Some Hauntological Musical Curiosities for Halloween

If you’re looking for some fresh music to add to your Halloween playlists here’s a few spooky selections from the world of slightly strange folk music, to make a change from I Put a Spell On You and The Monster Mash.

First up, is the eponymous debut album by The Witching Tale. What could be more appropriate for Halloween? I’m afraid, on first encounter, I was all too ready to dismiss this as just so much airy-fairy hokum. The purple prose of the press release didn’t help to dispel this impression, describing The Witching Tale as “a black celebration of the magical power of eroticism.” And yet, listening to these ten tracks in the days leading up to Halloween last year, two thoughts occurred to me. First, this is the perfect soundtrack for an All Hallows’ Eve gathering. Second, the music is intriguing and – dare I say – enchanting.

The Witching Tale are Michael J York (synthesisers, bagpipes, piano, hurdy-gurdy and a host of other instruments) and Katharine Blake (vocals and recorders.) Blake is best known as a founding member of Mediaeval Baebes. The blend of multi-layered analogue synths, traditional instruments and Blake’s flawless voice creates a powerful atmosphere redolent of folk horror. Tracks like ‘The Falling Garden,’ with its off-kilter harmonies and straggling recorders, could be music from ‘The Wicker Man’ or ‘Children of the Stones.’ If hauntological curiosities are your thing, you too may fall under The Witching Tale’s spell.

My second offering is another debut album, Ingen Mere Gråter by Ævestaden. There’s a subgenre called ‘dream pop’ that includes bands from Cocteau Twins to Beach House – Ævestaden’s music could be described as ‘dream folk.’ This Norwegian/Swedish trio’s debut is a little, enigmatic gem – and I’m completely captivated by it.

Ævestaden are Eir Vatn Strøm, Levina Storåkern and Kenneth Lien, all fine multi-instrumentalists and singers. They describe their songs as being about the conscious and the subconscious, the secular and the sacred, life and death. They combine traditional instrumentation – lyre, fiddle, mouth harp, langeleik and kantele – with a subtle use of electronics, creating a bewitching sonic backdrop to their melodically adventurous vocals. It’s hard to find comparisons but, at times, Ævestaden’s music reminded me of English psychedelic folk duo The Left Outsides.

Ingen Mere Gråter is made up of three traditional songs and three original songs, the finale being ‘Flytta’ where, the music is gradually joined by the sound of a rainstorm which ends abruptly before the final track ‘Heilo’ – thirty-seven seconds of birdsong fading into the distance – as if to suggest, where human words and music cease, nature endures. There’s a definite other-worldliness to Ævestaden’s music, which lends itself perfectly to this season of liminality.

Finally, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Anna Tam’s album Hatching Hares. As well as playing cello and piano, Anna uses more historic folk instruments like nyckelharpa, viola da gamba and hurdy gurdy to accompany her singing. As it happens, Anna (like Katharine Blake of The Witching Tale) is a former member of Medieval Baebes.

Hatching Hares includes ten songs and five instrumentals (most of the latter being traditional tunes.) There’s a lot of variety on the album but I’m including it in my spooky Halloween selection here because there’s something a little eerie, to my ears, about tunes like ‘St Martin’s Waltz’ and the song ‘The Snow It Melts the Soonest.’ What’s more, Anna includes a proper ghost story, enhanced by creepy electronic effects, in the form of ‘Holland Handkerchief.’ So, whether it’s The Witching Tale’s spellbinding soundscapes, Ævestaden’s Scandinavian dream-folk or the ghostly singing and playing of Anna Tam, why not try out these spine-chilling selections this Halloween?