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 DARKWOOD
Weltenwende
2003
l0" vinyl
Eis und Licht
In 1516 the German beer purity laws (Reinheitsgebot) established
consumer protection against the use of adjuncts. Darkwood's
neofolk style shares that same simple honesty and straightforwardness
that many will consider to be characteristically German. Darkwood
is Henryk Vogel supported by several friends who
share the same interests, and arises from a desire to express the
"natural love we feel for the homeland we have been born into and
we can identify with." Henryk's father was one of those Germans
displaced after the war, and Henryk was brought up in East Germany,
factors which no doubt colour the quest for Heimat in a more
acute way than would be the case in the more Americanised, consumer-orientated
former Bundesrepublik. (German neofolk is apparently a
phenomenon generally associated with the former DDR.)
The eight tracks touch on "enthusiasm and resignation, struggle
and reflection, ascent and retreat, love and grief." I understand
that previous releases have been more electric and/or experimental,
but this album has plenty of organic instrument playing and only
some restrained nods to industrial effects. The essential product
here is unaffected and undiluted German neofolk with a very strong
leaning to what I imagine was or would be German traditional music
if it hadn't become verboten after 1945 because of its Volkische
association.
The first side features 'Wiederkehr' - mediaeval-sounding flute
music combined with a swishy industrial sound, 'Der Falken Flug'
- a melancholy and very traditional-sounding string and vocal-led
piece, 'Im Heimatwald' - a short industrial noise at the beginning
leading to another melancholy folk-style song accompanied on a strummed
acoustic guitar, all easy on the ear, and 'Der Schaffend' - spoken
word over a disturbingly 'out of tune' melody which seems to have
been subjected to a chromatic shift.
The second side features 'Stiller Bund' - a song accompanied by
strummed guitar with a flute opening and interlude, 'Weg ins Licht'
- another neofolk-style song, 'Tochter des Waldes' - spoken word
over a 'sweet-sounding' background, and 'Epitaph' - sung in (quite
good sounding) English with strummed guitar accompaniment.
A quality sleeve reflecting Eis und Licht's devotion to tastefulness
and restraint features mediaeval-looking male and female statues.
I don't know who they are but they look very earnest, a quality
mirroring Henryk's own dedication to his musical quest for homeland.
Rik - 17 July 2003
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