black Meadow incorporates elements of folklore, Radiophonic-esque scores, imagined semi-lost documentaries and the flickering cathode ray transmissions of a previous era; a creaking rural cabinet stuffed full of hidden and rediscovered government unsanctioned reports.

Folklore Tapes-Wyrd Britannia Festival-Echo Of Light-A Year In The CountryEcho Of Light-Folklore Tapes-Wyrd Britannia-A Year In The Country 3Echo Of Light-Folklore Tapes-Wyrd Britannia-A Year In The Country

…Echo of Light performed, presented by Folklore Tapes and featuring Alison Cooper, Sam McLouglin (who also performs as Samandtheplants and co-oversees the record label Hood Faire) and David Chatton Barker.

It has been described as incorporating the projectionist as puppeteer and having watched it, that is an apt description.

To an electronic and acoustic soundtrack of largely improvised music, two of the collaborators were hidden behind a screen as they essentially live-mixed/live-created a series of projections onto the screen using various physical props, found natural materials and artwork, which in turn were also used to create some of the soundtrack…

As a set of work, as with Folklore Tapes itself, it appeared to be an exploration of the hidden in nature and folklore which surrounds it (or the pattern under the plough).

Wyrd Britannia CD collection-Calderdale libraries-A Year In The Country 4

Libraries seem like centres of calm, civility and culture in a rapacious landscape… on display that night were book, CD and DVD selections from the Wyrd Britannia collection.

These included a number of Quatermass films, The Miners Hymn (2010), albums by 1960s/1970s acid folk band Forest, The Owl Service’s fine folk revisiting album The View from a Hill (2010), a 3 disc DVD reissue of The Wicker Man, The Stone Tape (1972), Trembling Bells Abandoned Love (2010), Broadcast and the Focus Group Investigate Witch Cults of the Radio Age (2009) and the Gather in the Mushrooms compilation of underground 1960s/early 1970s acid folk released in 2004…”

Wyrd Britannia Festival book collection-A Year In The CountryWyrd Britannia book and DVD collection-Calderdale libraries-A Year In The Country 2

 “(Also) on display were Bob Pegg’s (of the early 1970s the-darker-shade-of-folk band Mr Fox) Rites and Riots (1981), a whole slew of books on folklore and song, various selections of witchery, George Stewart Evan’s The Pattern Under the Plough (1966), The Owl Service author Alan Garner once or twice and a particularly intriguing looking The Cylinder Musical-Box Handbook (1968) by Graham Webb.

 

Online images to accompany Chapter 41 of the A Year In The Country: Wandering Through Spectral Fields book, alongside some text extracts from the chapter:

Details of the A Year In The Country: Wandering Through Spectral Fields book and the collection of its accompanying online images can be found at the Book’s Page, which will be added to throughout the year.

 

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