Tag: Neofolk

Categories
News

Biweekly News Roundup 2024-08-18

Personal / Website News

Becca Boo Issue Two Review

New review is up at my website!

I take a look at Becca Boo issue 2. I had previously reviewed issue 1 and enjoyed it (read my review here), and issue 2 definitely kept up the quality. My issue 2 review can be read here.

Note: A while after publication of my review, Obscura Comics sent over the missing Kickstarter swag. I’ll be updating my review to reflect this.

Publishing Recap

Below is a recap of my publishing endeavors so far in 2024.

Comic Book Review: “Carson of Venus: The Flames Beyond#1″ reprinted in the National Capital Panthans Journal #326.

Comic Book Review: “Carson of Venus: The Flames Beyond#2″ reprinted in the National Capital Panthans Journal #327.

Calls for Papers/Proposals

Here are some new pop culture CFPs that have crossed my paths. Links to these will also be in the CFP page on the navigation bar.

Phantom of the Paradise Edited Collection

Editor: Sean Woodard
Contact: phantomparadisebook@gmail.com
Abstract Deadline: Friday, November 15, 2024
Chapter Drafts Deadline: June 15, 2025

Essays sought for a peer-reviewed edited collection focused on Brian De Palma’s film, Phantom of the Paradise.

Brian De Palma’s 1974 film Phantom of the Paradise, starring William Finley, Paul Williams, and Jessica Harper remains a cult classic of 1970s American independent cinema and popular culture. A throwback to the legend of Faust and Gothic narratives such as Gaston Leroux’s Phantom of the Opera (1910), and Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890), the film satirizes the modern music industry. The musical prominently features a stellar soundtrack by Paul Williams and many of De Palma’s trademark filmmaking techniques and Hitchcockian homages that he would perfect in further genre fare like Carrie (1976), Dressed to Kill (1980), and Blow Out (1981).

Furthermore, Phantom of the Paradise has a devoted fan base around the world. For example, a fan-made preservation website called “The Swan Archives”—devoted to detailing the film’s production history and cataloging and preserving its physical promotional materials and merchandise—was the subject of a 2013 Bright Lights Film Journal essay. In addition, filmmaker Guillermo del Toro owns an extensive collection of Phantom of the Paradise memorabilia, while director Edgar Wright specifically cast Paul Williams in a cameo role in Baby Driver (2017) out of his affinity his role in De Palma’s film. The film’s growing popularity has also led to sold-out repertoire screenings, shadow cast events, and fan cosplay at horror conventions. In an archived 2019 interview with The Globe and Mail, Williams commented on the film’s resurgence and its overall legacy: “Isn’t it bizarre? You can’t be quick to write something off as [a] failure. . . . I am beyond grateful.”

While academic research has been focused broadly on De Palma’s filmography, there has not been a singular scholarly text devoted to the film. The celebration of Phantom of the Paradise’s 50th anniversary in 2024 makes it an appropriate time to celebrate and re-evaluate the film.

The purpose of this edited collection is to place Phantom of the Paradise into a cultural and theoretical context, as well as critically analyze the film, its connections to other genre films, its place in Brian De Palma’s filmography, and its continued influence.

We seek proposals for chapters that approach the subject matter with theoretical concepts that will appropriately meet the rigorous expectations of an academic work, but through a prose style that shall be accessible for both an academic audience and a general readership.

Topics may include, but are not limited to:

  • Brian De Palma as an Auteur
  • Paul Williams’ Career
  • Film and Literary Adaptation and Intertextuality (Phantom of the Opera, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Faust, etc.)
  • Narrative, Thematic, or Structural Analysis of the Film
  • Audio/Visual Style
  • The supernatural and the Gothic
  • Body Horror
  • Monstrosity/Abjection
  • Class, Gender, Sexuality, and Queer Readings
  • Psychoanalytic Film Theory
  • Philosophy in Film/Film as Philosophy
  • Voyuerism and “the gaze”
  • Mirrors, Screens, Foils, and Doubles
  • Genre Hybridity
  • Soundtracks and Film Scoring
  • Horror Musical Film Cycles (including Phantom of the Paradise; The Rocky Horror Picture Show [Sharman, 1975]; Shock Treatment [Sharman, 1981]; Little Shop of Horrors [Oz, 1986]; Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street [Burton, 2007]; Repo! The Genetic Opera [Bousman, 2008]; and Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog [Whedon, 2008])
  • Cult Cinema, Fandom, and Popular Culture

Please send abstracts of 300 – 500 words with a working title and five (5) keywords, accompanied by a short third-person author bio (100 words max), to phantomparadisebook@gmail.com as a Word document.

Final essays should be 5,000 – 6,000 words in length, inclusive of endnotes and bibliography. Citations and references shall be formatted according to the Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition. No images. A formal proposal for the collection will be submitted for consideration to a leading academic press.

Proposed Timeline

  • August 1, 2024 – November 15, 2024: Call for Papers
  • December 15, 2025: Notification of abstract acceptances sent to authors
  • December 15 – June 15, 2025: Book chapters drafting period
  • June 15 – July 31, 2025: Initial editorial review of submitted chapter drafts; editing/revision remarks sent to writers
  • August 1 – September 15, 2025: Contributor revision period
  • September 15 – September 30, 2025: Second editorial review
  • October 1 – October 15, 2025: Contributor revisions, as neede
  • October 15 – December 15, 2025: Finalize full manuscript
  • December 15, 2025: Submit full manuscript to press for editorial board consideration and peer review process

Miscellaneous Tidbits

Elysian Fields Kickstarter

Michael Oden is revamping/rebooting his Neo-peplum comic, Elysian Fields, with a Kickstarter campaign. You can sign up to get notified when the campaign launched at this link.

I had the honor to interview Oden a few years ago about the original incarnation of Elysian Fields, and if you’re curious, it can be read here.

Arcade Autograph

My friend Nolan McBride of the Dead Ringers Podcast was a recent guest on the VH US Podcast to talk about the Albert Pyun film Arcade (check out the episode here).

Back in December 2022 after Pyun had passed away I shared my autographed copy of Cyborg (check it out here). McBride podcast appearance totally made me remember that I had a copy of Arcade signed by the awesome cult director. So, here it is!

Nick,

We shot this in 12 days and I actually got into a fight with Charles Band on the final cut and left the film. But I really liked the Cast and David Goyer’s script.

Best, Albert Pyun

Thanks for all the memories Pyun!

Alien Quadrilogy Autographs

Alien: Romulus is out in the world now. Despite not caring for Prometheus and Covenant, I’ll give Romulus a shot since I’m always curious were the Alien/Predator universe lore takes off into. But for now, since the movie is out, it’s a good enough time as any to share my autographed copy of the Alien Quadrilogy boxset.

This is signed by Veronica Cartwright (Alien) and Lance Henriksen (Aliens). I recall buying this boxset back in 2004 from a Fred Meyer I lived across the street from in University Place, WA. I was so excited to scrimp some monies to buy this set and all the supplemental goodies in it. The set is two decades old, and I’ll probably someday buy some 4K versions of the movies on it, but this will remain one of my prized gems in the library.

In Gowan Ring Concert 2007

Speaking of old, old Washington memories, while categorizing my music and getting everything imported onto my Mac, I came across a copy of Webs Among the Din 2 by folk project In Gowan Ring.

Michele and I actually got to be concert organizers and promoters and have In Gowan Ring (Patreon link) perform a tiny concert at the University Bookstore at the University of Washington – Tacoma Campus. It was a lot of fun! Michele did up posters, and I did the green room and made my custom onion cheese tart. Michele also made a recording of the event, so perhaps we will find it while we continue to unpack, and see if something can be done with it.

After In Gowan Ring concluded their tour they did a commemorative release called Webs Among the Din 2, which features a map and a listing of all their performances.

So, 17 years ago this month we got to host a folk band at our school. Very cool!

The Neverending Streamer – More Fallout Write Ups

Travis Lakata has some new Fallout episode write ups on his Substack, The Neverending Streamer.

Check them out:

Florida, Man Indiegogo

My friend Evan Jordan (one of the editors of Footage Fiends, the zine I got to contribute an essay about Caltiki to last year) is doing a crowdfunding endeavor for his feature-length movie debut, Florida, Man.

Per the Indiegogo campaign:

Florida, Man aims to explore the [..]paranormal encounters I had in addition to the rest of my weird past in the state of Florida through archival footage, re-enactments, interviews with surviving family members and other involved parties, as well as ending with a full paranormal investigation of the rural home where everything occurred all those years ago.

Check out the campaign at Indiegogo.

Categories
News

Biweekly News Roundup 2024-05-26

Personal / Website News

Peplum Ponderings: Vulcan, Son of Jupiter

A new Peplum Ponderings article is now online!

I’ve done a write up about Vulcan, Son of Jupiter which can be read here.

Scholars from the Edge of Time

Two episodes of Scholars from the Edge of Time have gone online in the last couple of week.

First, for the end of April, we did an episode where Michele talked about the Alexander the Great TV series while I talk about the Lovecraftian Choose Your Own Adventure video game, The Innsmouth Case. YouTube link is here.

Next, Michele and I resume our Bella Cortez film retrospective and we dive into the pulp/scifi/peplum film The Giant of Metropolis. Check it out here on YouTube, and anticipate a Peplum Ponderings on it later on.

Miscellaneous Tidbits

The Nylon Stories: Book 1

My friend, Miss Corsair Debonair (who you may recall I interviewed for Exotica Moderne issue #14), has ventured into writing, have her first erotic short story, “The Nylon Stories: Book 1,” published on Kindle.

I was honored to do a bit of beta reading and editing for her first publication, and super flattered and humbled to be mentioned in the acknowledgements.

The story can be bought from Amazon – here is the Kindle product page. If you’re into office/business erotica with am emphasis on stockings, this is totally your cuppa.

Awen’s This World and Its Spirits

The newest Awen album, This World And Its Spirits, is officially out! I’m feel super chuffed and honored to be mentioned in the thank yous in this exquisite release.

This physical, vinyl edition of the album can be bought at the Triskele website (limited to 100 copies, so act quick!). The digital edition of This World and Its Spirits can be purchased on BandCamp.

For those curious, many releases in Awen’s catalogue are still available, be it through Triskele or Bandcamp. If you’re interested in The Hollow in the Stone, I did a review on that album, so consider giving it a read and checking out that album as well. Also, many moons ago, I did a review of their Grim King of the Ghosts for Heathen Harvest. An archived copy can be read here, but I’ll see about republishing it and updating it to my website. Regardless, check that one out as well!

Newest Acquisitions

Pluck up two new movies for the peplum library.

First is The Slave and the Sorcerer. This was a Kickstarted endeavor to make an very 80s-homage sword and sorcery flick.

The Crowdfunding campaign has long since ended, but info about the film can still be found at the Kickstarter site.

Next, a film I am super, super excited to see, is She is Conann.

A feminist take on Conan the Barbarian, reimagined as a woman through different points in time? Yes, please! My sixth sense of that this film is going to be amazing is going off.

Categories
News

News Roundup W/E 2022-08-14

Personal / Website News

Review Republished: Awen’s The Hollow in the Stone

Last week I re-published another older piece of mine, a look at the album The Hollow in the Stone by Texas neofolk outfit Awen.

I originally published this on my neofolk blog back in 2020. It’s new home can be found here.

General Neo-Peplum News

Weird Tales #366 Cover Reveal

Issue #366 of the resurrected Weird Tales magazine will be devoted to all things sword and sorcery. The Weird Tales Facebook page revealed the cover art by Bob Eggleton:

The list of authors on the front looks epic. Keep an eye out at the Weird Tales official website when the issue becomes available to pre-order.

Gladiator 2 News

Article over at MSN/MovieWeb has a write up on all things known so far about Gladiator 2.

New Warkings Music Video

Austrian neo-peplum power metal outfit Warkings has a brand new music video online.

The song is called “Monsters” and has a guest appearance from Morgana le Fay. The video can be watched on YouTube or in the embedded player above. The song will be appearing on Warking’s next album, Morgana, slated to be released November 11th.

Categories
Essays

A Savage World: Awen’s The Hollow in the Stone

Released late in 2019, The Hollow in the Stone is American neofolk outfit Awen’s third and newest studio album since their 2014 release, Grim King of the Ghosts. Released right on the eve of Awen’s fifteenth year in operation, The Hollow in the Stone is the band’s most refined, polished, and ambitious album to date. The album is mixture of distinct, yet associated styles – neofolk, post-industrial, narrative spoken word – arranged on the release in a seamless, cohesive fashion. This balance of styles has not gone unnoticed by fans of the band, with Erin Powell, figurehead of Awen, stating “stylistically we have maintained a combination of folk and industrial elements for the last several albums, whereas some projects seem to just focus on an all acoustic instrument sound. I’ve had feedback from people over the years that they appreciate this mixture of sounds from us.”

The Hollow in the Stone contains thirteen tracks, two of them being intro/outros, with the rest being original compositions, with only “I am Stretched on your Grave” being a traditional song, rearranged by Katrin X. Guest appearances are a trademark of Awen, with long time alumnus b9 InViD of Et Nihil appearing once again, along with a first time appearance of Jerome Reuter from ROME. “Perversity of Joy,” “Brigid the Dark, Brigid the Light,” “Hawthorn Rod,” “The Death Of Reynard,” and “The Hollow In The Stone” constitute the album’s neofolk offerings. “Englyn for Blodeuwedd,” “In the Heart of the Corpseknot” and “The Sickle and the Setting Sun” are the industrial/martial-industrial tracks on the album while “I am Stretched on your Grave” adds an ethereal sound to the mix.

The neofolk tracks are exceptionally well executed, with Powell displaying a fondness for “Hawthorn Rod” that he feels shows all facets of Awen coming into play. The song is an excellent duet between Powell and Katrin X, with catchy and seductive guitars that lures a listener in. “Brigid the Dark, Brigid the Light,” which is about the Irish goddess Brigid, captures the same romantic neofolk elements.

Awen live, 2019. Photo by Karl Hendrik

“Morrigan” is an unexpected surprise on The Hollow in the Stone and a tremendous delight. A departure from traditional Awen songs of the past, “Morrigan” is a spoken word track. Awen has come close to flirting with the genre on prior releases in songs such as “Sacrifice” from The Bells Before Dawn, which is more akin to an NSK speech or a Praise the Fallen-era VNV Nation track, and “Dream of an Omen,” which also contains bits of the spoken word formula, yet still feels more like a song than a narration. Instead, “Morrigan” is a narrative, third person perspective, dark fiction, spoken word short story. In the tale, an unnamed protagonist travels though a dark forest with a sinister steed and happens upon the mysterious titular Morrigan at a stream. It is an encounter that will not bode well for the protagonist. “Morrigan” demonstrates that Powell is a master orator, and Awen should consider releasing more songs, or even a one-off album, of narrated stories. As Cadabra Records has shown with their luxurious vinyl releases of readings of H. P. Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, and Thomas Ligotti, there is a niche market for dark spoken word albums set to ambient/industrial soundscapes. Awen, who have repurposed poetic works before (as “Empire, Night & the Breaker” from The Bells Before Dawn which uses the poetry of Breaker Morant) is the perfect outfit to release even more tracks in this vein.

For fans of ROME who are not familiar with Awen, but are interested in checking out the album due to Reuter’s appearance on the track “The Death Of Reynard” (or perhaps due to Awen’s appearance on ROME’s Le Ceneri Di Heliodoro), are in for a treat as Reuter’s distinctive, hypnotic voice is put to excellent use on the neofolkish song. The song showcases a great mixture of both ROME and Awen.

Excluding the outro “Cyfraith Dyn,” The Hollow in the Stone ends with “The Sickle and the Setting Sun,” and what a way to end. The song is an excellent representation of Awen’s aggressive-side of their music catalog, and if this were the 90s-2000s, “The Sickle and the Setting Sun” would be the album’s first MCD single, complete with remixes and multimedia tracks. The song is an apocalyptic-pop, bombastic tune. Powell’s voice booms over thunderous drums while Katrin X’s vocals seethe the song’s title in a call-and-response fashion. The opening lyrics “the symbol of the setting sun / cruel crescent that severs grain and chaff as one / the punishing steel / once cut, it’s done! / the sickle and the setting sun” sets the stage for the subject matter of the song, drawing imagery from neofolk tropes, and yet uniquely applying to Awen, creating an anthem of sorts for the band. The sickle has been an iconic implement used by the band, especially during live performances with Katrin X brandishing them, drawing parallels to, say, how Christopher Lee as Lord Summerisle did during the May Day celebrations in The Wicker Man. Powell further elaborates on the meaning of the sickle to Awen:

“Katrin does use a pair of antique sickles with a contact mic on them in studio recordings and live performances. It is an interesting symbol to me. Agricultural, but also urban and modern in the context of 20th century political iconography. We read that the ancient druids used a golden sickle to cut mistletoe in their rituals. The shape of the blade is a crescent moon, which has many interesting connotations throughout the ages and different cultures. The severing blade, life from death.” 

Awen live, 2019. Photo by Karl Hendrik

The album concludes with “Cyfraith Dyn: which echoes the sound of the album’s intro track, “Cyfraith Natur.” Both tracks act as opulent bookends to the album.

Though it has been five years between the release of Awen’s second album, Grim King of the Ghosts, and The Hollow in the Stone, those years were not idle ones for the band. The time period saw numerous live, split releases (such as 2016’s European Crusade 2015 with Et Nihil and 2017’s Abyssus Abyssum Invocat [Defiance in Dallas] with Boyd Rice) and a handful of tours and live appearances. Awen’s accumulation of prestige over the years is evident in the band’s new home on the legendary Trisol label, making them bedfellows with renown acts such as, ROME, Clan of Xymox, L’Âme Immortelle, and Project Pitchfork. Per Powell, the move to Trisol came about during their concert in Frankurt in 2017:

“Alex, the label owner of Trisol, was at our concert in Germany when we played with Boyd and played as Awen as well as Fire + Ice for Ian Read. Jerome Reuter was also there, and I invited him backstage to meet everyone and gave him his first Neofolk Bullwhip! He later recommended us to Alex, who was already impressed by our performance. We decided to make the move from OEC to Trisol then.”

The end result of Awen’s signing to Trisol is the release of a beautiful and ornate vinyl edition of The Hollow in the Stone. Matching the artistic acumen demonstrated in the music proper, the physical release of the album is equally lavish. Limited to 500 units, The Hollow in the Stone is pressed on transparent vinyl, with lyrics to all the songs printed on the inner sleeve, all housed in a sleeve with unsettling (in a Giger sort of way) artwork, adopted from photos taken by Powell. Those without a vinyl player are taken into consideration as a CD with all the tracks comes packaged with the album. All in all, a luxurious release, both in regard to the packaging, but also to the music within.

Awen live, 2019. Photo by Karl Hendrik

Post The Hollow in the Stone, the future looks as bright as the setting sun for Awen, with plans of a new albums already in the works. Powell tantalizes:

“We are working on a new album currently and have the foundations for ten songs so far. This record does not have a title yet. Expect several acoustic songs, but also an array of industrial percussion including oil drums and scrap metal. I have a concept in mind for the album, with a rambling piece of guitar music that runs like a river in between all of the other separate songs, like a subplot in a story. I think this element will only be heard on the vinyl edition, and the CD version should feature the tracks without it…making a different listening experience between the formats.”

The Hollow in the Stone Track List:

Side A

  1. Cyfraith Natur 
  2. Perversity Of Joy 
  3. Brigid The Dark, Brigid The Light
  4. Englyn For Blodeuwedd 
  5. Hawthorn Rod 
  6. In The Heart Of The Corpseknot

Side B

  1. Morrigan 
  2. The Death Of Reynard
  3. The Hollow In The Stone 
  4. Ravenna 
  5. I Am Stretched On Your Grave
  6. The Sickle and the Setting Sun 
  7. Cyfraith Dyn

All photos provided courtesy of Erin Powell. Sincere gratitude for the quotations as well. Awen can be found at:

This write up was originally published March 8, 2020.