Sad news to report today, as former Amon Düül II guitarist, oudist and multi-instrumentalist Chris Karrer passed away on January 2, 2024. We honor him by sharing a North Africa-influenced work of his from 2018 called The Mask. The back story is rather interesting, and that story can be read by clicking the link here.
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 region of Iran and Afghanistan. A collaboration between two masters of their craft, Badieh is the project of Michel Gasco and Mohammad Miraghazadeh. A step past Gasco’s previous Orontes project, these delicate reinterpretations of traditional Khorasani folk track takes his instrumentation to new heights. Each…
Lebanese singer and oudist Youmna Saba offers up 40, an album of experimental music, but not in the way you think. From her Bandcamp site: “”Arb‘een (40)” is a solo experiment in songwriting, challenging narrative structures and proposing alternative readings of time and continuity. It is rendered by use of oud and guitar, and vocals inspired by the circularity of the project’s recurrent themes. It borrows elements from the Arabic music tradition, and blends them with electronic treatments, sonic textures and loops.”
Julien Bigorgne is a flautist working out of Paris, France, who also happens to be an oud player. The music on this album is filmic, a soundtrack to a non-existent film. The music walks the line between soundtrack compositions of Yann Tiersen, jazz and world music (such a nebulous term, but until I find a better one, I’m stuck using it). One can also hear dabs of the music of French national treasures like Erik Satie and Claude Debussy. The album is unique, relaxing, easy to listen to and flow with.