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
Folk
Skúli Sverrisson & Óskar Guðjónsson – After Silence
Bassist Skúli Sverrisson has been a favorite of mine for well over 20 years. In this reissue, he teams with tenor saxophonist Óskar Guðjónsson in a quiet, minimal, yet somehow lush release of interplay between the two masters. From the release’s Bandcamp site: “After Silence (Eftir þögn) was recorded in Continue Reading
Various Artists – Cardinals At The Window
Though there are no tracks to share with you from this release, I can say that there are 136 tracks of indie, alternative, folk and other genres coming together for Cardinals At The Window, a compilation whose purpose is to give funds to those who suffered from the horrible flooding Continue Reading
Various Artists – Canary Records: Hellenic Hinterlands: Independent Greek-American 78rpm Discs from Baltimore, Boston, and Cleveland ca. 1953-57
From the Canary Records Bandcamp site: “When middle-class Americans in the 1950s found that they could get access to a tape recorder and a microphone, it then became possible for them to make recordings that they could pay to have pressed into discs. One didn’t need to go to dedicated Continue Reading
Gaelynn Lea – All the Roads that Lead Us Home
This album is an absolutely sublime combination of folk music and classical, with Gaelynn Lea’s violin sounding like a full orchestra. From the release website: “‘All the Roads that Lead Us Home’ is a focused, vibrant piece of music by a person who is able to take a solitary instrument Continue Reading
Various Artists – Was Ist Das?: Ballads Of Seduction, Fertility And Ritual Slaughter
This is a rather novel concept. The compilation featured here, courtesy of Was Ist Das?, is, as the Guardian states, “… a fittingly weird 50th anniversary tribute to The Wicker Man’s startling soundtrack. Magpahi’s synth-drizzled Maypole, Dean McPhee’s Sunset and Meg Baird’s Willow’s Song are particularly gorgeous.” Each track stands Continue Reading
Real Live Tigers – Denatured
Described as, “Letters read aloud over AM radio, quiet guitar through motel room walls, loud electric guitar in summer basements, gravel parking lots in the rain, train sounds,” there was no way I wasn’t going to pay attention to this release. Real Live Tigers is a project started by Tony Continue Reading
Romowe Rikoito – UKA
This is the latest from Prussian/Russian neofolk band Romowe Rikoito. The music is heavy, based on the neofolk paradigm, of course, but what sets this apart is the reconstructed Old Prussian lyrics, something the band is passionate about transmitting.
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 Continue Reading
Linnea Hjertén – Nio Systrar
From Linnea Hjertén’s Bandcamp site: “Born from the synthesis of Swedish folk melodies and ritual ambient, Linnea Hjertén’s debut album “Nio systrar” (‘Nine sisters’) is a wordless invocation of primordial energy – a psychoacoustic gateway to altered states of consciousness. Each of the nine tracks brings us deeper into the Continue Reading