Was Ist Das

03/01/2024

there's a smidgeon of leftover copies of our Wicker Man tribute album here in Arizona. Just stuck them up on our Bandcamp

17 track album

02/10/2024

A very sad day. The world has lost someone very special. I I've been working on this all morning:
https://wasistdas.co.uk/news/2024/02/damo-suzuki-r-i-p/?fbclid=IwAR0mEK8KGvXrOYXWKBXWLlWdT9JUSxW8IGrSQy5bPokdM2F3x7eD-rP9qMo

I woke up to the awful news that Damo Suzuki is no longer with us. Forgive a guy for a rambling, half-awake tribute but he was someone who touched a lot of lives. Obviously, there is the cultural s…

11/24/2023

Use the code 'blimey' all weekend for 10% off downloads or merch.

We don't have a genre. We don't have a format. We have passion for music. We release what we release because we believe it has to be released and we want you to hear it.

09/09/2023

Now worldwide on V.O.D!

08/19/2023

Today www.wasistdas.co.uk is old enough to drink! 18 years, WTF?

Irrefutably the best website from Yorkshire with a German name in all of Arizona. All opinions presented on this site are entirely right, even if the spelling isn't

08/18/2023

A wonderful review from Folk Radio UK

Ballads of Seduction, Fertility and Ritual Slaughter is a wonderfully consistent, decidedly spooky reimagining of The Wicker Man, one of the most revered Folk Horror soundtracks of all time.

07/07/2023

Final announcement for our THE WICKER MAN tribute project is composer/producer Michael Begg of Human Greed who has created something both intense and intimate..

This one on the soundtracks is just a fanfare, some dialogue and some sound of burning from the film. Well, I say "just" but it is some classic dialogue Written out like that it sounds kind of skippable but however, I happened to be an enormous fan of the Scottish composer/producer Michael Begg ever...

07/07/2023

OK not the last announcement but the last song on the album goes to Dean McPhee who I just knew would sound amazing doing that final fanfare from the end credits.

The Wicker Man Wiki says that this is apparently derived from a Bulgarian folk song called "Zamrakanala Mona Jana" of which I struggle to find any trace. Messing around with Google Translate I get the claim that the title is in Arabic and means "You are not from heaven". That may be AI just talking

07/06/2023

Sorry for the radio silence, been a mad week so far. Next announcement is The Banshees of Bunworth doing "Searching For Rowan". Who's The Banshees of Bunworth? Why it's Willie & Natalia from Woven Skull with 3 friends - Matt Warren, Zoe Basha & Ultan O'Brien, letting absolute rip on this gem!

"Searching for Rowan" is a modernized version of the old Irish reel "Drowsy Maggie" (it's a reel not a jig as often reported) with simply some electric guitar added over the top. Plus a nursery rhyme. Its a simple twist but has always been my favorite instrumental in the whole film. Unlike the other...

07/03/2023

https://wasistdas.co.uk/Ballads/2023/07/03/burial-hex-the-masks-hobby-horse/
For one of the wildest instrumentals from the soundtrack, we got Burial Hex to weave a dark spell with it. Listening to the results, I think the phrase "of course we got Burial Hex" might be better suited

One of the most interesting instrumental parts of the soundtrack, seemingly playing Britten's "Corpus Christi Carol" again but this time on an acoustic guitar accompanied by some discordant sounds and jigs, a really atmospheric and striking piece of music that synchronizes perfectly to the film. Nat...

07/01/2023

We got David Colohan of United Bible Studies to provide the instrumentals "Loving Couples/The Ruined Church" and give them some fresh life

Well, now we're properly into the realm of instrumental themes, though of course "Loving Couples" is just a soft, wordless flute reprise of "Gently Johnny". The piece known as "The Ruined Church" is taken from the start of Benjamin Britten's "Corpus Christi Carol" which is an ingenious reappropriati...

07/01/2023

Sumer Is Icumen In. Also known as the Cuckoo Song. A very, very, very old song.
Very pleased to say we got the wonderful Sharron Kraus to create a new version for us

So much has been written about this 13th Century song that there's not really a lot I can add. It's a celebration of the excitement you feel when Summer is on its way (so whoever wrote it was clearly not living in Phoenix) Beautiful Twisted by Sharron Kraus Sharron Kraus is such a figurehead for

06/29/2023

Oh, and who do we have taking a Fire Leap for us? Why, its Sophie Cooper of course!

The Fire Leap is widely credited to Paul Giovanni for both music and lyrics, but surely the lyrics must as least be by Anthony Shaffer and possibly inspired by something he found during his research. It's a shame neither are around today, there's so much more to be asked. Sophie Cooper first emerged...

06/29/2023

Something a bit more radical for you - Teleplasmiste have taken on "Festival/Mirie It Is" and blasted it into another world!

On the original Trunk soundtrack it was titled simply "Festival" but the later Silva Screen edition refers to it as "Festival/Mirie It Is". However, let's be pedantic, and use its original 13th Century name "Mirie It Is While Sumer Llast". This and "Sumer Is Icumen In" are both rare examples of 13th...

06/29/2023

Like most of you, I've been entranced by the music of Hawthonn so it was a no-brainer to get them into THE WICKER MAN project....

Hawthonn – Lullaby Posted on June 28, 2023 by LordSummerisle Lullaby in the film is a simple harp refrain based around a repeating riff. Not something that would really lend itself to a cover version usually but in the right hands it could be the seed that grows a mighty tree. Hawthonn were defini...

06/29/2023

Well, wouldn't be a proper tribute to The Wicker Man(1973) soundtrack if it didn't have United Bible Studies on it, would it?

United Bible Studies – Procession/Chop Chop Posted on June 26, 2023 by LordSummerisle Although listed as “Procession/Chop Chop” on the score what we have here is firstly the music from the old song “Fause Foodrage” Since 1968, that tune has been used for the folk song “Willie O Winsbury....

06/25/2023

One of the reasons for doing this project was hoping I could get to hear Meg Baird sing Willow's Song because I knew it would sound amazing. I was right

Meg Baird – Willow’s Song Posted on June 25, 2023 by LordSummerisle We can easily all agree that this is the best known and most widely covered song on Wicker Man soundtrack, right? That meant the mission here was big, super big. As soon as I considered this song, I knew I wanted Meg Baird and i...