Music from Azerbaijan comes in many forms, but one of the genres not well-covered on disc outside of the country is its rich tradition of love songs. Caucaso Records, a Baku-based record label, has begun the process to fix this issue.
Folk
black (w)hole – something new, something old
This has to be one of the cooler psychedelic folk albums I’ve heard in a while. There’s something Balkan in black (w)hole’s music structure, where I can imagine the Incredible String Band jamming with old Greek or North Macedonian shepherds in the hills. Brilliant.
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 Continue Reading
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 Continue Reading
Kara Jackson – Why Does The Earth Give Us People To Love?
Kara Jackson certainly knows how to leave a strong impression! If you can imagine Nick Drake’s guitar being willed to Nina Simone with a touch of the spirit of David Bowie (see the track brain for reference), then you have this incredibly powerful album. I had no idea what to Continue Reading
George Macreyannes (Nesereos) – Blue Series | Mar 21
George Macreyannes (Γιώργος Μακρυγιάννης) was a violinist active during the early part of the 20th century. Some of these archival recordings are nearing 100 years old, so it is quite nice to get a glimpse of music that has such a remarkable history. Respect to 1tracktape for a job well Continue Reading
Egari, Paata Chakaberia – In Qvevri Veritas. Original Soundtrack
Egari and Paata Chakaberia provide a stunningly good instrumental music from the Republic of Georgia serving originally as a soundtrack to a film about Georgian winemaking. From the release’s Bandcamp site: “This music was composed as the soundtrack for Leonid Parfyonov’s documentary In Qvevri Veritas. The film is dedicated to Continue Reading
Willos’ – From Now On
Willos’ are an Italian/Irish/Canadian folk band currently based in lovely Siena, Italy. The name of the band is a play on Will o’ the Wisp, the band’s original name. According to their bio, a French journalist that named the band “les willos”, it the name stuck. The music is bright, fresh, Continue Reading
Marc Almond – Heart On Snow
20 years ago, Marc Almond collaborated with musicians in St. Petersburg and recorded a magnificent album of Russian chanson. It’s as good as you would expect. The gems of the album include the title track and Gosudaryunia, penned by Russian rock legend Boris Grebenshchikov. A fine reissue, and I thank Continue Reading
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 Continue Reading