Six pipes, three drummers, a bassist and a massive wall of sound are what Latvian band Auļi offer, and this album shows the band collaborating with a score of modern musicians updating a powerful ethnic sound. According to the Bandcamp site, “this album is dedicated to the Latvian masquerade traditions in winter. Starting from the…
Tag: Ethnic Music
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 the members of the ensemble…
Santeri Dobrynin, Egor Masaltsev, Olga Plekhanova – Karjalan Jouhikko: Karelian Instrumental Music
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…
Brìghde Chaimbeul – Carry Them With Us
A big and hearty thanks goes out to my dear friend and brother in music, Hubert, for turning me on to this album. Brìghde Chaimbeul plays smallpipes, a wonderful instrument criminally neglected in comparison to its more famous cousin, the Highland pipes. These smallpipes have a more ethereal sound to them, and in the hands…
Petar Vujačić – Made in Ovtočić: Songs from Montenegro
Amazing. The ever excellent Antonovka Records are now producing music outside of the former USSR. We have a description of the recordings below, courtesy of the label’s Bandcamp site: “Gusle (not to be confused with Russian gusli) is a Balkan (mainly Montenegrin and Serbian) bowed instrument. There is only one string on the gusle, but…
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, yet a fascinating culture worth…
Moughenda Village – Calling the Spirits: Missoko Bwiti Music of Gabon
This Moment Records is a record label, “… which is dedicated to producing and promoting field recordings from around the world, in addition to crafting innovative soundscapes for relaxation and meditation,” at least according to their Bandcamp site. As we have never reviewed any music from Gabon before, I looked forward to what I would…
Badieh – Badieh
This is quite a pairing. Badieh consist of Spaniard Michel Gasco, who plays oud and rebab, pairs with Iranian musician Mohammed Miragharzadeh on tar and setar. From Badieh’s Bandcamp site: “Worlds Within Worlds is proud to announce the release of Badieh’s self-titled debut album – a collection of mystifying folk pieces from the Greater Khorasan…
Various Artists – Fly, Fly, You Hardened Arrow: Round Dance Songs of “Polish” Old Believers from Altai
The now-legendary Antonovka Records have done astounding work documenting music from Russia’s myriad of ethnic communities. This one is from the so-called “Polish” Old Believers in the Altai region. From the label’s Bandcamp site: “The ancestors of the Altai “Polish” Old Believers were peasants of the Vetka-Starodub territory of the priestly Old Believers, who fled…
Various Artists – Nordic Notes – CPL-Music 2022
Our friends at CPL Music and Nordic Notes had another banner years for releases in the genre of World Music. The sampler includes tracks from the Balkans, Scandinavia and Asia among other locales, and it’s a great way to taste what the label has to offer.