A Sweeping Curve of Sound

[This is a rough-draft excerpt from my forthcoming book concerning the history of modern Pagan and occult music. All work is copyright 2007 - 2008 Jason Pitzl-Waters, and is posted under a Creative Commons License.]

“In the beginning we were berated for being gothic two years too late, today we are applauded for being at the vanguard of World Music. Whoever you believe we have always endeavoured to remain true to our convictions, in the belief that our music would eventually find its audience on its own merits and not by way of slavishly pandering to the whims of an industry that continually lacks imagination and is subservient to formula and greed.” - Brendan Perry, Marrakesh, 1996

Perhaps one of the most important bands to discuss within this context is the band Dead Can Dance. The band, formed in 1981 by Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard, would evolve from a solidly goth/darkwave beginning to incorporate world music, ancient musics from the medieval and Renaissance periods, and stunning vocal work from both members. During their existence the band has influenced several bands, spawned tribute records, and has become a touchstone for music lovers from a variety of scenes, backgrounds, and faiths. While neither member has expressed any allegiance to modern Paganism (Lisa Gerrard from most accounts follows a sort of mystical Christianity, and Brendan Perry has never clearly stated a preference though he seems quite sympathetic to indigenous religion and classical philosophy), the band has been widely adopted as a “pagan band” and several bands influenced by DCD are forthright in their sympathies for pre/post-Christian religion.

This adoption as a “Pagan band” isn’t too hard to imagine. Several songs in the bands history invoke ancient paganism (”Persephone (The Gathering of Flowers)”, “Summoning of the Muse”, “Song of the Sibyl”), the band has incorporated lyrics and themes from indigenous religions, and Lisa Gerrard’s unique form of singing (a type of language-less glossolalia) invites an emotional interpretation by the listener. This connection has grown only stronger as Pagan bands who cite DCD as an influence have emerged over the past fifteen years. These openly Pagan bands, along with a host of artists directly influenced by Dead Can Dance, formed a sort of spiritual music within the goth/darkwave subculture (which would in turn spill into the modern Pagan subculture).

“When someone says there is soul in the work, it means that through the music they have allowed themselves to unlock doors within their own unconscious, that through their confidence they have allowed themselves to surrender, so that they can look inside.” - Lisa Gerrard, Inside the Music

Most of the bands influenced by DCD would incorporate strong female vocals (who often incorporated elements of Gerrard’s unique singing style), world music or folk elements, and electronic or guitar-based effects to provide a modern edge to the music. Creating a sort of template (with different bands placing different emphasis’s on the core elements) for bands wishing to join into this new stylistic thread (which some people call “ethno-gothic”) within a nebulously larger “dark” subculture. Dead Can Dance and the bands that would emerge in their wake would garners an audience much wider than its humble goth roots. Fans could be found in world music circles, New Age enclaves, the chill-out rooms of dance clubs blasting electronic music, and in Hollywood where Gerrard’s siren-like singing has become a popular addition to blockbuster films.

There are several openly Pagan and occult-oriented bands who have been influenced by Dead Can Dance and adhere to the ethno-gothic formula, in fact so many have appeared since the 1990s that some have (wrongfully) assumed that most Pagan music is automatically “goth” (and vice-versa). This misapprehension evolved partially from the fact that many younger Pagans, Witches, and occultists preferred the more youth-oriented environments associated with these bands. In fact a sort of “dark” Pagan underground has sprung up in the wider modern Paganism community that rejects what they see as an increasingly shallow and one-sided religious culture that often doesn’t acknowledge the more unpleasant aspects of nature or the world around them.

[This is a rough-draft excerpt from my forthcoming book concerning the history of modern Pagan and occult music. All work is copyright 2007 - 2008 Jason Pitzl-Waters, and is posted under a Creative Commons License.]

“To understand why we chose the name, think of the transformation of inanimacy to animacy..Think of the processes concerning life from death and death into live. So many people missed the inherent symbolism, and assumed that we must be “morbid gothic types,” a mistake we deplored and deplore…” - Brendan Perry of the band Dead Can Dance, 1984

While the late seventies and early eighties spawned an predominantly insular Pagan musical scene centered around festivals and conventions, that wasn’t the only expression of a modern Pagan or occult music to emerge. Starting in the late seventies several alternative and underground musical subcultures became havens for those who adhered to outsider views of religion and philosophy. Within these permissive (and often rebellious) scenes emerged artists who injected lyrical themes relating to their adherence to outsider faiths and practices into their musical expression. This sometimes resulted in the creation of stylistically unique musical threads within the sub-genre that would inspire future artists and musicians. The best example of this trend can perhaps be found in goth, a unique musical subculture that emerged during the post-punk era in Britain.

Goth presented a romantic, decadent, and inward-looking alternative to the outward anger and nihilism of the UK punk-rock explosion of the late seventies. Byronic excesses and moods largely replaced political posturing (with some notable exceptions), and black was the color of choice. While the goth subculture often outwardly presented Catholic Christian imagery there has never been an expectation of belief in any religious system, and tolerance has been the rule within the culture. Due to this tolerance, many modern Pagans and occult practitioners found themselves a comfortable sanctuary within the goth subculture from a mainstream that often didn’t welcome or understand them. Today, according to some recent polling, up to 33% of self-identified goths hold allegiance to some form of Pagan belief system, by far the largest theistic grouping of the bunch. The rest are a scattered assortment of people who practice “their own” religion, or are agnostic/atheist with a few scattered Christian/Catholics.

It isn’t surprising given these developments that music would be created that would appeal to modern Pagans and occult practitioners, but by the mid-nineties it became prevalent enough that some would identify a separate “pagan goth” sub-genre within the larger goth musical world. Today a wide variety of goth and darkwave (a related and overlapping musical genre) bands identify themselves in some manner with modern Paganism or the theories of occultists like Aleister Crowley. Goth has, for many, become a musical alternative for modern Pagans dissatisfied with the musical offerings found within actual Pagan or occult communities. A way for a younger generation of modern Pagans and occultists to find their own cultural identity in religious communities that are often still dominated by their parents (or grandparents) generation.

While the goth subculture of today is remarkably friendly to Pagan and occult ideas, it was a slow process from its birth in the late seventies. Rebellion against religiously-based oppression and playful displays of blasphemy were far more common, a romantic (and somewhat nihilistic) decadence permeated much of the early scene. But even then certain themes and subject matters would start to pop up within goth (and in some of the darker post-punk bands). The band Bauhaus, famous for the goth anthem “Bela Lugosi’s Dead”, would plunge into mythical themes with songs like “Hollow Hills” (a song dealing with faerie mounds in Ireland, later covered by the Pagan-friendly band Faith and the Muse) and “A God in An Alcove” (a meditation on the forgotten bust of a pagan god), meanwhile the post-punk outfit Killing Joke (which enjoyed a large goth following) became quite interested in the works of the notorious occultist Aleister Crowley which culminated in several members moving to Iceland in order to avoid the Apocalypse (the Apocalypse never occurred, but some of them did collaborate with the influential Icelandic new-wave band Theyr, who were deeply interested in occult and pre-Christian themes). But while these early manifestations were rare (and in the case of Bauhaus, hardly a sign of any serious allegiance to pre-Christian belief) it did point to a fertile ground for later expansion and growth, that by the mid-eighties would start to develop into a noticeable disposition towards occult practices and modern Paganism.

To be continued…