Neo-Folk

[dungeonsnake]

anyone else interested in neo-folk?  personally my favorite is Vàli


i also keep October Falls in heavy rotation


anybody else into this sub-genre?  i feel it has a lot in common with Dungeon Synth in some ways - focus on mood & atmosphere, as well as often having a bleak but romantic timbre.  What are some of your favorites?  Especially things that you think are good for winter time.

[thekeeper]

I listen to neofolk a lot. Current 93 is in my top 3 artists in general. The Moon Lay Hidden Beneath a Cloud is probably my second favorite neofolk artist, Death in June is third (obligatory). TMLHBaC actually has quite a few dungeon-y keyboard passages. I tried searching on youtube for a song to post, but apparently there isn't anything posted. Strange.

I'm not as much into the newer heathen kind of neofolk, moreso the early industrial influenced stuff, which I suppose would be considered the 'classics'.

One of the best neofolk albums around (features all of the reoccurring classic musicians, mainly by Michael Cashmore, instrumentalist on a lot of C93 stuff):



Weird winter alpine fun:

[dungeonsnake]

i love The Moon Lay Hidden Beneath a Cloud

[Ananoriel]

Valí is lovely and melancholic at the same time. I listen to neo-folk very often, I love the calmness in it.

Woodfall from Musk Ox is one of my favourites lately.

[dungeonsnake]

ahh thank you, i'd forgotten about that Musk Ox album! It's great. and yes I find this music has an extremely calming effect on me too. Dungeon Synth is often the same way.

[shadowcloak]

Absolutely amazing:

[nahadoth]

I like Current 93, Wolcensmen's latest, and Ulver's Kveldssanger. Don't much care for Death in June. I like a lot of Scandinavian traditional folk (like Swedish Nyckelharpa and Norwegian Hardingfele), and some of the Scandinavian bands like Wardruna and Garmana get some of the feeling of this music for me.

[Nacht]

Definitely a huge fan of neofolk, as well as dark folk in general. I think two of my favourite groups are Nebelung and Ulvesang. Their music is very indebted to Ulver's Kvelssanger. Also of course Wardruna and Forndom. I find Forndom's music incredibly relaxing.    

Also been enjoying Wolcensmen recently, who's clearly very popular here. I actually wasn't all that impressed by the original demo but Songs From The Fyrgen is really wonderful. One of my favourite non-metal records of the year, I have a CD copy.

Anilah also has a really rather incredible collaborative song with Wardruna's Einar Selvik which is well worth hearing.

[Ananoriel]

I saw Wardruna 3 times live already, and I never get bored of them. Their music has a lot of good energy for me.

Something sweet for the night.

[PestilentSwarm]

I can't find the studio version but this song was included on a compilation I bought 12 or so years ago. One of my favorite neo-folk tracks.


Later Lumsk is some of the best neo-folk I've ever heard. I'd love to hear more new material from these guys one day.


Nordman is a great ecto-pop band from Sweden. Tyr and Ensiferum did a pretty cool cover of their song Vandraren. My personal favorite is "I lågornas sken"


Nordmen - Vandraren


Ensiferum w/ Heri Joensen on vocals

[Profoundemonium]

I adore "Regő Rejtem" by The Moon and the Nightspirit, every song on that album is incredible.

[wayfarer]

I'm not that well versed in Neo-Folk, but I love the sound of Wardruna, Forndom and the like.
For fans of these bands Trobar de Morte might be an interesting one to dive into:



And for a more Dark Ambient/Folk mix I can recommend this amazing project:

[Ananoriel]

Trobar de Morte gives me mixed feelings. There are some songs that I find very good, but at other times I can get very annoyed by their music. I can't lay my finger on it why exactly. This is a song I like for example.



It reminds me very much of Hagalaz Runedance now I listen to it again. It is more pagan/folkish instead of Neofolk tbh.

[dungeonsnake]

for those curious about neofolk who want a decent sampling of different styles i recommend this compilation album called "Whom the Moon a Nightsong Sings". it's got a great mix of artists, including my favorites Vali and October Falls, and also many classic artists of the genre like Ulver, Nest, and Tenhi. and some other artists who were newer/lesser known at the time.

(the full album is in a playlist, you'll need to click through to youtube)

[nebulosa]

Nest is definitely my favorite neo-folk project. Vali and Tenhi are great as well.