I’ll be taking a day off for health reasons, but I thought I would leave you this pleasant Sunday with some music of the Lepcha people of India (also represented in Nepal). The band, Sofiyum, have a very pleasant, joyful sound, reminding me, curiously, of Celtic music. May it carry Continue Reading
World Music
Nurbek Serkebaev – White Swans Fly: Kyrgyz Music from Bishkek
Nurbek Serkebaev is a well known Kyrgyz folk musician who plays virtually all Kyrgyz traditional music instruments. The venerabl Antonovka Records have released yet another fine album of traditional music.
Various Artists – Lèspri Ka : New Directions in Gwoka Music from Guadeloupe 1981-2010
This compilation released by Time Capsule Records is going to be stunningly good. From the release’s Bandcamp site: The innovative, radical soul of Guadeloupe explored across thirty years of contemporary gwoka music, released by Time Capsule and Séance Centre. As Guadeloupean vocalist and composer Marie-Line Dahomay writes in her liner Continue Reading
The Scorpios – Let’s Go
The Scorpios are a Sudanese/British Afrobeat band with an incredible pedigree. Regia Ishag, the band’s singer, is the daughter of the guitarist of one of Sudan’s funkiest bands, The Scorpions (obviously not the German hard-rock band bearing the same name). This new generation band maintains the funkiness of their forefathers Continue Reading
Zhang Si’an (Djang San 张思安) – Hutong Jazz – 胡同爵士
Jean-Sébastien Héry is a French ex-pat musician living in China. He has a very impressive body of work covering over 50 albums of music ranging from electro music to rock performed on traditional Chinese instruments like the zhonguran and pipa. His work is singular, as there doesn’t seem to be Continue Reading
Razam / Iva Marešová – Harpyje U Pramene
On Friday night, my beloved friends, Helenka and Tomáš, suggested I go out to a club called Stará Pekárna, a club where Tomáš works. The owner of this fine establishment is a heavy blues aficionado who happens to book very impressive bands. Imagine my surprise when I walk into the Continue Reading
Muva – Yum Cháak
Mexico’s new music scene is criminally underrated, which is a shame considering the immense talent hidden there. Yes, of course, we love boleros, the folk songs out of Veracruz and Yucatan, and the insanely good psychedelic music of the 1960s and 1970s, the Rock-In-Opposition of bands like Nazca, Decibel and Continue Reading
Marika Politissa – All Parts Dark
Much respect to Mississippi Records out of Chicago, Illinois for releasing this magnificent artifact! The back story is explained in great detail on the label’s Bandcamp site: Marika “Politissa” Frantzeskopoulou was a Greek singer from Constantinople, reknowned for her precise, fluid and graceful performances and depth of feeling. Backed by Continue Reading
Breizh Napoli – Démo
Two places I have been enamored with for at least half of my life are Brittany in France and Naples, perhaps my favorite Italian city. Breizh Napoli, as the name clearly indicates, combines both Breton and Neapolitan music seamlessly. This is a fine demo of choral music that brings out Continue Reading
Wubshaw Sileshi – Yemidir Fetena (Ethiopia, 1974)
No reviews are forthcoming today thanks to needing to take a rest, but I wanted to post a classic tune from Ethiopia’s golden age of pop, courtesy of Wubshaw Sileshi.