Somewhere, lost in another plane of existence, a banished king searches in vain for his kingdom. This is King Herla, a man stricken by the spells of an unruly dwarf king and destined to ride the stormy skies for all eternity. But on All Hallow’s Eve, when the boundaries that separate his world from our own are somewhat porous, our protagonist spies his opportunity to return to the realm of flesh and blood. Without warning, on a dingy stage somewhere in present day Edinburgh, a crack appears in the air itself and a regal figure steps out from the void. But he is not alone…
So begins one of the stranger events in Auld Reekie’s musical calendar, as two figures – each clad in robes and crowns, with synthesisers tucked neatly underarm – enter stage left to present Two Kings to an unsuspecting, and often politely confused, audience.
Taking their cues from a traditional mummer’s play, our two travellers soon reveal themselves to be none other than King Herla and his adversary. Unfazed by their miraculous materialisation on stage, the pair proceed to relate tales of their adventures through song, stage-smoke and amateur dramatics. The merry event – which is half pantomime, half synth-pop, and often half-cut – has become a mainstay of the Edinburgh DIY scene’s Halloween celebrations in recent years, and Folklore Tapes is delighted to present the project’s first official release.
The record features two long expository songs recorded to half-inch tape by the Kings in a former watermill on the banks of Loch Tay. Vocoder and tape delay, grit and noise, wow and flutter: all are present in abundance, coalescing into a thick analogue soup – the musical equivalent of the haze on an old VHS tape. The booklet features an essay outlining the legend of King Herla, alongside recording notes and stage directions. Scattered throughout are hitherto unseen 35mm photographs, documenting the exploits of our two otherworldly kings abroad in the world of men.
