• Music

    Various Artists – Antonovka Records: Made in Davlekanovo: Russian and Chuvash Songs from Bashkortostan

    March 12, 2024 - By 

    The brilliant folks at Antonovka Records continue to amaze and delight with their travelogues across Russia, Moldova and the Balkans.  This particular recording covers an area I have ready plenty about, but have not yet passed through.  From the label’s Bandcamp site for this release: “The album features Russian folk songs in stage arrangements, as well as a couple of Chuvash ones (tracks 5-7). These are performed by musicians from the Davlekanovsky district of Bashkortostan, a republic in the southern Urals within Russian Federation. Some of the songs (for example, 3) are traditional of local origin, some are Cossack ones…

  • Music

    Cristina Godoroja – Ciob​ă​naș Cu Oile: Songs From Moldova and Romania

    November 27, 2023 - By 

    Antonovka Records, once based in Russia but now ensconced in Moldova, continues to release some of the most seminal music to ever come out of the former Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, and their reach seems to keep expanding.  This album covers the work of traditional singer Cristina Godoroja, an ethnomusicologist and singer based in Moldova’s capital, Chișinău.  The works hail from Bessarabia and also feature Romanian-language songs.  A worthy addition to any world music collection.

  • Music

    Santeri Dobrynin, Egor Masaltsev, Olga Plekhanova – Karjalan Jouhikko: Karelian Instrumental Music

    June 5, 2023 - By 

    This release from our friends at Antonovka Records features three players of the jouhikko, a local stringed instrument: Santeri (Alexander) Dobrynin and Olga Plekhanova from Karelia and Russian Egor Masaltsev, who moved to the region.  There are 22 tracks of charming interplay between the three and individually.  All the tunes are traditional Karelian, except: 7 – traditional Swedish, 10 and 11 — by Olga herself, 18 — two tunes of traditional Russian songs from Karelia, 19 — by Karelian musician Leo Sevets, 20 — a tune from the play “Sampo: The Magic Mill” based on the Kalevala (author Maxim Gutkin), 22…

  • Music

    Koma Stark – Kelesho

    December 15, 2021 - By 

    Antonovka Records have had an astounding year releasing not only music from Russia’s hinterlands and Central Asia, but even from places like Georgia.  This album documents music by Kurdish-speaking Yezidis, who suffered horribly over the past few years in places like Iraq and Syria.  Koma Stark play traditional Yezidi folk songs, and they currently reside in Tbilisi, Georgia.