The twelfth studio album, Hex, by German folk band Faun, is full of fearsome mysticism and the divine feminine. A cascade through time, fabled instruments and voices envelop those who bring it to their ears.
Great music tells a story. Within melodies, images are conjured, and lyrics are laced with emotion. Faun are experts at drawing inspiration from the past and bringing it to the present. Sourcing sounds and myths from folklore to form this unity of old and new. Hex draws from lives past, breathing in new life.
Deriving from the German ‘Hexe‘ meaning witch. The record focuses on witches, female healers and wise women. The vocals from Adaya and Laura Fella are perfectly matched to the charming and emotional nature the music takes on. Opening with the hypnotic ‘Belladonna’, there is immediately a sense of magic and foreboding. The track title is a reference to the highly poisonous plant, deadly nightshade. All the while singing about resting in the garden of Hecate (Hekate), the Greek Goddess of witchcraft, the night, the moon and crossroads.
The album is filled to the brim with atmospheric tracks indulging the imaginations of this band. There is such uniqueness in finding a band that can conceive and album such as this. Incorporating their German roots in the track ‘Blot‘, lyrics dance on the melodies. Its opening notes are akin to the opening of an old tale. And the pace of the track is bewitching, much like other tracks on the record, like ‘Nimue‘ or ‘Umay‘; there is something primal that calls out to the soul.
Hex marries the modern and medieval beautifully. Incorporating synthesisers and flutes, polyphonic vocals and the hurdy gurdy. Faun have also refused to lock themselves into one era of influence. Each track tells its own story. ‘Ylfa Spere‘ is an Old English spell from the 11th century. And ‘Hare Spell’ is based on a spell recorded by Isobel Gowdie during a witch trial in Scotland in 1662.
The album tells tales of women’s power through the ages, in spite of strife. Celebrating who they were and what they may have been prosecuted for being. Faun have taken pride in diligently researching the myths and magic they explore. Vocalist and musician Oliver Satyr, is also a Magister Artium of Medieval Philology. Their dedication to doing these stories and experiences justice has resulted in a modern symphony of myth and music.
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Live:
Sep 23 – Islington Assembly Hall – London
Sep 24 – Band On The Wall – Manchester