A Soundtrack to Literature

Föss blew me away at the beginning of this year with their incidental music for Memorias de la Peste. Although Föss is a sludgy doom band, you’ll find none of that here. Rather than a wall of doomy sound and harsh vocals, this is an almost ambient instrumental delight. Memorias de la Peste is an ambitious undertaking by La Tramoyista, a new publishing house that seeks to “rescue and adapt” classic literature. Thus Daniel Defoe’s A Journal of the Plague Year finds itself not just translated and adapted by Noemí Padilla Santana, but fully illustrated by Alberto Hernández and soundtracked by Föss. The themes from Föss to accompany the book have even been performed by Herenia Frigolet Ortega. All in all, a truly multi-media affair on a grand scale for such a small independent publishing house from the Canary Islands.

But, how does it sound? Well, quite frankly, fabulous. And it couldn’t be more timely, given most of us have lived our own version of a plague year. The story begins in late 1664, when the plague looms like a shadow. People are aware of it, but have not yet realised how much of a difference it will make to their lives. The comparisons to early 2020 are obvious. By 1665, London is battling the greatest plague epidemic in its history. The disease advances like a silent and implacable enemy. The incidental music from Föss provides everything you would expect from such a setting. It’s dramatic, haunting, melancholic – and despite everything, hopeful. Beautiful is not a word I’d ever expect to use to describe the music of Föss, but it is unarguably so in this instance.

Given the normal sounds of the band, I was expecting far more of an industrial and dark ambient vibe to Memorias de la Peste, but while the music approaches these territories at times, it never really needs to go all out in this direction, giving it a really nice and well-rounded feel. If anything, Föss sometimes comes closer to the progressive electronic sound of the Berlin School, when they want to portray the more foreboding atmospheres. At times there are also what might be field recordings, and they are another wonderful addition to the mix. I’m not sure if they’re found sounds or folly, but regardless they sound great. 

Everything about this album feels so well thought out, and executed perfectly. This is an album which will have likely slipped under the radar of many. I’m glad I heard it, as it is an album I keep returning to. If I could read Spanish, I’d go the whole hog and buy the book.