• Music

    Santeri Dobrynin, Egor Masaltsev, Olga Plekhanova – Karjalan Jouhikko: Karelian Instrumental Music

    June 5, 2023 - By 

    This release from our friends at Antonovka Records features three players of the jouhikko, a local stringed instrument: Santeri (Alexander) Dobrynin and Olga Plekhanova from Karelia and Russian Egor Masaltsev, who moved to the region.  There are 22 tracks of charming interplay between the three and individually.  All the tunes are traditional Karelian, except: 7 – traditional Swedish, 10 and 11 — by Olga herself, 18 — two tunes of traditional Russian songs from Karelia, 19 — by Karelian musician Leo Sevets, 20 — a tune from the play “Sampo: The Magic Mill” based on the Kalevala (author Maxim Gutkin), 22…

  • Music

    Plantec – Awen

    May 6, 2023 - By 

    It’s a bit of a tragedy that Breton music doesn’t get the same healthy push as, say, Scottish or Irish music does.  Outside of the absolutely legendary Alan Stivell, it’s rare to hear of great music coming out of this most unique of French provinces.  Thankfully, we have Plantec to bring forth something that I suppose could qualify as electro-Breizh.  The music simply rips with expert playing of Breton bagpipes, but there’s something that makes the music incredibly punchy and even danceable.  Though this release is from around 2012, the band are still quite active today and continue to innovate…

  • Music

    Felix Lebarty – Girls For Sale

    May 2, 2023 - By 

    It’s safe to say that 1976 Nigeria was a somewhat different world from today’s.  The Edo-Delta region must have been a rather swinging place if this reissue of Felix Labarty’s classic, Girls For Sale, is any indication.  The music is lush, perhaps a little tinny, disco mixed with reggae vibes and lyrics filled with a combination of braggadocio and grieving over lost loves.  No, not love, but loves.  He was quite a player in his day.  An essential for those who want their Afrobeat to come in a different flavor.

  • Music

    Kink Gong 2017 – Uyghur In Moyu Southern Xinjiang China

    May 1, 2023 - By 

    I don’t know much about Kink Gong, though maybe they have some relations with the legendary Sublime Frequencies record label, but I do like that they’re busy releasing some amazing music from neglected parts of the world.  This installment comes from Xinjang, in the news for all the wrong reasons, yet a fascinating culture worth delving into.  The music shares much in common with fellow Central Asian Turkic groups like the Kazakhs or Uzbeks, but also carries some elements of Mongolian, Persian, and of course, Chinese music.

  • Music

    Farhot – Nowroz 1401

    April 30, 2023 - By 

    Farhot is a musician based in Germany who also happens to run the rather incredible Kabul Fire record label.  This release is in honor of the Persian New Year (Nowroz) 1401.  From his Bandcamp site: “In celebration of the Persianate new year usually taking place on March 21st Afghan-German producer artist Farhot announces his follow up project “Nowroz 1401” which translates into “New Year 1401” – the number marking the year according to the solar calendar which is used in countries like Afghanistan and Iran. While Nowroz is being celebrated in several additional regions like Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan or Kirgizstan and…

  • Music

    Raushan Orazbaeva – Akku

    April 15, 2023 - By 

    Today’s selection, as we end the Harrowing of Hell and prepare for Pascha this evening, is from Raushan Orazbaeva, a dombra player from Kazakhstan.  This is pure music from the Central Asian steppes, mournful, solitary and strikingly beautiful.

  • Music

    Moughenda Village – Calling the Spirits: Missoko Bwiti Music of Gabon

    April 12, 2023 - By 

    This Moment Records is a record label, “… which is dedicated to producing and promoting field recordings from around the world, in addition to crafting innovative soundscapes for relaxation and meditation,” at least according to their Bandcamp site. As we have never reviewed any music from Gabon before, I looked forward to what I would be hearing, and was, of course, not at all disappointed. Again, from the Bandcamp site: “This collection of music comes from the Missoko Bwiti tradition of Gabon, a spiritual path that includes five different branches, spanning over a thousand years in equatorial Central West Africa.…

  • Music

    Atman – Personal Forest

    March 22, 2023 - By 

    Our dear friends at the Lollipoppe Shoppe have released a freakily good album out of 1990s Poland.  From the label’s Bandcamp site: “Atman was an eco-activist collective, that released tape-only pastoral dwelling jams in the fine Polish-Jazz tradition… Hamered dulcimer and exotically tuned 12-string guitars among basket-loads of unknown sounds, since the 70’s! Personal Forest is the culmination of artistic and personal quest.”

  • Music

    Mahotella Queens – Abaculi Bethu / Umculo Kawupheli

    March 10, 2023 - By 

    Today’s share is a joyful slice of township jive out of South Africa from the legendary Mahotella Queens.  It’s a tragedy that it took a cretinous thief like Malcolm McLaren to turn the world on to such music.  From the Umsakazo Records Bandcamp site: “The reach and influence of “Umculo Kawupheli” spread far beyond its intended destination. In 1981, the song was plagiarised note-for-note by punk rock manager Malcolm McLaren, who replaced the meaningful isiZulu words with soundalike English gibberish to create “Jungle Boy (See Jungle)” for his new wave band Bow Wow Wow. The song’s origins were not acknowledged…