1. :Of The Wand & The Moon:The Lone Descent
I have some notes, but I will try to do this in a more ‘conversational’ way. Have you heard of this band before? They are a Danish neo-folk band and I saw them play live for the first time here in Copenhagen. I was seeing a Death In June show and :Of The Wand & The Moon: were the support act. Their set was the absolute highlight of the evening. I was blown away as I had never heard of them before. It was extraordinary to find the support act to be better than the main act.
Most of the songs they played were from The Lone Descent and those songs speak very directly to me. They have made other albums but this is the one I truly enjoy. There is no filter – the songs pierce your heart and they are so good that you cannot resist. That’s why I was so taken by them and I was also super surprised to find that they were Danish, as there aren’t so many Danish acts that I enjoy. Sometimes when there is a band that good, I wonder why I have never heard of them. No one had ever spoken about them to me until this concert.
Why do you describe the music as neo-folk?
I think I am probably the worst person to be asked that question, because I don’t know genres, but I learned that they were a neo-folk band as their music has roots in traditional folk music but it is not dealing with the same matters as folk music, it is dealing with contemporary issues. Death In June are a British neo-folk band and I think :Of The Wand & The Moon: are extremely inspired by Death In June.
Also, I love Kim Larsen’s voice. Since then, I have met Kim a couple of times. He lives in Copenhagen and so we go to the same obscure concerts. I think he will be happy I have put this album on the list, as it is much overlooked. At least I hope he will be happy.
What are the chances of a collaboration with Kim?
I hope the chances are high. He actually sent me a song about a year ago and asked me if I wanted to do the vocals. In the end I declined. It was a cover of a Shirley Collins song. Her pitch for that song was perfect for his pitch but it didn’t fit my pitch – so it was too dark. I think that was a bad excuse on my part.
