• Music

    The Henry Girls – A Time To Grow

    More wonderful news from friends!  CPL-Music will be releasing a folk album of Irish Americana by The Henry Girls.  From the label’s press release: “The three McLaughlin sisters, Karen, Lorna, and Joleen, once again prove on their seventh studio album “A Time To Grow” that they belong to the leading folk ensembles of the Emerald Isle with heavenly, multi-part harmony vocals and their fresh, modern approach. The musicians aren’t fond of sticking to old conventions: they have a lot of fun crossing genre boundaries, charmingly flirting with pop, bluegrass, and Americana sounds, all while keeping a keen eye on the…

  • Music

    Johanna Juhola – A Brighter Future

    What a joyous release this is!  Accordion-based music out of Finland is just what the doctor ordered for our chilly Beijing day.  Johanna Juhola is one of many incredible artists on the Nordic Notes imprint who have blown my mind this year.  Imagine a collection ranging from traditional music melded with progressive, jazz, and perhaps a pinch of tango thrown into the mix.  One of 2023’s most charming releases.

  • Music

    Baklava – From Skopje With Love

    Our friends over at the indomitable CPL-Music have released a charming disc of traditional music from my second homeland of Skopje, Macedonia!  Baklava, the subject of today’s listening, work with folk music and does sterling work reinterpreting it for a more modern, updated sound.  Speaking of that sound, the band develop it with a wealth of instruments, including ancient local ones like the tambura, the kaval and the daf, as well as bagpipes, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, accordion and (the very much non-Macedonian) ukulele.  The music is upbeat, fun, and shines a good light on the wonders of (North) Macedonian music.

  • Music

    Shono – Kolkhozoy Traktor

    Our dear friends at CPL-Music will be releasing some solid music from Buryatia in Eastern Russia.  From the bio sheet: “Unheard sounds from Buryatia: Shono revive the ancient rituals of the vast Eurasian grasslands. The autonomous Russian Republic of Buryatia is located in the far east of the country, bordering Mongolia and encompassing the eastern shore of Lake Baikal. Today, less than one million ethnic Buryats live in the republic. Under Stalin’s rule, many Buryats were persecuted and murdered. Shono (translated as wolf, by the way!) was founded by Alexander Arkhincheev in 2014. The Buryat musician lives in Irkutsk, is…

  • Music

    Bube Dame König – Winterländlein

    Our dear friends at CPL-Musik released quite a gem of an album from 2016 that I am only now digging into.  Bube Dame König is a German folk group which was founded in 2013. The band mixes German-language folk songs with traditional Irish and Swedish music as well as their own songs, some of which are based on local legends from the group’s hometown, Halle (Saale). From Wikipedia, “The group itself describes its style as new folk music, based on the genre of new folk music.”  It seems to be rather perfect Christmas music, or at least wonderful for this…

  • Music

    Merema – Kezeren Koiht (Ancient Custom)

    Out beloved friends at CPL-Music have released another fascinating album of Russian folk music! Merema hail from Saransk, which is the capital of Russia’s autonomous Republic of Mordovia.  The music is beautifully documented by CPL Records and the documentary work of professor Ekaterina Modina.  The tones of the voices are dulcet, and it sounds unlike most Russian music as the languages of the region have far more in common with the Finno-Ugric family than it does with Russian.  Utterly worthy.  For a more complete review, consider checking out a full album analysis at WorldMusicCentral.org or at WorldListeningPost.com.

  • Music

    Saucejas – Dabā

    Our dear friends at CPL-Music have done it again!  This 60-track album by Saucejas is an ethnographer’s dream if you’re into Latvian music, and there is an organic feeling to this album.  Nothing too terribly processed, nothing added that didn’t need to be there.  The album is appropriately titled, as Dabā is Latvian for “in nature.”  This is simply beautiful choral traditional music from one of my favorite regions of the world.

  • Music

    ShooDja-ChoDja – Shooldyrak

    Our beloved comrade in World Music, Christian Pliefke, releases another gem on his label CPL Music.  This new release by the band ShooDja-ChoDja from comes from the region of Udmurtia, populated by people of Finno-Ugric stock, and having traditions far different from their fellow Russian citizens. The music is played on a mix of traditional and modern instruments, with complex vocal harmonies throughout.  Of particular interest to me was the track entitled Krez, which sounded like a mournful dirge.  A bit heartbreaking in parts, but beautiful in its own way.  I’m sure ShooDja-ChoDja must be phenomenal to see live.

  • Music

    Vedan Kolod – Gorodische

    Vedan Kolod are a troupe based in Moscow, Russia, who do sterling work interpreting medieval Russian folkloric music, especially Siberian tunes, with a modern twist.  The label, CPL, is run by my friend and colleague, Christian Pliefke, whose taste in artists is impeccable, and every release he’s curated for his imprint has been solid listening. From the promo onesheet:   With their release, Gorodische, Russian folk ensemble Vedan Kolod strive to make traditional folk songs from very different parts of their country accessible to a wider public. The vast majority of the songs are going back several centuries and have…