Death in June and the Apoliteic Specter of Neofolk in Germany
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Abstract
The musical aesthetics of neofolk has held a significant place within Germany’s dark alternative scene since the early 1980s. With its keen interest in paganism, dark romanticism, and völkisch mysticism, this genre is often associated with right-wing ideologies. Neofolk has been accused by some of creating acceptable social spaces for fascist cultural ideals, and by others for harnessing contradictory right-wing messages as new modes of aesthetic creativity and provocation. This article explores the continued popularity of the English band, Death in June, in Germany and seeks to problematize critics’ attempts to unequivocally characterize the band and genre as nostalgia-laden hipster fascism.
Contributor Notes
Mirko M. Hall is Professor of German Studies and Chair of Languages, Cultures, and Literatures at Converse College. He is the author of Musical Revolutions in German Culture: Musicking against the Grain, 1800–1980 (Basingstoke, 2014) and co-editor of Beyond No Future: Cultures of German Punk (London, 2016).