 | ABNEY PARK PRESENTS:
DARK ACADEMIA, A NIGHT OF FORBIDDEN STUDIES
Join Abney Park for a live, online concert curated like a arcane university curriculum — where songs are taught not as entertainment, but as disciplines of obsession, ruin, and transformation.
Each set is divided into thematic “classes,” drawn from the shadowed corners of the mind: • Philosophy of the Damned
Songs that question fate, morality, rebellion, and the cost of belief. • Studies of the Inner Mind
Introspection, madness, memory, and the machinery behind human desire. • Alchemy & Transmutation
Change, decay, rebirth — turning pain into power and lead into something dangerous. • Literature of Tragedy
Ballads of doomed lovers, fallen worlds, and beautiful mistakes.
LIVE ONLINE CONCERT
January 24th
6:00 PM Pacific Standard Time Attend from anywhere. Dress like a scholar, a heretic, or the dead.
Attendance is mandatory for all students. | | | | |
|
|
|---|
|
 | WHAT IS DARK ACADEMIA?
Dark academia is an aesthetic and subculture centered on classical education, ancient knowledge, and intellectual obsession, framed through a moody, melancholic, and often morally ambiguous lens.
At its core, dark academia romanticizes: Ancient texts and forgotten knowledge (Greek, Latin, philosophy, alchemy, theology) Elite or cloistered learning environments (old universities, libraries, stone halls) The pursuit of truth at personal cost (obsession, sacrifice, hubris) Beauty in decay (aging books, candlelight, dust, ruin)
Key themesKnowledge as power and danger – learning is seductive, but never safe Intellectual elitism – scholarship as identity, sometimes to a fault Mortality and impermanence – death, time, and legacy are constant shadows Moral ambiguity – brilliant minds doing questionable things for “truth”
Common imageryLeather-bound books, marginalia, ink stains Candles, skulls, microscopes, antique instruments Gothic architecture, secret societies, cloaks and tweed Latin phrases, occult diagrams, astronomical charts
Emotional toneSomber, obsessive, introspective Romantic but tragic Quietly rebellious against modern convenience and superficiality
What separates it from “academia” in generalAcademia = learning, study, institutions Dark academia = the dangerous romance of learning
Knowledge not as progress, but as temptation
One-sentence definitionDark academia is the romanticization of ancient knowledge and intellectual obsession, steeped in melancholy, secrecy, and the shadow that learning casts over the soul.
|
|
|
|---|
|
CAPTAINS LOG
Sometimes I see major celebrity musicians, and it makes me sad.
I’ve had a pretty solid career for decades, so I shouldn’t get jealous, but watching young pop stars become millionaires or billionaires overnight stings.
But it occurs to me, I never became a big popstar, because I don’t write pop. I don’t write the vanilla love songs that you hear all these young popstar singing.
Lyrically, our songs are about as far from pop music as could exist. I have songs about Elizabethan literature, and songs about 17th century philosophy. Songs about Victorian science, songs about child abuse, and songs about suicide. I don’t write songs about my ex, I don’t write songs about the struggles of being a teenage popstar dating, I don’t write songs telling people to go out and dance. I write about things that interest me.
Ya see, Pop music is allergic to deep thoughts. Deep dark and depressing thoughts never become pop music.
And when I think of the inspiration behind my instrumentation, and list off all of the bands that I think inspired our sound, they are all fringe as well: Devotchka, Beruit, Azim Ali, Gol Gol Bordello, Firewater… that band in the back alley in Istanbul, the old man playing accordion on the streets in Leipzig, the Moroccan band playing for the belly dancers in the little rundown Seattle venue near our old practice room… my influences are not mainstream influences. So of course I don’t write mainstream music!
Even the metaphors that I use, from steampunk to post apocalyptic, etc., they are all deep concept stuff. It all takes a lot of explaining. It’s just not pop friendly.
So I guess at the end of the day, as long as I get my bills get paid, I should be happy about my career. Most fringe bands don’t accomplish that.
And I’ve always lived on the fringe…that’s where my art comes from.
“ON THE FRINGE” Abney Park I live as a wasteland warrior Living on the ragged edge Picking my way through the aftermath While humanity clings to the ledge
They changed all the laws around us And built themselves into a wall Filled up their prison with guys like me Guys who don't have it all
Perhaps I'm happier struggling Than rotting alone in a cage Perhaps I'm happier fighting my life Than dying alone of my rage
Don't matter if you live in prison Or chained to a desk all the day If you don't have the freedom to get up and go You're a slave to someone's dossier
I load my dusty equipment Into this dusty old bar We set up our rusty old keyboards And I tune this rusty guitar
In walk the ragged survivors In walk the last of the free They wait for a night of abandon As I tune my bouzouk’ on my knee
Somewhere, somes got it easy Somewhere, somes got it all But We'll play for you folk at the edge of the world 'Til the last of the world finally falls |
|
|
|---|
|
Join Abney Park on Patreon! For as little as $5 a month, you can unlock a treasure trove of exclusive content and experiences! - Free audiobooks to immerse yourself in the world of Abney Park
- Free, Full albums & exclusive song collections
- Access to live events and adventures
- Free RPG's and gasming
- Behind-the-scenes videos & more!
-
Support Abney Park and enjoy all the perks that only true fans get. Join today and help fuel our creative journey! Click to become a Patron and get access to the magic!
| | |
|
|
|---|
|
4017 60th st crt nw, 98335, Gig Harbor |
| This email was sent to newsletter@kait.email |
| You've received this email because you've subscribed to our newsletter. |
| | |
|
|
|---|
|
|
|
