Stephen Prince

Since 2014 Stephen Prince has been working on the A Year In The Country project, a set of year-long journeys through spectral fields; cyclical explorations of an otherly pastoralism, the outer reaches of folk culture and the spectres and parallel worlds of hauntology. More information on A Year In The Country can be found at: www.ayearinthecountry.co.uk As a project, it has included the above website featuring writing, artwork and music which stems from that otherly pastoral/spectral hauntological intertwining, alongside a growing catalogue of book and album releases. The albums have included work by amongst others Sproatly Smith, Time Attendant, Lutine, Polypores, Howlround, The Rowan Amber Mill, The Hare And The Moon, Polypores, Listening Center, Lutine, Pulselovers, The Heartwood Institute, Keith Seatman and Magpahi, alongside work by A Year In The Country. They have been featured in the likes of the magazines Electronic Sound, Wire, Starburst and Shindig! and been broadcast on numerous radio shows including Stuart Maconie’s Freak Zone on BBC Radio 6 and Late Junction on BBC Radio 3. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * "Fans of acid-folk, hauntology and folk horror should already know the works of Stephen Prince, a multimedia artist who's been building his own otherworldly visions of Arcadian England under the name A Year In The Country. Both an exploration of a pastoral past and a rumination on a dystopian present, his recordings marry spectral folk to an electronic otherworld, whilst he has written books of non-fiction that investigate the inner-psyche of our collective histories." Thomas Patterson, Shindig! “Stephen Prince’s impressively comprehensive multi-media project A Year In The Country has explored and documented some of the lesser-trodden pathways between pastoral folk music and Radiophonic electronica, as well as actively contributing to these genres with a succession of hugely enjoyable musical releases.” Bob Fischer, Fortean Times’ The Haunted Generation columnist * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * In 2018 the book A Year In The Country: Wandering Through Spectral Fields was released, which revisited writing from the project, alongside new wanderings: “A new book caught my eye recently – the title A Year In The Country: Wandering Through Spectral Fields, that goes in search of the darker, eerier side of the bucolic countryside dream by looking at films of a certain genre, books, TV series, music; it is great to have this fascinating subject explored so thoroughly and brought together under one title.” Verity Sharp, Late Junction, BBC Radio 3 "An essential field guide to a distinct aesthetic that remains loosely defined, like a fluttering night moth that would die if pinned down." Ben Graham, Shindig! "The first book of it's kind to catalogue all these disparate strands, many of which cross over time and space to influence one another." DJ Food “Stephen Prince's densely packed tome covers everything from folkloric film and literature to electronic music to acid folk to folk horror to the dystopian fiction of John Wyndham and the classic unearthings of Nigel Kneale to the formation of under-the-furrows record labels like Trunk, Ghost Box and Finders Keepers… This incredibly well-researched book, which is obviously written by a man with an enormous passion for this subject, is probably as comprehensive as it is possible to be… Books this culturally valuable don't grow on hedgerows, so make sure you harvest it immediately." Ian White, Starburst * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * In 2020 The Corn Mother novella was released, which explored the world, stories and dreamscapes of an imaginary near-mythical film: “A fascinating and truly inventive novella… This is an original and significant piece of work, not only in its novel, singular and successful approach to folk horror and ‘imaginary’ films but in the creation of its own self referencing folklore.” Grey Malkin, Folk Horror Revival * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * On A Year In The Country and the project's album releases: "A Year In The Country quietly go about their business releasing beautifully packaged music that is influenced by folk, electronica, drone as well as by landscape, time and place... each have themes running through them, tying the music together and seemingly telling a story as they unfold." Terrascope “Another exquisitely packaged affair… murky and ominous as befits the guiding thematic: places that are spectrally imprinted with past conflicts and struggles… a conceptual compilation of excellently eerie electronic music.” Simon Reynolds, author of Retromanina and Energy Flash "Steadily building up a body of work that presents an alternative view of rural Britain... A Year In The Country’s lens both distorts and illuminates its subject matter… the project’s output is consistently fascinating.” Psychogeographic Review "Part feverish dream, part incidental music for a folk-horror movie... another excellent snapshot of current experimental music, showing the coexistence of darkness, strangeness and profound beauty." Bliss Aquamarine "Beautifully packaged collection of Midwich Cuckoo ghost-folk." Mojo “Full of the trademark otherworldly pastoralism we’ve come to love from A Year In The Country releases… Found sounds and electronic discovery from out in the wild... A wonderfully curated concept album that rips up the green grass of the idyllic countryside and forces you to consider the darker undergrowth. Beautifully unnerving stuff.” Electronic Sound "Audio Albion is the latest brilliant release in an ongoing project to map landscape and memory through eerie instrumentals and twisted takes on folk culture." Jude Rogers, The Guardian