DARK FOLKE by The Observatory
A Transposition of Melancholy. They have no voice for their mouths are covered. They cannot move for their bodies are stiff. But their minds are free. Their eyes are no longer prisons. When the hour of the owl comes, they will enter the tree through a triangle. The triangle is a doorway. The tree is a cave. The cave echoes their every thought, breath and step. And while there is no light, they remain hidden but never forgotten. DARK FOLKE.
Recorded and mixed in Bergen, Norway with their longtime collaborator, Jorgen Traeen, well known producer of bands such as Ultralyd, Motorpsycho and Jaga Jazzist.
With a change in musical direction, the math prog rock of The Observatory’s third album A Far Cry From Here has morphed into a fluid mystical beast.
Most songs have no drums on them. But there is rhythm. Only the type of rhythm associated with an invisible pulse. An implied rhythm.
5 folks sitting around a fire. A metaphorical fire. Chanting for the rain to come.
The Double LP was released on 1 January 2010, featuring the twisted art of metal/hardcore/underground illustrator and designer, Justin Bartlett aka Vberkvlt, the artist behind the art of SUNN O))), Moss, Aura Noir and more. The packaging is a thick, classic deluxe gatefold full sleeve which includes an illustrated black and white 8pp 12"x12" art booklet by Justin Bartlett. Pressed on 180g black vinyl, limited, handnumbered and mastered by Rashad Becker (Sunn O)))’s Oracle and Oren Ambarchi).
Tracklist
| 1. | Omicron | 7:42 |
| 2. | A Shuffler in the Mud | 4:55 |
| 3. | Blood Rising | 3:11 |
| 4. | Ephemeron | 7:16 |
| 5. | Incastrate | 3:41 |
| 6. | Invisible Room | 3:55 |
| 7. | Lowdown | 8:11 |
| 8. | The Boring | 5:40 |
| 9. | Decarn | 6:02 |
| 10. | Mind Roots | 5:36 |
Credits
License
All rights reserved.
The Observatory’s music is texturally complex and viscerally emotional, crossing wasted borders and musical extremities that parallel polarities within human existence, provoking and inspiring in a deeply enigmatic way. The group draws inspiration from their Southeast Asian roots and heroes of new music and art.