From Sahel Sounds’ promo sheet, and this is an album worth waiting for!: “Etran de L’Aïr the STARS OF THE AÏR, the longest running wedding band in AGADEZ, capital of Tuareg guitar, return with a new album of sun-schlazed desert sound! Their first album, No.1, brought their music to critics Continue Reading
World Music
Ambient Folklore – Bestiary
The Bulgarian band Ambient Folklore have a new album out, and it surpasses any neofolk/dark-folk album I’ve heard over the past two years. The sounds on this record are heavy and foreboding, made more so by very prominent hurdy-gurdy expertly played by Petar Delchev. It sounds as if mid-period Death Continue Reading
Various Artists – Mississippi Records: Street Musicians of Yogyakarta
Mississippi Records released a collection of field recordings covering local music from Yogyakarta, Indonesia. These were recorded between November 1976 and January 1978.
Chiyomi Yamada – Gilyak Songs
From Chiyomi Yamada’s Bandcamp site: “Piano songs by the Japanese composer Akira Ifukube (1914–2006), interpreted by , voice, and Reiko Yamada, piano. Ifukube, who also composed the theme song of “Godzilla”, wrote these magical pieces based on traditional songs from native tribes of northern Japan. The sound and style of Continue Reading
Bahareh Fayazi & Asareh Shek – Nasim-e Sahar
From the Little Axe Bandcamp site: “Nasim-e Sahar (The Breath of the Dawn) by Asareh Shekarchi (on tombak and āvāz), and Bahareh Fayazi (on tar) is a reinterpretation of works by master Iranian singer Reza-Qoli Mirza Zelli (1906 – 1946). This recording features a variety of modal divisions of Iranian Continue Reading
Various Artists – Antonovka Records: Made in Davlekanovo: Russian and Chuvash Songs from Bashkortostan
The brilliant folks at Antonovka Records continue to amaze and delight with their travelogues across Russia, Moldova and the Balkans. This particular recording covers an area I have ready plenty about, but have not yet passed through. From the label’s Bandcamp site for this release: “The album features Russian folk Continue Reading
Úzgin Űver – Patak
Our dear friends at the Lollipoppe Shoppe released a stunning slice of psychedelic folk prog that came out in 2018 and holds up beautifully six years later. From the label’s Bandcamp site: “In the music of Úzgin Űver traditional folk is stretched far beyond the average world music. Of course, Continue Reading
Nilotika Cultural Ensemble – Ejokawulida
I didn’t expect Uganda to have a techno scene, and perhaps they do, but the Nilotika Cultural Ensemble, 7 expert drummers, make such precise beats that you could easily play this in a 1980’s-era Detroit or Chicago techno club and get the boots onto the dance floor. An invigorating listen. Continue Reading
Saadet Türköz – Urumqi
Saadet Türköz is an international treasure. Born to Kazakh and Turkish parents in Istanbul in 1961, she has developed a style that comfortably blends Central Asian traditional music with free jazz. A very pleasant listen.
Mohammad Syfkhan – I Am Kurdish
A very pleasant release from Mohammad Syfkhan, a Kurdish musician currently based in Ireland. From the Nyaah Records Bandcamp site: “Mohammad’s own brand of ecstatic music takes elements from Middle Eastern and North African music to create an atmosphere of joy, love and happiness. The songs on ‘I am Kurdish’ Continue Reading