Hekate – Sonnentanz Label: Auerbach Tonträger – AB 027 Format: CD, Album, Limited Edition, Reissue, Digipak Country: Germany Released: 04 Nov 2011 Style: Modern Classical, Neofolk
A cornerstone of German Neofolk
Originally released in 2000 by Well of Urd, “Sonnentanz”, the first album release by Hekate without limitation, became something of a cornerstone of German Neofolk. Conceptionally dedicated to the free spirit of the ‘Bündische Jugend’ (German youth movement) and the ‘Edelweißpiraten’ (Edelweiss pirates), Germany’s “lost youth” of the 1930s, Hekate’s music here is marked by a folkloric acoustic style that sets the standards for the years to come. This re-release is presented in a portrait-format Digipak including revised artwork and liner-notes and is limited to 700 copies.
Label: Prophecy Productions – AB 085 LP Format: 2 × Vinyl, LP, Album, Limited Edition, White Country: Germany Released: 18 May 2018 Style: Neofolk
In Greek mythology, Hekate is the goddess of magic, mediating between the realms of life and death. Hekate, the band, was formed in 1991 and is one of the foremost protagonists of German neofolk. Over the course of five albums, the group has combined folk, medieval and classical music with striking percussion and electronic elements to create a distinctly individual style, which reaches its temporary climax on their sixth record “Totentanz” (“dance of death”).
Seven years after the release of “Die Welt der dunklen Gärten” (“the world of dark gardens”), Hekate delivers its most refined compositions to date, playing both traditional, catchy neofolk tunes and hypnotic tracks. In the process, the group manages to recall the atmosphere of early 90’s apocalyptic folk without coming across as anachronistic. Enhanced by floating synthesizer and drum arrangements, the music itself reflects the lyrical themes of “Totentanz”: dealing with our own mortality in the sense of “memento mori”.
In this context, Hekate plays out its fondness for Romanticism with an urgent interpretation of Prussian poet Joseph von Eichendorff’s “Mondnacht” (“moon night”), and an album cover graced with a (so-far unpublished) painting of the same name by German symbolist and art nouveau artist Franz Stassen. Just as exclusive: the design of the album’s book edition features unpublished ink drawings from the series “Apokalyptische Landschaften” (“apocalyptic landscapes”) by Hermann Wöhler, a painter influenced by magic realism who worked in secret and whose paintings the art community is only now discovering years after his passing. All of the included paintings are a part of Hekate singer Axel Menz’ personal art collection.
Hekate – Ten Years Of Endurance Label: Auerbach Tonträger – AB 008 Format: CD, Album, Limited Edition Country: Germany Released: 2004 Genre: Electronic Style: Ambient, Neofolk
The anniversary album
“Ten Years Of Endurance” is Hekate’s anniversary album celebrating the ten-year history of the band, but it is much more than just a best-of release. Among other things, you will find re-recorded versions from old, long-deleted releases as well as ‘Barbarossa’, a taster for their next studio album, “Goddess”.
