View source for Neofolk

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{EngvarB|date=July 2023}}
{{short description|Music genre}}
{{Infobox music genre
| name              = Neofolk
| other_names       = *Apocalyptic folk
| stylistic_origins = * [[Contemporary folk music|Folk]]
* [[Industrial music|industrial]]
* [[experimental music|experimental]]
* [[dark ambient]]
| cultural_origins  = 1980s, England
| derivatives       = [[Martial industrial]]
| subgenrelist      =
| subgenres         =
| fusiongenres      =
| regional_scenes   =
| other_topics      = * [[Anti-folk]]
* [[dark wave]]
* [[folk punk]]
* [[freak folk]]
* [[neopagan music]]
* [[post-punk]]
}}
'''Neofolk''', also known as '''apocalyptic folk''', is a form of music blending elements of [[contemporary folk music|folk]] and [[industrial music]], which emerged in [[punk rock]] circles in the 1980s.{{sfn|Webb|2007|p=60}} Neofolk may either be solely acoustic or combine acoustic folk instrumentation with various other sounds.<ref name=NeumanBraun>{{Cite book|title=<nowiki>Die Welt der Gothics: Spielräume düster konnotierter Transzendenz [The World of the Goths: Scopes of a darkly-connoted Transcendence]</nowiki> |language=German |first1=Klaus |last1=Neumann-Braun |first2=Axel |last2=Schmidt |publisher=VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften | year=2008 |edition=2nd |isbn=978-3-531-15880-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0ykjKReN-ygC&pg=PA280 |page=280 }}</ref>
==History==
[[Image:Sol Invictus Live.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Sol Invictus (band)|Sol Invictus]] in live concert]]
The term "neofolk" originates from esoteric music circles who started using the term in the late 20th century to describe music made by, and influenced by, musicians such as [[Douglas Pearce]] ([[Death In June]]), [[Michael Gira]] ([[Swans (band)|Swans]]), [[Tony Wakeford]] ([[Sol Invictus (band)|Sol Invictus]]), and [[David Tibet]] ([[Current 93]]).<ref name=NeumanBraun/>
Anglo-American folk music with similar sounds and themes to neofolk existed as far back as the 1960s.<ref name=NeumanBraun/> Folk musicians such as Vulcan's Hammer, Changes, [[Leonard Cohen]], and [[Comus (band)|Comus]] could be considered harbingers of the sound that later influenced the neofolk artists. Also the later explorations of [[Velvet Underground]]'s band members, specifically those of [[Nico]], have been called a major influence on what later became neofolk.{{sfn|Webb|2007|p=60}}
==Culture==
A majority of artists within the neofolk genre use archaic, cultural and literary references. Local traditions and indigenous beliefs tend to be portrayed heavily as well as esoteric and historical topics.<ref name="NeumanBraun" /> Various forms of [[neopaganism]] and [[occultism]] play a part in the themes touched upon by many modern and original neofolk artists. [[Runic alphabet]]s, heathen European sites and other means of expressing an interest in the ancient and ancestral occur often in neofolk music. The sociologist Peter Webb describes this as a legacy from [[romantic poetry]] and a reaction against the [[rationalism]] of the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]]. Webb writes that for bands like [[Sol Invictus (band)|Sol Invictus]], this leads to "a type of esoteric spirituality where paganism comes to the fore because of its respect for nature, its openness about sexuality, and its rituals and ceremonies guided by the seasons".{{sfn|Webb|2007|p=100}} Aesthetically, references to this subject occur within band names, album artwork, clothing and various other means of artistic expression. This has led to some forefathers of the genre and current artists within the genre attributing it to being an aspect of a broader neopagan revival.<ref name=DOUGLASREV>"I'm very happy about that because I see Death In June as part of a European cultural revival. I'm pleased that the Old Gods are being resurrected, for want of a better word. Old symbols. I feel very pleased that I am a part of that process and that I have had influence. At this stage in the game, so to speak, it's not false modesty to say that I am content with my influence." Powell, Erin. [http://www.deathinjune.org/modules/mediawiki/index.php/Interview:2005-Heathen_Harvest Interview with Douglas Pearce] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071018080254/http://deathinjune.org/modules/mediawiki/index.php/Interview%3A2005-Heathen_Harvest |date=18 October 2007 }}, 2005.</ref> [[David Tibet]] of [[Current 93]], one of the most influential neofolk bands, regards himself as a Christian, but believes that truth always is hidden and is more interested in [[Apocalyptic literature|apocalyptic]] and [[Apocrypha|apocryphal literature]] than any Christian canon.{{sfn|Keenan|2003|pp=148, 178}} During a period of heavy [[amphetamine]] and [[LSD]] use in the 1980s, he began to revere the children's character [[Noddy (character)|Noddy]] as a [[Gnosticism|Gnostic]] deity.{{sfn|Keenan|2003|p=152}}
Many bands use metaphors, sometimes borrowing terms such as [[Ernst Jünger]]'s ''Waldgänger'' and using [[Fascism|fascist]] symbols and slogans, which has led to an association of the genre with the far-right, though this is contested by fans.<ref>Anton Shekhovtsov (2009) Apoliteic music: Neo-Folk, Martial Industrial and ‘metapolitical fascism’, Patterns of Prejudice, 43:5, 431–457, DOI: 10.1080/00313220903338990</ref> References to occult, pagan and politically far-right figures and movement are often intentionally ambiguous. [[Stefanie von Schnurbein]] has described the genre's approach to these types of material as an "elitist [[Friedrich Nietzsche|Nietzschean]] masquerade" which expresses a "(neo-)romantic art-religious attitude".{{sfn|Schnurbein|2014|pp=254–255}} Some bands have stated opposition to the perceived fascist apologia and themes in the genre and the related genre of martial industrial.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://noisey.vice.com/en_us/article/vbjnqx/gaylord-anti-fascist-black-metal-interview|title=Unmasking Gaylord, Black Metal's Latest Anti-Fascist Enigma|last1=Kelly|first1=Kim|last2=Joyce|first2=Colin|date=21 August 2018|website=Noisey|language=en-US|access-date=19 April 2019}}</ref>
==Related terms and styles==
===Apocalyptic folk===
As a descriptor, apocalyptic folk predates neofolk and was used by David Tibet to describe the music of his band [[Current 93]] during a period in the late 1980s and early 1990s.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Apocalypse Is Everywhere: A Popular History of America's Favorite Nightmare |first=Anne |last=Rehill |publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing]] |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-313-35438-0 |page=205 |url=https://www.google.com/search?hl=de&q=Hall+of+Sermon#q=Neofolk&hl=en&tbm=bks&ei=E5QMT-P4E87tsgb0--3lBA&start=40&sa=N&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=4925f700bfe318b3&biw=1280&bih=649}}</ref> Initially, Tibet did not intend to imply connection with the folk music genre; rather, that Current 93 was made by "apocalyptic folk[s]": in other words, apocalyptic people.<ref name="APOCALYPTICFOLK">"[http://www.popmatters.com/music/interviews/current-93-060516.shtml The Apocalyptic Visions of Current 93]"</ref> Tibet and Current 93 produced some covers of traditional English folk songs, and Tibet himself was a great advocate for reclusive English folk singer [[Shirley Collins]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Folk singer Shirley Collins performs first show in 35 years|url=http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/feb/10/folk-singer-shirley-collins-35-years-union-chapel|date=10 February 2014|website=the Guardian|language=en|access-date=6 May 2020}}</ref>
===Folk noir===
Other vague terms sometimes used to describe artists of this genre include "'''dark folk'''" and "[[paganism|pagan]] folk". These terms are [[umbrella term]]s that also describe various other forms of unrelated music.{{ref}}
===Martial industrial===
{{Main|Martial industrial}}
==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist}}
===Sources===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Keenan |first=David |author-link=David Keenan |year=2003 |title=England's Hidden Reverse: A Secret History of the Esoteric Underground |location=London |publisher=SAF Publishing |isbn=978-0-946719-40-2 }}
* {{cite book |last=Schnurbein |first=Stefanie von |author-link=Stefanie von Schnurbein |year=2014 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LMDWBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA254 |chapter=Germanic Neo-Paganism – A Nordic Art-Religion? |editor1-last=Schlehe |editor1-first=Judith |editor2-last=Sandkühler |editor2-first=Evamaria |title=Religion, Tradition and the Popular: Transcultural Views from Asia and Europe |location=Bielefeld |publisher=Transcript Verlag |isbn=978-3-8376-2613-1 }}
* {{cite book |last=Webb |first=Peter |year=2007 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cU6TAgAAQBAJ |title=Exploring the Networked Worlds of Popular Music: Milieux Cultures |location=London |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-95658-1 }}
{{refend}}
==Further reading==
* {{cite book| last1=Diesel |first1=Andreas |last2=Gerten |first2=Dieter |title=Looking for Europe: Neofolk und Hintergründe |language=de |publisher=Index Verlag |location=Zeltingen-Rachtig |year=2007 |isbn=978-3-936878-02-8 }}
* {{cite book |last=Fava |first=Sérgio |year=2012 |chapter-url=https://sheffieldphoenix.com/product/anthems-of-apocalypse-popular-music-and-apocalyptic-thought/ |editor-last=Partridge |editor-first=Christopher |title=Anthems of Apocalypse: Popular Music and Apocalyptic Thought |publisher=Sheffield Phoenix Press |pages=72–89 |chapter=When Rome Falls, Falls the World: Current 93 and Apocalyptic Folk |isbn=978-1-907534-34-8}}
* {{cite journal |last=François |first=Stéphane |author-link=Stéphane François |year=2007 |translator-last=Godwin |translator-first=Ariel |title=The Euro-Pagan Scene: Between Paganism and Radical Right |journal=Journal for the Studies of Radicalism |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=35–54 |doi=10.1353/jsr.2008.0006 |issn=1930-1189 |jstor=41887576 |s2cid=144508250 }}
* {{cite book |last=Saunders |first=Robert A. |year=2020 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E2XMDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT43 |chapter=''Völkisch'' vibes: Neofolk, place, politics, and pan-European nationalism |editor-last=Nieguth |editor-first=Tim |title=Nationalism and Popular Culture |location=London |publisher=Routledge |pages=36–58 |doi=10.4324/9780429321764-4  |isbn=978-0-429-32176-4 |s2cid=242993887 }}
* Shekhovtsov, Anton. '[http://www.shekhovtsov.org/articles/Anton_Shekhovtsov-Apoliteic_Music.html Apoliteic music: Neo-Folk, Martial Industrial and "metapolitical fascism"]', ''Patterns of Prejudice'', Vol. 43, No. 5 (December 2009), pp.&nbsp;431–457.
{{Folk music}}
{{Industrial music-footer}}
{{Goth subculture}}
{{Experimental music genres}}
[[Category:Neofolk| ]]
[[Category:English styles of music]]
[[Category:Folk music genres]]