In January, we had the pleasure of reviewing a track called Ćilim from Bosnian ethno-folk band Divanhana, and now, it’s our pleasure to bring you the rest of the album! Zavrzlama is a collection of sevdah tracks which have a darker, more minor-key quality than what I’m used to from Continue Reading
Ethnic Music
Jan 疆 Hasker – Pastoral Song – 牧歌
Jan 疆 Hasker is a folk musician out of Xinjiang, China, but this is a bit of a twist, as he uses Altaic and other folk melodies for his musical base rather than Uyghur. From his Bandcamp website: “Jan made this album collecting, sorting and adapting musical elements from China Continue Reading
The Bayan Mongol Variety Group – The Bayan Mongol Variety Group
From Discogs.com and Light In The Attic Records: The Bayan Mongol Variety Group existed from the early ’70s to the late ’80s. After the collapse of the USSR, the ensemble began to experience serious difficulties with funding and booking concerts, and finally disintegrated, after which the participants lost contact with each Continue Reading
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 Continue Reading
Koma Stark – Kelesho
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 Continue Reading
Baligh Hamdi – Instrumental Modal Pop of 1970’s Egypt
Sublime Frequencies never ceases to amaze me with the gems they dig up. From their Bandcamp site: Sublime Frequencies finally unleashes it’s ESSENTIAL compilation from 1970’s Egypt. Modal instrumental tracks from Baligh Hamdi – one of the most important Arabic composers of the 20th Century (writing for legends Umm Kalthum, Continue Reading
Russian World Music Chart 2021
I’m proud to have been asked to participate in helping to decide which albums would top the Russian World Music Chart. Here is a press release on this event: Russian World Music Chart 2021 Making Russian world music visible to the world In October 2021, Russia’s first world music chart, Continue Reading
Sofiyum – Kung Kung Go (I Will Spread My Wings And Fly)
I’ll be taking a day off for health reasons, but I thought I would leave you this pleasant Sunday with some music of the Lepcha people of India (also represented in Nepal). The band, Sofiyum, have a very pleasant, joyful sound, reminding me, curiously, of Celtic music. May it carry Continue Reading
Nurbek Serkebaev – White Swans Fly: Kyrgyz Music from Bishkek
Nurbek Serkebaev is a well known Kyrgyz folk musician who plays virtually all Kyrgyz traditional music instruments. The venerabl Antonovka Records have released yet another fine album of traditional music.
Various Artists – Lèspri Ka : New Directions in Gwoka Music from Guadeloupe 1981-2010
This compilation released by Time Capsule Records is going to be stunningly good. From the release’s Bandcamp site: The innovative, radical soul of Guadeloupe explored across thirty years of contemporary gwoka music, released by Time Capsule and Séance Centre. As Guadeloupean vocalist and composer Marie-Line Dahomay writes in her liner Continue Reading