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"John Barleycorn Reborn: Dark Britannica"

Cold Spring - 2007

2 CD

John Barleycorn Reborn is a very ambitious project around which many different artists revolve, all under the common denominator of traditional folk music. The title "Dark Britannica" clearly shows the musicians' British heritage, and it's indeed their Tradition and roots that are celebrated and praised on this sampler released by Cold Spring, featuring a collection of 33 songs on 2 CDs. A few names should be well-known to the label's usual audience, as they are appreciated protagonists of the neofolk scene: Sol Invictus, Andrew King, While Angels Watch, Sieben. But, this is not another neofolk sampler, since all the others come from a completely different background, mostly in pure traditional folk or interesting experimental alchemies of ancient and modern: it's the case of Shannon Kraus, Electronic Voice Phenomena, Clive Powell, or ex-Eyeless In Gaza Martyn Bates, to name a few.

This rich and multi-faced approach to folklore is promoted by Woven Wheat Whispers, a legal folk music download service whose aim is to preserve and spread the music of the fields. The third part of John Barleycorn Reborn is available for download at their website, with other 33 unreleased songs! "Dark Britannica" is a courageous and well-worth operation, finally showing that ideas and values such as Tradition and Identity are not the weapons of dangerous extremists, but the pulsating source of inspiration for many different artists and musicians. Among them, the neofolk genre seems finally to have been fully recognized as part of it.

A recommended listening to every neofolk faithful looking forward to expand his / her own horizons, discovering different and not less fascinating approaches to folklore. Undoubtedly, one of 2007's most outstanding releases. For more information and interesting new paths, check the other websites created by Mark Coyle, the man behind Woven Wheat Whispers: www.theunbrokencircle.co.uk and www.harvest-home.org.

- Simon V.

Website: http://www.wovenwheatwhispers.co.uk

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/coldspring