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We recently shared Johnny’s On The Water, the lead single from the genre-bending folk and electronic collective Remorae. Today, they are releasing their latest single, Greyfriars, accompanied by a visualiser that shows a sandcastle being slowly eroded away by the encroaching tide…tying in with the story of Dunwich – the medieval harbour town that fell into the sea and the one remaining grave that was left in All Saints churchyard – that of Jacob Forster. The slow pace of the song carries an air of melancholy, accentuated by the visualiser and the lyrics:
An Eastern spell on the East coast
Come drag me down to the deep
Let the stone fall five fathoms
Pull the ground from under me
I have often slept in a quieter bed
Than that she shared with me
But the sea called to meet us
The beach is between us
Joseph Woods of Remorae shared:
“I grew up on the Suffolk coast, and have always returned there as often as possible. As the land is a bit flat and featureless, it can only be navigated by old weird stories and rumours. We grew up with UFOs in Rendlesham forest, secret weapons testing at Orford Ness, and my primary school bookbag had a Saxon king’s death mask on it, inspired by a nearby ship burial. The song came out of lockdown, and the frustration of being unable to get on the train and visit the coast. It was Flo who sorted out the lyrics and made it Jacob Forster’s story.
The story of Dunwich – the medieval harbour town that fell into the sea, leaving just one grave (Forster’s) on the cliffside – is one of the best local stories from my childhood, partly because it’s actually true. It’s also part of the fantastical folk tradition of sunken church bells that, in the right conditions, can still be heard from underwater. The story still does the rounds: last time we played in Oxford, an audience member approached me and swore he had visited and heard the church bells ringing in the sea.”
The visualiser is a sped-up capture of a sandcastle being reclaimed by the sea. Martha filmed it on Tywyn beach, West Wales, as Suffolk notoriously lacks nice sandy beaches.
Greyfriar is out now on streaming services and Bandcamp.
More here: https://remorae.co.uk/
