Various Artists – Ostinato Records: Synthesizing the Silk Roads: Uzbek Disco, Tajik Folktronica, Uyghur Rock & Tatar Jazz from 1980s Soviet Central Asia

I know it must be troublesome to actually click on the link when you can read most of the review from the comfy confines of social media, but this time I implore you to actually click on the link and read the story of how this album came to be.  Continue Reading

Yunchi Ensemble – Aleksandrovka, Milyanfan: Dungan Music from Kyrgyzstan

Yet another amazing collection has been released by Antonovka Records, now based in Moldova.  This collection features a Chinese Muslim ethnic group called the Dungan who live in the passes between Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, and surprisingly, they don’t write in Chinese, but in Cyrillic! From Antonovka’s Bandcamp site: “Most of Continue Reading

Kink Gong 2017 – Uyghur In Moyu Southern Xinjiang China

I don’t know much about Kink Gong, though maybe they have some relations with the legendary Sublime Frequencies record label, but I do like that they’re busy releasing some amazing music from neglected parts of the world.  This installment comes from Xinjang, in the news for all the wrong reasons, Continue Reading