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
World Music
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.
Mohammad Mostafa Heydarian – Songs of Horaman
Mohammad Mostafa Heydarian is a Kurdish tanburist who hails from Kermanshah, in the Iranian region of Horaman. His playing reminds me of a lot of the instrumental music coming out of the Sahel, blended, naturally, with Kurdish rhythms and adding a psychedelic haze to the music. Though I’m not keen Continue Reading
Various Artists – Legends Of Benin: Afro Funk, Cavacha, Agbadja, Afro-Beat
Benin (formerly Dahomey) has produced so much good music, yet it’s suffered from a lack of availability in the West, meaning that only the most expert crate-diggers or West African music specialists were able to enjoy these artists. Thankfully, Analog Africa has been doing their best to make sure this Continue Reading
Various Artists – Canary Records: To What Strange Place: The Music of the Ottoman-American Diaspora, 1916-30
Ian Nagoski’s stunningly and consistently impressive Canary Records releases a giant collection of songs from immigrants of the, by then, collapsing Ottoman Empire. These songs span the time period between the First World War and the Great Depression, and are lovingly transferred and curated by Nagoski, whom you can hear Continue Reading
Merema – Kezeren Koiht (Ancient Custom)
Out beloved friends at CPL-Music have released another fascinating album of Russian folk music! Merema hail from Saransk, which is the capital of Russia’s autonomous Republic of Mordovia. The music is beautifully documented by CPL Records and the documentary work of professor Ekaterina Modina. The tones of the voices are Continue Reading
Bester Quartet – Piazzolla Angels
Poland’s For-Tune Records have been consistently releasing high-quality jazz and improv music for some time now, but their latest has a special place for me. This collection, with the exception of Por Una Cabeza (composed by Carlos Gardel) was composed by the inimitable Ástor Piazzólla and arranged Bester Quartet leader Continue Reading