God Jul

Wishing all of my fellow haunters, haunted house freaks, Halloween enthusiasts and fans of the macabre a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Highbury Cemetery! I've decided that for the first time in quite a few years, I'm skipping the annual Christmas day posting of the "Grandpa scene" from Silent Night, Deadly Night.

Instead, I'm just going to post this wonderful little video from Pär Boström. A beautiful clip of his music set over a cool little scene of his father's homemade Santa village. (But don't worry, Boström's masterful ambience still draws on a bit of the darkness. So there's no for concern that I have suddenly gone soft!)

Everyone have a wonderful Christmas day, and we'll get back at it in short order. Enjoy!

  

Pär Boström - "October"

Lots of things going on but nothing coming out of the Cemetery today, so have another helping of seasonal audio bliss. This one from Pär Boström, the dark ambient artist behind Kammarheit, Cities Last Broadcast, and other amazing projects.

Some gloomy autumn music. Enjoy.

  

Kammarheit - "Before It Was Known As Sleep"

From Kammarheit's lush, atmospheric 2021 dark ambient release, Thronal. This one really nails this weird period of time we're currently in, between the end of the fiery Halloween season and the start of the cold, dark winter.

  

Kammarheit - "Thronal"

So here, finally, is the post that I really wanted to start the year off with! Brand new Kammarheit!!!

I was SUPER excited to hear that after 5 long years, a new Kammarheit dark ambient release entitled Thronal was in the works. And just before the end of 2020, it was released.

From the Kammarheit Bandcamp page:

Kammarheit finally returns with his fourth full-length album. In its 20 years since the formation of the project, Pär Boström has delivered time and time again some of the most compelling and dare we say authentic Dark Ambient music ever to grace our ears. Following up on his previous works (of which a special edition 20th Anniversary 3LP boxset has been released) he now presents Thronal, another profound and spellbinding journey and another meaningful chapter in Kammarheit’s indefinable story, from a true master of his craft. “I took the crown and the throne acted as a magnet, drawing the attention of distant stars…”

I snagged this one immediately (no way I was missing out on the limited colored vinyl version!). I put it on constant rotation here at the Cemetery, and I haven't stopped listening to it yet. Thronal picks up right where Boström's last release, The Nest, ended. Rich with cold, desolate, melancholic ambient perfection. Inspiring and oddly calming. To me, Kammarheit is still at the very top of the dark ambient genre, and on every listen to this release I find something new to enjoy and become completely enveloped by. I absolutely love this one and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys the lush atmosphere of dark ambient.

But wait, there's more! Not only is there a brand new release to ingest, but Cyclic Law also dropped Triune, an incredible 3xLP 20th Anniversary box set of the first three Kammarheit releases on gorgeous colored vinyl. Another mandatory purchase for me!

If you want to learn more about Pär Boström, creative mastermind behind Kammarheit, please check out this great interview over at Unsafe But Sound. An in-depth look at his life, influences, and myriad of other projects. A quick, but fantastic read.

Cities Last Broadcast - Stay At Home Concert

A couple of people have asked me to do a "stay at home concert". I am not much for live streaming
so I decided to do it like this instead. What you are about to see is a man trying to enjoy his morning coffee
while the world falls apart.



From Pär Boström, the composer behind such famous dark ambient acts as Kammarheit and Hymnambulae, comes a quarantine performance from another of his acts, Cities Last Broadcast.

A perfect, 30-minute live set, direct from Boström's living room table. The dark ambient audio is a bleak yet beautiful, melancholic atmosphere that encompasses the ongoing tension of our global quarantine.

Stay safe. Stay inside. And enjoy.

Pär Boström - Midnattsmässa

More incredible audio from Pär Boström, creative mastermind of dark ambient projects Kammarheit and Cities Last Broadcast, among others. I could lie on the ground and listen to this for hours...

Pär Boström - "Infinite"

A brand new track from Kammarheit and Cities Last Broadcast mastermind, Pär Boström.

A film score without a film. Improvised one evening in September 2018, using the Hogshead cigar box guitar and effect pedals, and then edited into whatever this is.

30 minutes of wonderful, relaxing melancholy. A perfect track for a cold, grey winter weekend. Enjoy...

Pär Boström - The Shipwreck Device

I'm not sure exactly sure what Pär Boström of dark ambient projects Kammarheit and Cities Last Broadcast has created here, but I definitely know that I want one, too!

Such wonderfully eerie sounds emanating from this device! Could you imagine composing your own haunt soundtrack with this!?!?

Atrium Carceri & Cities Last Broadcast - "Black Corner Den"

I am SUPER excited about this new dark ambient collaboration between two giants of the genre!!

From the Cryo Chamber Bandcamp page:

The two bearded Swedes join forces on this collaborative album. Black Corner Den is the result of long winter studio sessions separated by the Atlantic Ocean but made possible by the internet. Lonely moments in the company of the night lamp, overlooking the messy pile of tape loops while the machines hummed and the piano played until the morning.

Exploring the opium dens at the end of the 19th century this album takes you deep into the soothing dreams of dead poets.

"The streets lay silent as the floor creeks under your bare feet. The old loft lit by a wax candle, it's light dancing over your oak desk. You grab the vial of black ink and the leather bound book as you scurry out the door into the humid night. You pass trails of fire as the lamplighter tends to the myriad lanterns adorning the bridge. A left turn leads you down a set of stone stairs where the satin clad lounge welcomes you in.

Sweet smoke lingers in here where gentlemen gather to dream about the black sea. Your booth at the far end stands prepared. A pipe, tinderbox and purple pillow for a tired head. You have a friend tonight and it calls itself the Black Corner Den."

Pär Boström’s dreamlike soundscapes combines with the careful melodies and elegant structures of Simon Heath. The perfect soundtrack for decadent nights or introverted reading sessions, preferably combined.

As an added bonus, they are doing a limited, absolutely gorgeous release on vinyl!

I don't have any dark ambient releases on vinyl, but I'm all in on this one. I can't wait to hear this release through the warm tones of my turntable.

Black Corner Den releases September 5 on Cryo Chamber.

Cities Last Broadcast - "The Humming Tapes"

Available now! Great new dark ambient audio from Pär Böstrom's (Kammarheit) side project, Cities Last Broadcast. Just in time to fuel this year's summer haunt build!!

From the Cryo Chamber bandcamp page:

Pär Boström of cult project Kammarheit presents us with his side project Cities Last Broadcasts second album, The Humming Tapes. 

On this album Pär Boström explores his fascination with old seances and the early 20th century. Reel-to-reel tape recorders and de-tuned instrumentation combined with modern mixing techniques creates an album that sounds haunted, but also careful and nurturing. 

Pär has with this work taken yet another step forward in his production skill set squashing any doubt that he is one of the most unique artists in the genre with his unorthodox approach to recording his sounds.

Hymnambulae - "Orgelhuset (The Organ House)"

Hymnambulae is a new project released today by dark ambient artist Par Bostrom (Kammarheit) and his sister on their new label, Hypnagoga Press. Orgelhuset is available on their Bandcamp page today. More great, dark atmospheric, hauntingly melodic audio.