Milkweed - Remscela

Milkweed's latest collection draws inspiration from the mythological tales of early Irish literature, taking as its source text, 'The Táin', translated by Thomas Kinsella from the Irish epic, 'Táin Bó Cuailnge'.

Offering more detail on the album’s lead single, ‘Exile of the Sons of Uisliu,, the band say: “'Exile of the Sons of Uisliu' is one of many remscéla, or pre-tales, leading up to the Táin. In the text, Derdriu, ‘the loveliest woman in all Ireland’, has been raised in isolation until she is ready for the bed of Conchobor, high king of Ulster. Derdriu falls in love with Noisiu, one of the sons of Uisliu, and together they escape to Alba where they again find themselves in peril. They are lured back to Ulster by Conchobor, but are ultimately betrayed.” While put, by critics, into the frameworks of lo-fi folk, hauntology or experimental hip-hop, the duo describe their sound as ‘Slacker Trad’ which is both true and somehow insufficient.

On the face of it, their musical concerns are transatlantic – they follow the rich creative line that runs between British traditional music and the songs and tunes of the eastern United States. In reality, their scope is global, and rooted in deep time, with influences from prehistory bleeding into a troubled and troubling modern era. As a result, their music doesn’t sit easily anywhere, but ricochets between bewitching Appalachian folk music and disconcerting hauntological experimentation