Uncle Monty remembered

Rest in peace, Richard Griffiths OBE. While you were known for your many roles in blockbusters such as the Harry Potter series, there is one role in particular that has forever secured a place for you in Lord Bassington-Bassington's heart. Hence this tiny tribute to such a grand man.



For the record, His Lordship would like to distance himself from the anti-Felinic sentiments expressed by Uncle Monty.

A neofolk library

Lord Bassington-Bassington is rather fond of books, and has a tendency to collect small topical libraries. And as His Lordship likes neofolk music, it was only logical that the bookshelves here at Bassington Manor should contain a few books about, and related to, the genre.

So the following is simply a catalogue of His Lordship's small collection of neofolk books, with potted reviews of each title.

Looking for Europe: Neofolk und Hintergründe
By Andreas Diesel and Dieter Gerten
(Index/Promedia, 2007)

This huge tome (530 pages) is nothing less than the definite work on neofolk. Written by two fans, it gives an in-depth treatment of the music and the ideas that float around in it. Indispensable for anyone interested in the genre.

Best bits: All of it, really. This is the ABC of neofolk.
Worst bits: A tendency to shy away from problematic political issues.

Death in June: Verborgen unter Runen
By Aldo Chimenti
(Plöttner Verlag, 2012)

This big volume is the German edition of a book that was originally in Italian, and thus unreadable for Lord Bassington-Bassington, who lacks the most basic competence in Latin languages. This is surely the definitive work on neofolk pioneers Death in June, and contains a wealth of material about related projects.

Best bits: Fabulous design and wealth of pictorial material.
Worst bits: Overly florid writing (look who's talking...)

The Matter of Britain
By Keith and Matt Howden
(Post Romantic Empire, 2009)

Violinist Matt Howden, usually operating under the name Sieben, should be a familiar name to neofolk aficionados. What might be less widely know is that his father, Keith, is a poet. The Matter of Britain is a beautiful little book which contains a cycle of Howden the elder's poetry, dealing with Arthurian themes, and a CD of Howden the younger's music.

Best bits: Howden jr's recollection of his father finding him, age 15, dead drunk in a shopping cart.
Worst bits: The introduction is perhaps a bit academic in places.

Ästhetische Mobilmachung: Dark-Wave, Neofolk und Industrial im Spannungsfeld rechter Ideologien
By Andreas Speit (ed.)
(Unrast Verlag, 2006)

An anthology highly critical of neofolk, mostly from a leftist perspective. Published in 2006, it is of course quite outdated at this point, which. Case in point: One of the most criticised groups, martial industrialists Der Blutharsch, has since morphed into a psychedelic hippie band.

Best bits: An interesting attempt at an ideological critique of the neofolk environment...
Worst bits: ...which sadly suffers from leftist lopsidedness.

Above us the Sun
By Tony Wakeford
(Tursa, 1994)

Above us the Sun is simply a collection of lyrics by Tony Wakeford, the mastermind behind Sol Invictus and Twa Corgies. The book is housed in a nice little slipcase and comes with a 3-track CD. A true cult object.

Best bits: Wonderfully self-deprecating introduction by Mr. Wakeford himself.
Worst bits: Wonderfully stupid introduction by writer Stewart Home (who has since tried to dismiss his contribution as some sort of joke).

Death in June: Misery and Purity
By Robert Forbes
(Jara Press, 1995)

This account of Death in June is intensely personal and intensely speculative, which can become a bit tiresome and should therefore be enjoyed in small doses. But it's a very nice little book and the approach should be recognizable to any slightly obsessive genre fan.

Best bits: Lots of photo sections and news clippings.
Worst bits: The author's endless exegesis of Douglas P's lyrics.

Blood Axis: Day of Blood
By Max Ribaric
(Occidental Congress, 2008)

A work solely devoted to the (in)famous neofolk outfit Blood Axis. A must for any obsessive neofolk fan. And is there any other kind?

Best bits: Lots of pictures.
Worst bits: Text in Italian, which Lord Bassington-Bassington can't understand a word of.

Sadly missing from the collection is David Keenan's excellent England's Hidden Reverse: A Secret History of the Esoteric Underground. The combination of being out of print for a decade and appealing to slightly – there's that word again – obsessive people has led to it changing hands for ridiculous prices on eBay and Amazon. Luckily, a reprint is planned and Lord Bassington-Bassington has it on pre-order.

But we advise you to not crack jokes about His Lordship's own obsessive tendencies. For anyone intimating that the bookshelves here at Bassington Manor have a few too many tomes of Lovecraftiana or titles about style might end up getting a taste of Lord Bassington-Bassington's jaws.

Basset Breed

As regular readers (if there is such a thing) of the Chronicles have no doubt noticed, things tend to take time here at Bassington Manor. But finally the "Basset Power"-themed pieces Lord Bassington-Bassington commisioned from Josh Latta a while ago have blossomed into finished artworks.

Those with the most minimal knowledge of skinhead culture will get the references. Those without are probably not worth explaining the joke to. But whatever your relationship to various subcultures, you should probably drop by Mr. Latta's internet page.

Fresh-faced smells

Well, it's not every day that a friend of Lord Bassington-Bassington features in a music video.



Cracking tune, too. But then, Lord Bassington-Bassington has always had a soft spot for various shades of punk. Female Smell's spirit reminds His Lordship of another young punk outfit, Iceage. And like them, Female Smell manages to make punk sound relevant and fresh again, not like something that belongs in retrospective documentaries or your dad's record collection.