• Music

    Jauno Jāņu Orķestris – Div’ Svecītes

    June 27, 2021 - By 

    The Jauno Jāņu Orķestris (The New Midsummer Orchestra) are a folk music band hailing from Latvia, an area we don’t get to cover terribly much here on this blog, which is a shame.  This is a one-track single of very well-done traditional music with, of course, updated production values and a very full sound.  The vocals are cheery and dramatic, and as far as I can translate the lyrics (shown on the band’s Bandcamp page), it’s hard to pin down if they are referring to early Christian or pagan times.  It’s a fascinating song regardless.

  • Music

    Albaluna – Heptad

    May 12, 2021 - By 

    Our friends at Tejo Milenario have introduced us to yet another one of their brilliant band and we are expecting to highlight quite a few more as the weeks pass by! Albaluna are a project from Portugal whose stage performances blend together music, poetry and dance, combining cultures of the Silk Road into one well-woven tapestry.  The music is a mix of electronic progressive music, pure folk forms from the Mediterranean, North Africa and even hints of Chinese music.  They literally sound like they are able to vacuum a genre of music and easily mix it into their palette.  They…

  • Music

    Gralitsa – Little Mosquitoes Are Sleeping This Night

    May 7, 2021 - By 

    Some time ago I had reviewed the work of an ethno-folk-jazz band from Kostroma, Russia called Gralitsa, and I found them favorable.  I have to say that I find this album at least as favorable, but it sounds like a totally different band.  This sound is far more affected by genres like trip-hop, downtempo music, and darkjazz (a touch, anyway).  There’s also a slightly ‘free’ element to the music, though it never sounds disjointed. The track Echo Poor Heart is the cornerstone of the album, showcasing the vocals of Olga “Gralitsa” Rodionova layered on top of a dark, jazz noir…

  • Music

    Khara (ХАРА) – Mandragora (Мандрагора)

    April 28, 2021 - By 

    Khara is an Old Slavonic word meaning “the smile of God.”  Truly, God must have been smiling to allow such a weirdly joyful music to come together.  Mandragora brings together a bardic style of rock & roll infused with traditional music from their native Khakassia, whose native inhabitants share a lot of cultural affinities with the Kyrgyz people.  Other influences in this record include Tuvan throat-singing by Alexey Khovalyg, a talkbox expertly handled by band leader Alexander Medvedev, and Alexander Pakhtaev adding such as the morin khuur or horse-head fiddle common in this part of Russia and Central Asia. This…

  • Music

    Ombra – Posidonian Poetry

    April 22, 2021 - By 

    This has to be one of the more elegant releases I’ve had the pleasure of spending my evenings with in a few weeks.  Ombra are a quintent, as I understand it, based in Barcelona, Spain.  This sumptuous release blends everything from jazz, a touch of waltz, Arabic and Balkan music with vocals sung in a myriad of languages including Ladino, spoken today in Israel and parts of the Balkans.  This is true ethno-jazz, fusing together music, scales and traditions together seamlessly.  For further information, consider visiting their promotional page at Tejo Milenario. Personnel: Andranik Muradyan — Klarinet Albert Pintor —…

  • Music

    Brendan Perry – Songs of Disenchantment – Music from the Greek Underground

    April 21, 2021 - By 

    Dead Can Dance singer and multi-instrumentalist Brendan Perry is absolutely enamored with Greek culture, and it’s obvious because a lot of DCD’s work has an affinity towards it.  Perry is especially appreciative of rebetiko, the local variant of the blues in Greek culture.  This album is his paean to his adoration of rebetiko, and is perhaps the first time some of these ballads have been recorded in English.  This disc is a labor of love.

  • Music

    Staritsa – Klyukva

    April 15, 2021 - By 

    It seems the one place in the world where the dreaded term “World Music” is doing well is Russia, though my friends at Xango Music Distribution do a stellar job of selling some amazing artifacts. This project, Staritsa, hail from Prokhorovka, near the dead center of the country.  They, like other Russian bands I’ve had the pleasure of recommending, produce fine traditional folk which seems to be having a Renaissance of sorts.  Between this, the incredible improvisational and classical music scenes and the wonderful Orthodox hymnody being produced these days, I’d say Russian music is in good hands. Kudos to…

  • Music

    Emil – Само сам знам / Only Alone I Know

    April 9, 2021 - By 

    Emil Biljarski has had a storied career, first as keyboardist of the seminal Hungarian psychedelic rock band Korai Öröm, and who continued the psychedelic, world music and even post-punk stylings in bands such as Fókatelep and Meszecsinka.  His pedigree is impeccable. He graces our blog with a new album which is a projection of music best described as a mish-mash of well-crafted pop songs, interludes which would be reminiscent of Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd, Bowie-esque prog-pop, ethnic music from Southeast Europe, and on occasion, the bass playing on this track reminds me of a mid-period Killing Joke.  Well crafted, well…

  • Music

    ShooDja-ChoDja – Shooldyrak

    March 26, 2021 - By 

    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.