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The Middle Kingdom

by Lasher Keen

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    Middle Kingdom Album Record

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Sleep Spell 06:47
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Wind Spell 04:53
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Mocking Bard 01:24
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about

LP version. Includes all lyrics & housed in a printed color sleeve. Limited to 250 copies.

credits

released January 1, 2015

"The Middle Kingdom is based upon the Irish myth called 'Tochmarc Elaine' or 'The Wooing Of Elain.' It is preserved in the early 12th century 'Lebor na Huidre,' yet was recorded in the language of the 8th century. I was inspired to bring this more obscure of Irish tales to light after delving into the dramatic works & poetry of W. B. Yeats. In an effort to continue Yeats' noble safeguarding of Ireland's epics, 'The Middle Kingdom' is also intended as a theatrical play combining bardic storytelling, music, acting & dance. This marks the first of what I hope, will be many mythically enduring tales brought to life once more with the spark of creative fire & the distilled essence of poetic frenzy rooted deep within the ancestral soil. In so being roused & inspirited by the works of Yeats, I heartfully dedicate this record to his lasting memory. -D.S.

Lasher Keen – The Middle Kingdom

"One can always expect the unexpected from Lasher Keen. When the psychedelic folk band announced they were making a foray into musical theater, I could only shake my head with a smile and think to myself, ‘of course they are’.

With this announcement came the news that their next album would be a soundtrack of said production, the two sharing a name: The Middle Kingdom. Sheets, Lasher Keen’s voice and songwriter, has delved headlong into his love for Celtic myth, penning a full theater production complete with acting, dance, and, of course, live music based around the Irish myth of The Wooing of Etain and inspired by the poetical and theatrical works of Ireland’s literary master, William Butler Yeats.

The album came out shortly before the play’s debut in the spring of this year. I can imagine someone leafing through crates of vinyl at a record store, coming across The Middle Kingdom and mistaking it for an oddity from the late ’60s. ‘Is this the Incredible String Band channeling Rick Wakeman? they might ask. Even the production is as spacious and organic as classic albums of that time. All to this record’s credit, as so many bands try much harder to seem like throwbacks and only reveal themselves as modern; Lasher Keen does it with a timeless grace.

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Lasher Keen Nevada City, California

Multi-instrumentalist Dalrymple combines music & theater that’s inspired by ritual-induced trance states, yet grounded in folk traditions. Drawing on a wide swath of influences stretching from Neolithic British psychedelia to the distant underworld of matriarchal times, Lasher Keen is an ensemble that transmutes the dust of history. ... more

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