Music plays a big part in the development of my Imagi-Nation. Several distinct genres impacted heavily on the aesthetic of this faux-17th century, and I’m going to write them down here, as an appendix to Appendix N.
The settled countryside has two aural strands: the traditional folk music of England, and the less masculine exponents of doom metal. The influence of James Raggi IV is obvious here, but it’s undeniable that a fusion of Border Ballads and early Black Sabbath conjures a particularly weird, superstitious, early-modern atmosphere. Try also Reverend Bizarre, Blood Ceremony, St Vitus, Candlemas, The Obsessed, and even Coven.
The wilderness came out of dark folk and the more ecologically-minded, misanthropic black metal groups. I’d say the primary motivations would be Xasthur, Wolves in the Throne Room, Strangeweather, and Darkthrone. The landscape is bog, heath, forest; wet with drizzle and draped in mist. So are these groups.
The urban places combine early ’80s Berlin with Warhol’s New York superstars; Weimar Gemany, Art Deco, S&M fetish fashion, and revolutionary France. It’s a mix of late baroque/ early classical music, and The Velvet Underground. Analogue electronica, darkwave, and post-punk come in here as well. And new romanticism. A heady brew: Joy Division, Soft Cell, Cabaret Voltaire, Suicide, Malaria!, Cold Cave, etc.
Have fun.
