German band Faun formed in 1998 and play a blend of pagan folk, darkwave, and medieval music. Their latest release `Hex` is derived from “Hexe” German: witch / ahd. ‘Hagazussa’ (= the one who walks between the worlds). This twelfth studio release is about witches, female healers, and wise women. This ensemble aim to highlight the various aspects of female magic in different cultures and the legitimate question as to why we still fear the evil witches instead of the people who burned them.
We are introduced to the album through an Irish folk song `Belladonna`, an Italian phrase meaning “beautiful lady”. It also refers to the Deadly Nightshade plant (Atropa belladonna), which earned its name from the historical practice of women using its extract as a cosmetic to dilate their pupils for a fashionable, alluring look, despite the plant’s extreme toxicity. It`s a wonderfully enticing almost hypnotic opener with some middle eastern flavours alongside a pulsing drum heartbeat. There`s a further ethereal offering with `Lament` which is based on a pre-Christian mourning song from the north of England. It has a delightful keening ambience which does allow a feeling of mourning a lost soul.
American singer-songwriter and musician Chelsea Joy Wolfe adds her talents to `Nimue`. In medieval literature and mythology associated with the legend of King Arthur, the most important of Malory’s Lady of the Lake characters is sometimes referred to by her title and sometimes referred to by name, today best known as Nimue. The track has a fragility and is charmingly absorbing almost spellbinding with a slight Celtic lilt. A number that tells of Merlin and the sorceress Nimue, who imprisons him in a sacred tree for all eternity. I read that `Blot` is about the ritual sacrifices of the Vikings in their nature religion and conjured for me a sense of the ambience of that sacred ceremony or ritual.
`Zauberin` is a sorceress, a female magician, or enchantress and is sung in German with a real delicate touch. It has a brief section of spoken word incantation. The lyrical substance to `Lady Isobel` appears to be about a mysterious woman seemingly trapped in the “tower of her loneliness.” It`s a kind of haunting ballad and brought to mind a Donovan like texture.
`Black Eyed Dog` is a reworking of a Nick Drake song from half a century ago and its title is a euphemism for depression. Nick grew up and is buried about ten miles from where I live and I have visited his resting place many times. This version retains the rhythm of the original but is much more chant like. Woodwind instrumentation is infused throughout `Vals` based on Swedish folklore with two Swedish guest musicians Daniel Pettersson and Daniel Fredriksson add their flair on this waltzlike instrumental.
The Elf Spear or `Ylfa Spere` is an Old English spell from the 11th century and is utterly entrancing as it moves between a more relaxed and frantic pace and back again as it gains volume and depth as it evolves. We have in
`Hare Spell` a number that is based on a spell recorded by Isobel Gowdie during a witch trial in Auldearn in Scotland in 1662. It`s slightly melancholic but haunting, emotive, and evocative. There is no record of what happened to Isobel after the trial due to the local records no longer existing.
We enjoy an old Turkish folk song set to music with Turkish rock singer Fatma Turgut on `Umay`. The title refers to the goddess of fertility, mothers, and children in Turkic mythology and Tengrism. It is a delicate and exquisite submission full of charm and fascination. The album concludes with `Alfar` which is about the elven hills inhabited by spirits. Alfar are elves in Norse mythology and this final cut has a superb rhythmic pulse and really draws you into its spiritual depths.
I loved `Hex` which was full of passion, emotion, and intensity. The tales within the numbers shared have left me with a desire to explode further the mythologies and stories they tell so zealously. I must admit `Hex` drew me into its magical and enchanted layers and left me wanting more.
Rating 9/10
