The Moon Lay Hidden Beneath A Cloud, A Poorly Remembered Travel Diary Plus CD Review

The Moon Lay Hidden Beneath A Cloud “Live In Nevers, France, ” bootleg cd

The Moon Lay Hidden Beneath A Cloud were one of the bands whose label (Arthur's Round Table) sheltered under the distribution umbrella of England's World Serpent.  During those innocent days during the early to mid nineties, pretty much anything that came out via World Serpent was of decent quality.  It didn't last, or course.  Nothing ever does.  The World Serpent family soon proved to be an unhappy one, with many bands becoming disgruntled and leaving the fold.  People were unhappy.  Accusations were flung about.  Political dirty laundry was aired.  The distribution empire, much like Rome, fell.  The recorded legacy remains though.

This cd, which came out as an extremely limited (128 copies) bootleg on the Russian Corzar label came into my hands quite recently via the internet.  The Moon Lay Hidden Beneath A Cloud are long defunct, with instrumentalist/sampler Albin Julius continuing with Der Blutharsch and also as a member of Death In June, and vocalist Alzbeth promising, but as of yet not delivering, new work to come. 

The selling point for me was, besides liking TMLHBAC (although, to be honest, these days I have my doubts about their politics), I actually attended this concert eleven years ago in the middle of .  TMLHBAC were the headliners on day one of a the two day Festival Musiques Ultimes  It was the first and briefest of a handful of trips overseas to enjoy live music, lasting only a weekend and earning me many looks of incredulity from friends and coworkers, along with questions like, “you’re going to France, FOR ONLY A WEEKEND?”  Nonetheless, with my brother Greg and friend Matt, I went.  None of us had ever done anything like it before, and only Matt had even the slightest grasp of the French language.

We saw Paris briefly as we stumbled frenziedly from the airport to the Metro, and from the Metro through the streets in search of the train station.  I have memories of the smell of car exhaust (stronger than in the ), book vendors along the river (maddeningly all in French, of course…), lots of pigeons (like every other city), and the fact that everybody assumed we were up to no good.  Every time we accidentally bumped into somebody, which we did often, encumbered as we were with all of our luggage, it would provoke a very startled jump followed by a dark look (later we realized it was because everybody thought we were pickpockets).  Oh yeah, and the lids of all of the garbage cans were welded shut (later we were told this was to deter would-be bombers from placing explosives in them).

Once we finally boarded the train bound for Nevers (after more comical attempts at communication) and left , we all marveled at how green everything was.  Beautiful countryside whizzed past on the two and a half hour (if I remember it right) train ride. 

Nevers itself proved to be a quaint little place with a cathedral, meandering streets, and an old theatre which soon proved to be the venue the concert was to be held in.  We checked into a hotel (Beausejour? I can’t remember now…) that offered complimentary continental breakfasts.

Due to all of the time that has passed, I don’t remember a lot of details about the performances themselves. We had gone mostly to see TMLHBAC and Tony Wakeford/L’Orchestre Noir.  Andrew McKenzie was supposed to play but didn’t.  Edward Ka-Spel of Legendary Pink Dots played a decent set.  T.A.C., who were new to me at the time, played a really good set, marred slightly by the guitarist constantly apologizing for his playing (he’d recently broken his hand).  Deutsch Nepal had broken some key piece of equipment (electronic percussion, if I remember correctly) but did the best they could with what they had.  Batchas (the only local band, I think) played some nice experimental music which would later be released in lp format with the cover made out of linoleum flooring.  I’ll have to pull that out and listen to it again – it has been awhile.  Maeror Tri and Inanna played rather minimalist, drony sets (if I remember correctly – it’s hard to do a show review 11 years after the fact), and I don’t recall Advokat Ihrer Hoheit at all.  Maybe they didn’t play.  I think Brunnen played too, or maybe that was in ’96.  Whatever year they played, they were pretty awful.  L’Orchestre Noir were quite good, and portions of their set can be heard on the Sol Invictus release, In Europa (4 songs) and on the L’Orchestre Noir release, Cantos.  It was definitely the Sol Invictus big band experience, with something like 21 people on stage, including Karl Blake, and if I remember correctly, David Mellor.

TMLHBAC were really good too.  Based on their studio recordings, I wasn’t quite sure how they were going to pull it off live, but soon found that Albin Julius spent most of his time behind a black shrouded mixing desk, and a bit of time (one song, really) playing a lute.  Alzbeth provided the real visual focus, seeming to appear on stage as a disembodied head, floating serenely in the darkness and stage fog (in reality she had wrapped herself in a black cloak, which blended with the backdrop).  She flung the cloak aside as the music kicked into high gear, but the moment still sticks with me – it could have been silly, but she pulled it off well. 

TMLHBAC’s music is highly dramatic and mediaeval in nature, with samples taken from movies like Richard III (if I remember it correctly) and dark soundscapes winding their way through sampled tin whistles, monkish choruses, and militaristic drumming.  Alzbeth's singing ranges from mediaeval-tinged and melodic to venomous and commanding.  She is definitely one of the more distinctive singers in this genre (whether you want to call it “goth” or “experimental” or some other equally useless term). 

As for the cd itself, the sound is a little thin (it is, after all, a bootleg) but still quite listenable.  I couldn’t pick out the song with the lute on it, so I’m not sure if it was lost in the mix or if this isn’t the complete show (I have somewhere on tape a very inferior recording of the event, but haven’t been able to locate it for comparison).  I thought they’d started with a different song too, but the show was, after all, eleven years ago.  The cd cover is a black, cardboard gatefold, with silver text.  The front is emblazoned with TMLHBAC’s familiar crowned skull icon and the inside has some quotes from an interview with Alzbeth.  She states that the Nevers show (which I believe was their first live show) was one of the best they ever performed. 

I’m glad this cd fell into my hands, and I’m equally glad that the money I paid for it didn’t go to benefit the people who bootlegged it.  It’s kind of funny that the bootleg label actually has a website.  Maybe they think that since they’re operating out of Russia that they can get away with it.  Who knows?  This cd is sold out at the source anyway.

At any rate, I’m glad I got to see them live before they went their separate ways.  The festival was over too soon, and before we knew it, we were back home.  We ended up going to Festival Musiques Ultimes II the next year.  I actually kept a journal that time around, which I might transcribe onto this site when I have the time.

Oh, one last cool thing about the festival – attendees got to buy the original Nurse With Wound one-sided lp, Alice the Goon.  Very nice indeed.

For further reading, check out:

www.totem-records.com/art

The Moon Lay Hidden Beneath A Cloud

horuses, and militaristic drumming. esure, with samples taken from movies like Richard III (if I remember it correctly)