There will be no reviews either today or tomorrow as Orthodox Christians observe Christmas Eve and the Nativity on what was always the Ecumenical Church Calendar until the devising of the modern Gregorian Calendar, so for those who hold to the Councils, today is December 24. We wish you a Continue Reading
Sakartvelo
Ani Zakareishvili – Fallin
Ani Zakareishvili has produced a work of genius – something that feels like it would have fit in the classic movie The Shining, with its surreal, hazy feel to it. From Warm Winters Ltd.’s Bandcamp site: “Tbilisi, Georgia-based artist Ani Zakareishvili joins the Warm Winters Ltd. roster with a hazy, Continue Reading
Mikael Tariverdiev – Visions in Black & White
Mikael Tariverdiev was a Russian cinema and TV composer of Armenian extraction but raised Tbilisi, Georgia, a true man of the Soviet world. Though he was quoted as not particularly liking jazz, he was as good an improviser that Russia ever produced. From the release’s Bandcamp page: “Visions in Black Continue Reading
Ialoni – 50 Georgian Song (50 ქართული სიმღერა)
Ialoni are a female traditional music ensemble hailing from Georgia, and they offer on this album, as the title implies, 50 tracks of absolutely stunning renditions of folk material. A keeper.
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
Maryam Sirvan – Feast On My Body
We have to wait eight more days to hear the complete work, but given the two tracks Maryam Sirvan has made available, this will be worth the wait. There were two artists which came to mind while listening to the tracks over and over – Tim Buckley at his most Continue Reading
Kimilia – Chants d’un temps, ანუ ადრინდელი სიმღერები
I can’t imagine there being traditional music more pleasant to the ear than that of Georgian polyphony. Whether it is in an ecclesiastical setting or around the dinner table, the Georgians are incredible singers, and this particular band, Kimilia, do a phenomenal job interpreting songs that go as far back Continue Reading