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The Fell

by Snow Ghosts

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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Engineered by Throwing Snow.
    Mastered and cut by Matt Colton at Metropolis.
    Manufactured at optimal-media, Germany.

    Includes unlimited streaming of The Fell via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 5 days
    edition of 500 
    Purchasable with gift card

      £20 GBP or more 

     

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      £7 GBP  or more

     

1.
Given 01:01
2.
Hearths 03:04
The stars are the hearths of our forefathers They shimmer in the past Won’t you anchor us The stars are the hearths of our forefathers They shimmer in the past Won’t you anchor us So sail, sail So sail, sail So sail, sail
3.
Filaments 03:23
Here I am a thinking I was faster than I ever was Here I sit a wondering how I could be, ever this wrong Tumbling and tumbling, how can a fall feel this long Here I sit a wondering how I could be, ever this wrong Show me the filaments, light my path from here Show me the filaments, I’m blinded by fear Show me the filaments, light my path from here Show me the filaments, I’m blinded by fear So Light me a way You said you’d use the light inside, to banish the dark You said I built on borrowed land, but the stars draw our paths Show me the filaments, light my path from here Show me the filaments, I’m blinded by fear Show me the filaments, light my path from here Show me the filaments, I’m blinded by fear So Light me a way Tumbling, tumbling, how can a fall feel this (Light me a way) Tumbling, tumbling, how can a fall feel this (Light me a way) Tumbling, tumbling, how can a fall feel this (Light me a way) Tumbling, tumbling, how can a fall feel this long
4.
Curse 04:09
I hare away You always play your part Trip through the veil A curse across your path I am the moon The shimmer in your eyes Taken too soon This way madness lies This way madness lies This way madness lies This way madness lies Take your mark Take your mark Take your mark Take your mark (I'll follow you, I'll follow you) (I’ll reap all you sow) (A curse upon your house and all who lay there) (You carved upon her door you best obey her)
5.
Buried 03:06
Oh, you said you couldn’t lose another me Just another young’un under yew trees Mmm I’m buried underground Mmm I’m buried underground And as your roots run around me Tearing through the memories that cover me Mmm I’m buried underground Mmm I’m buried underground Oh, you said you couldn’t lose another me Just another young’un under yew trees Mmm I’m buried underground Mmm I’m buried underground
6.
Hawthorn 02:55
Crown yourself with hawthorn flowers Beaten red with autumn showers Broken feet that dance beneath Mistletoe and oaken bowers And words stretch out in to silence And words stretch out in to silence Song lines broken over years Voices drowning in their tears Long forgotten not betrayed Trust no truth you cannot hear And words stretch out to silence And words stretch out in to silence And words stretch out in to silence And words stretch out in to silence And words stretch out in to silence And words stretch out in to silence
7.
Avine 05:31
He took her hands, he stole her lands Branded her for living Cast aside and vilified No sign of forgiving So give her back her magpie wings they taught her how to steal and sing Instead he clipped and had her whipped She was left to wander sinning He crushed her pride and stole her sight She was left to travel blind And stumble past the dead and done Fortune mocking at her side So give her back her raven eyes The only way she knows to cry As silent tears roll to her chest Where she longs for those who died He cut her tongue, took all she’d sung Words she spoke when she was young The words they whispered down the dale Words she swore to never fail So give her back her starling song Over winters she’s passed on To sing to fledglings flying nests Secrets kept and carried on With air and earth and water crowned To ashes buried underground She holds no place in this disgrace Liminal yet duty bound The heron brings the swan will take Harbour secrets never found So give her back her herons beak So she can reach what lies beneath Forever never feather crowned She’ll be waiting quietly
8.
Prophecies 03:16
I'll wait all night For the sun to rise Lighting up my eyes Lighting up the sky Shining on altered stones Treading on blood and bone We’ll wait all night For the sun to rise Lighting up our eyes Lighting up our skies We’ll wait all night For the sun to rise Shine on the altar stone Warm our weary bones I’ll wait all night
9.
Home 02:48
I’m humbled Forced upon my knees So I stumbled You swore you’d catch me They’re empty The promises you have made Found wanting Just another honour betrayed, betrayed You can take our lands But I will still remain You can take our lands But I will still remain You can take our lands But I will still remain You can take our lands But I will still remain What was once home (My soul replaced by lead) What was once home (My soul replaced by lead) What was once home (My soul replaced by lead) What was once home (My soul replaced by lead) What was once home (My soul replaced by lead) What was once home (My soul replaced by lead) What was once home (My soul replaced by lead) What was once home (My soul replaced by lead) My soul replaced by lead My soul replaced by lead
10.
Magpie 01:39
I plucked a feather from a magpie’s tail And I vowed never To see love fail He bowed, clever His colours spread I plucked once more And His tail turned red He said one’s for sorrow But what of two? And why should I give All to you?’ So then I swore Before he fled To pluck once more And his tail turned red Five is for feathers They say six for fur But seven for secrets... Seven is for secrets never to be heard
11.
Vixen 06:26
Far beyond the reach of boxing hares You leapt across a breach, it’s never been fair Far beyond the form that never did hold The moon is crescent prescient, all unfolds You fear me and I fear you Yet I still run and you pursue With copper skies in amber eyes Your back against the weather With copper skies in amber eyes Across the morning heather You’ve come home And turned towards the fell You’ve come home And turned towards the fell Oh now the vixen’s fled Her thorns her bed Oh now the vixen’s fled Fled and gone to ground Fled and gone to ground Fled and gone to ground Oh now the vixen’s fled Her thorns her bed Oh now the vixen’s fled Fled and gone to ground Fled and gone to ground Fled and gone to ground Fled and gone to ground Fled and gone to ground Fled and gone to ground Fled and gone to ground
12.
Taken 03:35
Where was the hope where was the hope, you’d given up You pulled down the world, pulled down the world on top of us Who decides, who decides Who decides, who decides Taken far too young Taken far too young Where was the trust where was the trust You promised us You pulled down the world, you pulled down the world on top of your us Who decides, who decides Who decides, who decides Taken far too young Taken far too young Taken far too young Taken far too young

about

Electronic ensemble Snow Ghosts return with their fourth album, ‘The Fell’. A collection of old folk songs that were never written. ‘The Fell’ conjures images of shapeshifting animals and ancient tales experienced within a future landscape. Ancestral marks imprint the endless terrain of ‘The Fell’ and their songlines still sing.

A seed of an idea was planted in 2015 during a conversation between vocalist Hannah Cartwright and fellow founder Ross Tones about his home in Weardale. The trio, completed by Oli Knowles, have had three releases since that time, giving the album time to slowly grow its roots deep into their creative subconscious.

“The concept of The Fell as a living thing was there from the beginning” Explains Ross. “That imagery provided the overarching environment” Hannah continues, “which then left us encompassed by human, floral, faunal, mythological, folkloric and magical elements to explore as and when we approached each piece. It was a chance to completely immerse ourselves in another world, its history and perception through other inhabitants.”

The Fell is also a liminal or ‘thin’ place. Bog land preserves organic remains, like time capsules, a quality that made it a special place to prehistoric people. These relics serve as starting points for new stories and songs. Folk tales talk of the metamorphosis of animals into people and back again which talks to a deep rooted ambiguity of where people begin and the land ends.

“The moorland fell looks beautiful, wild and desolate.” Ross continues. “From certain places you can look in all directions and see no obvious signs of humanity. Yet it’s a completely man made landscape. We used it as a multilayered metaphor, containing stories of the interaction between humans and nature which express themselves in folklore.”

The arrangement too is multilayered in its approach. 2019’s colossal ‘A Quiet Ritual’ contained a score for a full orchestra and the ancient Carnyx. ‘The Fell’s’ instrumental arsenal consists of esraj, dulcimer, daf and bodhrán drums, violin, guitars, and a variety of synthesisers. Whilst equally vast, immersive and other-worldly, these tools are used to create intimate, personal stories. Sharing a mutual influence of the shadowy elements of folklore and the heavier side of experimental noise, a disparate array of reference points and this extensive collection of instruments combines to form Snow Ghosts’ bewitching and often intoxicating sound.

This magnitude of sound is highlighted within the first two tracks. In ‘Given’, the esraj is paired with hulking synths and highlight the insignificance of mankind against the enormity of infinite galaxies. ‘Hearths’ comes back down to earth, where digital and analog synths complete a circle alongside trad folk staples of the daf drum and dulcimer, conveying home, community, and safety. Stars are symbols of the ancestors watching down from above, reaffirming humanity's place in the universe.

The union of acoustic and electronic instruments is consistent across Snow Ghosts extensive catalogue. The band have always explored the fringes of electronic music and sound design with an organic backbone. Traditional sounds are processed to sound unlike the instruments they came from and synthesised sounds perform more traditional roles.

For ‘The Fell’, contrast was an invaluable tool in crafting a soundscape that reflected the land of which it was conjured from. Noises appear to swirl around and direction becomes meaningless. Wind often has a voice; ‘The Helm Wind’ is the only named wind in the British Isles which personifies it in the landscape.

In ‘Buried’, the simplicity of the dulcimer and bodhrán drum is the calming break in the clouds that follows the dark violent storm of wrath that is ‘Curse’; a song that explores the folklore of shapeshifting women and highlights historic misogyny that still exists. ‘Avine’ plays the counterpart to ‘Curse’. Its somber funeral procession drone gradually flourishes to a soaring height with textural strings and synths that dance like the Siren from which it takes its inspiration.

Creation of The Fell took place during both the UK’s departure from the EU and the pandemic. As a result, the writing took place in Wiltshire UK, Gothenburg, Sweden, and County Donegal, Ireland between 2019 and 2022.

“It would’ve been impossible to not include a song that was born of the political climate in the UK at the time. Like so many others we were just so shocked, and as musicians it felt like our futures became unforeseeable’ Oli said of the experience.

‘Home’ channels this frustration with viciously bowed strings and frantic percussion, drawing parallels from the human destruction of animal habitats. It centers around betrayal and the break of trust. The soul supposedly weighing 21g is directly replaced by a lead bullet of the same weight.

‘Vixen’ continues the theme of displacement but looks to the future, as well as revisiting the themes of anthropomorphism. Swells of emotive violins portray departure as the album begins to draw to a close. The album comes full circle with ‘Taken’ that mirrors the cyclical nature of birth and death. It’s a beautifully intimate song of personal loss, loss of faith in society, a crumbling civilisation and the loss/theft of a friend.


For Snow Ghosts, ‘The Fell’ marks their fourth full length album for Houndstooth. All three members are multidisciplinary musicians and full time composers with multiple projects. Hannah combines voice and guitar in her long time solo project, Augustus Ghost, as well as fronting ethereal math-rock band ‘Masakichi’. Ross continues to release spectacular albums with his experimental bass music project ‘Throwing Snow’, whilst Oli nears completion of his debut album for his solo exploratory electronic project, ‘The Keep’, as well as providing keys for psychedelic noise rockers, Sex Swing. Years of collaboration and experience in the cinematic realm come together to produce the band’s most considered album yet.

credits

released February 24, 2023

Hannah Cartwright, Ross Tones, Oliver Knowles.

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about

Snow Ghosts Bath, UK

Sharing a mutual influence of the shadowy elements of British folklore and the heavier side of experimental noise, a disparate array of reference points combines to form Snow Ghosts’ bewitching and oft intoxicating sound. Throwing Snow and Augustus Ghost are now joined by multi-instrumentalist Oliver Knowles to pool their individual inspirations, ideas and styles under the moniker of Snow Ghosts. ... more

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