As much as I try to absorb as many new releases and great reissues as possible, I’m only one man, and sometimes treasures slip through the cracks. I wish to thank Praveer Baijal, who, besides being a great and good guy, is also a man of exquisite musical taste, for pointing Continue Reading
Ethnic Music
Yiannis Kyriakatis – Blue Series | Sep 3
Yiannis Kyriakatis is an electroacoustic composer who comes from Cyprus. I’ve had the privilege of following his career arc since I discovered his name in a copy of the magazine Gaudeamus. It’s great to hear that he is still active, and this is something new for me. He is preserving Continue Reading
Various Artists – Antonovka Records: Young Flowers: Music of Kazakhs from Orenburg Region
The top ten albums of 2025 from the Russian World Music Chart will be announced soon, and this year has been exceptional for ethnic and world music. One standout album comes from Antonovka Records, a label that was originally based in Russia but is now located in Chișinău, Moldova. If you’re Continue Reading
努尔·泽赫拉·卡齐姆 Noor Zehra Kazim – 萨迦维纳琴之声 The Sound of Sagar Veena
From the venerable Shenzhen-based Old Heaven Books record label’s Bandcamp site: “About this album: The Sagavena is a stunning string instrument with a unique and beautiful design, reminiscent of the Vichitra Veena and Chitra Veena. This instrument has a wider range of sound than the traditional Indian Veena, and the Continue Reading
Russian World Music Chart 2024
The good folks at the Russian World Music Chart have announced their top-20 of 2024, and each made for stunning listening. Due to a few health issues and the loss of my partner in this endeavor, Steven Shore, I wasn’t able to participate as fully as I would have liked Continue Reading
The Resian Folk Group – Resia Valley: String-Band Music from Eastern Alpine Italian Villages ca. 1978
The Resian Folk Group were from the Resia Valley in the Italian Alps. What sets them apart from their countrymen are their folk traditions and language, which seem to have a strong Slovene influence. Canary Records does their usual outstanding job remastering this collection. It sounds absolutely gorgeous considering the Continue Reading
The River Voices – Çorovodë, Albania | May 2017
From Remix-Culture‘s Bandcamp site: “Recorded live in May of 2017 by Hatim Belyamani and Bajram “Kafu” Kinolli in Çorovodë, Albania. We are a non-profit organization celebrating musical traditions in harmony with digital remix art. Our mission is to inspire people to reconfigure their relationships with other cultures, communities, and individuals, Continue Reading
Hossein Alizadeh (حسین علیزاده) – Classical Music From Iran – Great Masters of the Setar
I will be traveling back to the United States for about 15 days, so I will not be posting much either today or tomorrow. I leave you with a video of the magnificent setar master Hossein Alizadeh from Iran to keep your spirits up. It’s helped mine, for sure.
Various Artists – Mississippi Records: Street Musicians of Yogyakarta
Mississippi Records released a collection of field recordings covering local music from Yogyakarta, Indonesia. These were recorded between November 1976 and January 1978.
Various Artists – Antonovka Records: Made in Davlekanovo: Russian and Chuvash Songs from Bashkortostan
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 Continue Reading