Wrap up warm - The Winter Mix Is Here...

Join the Kalendar Host this Winter for a delicious collection of wintry treats. Words from Wyrd Kalendar, Darren Charles and Howard Ingham mingle with music from the likes of The Incredible String Band, Pentangle, Moon Wiring Club, Tir na nOg, Keith Seatman, Sleeps in Oysters, Cleo Laine, Haushka, Sean Wesche, Atomic Rooster, Medieval Babes, Belle and Sebastian, Frank Zappa, Simon and Garfunkel, Aztec Camera, Family, Joy Division, Muddy Waters, Timo Hanninen, Panu Aatilo, David Cain, The Chills, The Fall, Vashti Bunyan, Wayne Slawson, John Williams, White Stripes, Gustavo Santolalla, Sigur Ros, Caravan, Kate Bush, The Tea Party, Danny Elfman, The Mamas and the Papas, Animal Collective, Pete and the Pirates, Gorillaz, Grouper, The Impressions and The Divine Comedy.



Buy the Wyrd Kalendar book.

Buy the Wyrd Kalendar Album.

Wyrd Kalendar - The Book and CD together at last

Mmmmmm tasty Wyrd Kalendar goodness... the CD (currently on pre-order) and book are both available to buy... yum - good aural and visual Folk Horror eating all the year round...

Proceeds from the sale of the book go to Wildlife Trusts. You can buy it here...

Proceeds from the sale of the CD go to Cancer Research UK.You can buy it here...

Winter is Coming...

Wyrdstone - The Field - A Video for the Wyrd Kalendar

Wyrdstone has made a video to accompany his beautiful track for October. Check it out here.

You can pre-order the album here.

The Wyrd Artists Mix

Join the Kalendar Host as we prepare for the launch of the Wyrd Kalendar album.

This will be released on January 1st the beginning of the next Wyrd year. Artists from the England, Scotland, Ireland and Portugal were each given a month of the year and a story from the book (Wyrd Kalendar) as a starting point from which to create a vastly eclectic and evocative mix of genres that sweep from the worlds of Folk to Electronica via Psychedelic licks and lost Horror Soundtracks. 

Explore the work of these artists and find out more about the music they have created in this special mix. Listen to The Hare and the Moon (lead by Grey Malkin who has created the Song for January with his new group Widow's Weeds), Keith Seatman, Emily Jones, Crystal Jacqueline, Beautify Junkyards, Alison O'Donnell, Concretism, Icarus Peel, Tir na nOg, Wyrdstone, The Soulless Party, The Rowan Amber Mill and The Mortlake Bookclub.

 You can pre-order the album here.

The Wyrd Kalendar Album - Year Artist - The Mortlake Bookclub

Last year we prepared for the publication of the book Wyrd Kalendar...

This year we are making ready an album of  the same name...

This new album will contain 13 tracks - 12 of which will be related to the stories from the book and the month of the year. The album will be released by the very groovy Mega Dodo (who released Songs from the Black Meadow in 2016). All profits from the album will go to charity.

The artists have been given a month each, a copy of the linked story and Andy Paciorek's picture to give them a starting point and away they go!

We are very proud to reveal that the artist for special bonus track The Year are hauntological ritualists The Mortlake Bookclub who have created a track based on the whole year and all of the various stories contained within The Wyrd Kalendar...

The Mortlake Book Club were and are; Antony Ralph Wealls, Darren Charles, Grey Malkin and Melmoth The Wanderer. All tracks were begun by individual members of the Bookclub and, inspired and directed by the surrealist parlour game Exquisite Corpse, were then added to by the others without knowledge of what each was contributing.

'You know what the problem is with modern music? There’s not enough secret societies, gathering in the shadows to make deliciously dismal sounds, which they then unleash upon a world which… well, you can fill in your own blanks. And it’s about time we said enough is enough. About time we joined the Mortlake Bookclub. Who may be a bunch of avid readers who meet every Wednesday night in a corner of southwest London, to discuss the latest Scandinavian murder mystery. Or may not. Because all we really know about them are four unrepentant slabs of echoing dissonance and mystery that find the middle ground between folk, electronics and the ghostly sounds of shortwave radio, and then stir them into something that sounds nothing like any of them. Spoken word tells stories that you may or may not want to listen to, and the night rides in on wired electric broomsticks. And the cowled and darkened figures, bookclubbers one and all, drift out of unearthly earshot as the final echo turns the page, and yes. Your bookmark did just bite you.' (Dave Thompson, Goldmine Magazine)

More information about the album and our other monthly artists will be released throughout 2018...

While you wait check out the creeping horror that is Mysteriorum Libri Quinque.

The Wyrd Kalendar Album - December Artist - The Rowan Amber Mill

Last year we prepared for the publication of the book Wyrd Kalendar...

This year we are making ready an album of  the same name...

This new album will contain 13 tracks - 12 of which will be related to the stories from the book and the month of the year. The album will be released by the very groovy Mega Dodo (who released Songs from the Black Meadow in 2016). All profits from the album will go to charity.

The artists have been given a month each, a copy of the linked story and Andy Paciorek's picture to give them a starting point and away they go!

We are very proud to reveal that the artist for December is psych-folk band The Rowan Amber  Mill who have created a track based on the month of December and the story "Santa Claus and the  Witch".

Since 2007 The Rowan Amber Mill have been purveyors of Woodland Folkadelica/alt-Folk. Releases include: "folk devils & moral panics", "midsummers" and "Heartwood". The Book of the Lost (with Emily Jones). Silent Night Songs (with Angeline Morrison).The folk horror collection Harvest the Ears. The synth album Follows Shortly (as Making Tea For Robots). They are half of Rowan:Morrison. They also appear on a plethora of compilation albums.

More information about the album and our other monthly artists will be released throughout 2018...

While you wait check out the incredible lost soundtrack to "The Book of the Lost".

Wyrd Kalendar Album Available for Pre-Order

The Wyrd Kalendar Album is now available for Pre-Order!  All profits go to Cancer Research UK.

With music from Widow's Weeds, Keith Seatman, Emily Jones, The Rowan Amber Mill, Tir na nOg, Beautify Junkyards, Alison O'Donnell, The Mortlake Bookclub, Wyrdstone, The Soulless Party, Concretism,  Crystal Jacqueline, Icarus Peel. Details here...

The Wyrd Kalendar Album - November Artist - The Soulless Party

Last year we prepared for the publication of the book Wyrd Kalendar...

This year we are making ready an album of  the same name...

This new album will contain 13 tracks - 12 of which will be related to the stories from the book and the month of the year. The album will be released by the very groovy Mega Dodo (who released Songs from the Black Meadow in 2016). All profits from the album will go to charity.

The artists have been given a month each, a copy of the linked story and Andy Paciorek's picture to give them a starting point and away they go!

We are very proud to reveal that the artist for November are electronica hauntolgists The Soulless Party who have created a track based on the month of November and the poem "All Saint's Day".

The Soulless Party venture forth on their quest to explore (and colonise) the analogue universe. They released their EP “Exploring Radio Space” in March 2011, and followed up this up by creating the album 'Electronic Encounters'. Working with other artists, this album was a tribute to the movie 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind'

The Soulless Party went onto create the critically lauded "Tales from the Black Meadow" an expansive work that has so far spawned an album, documentary, book and play. 

Read the Starburst Magazine review here.

More information about the album and our other monthly artists will be released throughout 2018...

While you wait check out the wonder that is Tales from the Black Meadow.

The Wyrd Kalendar Album - October Artist - Wyrdstone

Last year we prepared for the publication of the book Wyrd Kalendar...

This year we are making ready an album of  the same name...

This new album will contain 13 tracks - 12 of which will be related to the stories from the book and the month of the year. The album will be released by the very groovy Mega Dodo (who released Songs from the Black Meadow in 2016). All profits from the album will go to charity.

The artists have been given a month each, a copy of the linked story and Andy Paciorek's picture to give them a starting point and away they go!

We are very proud to reveal that the artist for October is psych-folk guitar wizard Wyrdstone  who has created a track based on the month of October and the story "The Field".

Wyrdstone is the work of multi-instrumentalist Clive Murrell.
Psych-folk guitar / ambient / drone sounds inspired by the beauty and myth that surrounds the English countryside.

His incredible music evokes a mythical landscape of mist, moors, trees and spirits hidden in the furrows and dells.

His first release Cuffern is a thing of real beauty and elegance. This was followed by the incredible Potemkin Village Fayre which The Active Listener described as "an album of rare creativity, beauty, wonder and emotional impact."

More information about the album and our other monthly artists will be released throughout 2018...

While you wait check out the wonder that is Potemkin Village Fayre.

The Wyrd Kalendar Album - September Artist - Tír na nÓg

Last year we prepared for the publication of the book Wyrd Kalendar...

This year we are making ready an album of  the same name...

This new album will contain 13 tracks - 12 of which will be related to the stories from the book and the month of the year. The album will be released by the very groovy Mega Dodo (who released Songs from the Black Meadow in 2016). All profits from the album will go to charity.

The artists have been given a month each, a copy of the linked story and Andy Paciorek's picture to give them a starting point and away they go!

We are very proud to reveal that the artist for September are the prog-folk legends Tír na nÓg  who have created a track based on the month of September and the story "Ashley and  Ashley".

Tír na nÓg is a phrase from Gaelic mythology which translates into ‘land of eternal youth’. Tír na nÓg is also the name that Sonny Condell and Leo O’Kelly adopted when their musical paths fortuitously crossed in 1969. The resulting mix was a magical potion of rich and varied sounds and idioms that was unique and completely different to anything else on the music scene at the time.

They are a hugely influential folk band responsible for the psych-folk classic albums such as Tír na nÓg, A Tear and a Smile, Strong in the Sun and their BBC Radio 1 sessions from 1972 and 1973.

They have continued to gig ever since and have produced several very fine Live Albums including Live at the Half Moon released by MegaDodo.

Their most recent album is "The Dark Dance" which Prog Magazine described as "an acoustically mounted piece of great refinement, on a record often embellished by strings and moments of eastern promise'’

More information about the album and our other monthly artists will be released throughout 2018...

While you wait check out some fantastic tracks from their live album...

The Wyrd Kalendar Album - August Artist - Icarus Peel

Last year we prepared for the publication of the book Wyrd Kalendar...

This year we are making ready an album of  the same name...

This new album will contain 13 tracks - 12 of which will be related to the stories from the book and the month of the year. The album will be released by the very groovy Mega Dodo (who released Songs from the Black Meadow in 2016). All profits from the album will go to charity.

The artists have been given a month each, a copy of the linked story and Andy Paciorek's picture to give them a starting point and away they go!

We are very proud to reveal that the artist for August is the deeply groovy psychedelic god Icarus Peel who has created a track based on the month of August and the story "The Weeping Will Walk".

Icarus Peel has been leading West-country psych sensations The Honey Pot and writing songs for Crystal Jacqueline for several years. Somehow, he's also found time to record several solo albums including Tea at My Gaffe, Sunflower Army and Sing!!. His first two albums have distinct flavours of their own. Tea at My Gaffe is a collection of mainly shorter, idiosyncratic songs with an obviously English flavour, while Sunflower Army blends a big rock sounds with a more rustic feel.

His most recent album is "The Window On The Side of Your Head". Released by MegaDodo this work contains a sound that is "deep, groove ridden and loud."


 Check out and buy his earlier work here at MegaDodo
More information about the album and our other monthly artists will be released throughout 2018...
While you wait check out some fantastic tracks from this earlier deeply groovesome work...

Coming soon... Join the Wyrdos...

The Autumn Mix

Join the Kalendar Host this Autumn for a delicious collection of harvest treats. Words from Wyrd Kalendar, Darren Charles and Howard Ingham mingle with music from the likes of Matt Berry, Moon Wiring Club, Nick Drake, Ivor  Cutler, Heslington Primary School, John Barry, Beth Orton, Bridget St. John, Emil Richards, Tricky, Bobby Darin, Mark Barnes, Francoise Hardy, The Dandy Warhols, The Vines, Jon Hopkins, Strawbs, Pulp, Jeff Buckley, Gene Moore, Hi Tension, Pink Floyd, Nat King Cole, Lee Hazelwood, Lonesome Wyatt & the Holy Spooks, Pacific, New Model Army, The Overlanders, Barbara Streisand, The Kinks, XTC, Moondog, Cleaners from Venus, Donna Summer, Kirsty MacColl, God is an Astronaut, Allah Las, Airhead, Forest, Frontier Ruckus, Small Faces, The Spotnicks, Reverend & the Makers, David Cain and Autumn.

Buy the Wyrd Kalendar book here. 

The Wyrd Kalendar album is coming soon...

The Autumn Mix is coming...

The Wyrd Kalendar Album - July Artist - Concretism

Last year we prepared for the publication of the book Wyrd Kalendar...

This year we are making ready an album of  the same name...

This new album will contain 13 tracks - 12 of which will be related to the stories from the book and the month of the year. The album will be released by the very groovy Mega Dodo (who released Songs from the Black Meadow in 2016). All profits from the album will go to charity.

The artists have been given a month each, a copy of the linked story and Andy Paciorek's picture to give them a starting point and away they go!

We are very proud to reveal that the artist for July is the darkly chilling Concretism who has created a track based on the month of July and the story "Grotto Day". Concretism creates fascinating and haunting work that explores a half-remembered 1970's landscape of Nuclear Power stations and Rabies Warnings. It is a beautiful and disturbing world that is well worth getting lost in.

His most recent album is "For Concrete and Country". Released by Castles in Space this work is astonishing and deeply evocative of the grey brutalism of an imagined apocalypse.


 Check out and buy his earlier work here...
More information about the album and our other monthly artists will be released throughout 2018...
While you wait check out some fantastic tracks from this earlier chilling work...

Spectral Fields - Mix 2

The Kalendar Host has been reading.

He has found himself lost in “A Year in the Country - Wandering Through Spectral Fields” by Stephen Prince. This incredible work has inspired a new journey out of the Kalendar Heath and across these Spectral Fields to discover music, ideas, stories, folk horror jaunts, hauntological treats and nostalgic terror.

This is the second of four mixes dedicated to this new book. This mix explores chapters 14-26 through music, sound and key extracts, acting as an accompaniment or, if you will allow, an aural appendix.

Buy the book here. 

Discover the delights of Broadcast, Cat's Eyes, Virginia Astley, Brian Eno, Kate Bush, Jim Williams, David Colohan, Howlround, Keith Seatman, Loose Capacitor, The Twelve Hour Foundation, Shirley Collins, Stealing Sheep, Leyland Kirby, David Sylvian, Fairport Convention, Roy Redmond, Nirvana, Luke Haines, Tim Hart and Maddy Prior.

Spectral Fields Mix Number 2 - COMING SOON

This celebration of the next 13 chapters of Spectral Fields by Stephen Prince is currently cooking in the Kalendar oven I have mixed in tracks by Keith Seatman, Howlround, Shirley Collins, Loose Capacitor and many many more in this delicious August treat just for you.

Catch up on the first mix here... 

Buy the book here...

Scream Magazine Review of Wyrd Kalendar! - "If you like your scare fare laced with imagination, surprise, and plenty of spine-tingling moments, I cannot recommend this enough"

Scream Magazine - Available online, internationally and from the shelves of WHSmith.

Superb news from the World of Wyrd Kalendar  this month with a lovely review in Issue 49 of Scream Magazine.

This four star review really captures the feel of the book and its rich variety:
"There's a story here for all horror tastes, from the understated to the gruesome and everything in between."
"Those with a fondness for horror's rich folk heritage will find plenty to enjoy here, but what's most impressive about Wyrd  Kalendar is how both Lambert and Paciorek have captured the spirit and mood of each month in their storytelling."
"If you like your scare fare laced with imagination, surprise, and plenty of spine-tingling moments, I cannot recommend this enough."
Kieran Fisher - Scream Magazine Issue 49 July/Aug 2018 (pp 94-95)

The Wyrd Kalendar Album - June Artist - Alison O'Donnell

Last year we prepared for the publication of the book Wyrd Kalendar...

This year we are making ready an album of  the same name...

This new album will contain 13 tracks - 12 of which will be related to the stories from the book and the month of the year. The album will be released by the very groovy Mega Dodo (who released Songs from the Black Meadow in 2016). All profits from the album will go to charity.

The artists have been given a month each, a copy of the linked story and Andy Paciorek's picture to give them a starting point and away they go!

Last year we prepared for the publication of the book Wyrd Kalendar...

This year we are making ready an album of  the same name...

This new album will contain 13 tracks - 12 of which will be related to the stories from the book and the month of the year. The album will be released by the very groovy Mega Dodo (who released Songs from the Black Meadow in 2016). All profits from the album will go to charity.

The artists have been given a month each, a copy of the linked story and Andy Paciorek's picture to give them a starting point and away they go!

We are very proud to reveal that the artist for June is the incredible Alison O'Donnell who with David Colohan has created a track based on the month of June and the story "June Bug". Alison O'Donnell is an incredible artist who most recently worked as a solo artist on her recent climb sheer the fields of peace album an incredible piece of haunting folk. She has also collaborated very successfully with Firefay and United Bible Studies on various albums.

Alison is a singer, musician, writer of songs & soundscapes. She is a collaborator in a number of bands across folk, trad, alternative & cross genres. Her long career goes back to Mellow Candle as a teenager. She is a student of United Bible Studies. Her songs are meaningful and frequently pastoral and poetic, sung with passion and heart.

Check out her earlier work from 1977 with Flibbertigibbet...

More information about the album and our other monthly artists will be released throughout 2018...

While you wait for the Wyrd Kalendar to arrive do check out the wonderful sounds of Climb the Sheer Fields of Peace. You can buy all of her albums here. Ensure that you do!

Wyrd Kalendar - A Mix for Summer

Join the Kalendar Host in a haunting hike upon the Kalendar Heath this summer. Peppered with the sounds of summer, music on the theme of summer and extracts from three summer based tales from Wyrd Kalendar (available to buy here). You will also be given the opportunity to pause in your trek as special guests from the Folk Horror Revival, Howard Ingham and Darren Charles discuss a vital summer film and album for your edification and delight.

 The Spring mix includes tunes by Belbury Poly, Marianne Faithful, Emil Richards, XTC, Kate Bush, Patricia Varley, Acid House Kings, The Style Council, David Cain, Percy Faith and his Orchestra, Animal Collective, T Rex, Aha, Belle and Sebastian, Jim Williams, Los Chicarrons, Terry Hall, G. Love and Special Sauce, Beck, Clannad, Reef, Cold Cave, Pink Floyd, The Divine Comedy, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, Luke  Haines, Love, Nat King Cole, Luis Bacalov, The Sandals, The Kinks, The Flaming Lips, Lana Del Ray, Keith Mansfield, All About Eve, Patti Smith, The Heartwood Institute, Primal Scream, The Beach Boys, The Decemberists, The Bitter Sweets, The Lovin’ Spoonful, The Stranglers, Frank Sinatra, Nancy Sinatra and Dusty Springfield.

Summer Mix Is Coming In... June 21st

The Wyrd Kalendar Album - May Artist - Beautify Junkyards

Last year we prepared for the publication of the book Wyrd Kalendar...

This year we are making ready an album of  the same name...

This new album will contain 13 tracks - 12 of which will be related to the stories from the book and the month of the year. The album will be released by the very groovy Mega Dodo (who released Songs from the Black Meadow in 2016). All profits from the album will go to charity.

The artists have been given a month each, a copy of the linked story and Andy Paciorek's picture to give them a starting point and away they go!

We are very proud to reveal that the artist for May is the incredible Beautify Junkyards who have created a track based on the month of May and the story "May Pole". Beautify Junkyards create very haunting beautiful songs as you can see from their first album released in 2013. It was their fantastic cover of Nick Drake's "From the Morning" from this album that first brought them to my attention.

More information about the album and our other monthly artists will be released throughout 2018...

While you wait for the Wyrd Kalendar to arrive do check out the wonderful sounds of The Beast Shouted Love... You can buy all of their albums here. Ensure that you do!

Spectral Fields - Mix 1

The Kalendar Host has been reading.

He has found himself lost in “A Year in the Country -  Wandering Through Spectral Fields” by Stephen Prince. This incredible work has inspired a new journey out of the Kalendar Heath and across these Spectral Fields to discover music, ideas, stories, folk horror jaunts, hauntological treats and nostalgic terror.

This is the first of four mixes dedicated to this new book. This mix explores chapters 1-13 through music, sound and key extracts, acting as an accompaniment or, if you will allow, an aural appendix.

You can buy the book here...

Discover the delights of the Albion Country Band, John Martyn, David Bowie, The Sally-Angie, Trader Horne, Demdike Stare, Howlround, Belbury Poly, The Advisory Circle, Hoofus, Lubos Fiser, Frog, Broadcast and the Focus Group, Jugg, The Soulless Party, The Rowan Amber Mill and Emily Jones, Magnet, Broadcast, Pulp, Sneaker Pimps, The Owl Service, Ultravox, Strawberry Switchblade and Nik Kershaw. As well as this you will be able to experience soundtracks from War Games, The Owl Service, The Changes, Sky, Penda’s Fen and many many more…

May - A Mix for Auntie May

To celebrate the month of May and its various heady festivities enjoy the May mix that contains extracts from "May Pole" the May poem for Wyrd Kalendar and explore some of our May discoveries here...

It's May. It's May! The Lusty Month of May!

Join us on the Kalendar Heath as we revel and dance. Caper around the maypole with Sweet Young Auntie May (the subject of this month's reading from the Wyrd Kalendar (out in October).

We are joined in our May time celebration by Magnet, The Hare and the Moon, Steeleye Span, Led Zeppelin, Nick Drake, Children of Alice, Fairport Convention, Dead Can Dance, Mediaeval Babes, Molly Drake, Magpie Lane, David Cain, Air, The Divine Comedy, Blue Oyster Cult, Belle and Sebastian, Arcade Fire, Bee Gees, Vanessa Redgrave, Canterbury Fair and Killing Joke.

"May Pole" is read by Freya Lambert.

The Wyrd Kalendar Album - April Artist - Crystal Jacqueline

Last year we prepared for the publication of the book Wyrd Kalendar...

This year we are making ready an album of  the same name...

This new album will contain 13 tracks - 12 of which will be related to the stories from the book and the month of the year. The album will be released by the very groovy Mega Dodo (who released Songs from the Black Meadow in 2016). All profits from the album will go to charity.

The artists have been given a month each, a copy of the linked story and Andy Paciorek's picture to give them a starting point and away they go!

We are very proud to reveal that the artist for April is the wonderful Crystal Jaqueline who has created a track based on the month of April and the story "Chasing the  Gowk". I worked with Crystal Jaqueline at the Games for May gig in 2016 in which she sang the brilliant "Water Hyacinth".

More information about the album and our other monthly artists will be released throughout 2018...

Check out the incredible sounds of Sun Arise...

Swansongs - A Special Wyrd Kalendar Mix

To celebrate the Folk Horror Revival Swansongs at the Black Swan in York on May 12th the Kalendar Host has produced a special walk upon the heath that explores the work of the artists at that concert - Sharron Kraus, Sarah Dean and Hawthonn. As well as this you will hear extracts of swan related poetry and tales and music from Passengers, Thom Yorke, The Ken Moule Assembly, REM and Saint Saens.

For tickets to this extra special event visit: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/swansongs-tickets-44059576379

You can find out more about the event here: https://folkhorrorrevival.com/2018/03/11/swansongs/

WYRD NEWSFLASH - Four new mixes for the Wyrd Year - Spectral Fields

We at Wyrd Kalendar are very proud to announce a new mix project that will be taking place this year...

As well as the remaining seasonal mixes for Summer, Autumn and Winter  you can now look forward to wandering the Spectral Fields with the Kalendar Host this year.

The new Spectral Fields mixes explore Stephen Prince's "A Year in the Country" a fantastic wander through the edgelands touching on all things folk horror, hauntological and pastoral in a strange landscape that borders that of the Kalendar Heath... Each mix will explore 13 chapters from the book capturing sounds, extracts, music and strangeness from this brilliant new tome...

The first mix will be broadcast in May.

Join us...

April - A Mix For Fools

To celebrate April Fools and Easter Day conjoining in disharmony enjoy the April  mix that contains extracts from "Chasing the Gowk" the April story for Wyrd Kalendar and explore some of our April discoveries here...

Beware the Fool.

As you wander the Kalendar Heath this month do not let the fool lead you astray. He will lead you a merry dance as you, the Gowk, lose yourself in a mysterious maze of musical magic.

Whilst Jon Neill and Chris Lambert bring to life extracts from Wyrd Kalendar story "Chasing the Gowk" you will be tricked and delighted by the likes of the Cocteau Twins, June Tabor, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Tim Hart and Maddy Prior, Frank Churchill and Larry Morey’s “Bambi” soundtrack, David Cain and Ronald Duncan, Fiona Shaw and T.S. Eliot, Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66, Patti Smith, Simon and Garfunkel, Aretha Franklin, The Divine Comedy, The Stone Roses, Prince, George Michael, A-ha, Supertramp, Genesis, Pat Boone, Sandy Rogers, Frank Zappa, Tom McRae, Loudon Wainwright III and Rufus Wainwright.

The Wyrd Kalendar Album - March Artist - Emily Jones

Last year we prepared for the publication of the book Wyrd Kalendar...

This year we are making ready an album of  the same name...

This new album will contain 13 tracks - 12 of which will be related to the stories from the book and the month of the year. The album will be released by the very groovy Mega Dodo (who released Songs from the Black Meadow in 2016). All profits from the album will go to charity.

The artists have been given a month each, a copy of the linked story and Andy Paciorek's picture to give them a starting point and away they go!

We are very proud to reveal that the artist for March is the incredible Emily Jones who has created a track based on the month of March and the story "The Crucified Hare". We worked with Emily Jones on Songs from the Black Meadow in 2016 in which she created the haunting "Dark Moss and Coldheart". 

More information about the album and our other monthly artists will be released throughout 2018...

On Saturday 12th May Emily Jones is running A Spring Symposium in Salisbury which will include performances from Lake of Puppies, Kemper Norton and Emily herself as well as many others...  In the meantime enjoy the current album from Emily Jones entitled "Autumn Eye". Once you have listened to that check out the album and wider experience of "The Book of the Lost" which the Active Listener reviewed a few years ago. Visit her website here and immerse yourself further...  Revel in the haunting brilliance of Emily Jones...

Spring is here...

Join the Kalendar Host in a haunting hike upon the Kalendar Heath this spring. Peppered with the sounds of spring, music on the theme of spring and extracts from three spring based tales from Wyrd Kalendar (available to buy here). You will also be given the opportunity to pause in your trek as special guests from the Folk Horror Revival, Howard Ingham and Darren Charles discuss a vital spring film and album for your edification and delight.

 The Spring mix includes tunes by The Polyphonic Spree, Emil Richards, Donna Summer, St. Etienne, Aaron Copland, Children of Alice, Donovan, Massive Attack, Gao Liang, Ella Fitzgerald, Morcheeba, David Cain, Paul Weller, Pentangle, Scott Walker, The Producers, Jimmy LaValle, The Kinks, Two Door Cinema Club, The Hobbits, Sidney Torch and his Orchestra, Tom Waits, The Coffinshakers, The Lemon Drops, Igor Stravinsky, REM, Anne Ziegler & Webster Booth.

Spring is coming...

March is here...

It is March and the Hare has come.

Wander the Kalendar Heath with care lest it spy you and hop upon your back to whisper in your ear.

Whilst you wander you will be serenaded by Shirley Collins, Pentangle, Jethro Tull, Iron Maiden, The Carter Family, George Formby, Maddy Prior, Igor Stravinsky, Ozric Tentacles, Noah and the Whale, Abe Lyman, Mark Korven, Anne Briggs and David Cain. Hide behind them as they play so the hare cannot see you.

As you skip from hillock to mound you may hear snatches of the Wyrd Kalendar story for March "The Crucified Hare" written by Chris Lambert and read by Ralf Higgins.


Look out for the brand new Spring mix on March 21st...

The Wyrd Kalendar Album - February Artist - Keith Seatman

Last year we prepared for the publication of the book Wyrd Kalendar...

This year we are making ready an album of  the same name...

This new album will contain 13 tracks - 12 of which will be related to the stories from the book and the month of the year. The album will be released by the very groovy Mega  Dodo (who released Songs from the Black Meadow in 2016). All profits from the album will go to charity.

The artists have been given a month each, a copy of the linked story and Andy Paciorek's picture to give them a starting point and away they go!

We are very proud to reveal that the artist for February is the incredible Keith Seatman with a track called "Three Day Girl" based on the story "February 31st". We worked with Keith Seatman  on Songs from the Black Meadow in 2016 in which he created the incredible "Playing Hop the Scotch". Keith is currently working on a new EP called "Disjointed Oddities and Other Such Things" which will be out this spring.

More information about the album and our other monthly artists will be released throughout 2018...

In the meantime enjoy the current album from Keith Seatman entitled "All Hold Hands and Off we go". Once you have listened to that check out "A Rest Before the Walk" which I reviewed a few years ago.Revel in the beautiful aural strangeness that is Keith Seatman...

Parentalia - Visit your long deceased ancestor today!

Today is the day to visit old Great Auntie Margery at her ancient walk in tomb.

Remember to take wine, flowers and milk as it is a well known fact that ghosts love them. However they also take great umbrage if you decide to get married today or if you worship at the local temple. There is nothing worse than a grumpy ghost so we at Wyrd Kalendar have created a poster for you to remember these important rules so that you can commune with the dead without fear of retribution.

If you are having trouble getting hold of Wine, Flowers and Milk you could try WINOWILK!

Developed by Parentalia Labs, this contains all the Wine, Flowers and Milk and ghost would needs and will guarantee you are safe from any hauntings by angry ancestral spectres!*

*Hauntings by angry ancestral spectres may still occur.

February is here...

It is February.

Open the Wyrd Kalendar and venture into a cold world with a young woman who experiences the days of February that the rest of us miss.

It is a lonely month but you will have company from The Unthanks, Eels, The Incredible String Band, Colosseum, Jesus Jones, King Creosote, Chungking and others who muse on the month and its many frosty wonders.

Wyrd Kalendar is a Folk Horror Revival project that includes a folk horror mix inspired by each month, a book of short stories and illustrations (published in 2017) which you can buy here... and an accompanying album to follow later this year.

Extracts from Chris Lambert's "February 31st" read by Natasha Trott

The Wyrd Kalendar Album - January Artist - Widow's Weeds

Last year we prepared for the publication of the book Wyrd Kalendar...

This year we are making ready an album of  the same name...

This new album will contain 13 tracks - 12 of which will be related to the stories from the book and the month of the year. The album will be released by the very groovy Mega  Dodo (who released Songs from the Black Meadow in 2016). All profits from the album will go to charity.

The artists have been given a month each, a copy of the linked story and Andy Paciorek's picture to give them a starting point and away they go!

We are very proud to reveal that the artist for January is the mysterious folk horror band "Widow's Weeds"with a track called "A Song for  January." Widow's Weeds are the brainchild of Grey Malkin who steered the wonderful band "The Hare and the Moon" through magick mists and ghostly glades until they shuffled off this mortal coil in 2017.

More information about the album and our other monthly artists will be released throughout 2018...

In the meantime enjoy this album from The Hare and the Moon entitled "The Grey Malkin".

Saint Agnes Eve - Dream your way to conjugal happiness!

Martyred for steadfastly holding onto her virginity and eschewing all offers of matrimony Saint Agnes is of course an obvious choice of Saint to secure you a future husband.

At midnight throw hemp seed over your shoulder and an image of your future spouse will appear in your dreams. Speak the following incantation before you go to bed (ensure you sleep on your left side and chant the words three times);

"Saint Agnes is a friend to me

In the gift I ask of thee

Let me this night my husband see" 

Some dreams of suitors are underwhelming.

If you dream of a man, well done, that's your future husband! 

If you dream of lots of men you are going to get married many times. 

If you don't dream of any men it means you will live alone.

If you dream of thistles or thorny plants it means your husband will rarely shave.

If you dream of a puddle it means your husband will sweat profusely.

If you dream of poultry it means your husband's breath will smell.

If you dream of stew cooking in a pot it means your husband will be most bilious.

If you dream of a mouse it means your husband will be obedient.

If you dream of large velvet cushions it means your husband will comfortably rotund.

If you dream of white clouds it means your husband will be old.

If you dream of eggs it means your husband will be young.

If you dream of a desert it means your husband will give you no young. 

(Adapted from "The Dark Dreams of the Fertile Woman's Mind" - Sir Dalton Falsworthy 1831) 

Details of lots of saints and their interesting ways are available to explore in November's story "All Saints' Day"  in Wyrd Kalendar.

Today is Armour Day. Have you kept your resolution or will you wear the armour?

Armour Day is Coming - Have you kept your resolution?

Stourton revived this old tradition in 1965 and will be meeting on Monday once again to "support  the irresolute".

It might be an idea to take a leaf out of Stourton's book. On Monday the entire village review their resolutions and those who do not meet them are given spiritual and very physical support. For more information read this earlier entry on this strange tradition.

As Armour Day approaches ask yourself whether you have slipped. Has your resolution been so quickly forgotten and abandoned? If this is the case help is at hand. At least it would be if you lived in Stourton, the rest of us will just have to muddle through.

Scaring Witches the Burghead Way - "Burning the Clavie"

"Burning the Clavie" takes place in Burghead every January 11th. The act of burning a barrel of tar is said to scare away witches. At the end of the evening the townsfolk take a bit of charred wood to protect themselves through the year. 

Witches are easy to scare. 

This was a fact that King James explored in his “Daemonologie”. He reported that you could “scare a wytch by affixing a carrote to your fringe, buying up alle the local merchant’s stock of catte food or playing a boysterous round of Ha’Penny Shrimp”. He sang the praises of various towns for their methods of keeping witches away; from Corfe Mullen in Dorset with their “Wreaths of Dust Motes”, to the good folk of Glamorgan and their habit of painting “Spectacles on Fruite” or even the men of Redditch who would “Burpe long and loude into bented horns”  - all of these methods were successful at keeping Satan’s harridans away. It was Burghead in Scotland that really caught his eye. As everyone knows now, nothing scares a witch away more than a burning barrelful of tar. This activity is known as "Burning the Clavie" and it takes place every January 11th. Some say it is the smell, others say it is their innate fear of fire. Needless to say since its introduction in 1093 there have been only 2157 recorded incidents of death by “wicked magicks”. If it wasn’t for  the hard work and quick thinking of the people of Burghead this death toll would be much higher*. 

So this January 11th raise a glass to the people of Burghead and thank them for keeping us all that little bit safer.

For an exciting look at this year's Clavie burning check out this video on the Twitter.

*Some estimates would put this figure as high as 2173