Dark Mountain Project | The Ramsgate Hovercraft

From the Mourning of the World is a new compilation of songs by “various uncivilised artists” curated by Marmaduke Dando for the Dark Mountain Project. There is a wide range of styles here; really what the songs have in common with each other and the Dark Mountain Project itself is that they are all musical responses to troubled times and rather from an outsider’s perspective. These are modern songs with deep roots, perhaps folk in the making in a very broad sense. Despite the variety the songs do not jar being side-by-side, rather this makes for an interesting and colourful experience, and despite the potentially bleak inspiration behind the project there are moments of humour too. Favourites on first hearing include Wildwood by The General Assembly, which also appears on their album Dark Mountain Music, and To The River by Look, Stranger, however this album needs several more listens and this may change.

The production of this album was financed by an Indiegogo campaign and I am very pleased to have been one of its sponsors and to see the project come to fruition.

From the Mourning of the World is available from Bandcamp now as a download or soon as an LP.

This Australian band is making some interesting music and I recommend their EP Dark Mountain Music, inspired in part by the Dark Mountain Project, an artistic response to the troubles of our times.

Dark Mountain Music carries the darkness of folk tales in its words and atmosphere. The songs are richly textured with strong melodies and rhythms that grab the attention. The five tracks on the EP have a nice balance of consistency and variety and while the tone of the music is dark the tunes are catchy and even foot-tapping.

The Dark Mountain Project is interesting too; while it is a response in particular to overwhelming environmental problems it is a considered one that stands outside the usual environmentalist positions, thanks no doubt to the leadership of thoughtful and articulate writer Paul Kingsnorth who is well worth following on Twitter as @paulkingsnorth (although there seems to be a contradiction between his stated position and actually having a Twitter account).