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"St Bertrand de Comminges is a decayed town on the spurs of the Pyrenees, not very far from Toulouse, and still nearer to Bagnères-de-Luchon."
And so begins "Canon Alberic's Scrapbook" from Dr M. R. James' "Ghost Stories of an Antiquary" ... or at least my Penguin Books copy from May 1941 does.
I received this copy from Cousin Silas when I stayed at his house at the end of August. This was the weekend that I met Ade Hodges and Kevin Lyons, the weekend where Lyons explained his plans for a trilogy of dark ambient albums inspired by Dr M. R. James' writing.
To this point, I wasn't familiar with James' writing but was eager to know more. I am a big fan of 'weird fiction' and early 20th century sci-fi / horror ... Dr M. R. James' writing fit nicely into this list.
When Lyons told me of his intended trilogy, I was fascinated and wanted to know more - more about the music and the writer. I was not disappointed by either.
Curious Warnings (waag_rel036) is a real treat ... one that captures the deliciously uncomfortable nature of James' writing ... and translates the unsettling atmospheres into sound.
I do love some dark ambient and this album is a fine example of the genre. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
An MP3 version of this album is available for free on Archive or a lossless version available on Bandcamp for 'pay what you want' which does include £0 (albeit paying supporters also get unlimited mobile access using the free Bandcamp listening app).
Tx
PS Amazon has Dr M. R. James' "Ghost Stories of an Antiquary" (parts 1 and 2) for the Kindle for free. Recommended reading ... especially on Christmas Eve.
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https://archive.org/details/waag_rel036