Folk Recommendations
 

I've recently been getting into folk music (as a result of listening to lots of Opeth, Ulver, and Fejd). However, I am having trouble finding anything decent that's actually in the genre (with the exception of Fejd -- Opeth and Ulver are primarily metal bands but with folk influences). Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!


(And hopefully I get more than 1 reply like I did in my last thread here).

perhaps not folk in the "traditional" sense of the word, but Devendra Banhart and Kimya Dawson are two who come to mind.

are you interested primarily in scandinavian folk music (of the type that ulver, burzum et al refer to)?

in a parallel general area (tho not scandinavian)--check out come current 93, who are something like the what would have happened had the incredible string band joined the oto
several of my friends who are interested in this kind of music also like death in june.

dunno if this is the direction you are looking in...

Well I'm not necessarily interested soley in Scandinavian folk music, but that seems to be where I've gravitated... I like a JRR Tolkein kinda feel to my folk music for the most part, with dark sounds and dreary vocals (harmonization of deep voices is always a plus too... almost bardlike, perhaps?).

I'm not sure if this will give a better idea of what I'm looking for, but I think that the section in the Opeth song Godhead's Lament from about 3:00-5:00 is the best thing since sliced bread, and want more of that sort of music.

Damien Rice, Iron & Wine

Asta!!

I'm digging Iron & Wine so far. Not exactly what I was looking for when I started this thread, but still some damn good stuff.

Yeah my bro n law told me about them yesterday and told me they were folk. Said I'd like them. I've never actually heard them myself though.

Asta!!

I'm not quite sure what your looking for but Bob Dylan is where I turn if I want to hear folk. Tom Petty works for me as well.

kings of convenience are pretty good. similar to simon and garfunkel at times, but not as annoying. and they even have some scandinavian ties.
also check elliott smith
jeff buckley
bright eyes
animal collective (little weirder)
castanets (gothic alt-country)
sufjan stevens (laid back guitar and vox)
tom waits (gruff blues)
my morning jacket (slower alt-country band)
ryan adams (older stuff might not be too bad but i never really listened)

i really don't like most music that is considered folk, but these are some of the closest suggestions that i can recall at the moment

You should really try Devendra Banhart. He gets kinda scary sounding at times.

Excellent, I'll check him out right away.


Oh and thank you everyone so far for the recommendations, I'm still working my way through sampling some of these.

Check out Graham Lindsey, he's new and unheard of. I got his debut, Famous Anonymous Wilderness, imported from America and it's barely left the CD player. He's like a young Bob Dylan if his songs came from his heart and not his head.

If a new musician has the guts to end their first record with the lyric "I never knew and shall never know a worse place than myself" you know you've stumbled onto something great.

most of my favorite folk artists have been mentioned, but also try to check out:

Nick Drake
The Mountain Goats
against Me (folk/punk, pretty cool)

but you definetly have to check out the band Iron & Wine that K-wise suggested, specifically the disc The Creek Drank The Cradle. It's beautiful.

I've found Nick Drake's Pink Moon album excellent. His other stuff, not so much.

Devendra Banhart is also quite good, thanks for the recommendations folks!

(pun intended)