To our new readers, we at Music You Need To Hear wish to honor Christmas on the Julian Calendar. We wish you a Merry Christmas, a hopeful 2021, and peace on Earth and in your hearts. Here is some music for the season courtesy of the Male Choir of the Valaam Singing Culture Institute.
For your viewing pleasure, Don Letts produced a great video on the history of the skinhead movement.
There is little information available on Uyghur musicians Erkin Sadykov (vocal, dutar) and Abdugheni Abdurusul (tambur), but the quality of these recordings show a warm, sensitive interpretation of music we’re watching disintegrate before our eyes. Thankfully, Kyrgyzstan allows their Uyghur minority to live and protect their traditions in peace.
Ángel Ontalva is something like a paisano to me; a fellow of Spanish descent who spends an extraordinary time in Russia, and who has integrated himself into local scenes across the country. Guitarist Ontalva has released a single which is a mellow pastiche of progressive rock, world music and jazz. As this is a free track, and of high quality, it’s worth your time to explore.
Though I am not sure exactly where Nihil Impvlse hail from in Italy, I can rest assured that Raffaele Pezzella of Eighth Tower Records and his own project Sonologyst will ensure the quality of such music. Nihil Impvlse are quite a pleasant surprise for noise or drone music. This sounds more sculpted, more relaxed and focused, in comparison to other projects of a similar bent. For an album release which is so bleak, it seems almost gentle to the ears, eminently listenable. Not quite what I was expecting, but so much the better for it.
Cuneiform Records offers a very generous program where a release from their back catalog is offered for $5 ($7 for a double album release), and they don’t skimp on the quality of these releases. Drummer John Hollenbeck’s The Claudia Quintet released this disc in 2011, and as a Rock-In-Opposition / Avant-Progressive / Spoken Word release, it holds together beautifully. Collaborating on this album are Kurt Elling, one of America’s finest jazz vocalists, and Theo Bleckmann, one of Germany’s finest singers. From the Cuneiform Bandcamp site: For their sixth album, What Is The Beautiful?, The Claudia Quintet brings together the acclaimed…
Julien Bigorgne is a flautist working out of Paris, France, who also happens to be an oud player. The music on this album is filmic, a soundtrack to a non-existent film. The music walks the line between soundtrack compositions of Yann Tiersen, jazz and world music (such a nebulous term, but until I find a better one, I’m stuck using it). One can also hear dabs of the music of French national treasures like Erik Satie and Claude Debussy. The album is unique, relaxing, easy to listen to and flow with.
It is my great honor to present the first featured release of the blog. This album comes to us from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. It is not what you would expect from the country, as most marketing of music shows Mongol folkloric culture melded together with everything from heavy metal to rap, most of it working well, but also letting off an air of cod exotica. This release by Magnolian is radically different from what most of their countrymen are producing. This is more of a breezy folk-rock touched gently with post-rock, a combination that works surprisingly well. The vocals and lyrics…
It is our tremendous pleasure to introduce to you Music You Need To Hear. We will be pointing out some amazing releases from around the world, and will eventually add a bi-weekly podcast featuring five tracks to turn you on to interesting, adventurous music. We look forward to an exciting 2021!
Your taste in music is your own. We’re merely here to supplement it. Music You Need To Hear is the website of Rudy Carrera, a blogger, A&R manager, label owner and record store buyer based in Los Angeles, Brno and Beijing, who has spent the majority of his adult life promoting music of all kinds, from electronic music to progressive rock. He’s been listening to music since childhood, and as so many new and interesting gems are made available daily, he has no intention of stopping his listening habits until the Good Lord decides to call him home. The goal…