Many in the UK seek comfort in the past, whether the Celtic twilight of Camelot, or pride in the innovations of the Victorian era. But peel away the fantasies and we're left with little - just overcooked roast beef and roundabouts. This is a rant about our obsession with the past - and obsessions in general, whether these are my own, or those of the nostalgic British public.

Roast Beef and Roundabouts

The legend is that King Arthur is sleeping under a hollow hill in Avalon but will come back in our direst need and save us. So where was he when we needed him? Maybe he comes back regularly but we don't recognise him. Maybe he was Churchill (the line is actually "he a church, hill, dragon" but don't let that stop you) at the 'end of civilisation as we know it'; maybe he was the Beatles saving us from the Dracula grip of the dead past in the 1950s.

Chivalry means a bit more than military authority; the legends emphasise the mercy, justice and moral rectitude of Arthur's reign and of his knights' unselfishness, courageous readiness to defend the weak and opposition to bullying selfishness advanced by might. 

This track tries to sum up all the protean and sub-messianic things Arthur has been through mythology, legend and history.



Wake me, wake me
He come out on top, he beat
Hordes of heathen, he pluck
Swords of lightning from the
Stone and rippling
BC AD 6 and 6/9teenth Century
Justice might and mercy king of all chivalry.

Wake me, wake me
He Arth and Ursus, he yoke
Rome and Logres, he ride
Wings and horses, he steal
Grails from Annwn as a
Norman knight a bird of prey an earthed angel tree,
Celtic god a Dark Age white horse galloping free.

Woke King Arthur
In the 20th
Century.

Wake me, wake me
He ever present, he a
Church-hilled dragon, he the
King of Europe, never
Heard of England, he a
Druid henge a hollow hill a forest a sea
British May King ever changing eternity.

Woke King Arthur
In the 20th
Century.

(spoken) You who think you defend
This lost land of Logres
From drowning migrants
For your offshore profits
You're not Arthur's Britons
Follow your money
GO!

He fights invaders who claim
Lost Land acres from the
Drowning migrants, for their
Offshore profits, he’s the
Lose yourself to save yourself they don’t want to see
Release the Pax Britannia brand of Arthur-ity.

Woke King Arthur
In the Twenty first
Century.

Wake King Arthur
Yeah
Wake King King Arthur
Yeah
Wake King Arthur
YEAH!
https://peacocks-tale.bandcamp.com/album/king-arthur-and-me-the-opera

Woke King Arthur

Tracey Tanoff is back but this time Chris Pine's Peen(R) is not on the table as we dissect a couple of beloved animated classics. We may not have liked them but we appreciate the work! 

The Black Cauldron & The Sword in the Stone

"The Abyssal King" is a dark cinematic trap anthem inspired by the character Brennan from King Arthur: Legends Rise. Once a noble ruler, now a twisted mutant king bound to ancient, godlike power — this track captures his fall, his rage, and his frozen resolve.

Fusing haunting ambient textures, epic orchestral elements, and heavy bass-driven trap rhythms, the song paints the icy crown and cursed soul of a man who chose darkness to save his people.

Король из Бездны | The Abyssal King

For our second release on Takeover, we’re bringing you some serious heat from raw rising talent—alongside a couple of our own resident heavyweights.

This VA delivers nasty basslines, tight percussion, and deep, infectious grooves throughout keeping to that raw aesthetic that we know you all love!

Each artist brings a cut-throat sound that’s guaranteed to shake sound systems across the globe and of course… flex some floorboards.

Purchase from our Bandcamp!

Release date: 16.04.2025
Mastering: DDA Mastering

TKVR002 - BKSM - Shinobi (Clip)

TKVR002 - Mees Mattern - That Disc (Clip)

TKVR002 - Luis Ripa - What Lies Beneath (Clip)

TKVR002 - King Arthur - Red Line (Clip)

TKVR002 - Pabz - Terb (Clip)

TKVR002 - Clark Street Dubs - Hold The Feeling (Clip)

Medieval music about the adventures of Sir Galahad, one of King Arthur's most loyal and honorable knights. This music is called Sir Galahad. We hope you enjoy listening to it!

#medieval #knight #galahad #middleages #instrumental 

Knights of the Round Table

Round Table

Medieval Music - Sir Galahad

Tennyson's paean of praise for the best king we never had; the one boss you could have worked for. His words already seem to have the melodies (and even the percussion) in place. The Saxon May King Robin Hood (see our track of that name  https://soundcloud.com/gareth-calway/the-may-king-robin-hood) based on the historical figure Hereward the Wake, is a people's champion. The older Celtic British Arthur, rooted in the British resistance to Saxon invasion and in Celtic mythology, is more associated with a magical court.

The May King as a boy/god/ spirit of summer fights for the light against overwhelming odds aided by good magic. (Love). The might of Gwalchmei (later called Sir Gawain) waxes with the summer and wanes with the winter. The force that through the green fuse drives the flower...

Out of this came a spontaneous riff on Child Ballad 1 (see credits)
lyrics
'Blow, trumpet, for the world is white with May;
Blow trumpet, the long night hath rolled away!
Blow through the living world—"Let the King reign."

'Shall Rome or Heathen rule in Arthur's realm?
Flash brand and lance, fall battleaxe upon helm,
Fall battleaxe, and flash brand! Let the King reign.

'Strike for the King and live! his knights have heard
That God hath told the King a secret word.
Fall battleaxe, and flash brand! Let the King reign.

'Blow trumpet! he will lift us from the dust.
Blow trumpet! live the strength and die the lust!
Clang battleaxe, and clash brand! Let the King reign.

'Strike for the King and die! and if thou diest,
The King is King, and ever wills the highest.
Clang battleaxe, and clash brand! Let the King reign.

'Blow, for our Sun is mighty in his May!
Blow, for our Sun is mightier day by day!
Clang battleaxe, and clash brand! Let the King reign.

'The King will follow Christ, and we the King
In whom high God hath breathed a secret thing.
Fall battleaxe, and flash brand! Let the King reign.'

Tennyson from 'The Coming of Arthur'

What is greener than the grass?
Lay the bent to the bonny broom
What is smoother than a glass?
And you'll beguile the lady soon.
What is louder than a horn?
Lay the bent to the bonny broom
What is sharper than a thorn?
And you'll beguile the lady soon.
What is deeper than the sea?
Lay the bent to the bonny broom
What is longer than a Way?
And you'll beguile the lady soon.

Child Ballad 1 (Riddles Wisely Expounded)
credits
from Bringing In The May (EP), track released May 1, 2021
from our EP Bringing In The May, released April 30, 2021
That's Maz on acoustic guitar and vocals; me on voice, percussion, acoustic and electric bass.
Alfred Lawn Tennyson wrote the main poem, an extract from Idylls of the King about the coronation of the May King which he called "The Coming of Arthur".
The 'hermit chapel' pictured is St Peter's in the heart of Cambridge, which Tennyson would have probably have known.
The sample of Child Ballad 1 as the track closes (we heard Anais Mitchell and Jefferson Hamer's brilliant 2013 version on Liz Franklin's folk programme ) is in the Celtic tradition of 'impossible' quests or riddles set which if achieved will be rewarded by marriage with fair lady
The answers to the riddles are: envy, flattery, rumour, regret, love.

Anyone for Tennyson?/ Child Ballad 1

(spoken) There drew he forth the brand Excalibur,
And o’er him, drawing it, the winter moon,
Brightening the skirts of a long cloud, ran forth
And sparkled keen with frost against the hilt:
For all the haft twinkled with diamond sparks,
Myriads of topaz-lights, and jacinth work
Of subtlest jewellery. He gazed so long
That both his eyes were dazzled...


(sung) "Throw back, throw back, Excalibur!"
I begged Bedwyr - and twice more -
"Throw back, grown black, Excalibur
That I might live forever
That Light might strike forever!
In wicked shifting thickets, the thorn
Of my heart's bursting must be:
Rose-clad, at home, and sleeping,
Or gone is the dazzling dream
That Artos, once man Arthur,
(Mis-mothered where life faltered
On long-fought malice Mordered)
Is God, is lord immortal:
A dream too real to live, thrown
Out of your world and hurled, look!


A Christ sword to Word your sky!"

(spoken) Dry clash’d his harness in the icy caves
And barren chasms, and all to left and right
The bare black cliff clang’d round him, as he based
His feet on juts of slippery crag that rang
Sharp-smitten with the dint of armed heels—
And on a sudden, lo! the level lake,
And the long glories of the winter moon.

sung lyrics © Gareth Calway 2011

From our Matter of Britain set "The Lost Land". The tune is Llwyn Onn (the Lonely Ash Grove.)

From our Matter of Britain set "The Lost Land," this interpretation of the famous moment in the Arthur legends when the Mordred-conquering but broken king of Logres commands Bedivere (originally Bedwyr, first friend) to throw his enchanted sword Excalibur ('lightning blade') back into the Lake form whence it came, takes a number of things for granted which alas one cannot. First, that the Arthur legend is not the property of the English (as often believed) but of an older Celtic Britain which fought them for what became known as "Logres" the Lost Land - (modern Welsh Lloegr, England) - hence our use of a haunting Welsh tune. Second, the (to me) attractive Celtic 'otherworldliness' of the lyric is due - as in the verses of our "Morgan le Fay" - to my alternating use of two of the most common medieval Welsh meters (Morgan uses the other two) known collectively as cynghanedd (literally 'harmony')

The required intense focus on word-sounds and patterns here and in its sibling piece Morgan cast a spell over my composition which allowed magical thoughts to form. This in turn affected the choice of tune and the overall performance.

released September 19, 2023
Main lyric by and tune arr. by Peacock's Tale  https://peacocks-tale.bandcamp.com/track/excalibur
Music video - https://youtu.be/DJ231bQrlpU

The Ash Grove (Welsh: Llwyn Onn) is a traditional Welsh folk song whose melody has been set to numerous sets of lyrics before this one, the most famous ones ("Down yonder green valley etc") by Thomas Oliphant in the 19th century.

Lake photography by Bhas Allan.

Extracts from "Morte D'Arthur" by Tennyson. Always nice to have Alfred Lord Tennyson in as a guest artist.

Excalibur: A Dream Too Real To Live

The King Arthur legends are closely associated with May. Arthur is sometimes known as the May King (his coronation was May 1st) and Gwalchmei (Gawain) is the Hawk of May as Gwalchaved (Galahad) is the Hawk of Summer. Mordred - Arthur's shadow, the winter king, was born on May 1st (Beltane). Gwenhwyfar is Arthur's May Queen and the Grail Maiden brings in the May when she manages to enchant and become pregnant by Sir Lancelot ( a derivative of Llugh, the Celtic god of Light and fertility)

One of the paradoxes of the King Arthur legends (which thrillingly combine Christian mysticism with an older Celtic mythology) is that Lancelot's infidelity with the Grail Maiden (magically disguised as Guinevere) in quest of the Holy Grail conceives the Grail Finder. When Galahad comes of age he replaces his father as the Best Knight, finds the Grail and the Wasteland becomes fruitful again.

This tale of tragic adultery (and in thought at least also an infidelity to the King by his most faithful captain Lancelot) is brought to you by an old faithful married couple. But Lancelot and Guinevere and courtly love in general, may be enjoyed as myths of true marriage: the lifelong quest by each partner truly to find the other.

‘Come hither, Captain,’ the Grail Maiden sighs,
‘Thither away with me
To the rich wooded valley and holy well
My Waste Land dies to be.

‘Look! into the burning wilderness sun
Above the shadeless tree,
The high hawk of summer, hovering still,
The shadow of what will be:

‘The Shadowless One who waits above
To be born to you and me,
A Knight of Truth out of traitor arms
And infidelity.

‘Galahad the Pure, God-armed and winged
To bless our impurity
Unbearably born to steal your quest
And all of your shining glory.

‘Come hither, Captain,’ the Grail Maiden sighs,
And turns him a face so free:
His forbidden love, the queen of his dreams,
The end of all Chivalry.’

A faithless false knight in a failing light
Fallen under a spell to see/ be
A Knight of Truth out of traitor arms
And infidelity.

Says he, ‘My heart is set on the grail
And wholly raised above!’
Says she, ‘It’s broken, and half is set
On your true adulterous love.’

‘I am her champion, she is my king’s,
I am their faithful knight!’
‘The Grail can’t be had for half a heart,
You can have that queen tonight.

‘Whisper my name, any name you like,
Any lover you want me to be,
A night of Truth in my traitor arms
And in fidelity.’

‘Come hither, Captain,’ the Grail Maiden sighs,
‘Thither away with me
To the rich wooded valley and holy well
My Waste Land dies to be.

from King Arthur and Me: The Opera, released May 1, 2024  https://peacocks-tale.bandcamp.com/album/king-arthur-and-me-the-opera
That's a King Lang Tantric horn at the start, recorded in India.
Galahad/Gwalchaved means 'hawk of summer'.

Watch the music video on YouTube - youtu.be/CiUjHIbDHFY

Lancelot and the Grail Maiden

"History is written by the vicar" was a running gag in "Arthur Britain's Making/May King (geddit?)" our Arthurian Edinburgh fringe show from which this is taken (and also its sister show abut Boudicca) and is a malapropism/quibble on Churchill's famous "History is written by the Victors." Churchill obviously has a point, as most world war films for 20-30 years after 1945 attest, though I wonder if it would be more accurate to say "history is written by the present" which selects and retells it for its own ever-changing purposes,. But, in the case of both Boudicca and Arthur, the only history being written down post Romana, the only people able to write at all, were monks who weren't keen on our action movie Celtic British heroes, writing misogynistic accounts of Boudicca and largely airbrushing Arthur out of history altogether. (The Anglo Saxon Chronicle has only two Arthurian mentions - the Battle of Badon in 515 and Camlann in 539). Historians remain monastic in the sense that while history is made in the dangerous hurly burly of life, it is chronicled (or mind-gamed) in a very different place. Or, if that makes no sense, people actually lived, loved and died so stop putting them into your history books like they didn't.

Blood on the corn
Like poppies, like sails,
Blood on the dawn
In the cornfield of Wales.

A land can’t exist
By elegy alone
But now even that ‘workshop’
Has been closed down.

“The Celts were invented
In 1700”
(It seems) when Scotland
By England was plundered.

Once Romans slaughtered
The druids of Mon;
Once Cymru’s death-foes
Carried it on,

Goddesses, heroes,
Fell from a trance
Into knights and ladies
Of French romance:

Essylte prayed
For a night-black sail;
Boudicca rode,
Gwenhwyfar failed,

And now Mr James’
“Atlantic Celts”
Have finally Westered
The Westering Welsh

Blood on the corn
Like poppies, like sails,
Blood on the dawn
In the cornfield of Wales.

It doubtless comforts
The butchered British
Of old to learn
That they never existed.

Myths are carved out
By the hunted killer
But history (it seems)
Is penned by the vicar

In the schoolman English
Of monastery Mon
And the schoolgirl French
That turned us on:

Of Britain’s reforging
In the semi-detached flames
Of ironic suburban
Mr James.

Blood on the corn
Like poppies, like sails,
Blood on the dawn
In the cornfield of Wales.

We should be singing
Our bardic song
In seas of corn,
Our voices strong,

Of Drustan’s truth,
Essylte’s love,
Of a black despair
In a sail of dove;

Of Britain’s remaking
By the King of May
From the broken sun
Of Boudicca’s day;

Of Britain’s Making -
The Arthurian sequel
To Britain’s Dreaming
And its visionary equal -

Being eagerly composed
While detained all day
By a Person on business
From a local LEA;

Of the red-crests’ defeat
By oak-druid seers,
Of King Arthur’s reign
For two thousand years…

But in Roma’s Mona,
In Angles’ sea,
In middle England
We’re history.

Blood on the corn
Like poppies, like sails,
Blood on the dawn
In the cornfield of Wales.

from King Arthur and Me: The Opera, released May 1, 2024 https://peacocks-tale.bandcamp.com/album/king-arthur-and-me-the-opera
Watch the music video on YouTube youtu.be/J3xbUFiGEUE
license

Blood on the Corn

After a rare Arthurian manuscript was discovered hidden in an old book in the Cambridge University Library, a team of academics and librarians worked together to decipher and preserve the rare finding. 

#70 - Lost tales of King Arthur & Merlin (w/ Irene Fabry-Tehranchi)

In this episode of Big Blend Radio, author Sam Davey talks about her powerful new novel "The Chosen Queen," a feminist reimagining of the Pendragon prophecy told through the eyes of Igraine—Arthur’s mother and a woman of great strength, wisdom, and influence. Shifting the spotlight from kings and knights to queens and mothers, this is a story about power, destiny, and the women who shaped legend.

Sam shares her inspiration behind the book, how she blends history and myth, and what it’s like to juggle writing with a full-time career at London’s Royal Opera House. She also discusses her deep connection to Arthurian lore, the role of nature and magic in her storytelling, and her commitment to portraying women’s voices in history.

🔹 Highlights:
- A fresh feminist perspective on Arthurian legend
- Igraine’s journey as a mother, leader, and visionary
- The intersection of myth, magic, and historical research
- Sam’s path as a writer, and advocate for women’s stories

Learn more at https://www.samdaveyroughmagic.net/

Author Sam Davey - The Chosen Queen

Fully illustrated collection of rare and previously unpublished tales of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, retold for a new generation by leading Arthurian expert, John Matthews, introduced by Sir John Boorman, director of the classic film, Excalibur, and illustrated with paintings and drawings by Tolkien artist, John Howe. 

 It is a time of magic and adventure, of chivalry and courtly love, when great evil must be met with heroic deeds. It is a time of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table.

Realms of the Round Table presents for the first time an extensive collection of forgotten tales, retold for a new generation of readers by a modern-day Merlin, the world-renowned Arthurian authority, John Matthews. Contained within are a rich feast of Arthurian love stories and tales that delve deep into the darker mysteries of the Great Wood and the denizens of fantastic lands beyond.

Here also is a heady mixture of magic, faery lore, wisdom and mystery – capturing extraordinary tales of Camelot’s greatest knights, such as Sir Lancelot and Sir Gawain, and others less well known, and soaring from high adventure to mystical accounts of the Grail. There is even an Arthurian Christmas tale!

These age-old stories, companions to those collected in the sister-volume, The Great Book of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, honour the work of Thomas Malory in his legendary Le Morte D’Arthur. They are dramatically brought to life by the luminous paintings and drawings of internationally acclaimed Tolkien artist, John Howe, to present a glorious reimagining of the most influential work of English fantasy ever written.

Realms of the Round Table, By John Matthews, Illustrated by John Howe, Foreword by Sir John Boorman, Read by Ric Jerrom

"Tracks with attitude"

A Manchester based club brand and record label that explores the underground sounds of raw house and garage with a gritty edge.

A marriage (and we are actually married, 45 years so far) of melody and rhythm. We do folk, indie, Americana, Norfolk noir, beat poems &  ghazals. Traditional tunes with contemporary beats. Music videos  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCb8wV0-DNiFs1R5G2VSytBQ
Maz lead & harmony vocals, acoustic guitar. Gaz vocals, voice, bass, drums & percussion, harmonium, recorders, lyre harp, field recordings.

Publishers of award-winning fiction and non-fiction audiobooks for adults and children. Listen to exclusive clips from our books and free audioook extracts here on Soundcloud.

Hi everyone!

We compose medieval music, fantasy music, world music, sci-fi music, dark music, and other types of music. All the music here (with maybe one exception) is originally composed by Derek Fiechter & Brandon Fiechter who are twins who live in Indiana in the United States.

Also, any of our music can be used for non-commercial projects and videos. All we ask is that people credit us.

Here's our email address if you want to contact us about any business request or anything else:

dbfiechter@gmail.com


As for our beliefs, we're Christians who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.


Derek Fiechter & Brandon Fiechter

#medieval #fantasy #spooky #egyptian #world #instrumental #ost #elf #mermaid #fairy #music

Exploring the history and mythology of the ancient world. Archaeologists and scholars join to discuss ancient Greece, Rome, Egypt, and other civilizations of the distant past.

Select Big Blend Radio interviews that are featured in the digital, interactive Big Blend Radio & TV Magazine and Parks & Travel Magazine. Hosted by Nancy J. Reid and Lisa D. Smith, mother-daughter travel team and publishers.

Sarah Ifft Decker, a medieval historian, explores how movies, tv, and books depict the medieval world. What did they get right? What did they get wrong? And what do they tell us about how modern people think about the medieval past?

Psychic Investigations:
exploring the weird British Isles

New tracks tagged #king arthur