Introducing: US psychedelic rock/occult folk band Camp Saint Helene from Catskill, New York!

Photo by Angela Ricciardi & Silken Weinberg

For Camp Saint Helene, the concept of otherworldliness is neither strange nor complex, but alluring and holy. Created by Elizabeth Celeste Ibarra, Dylan Nowik, Wesley Harper and Alex Wernquest, they approach their craft akin to a ritual, leaning into the notion that art and expression are sacred experiences on an overstimulated planet. Often informed by the spirit of a defunct Christian-summer camp turned arts-colony deep within the mountains of New York, their music searches for shimmers of hope amidst hints of doom.

Their new album, »Of Earth And Its Timely Delights«, measures the distance between grief and possibility. It is a meditation on earth-time in relation to the cosmic, the lyrics a commentary on big-picture themes such as personal and collective revolution, dystopias, greed, love and human connection. With an urgency that is both thoughtful and experimental, the sound of Camp Saint Helene is a collaborative endeavor; a sonic enmeshing of each member’s individual character.

Released in May 2024, »Of Earth And Its Timely Delights« is a journey with no destination; a constant rediscovery of self, amidst shifting fields of perception.

Photo by Lucy Bohnsack

»Farfisa Song«, off their debut record »Mother« (2019), was named KEXP’s Song of the Day and added to KEXP Music that Matters Vol. 683 by Cheryl Waters. She describes Camp Saint Helene as “..call[ing] to mind the ’60s California folk scene with their gentle, waltz-like pastoral sound”.

Additionally, »Farfisa Song« was featured predominantly both in Amazon Prime’s teen horror drama, »I Know What You Did Last Summer« (2022) and Zoe Lister-Jones’ series SLIP on The Roku Channel (2023). »Mother« was named by Bandcamp as a New and Notable record of 2019, describing it as “Occult-folk in the 70’s U.K. tradition that further affirms the link between Appalachian and British folk songs”.

In 2023, they were commissioned by NADA x Foreland to present a live performance and installation piece titled »Into The Garden« for Upstate Art Weekend in Catskill, NY.

Both »Mother« and »Of Earth And Its Timely Delights« were recorded to 16-track, 1⁄2” tape, at Basement Floods Records in Catskill, New York.

All songs »Of Earth And Its Timely Delights« written, produced and performed by Camp Saint Helene: Elizabeth Ibarra, Dylan Nowik, Wesley Harper and Alex Wernquest. Additional performances by Maeve Schallert (strings), Holland Belle (voice), Alex Daud (voice) and Leon Michels (flute).

Links:
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Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well