Yunchi Ensemble – Aleksandrovka, Milyanfan: Dungan Music from Kyrgyzstan

Yet another amazing collection has been released by Antonovka Records, now based in Moldova.  This collection features a Chinese Muslim ethnic group called the Dungan who live in the passes between Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, and surprisingly, they don’t write in Chinese, but in Cyrillic! From Antonovka’s Bandcamp site: “Most of Continue Reading

Baklava – From Skopje With Love

Our friends over at the indomitable CPL-Music have released a charming disc of traditional music from my second homeland of Skopje, Macedonia!  Baklava, the subject of today’s listening, work with folk music and does sterling work reinterpreting it for a more modern, updated sound.  Speaking of that sound, the band Continue Reading

Kit Sebastian – L’addio / Hayat

A brilliant single from the always-impressive Mr. Bongo Records by London-based Kit Sebastian.  From the band’s Bandcamp site: “‘L’addio’ saw the band perfecting their production and orchestration, with strings, horns and double bass, and an Italian synth found in a French dump. The music was greatly influenced by Italian soundtracks Continue Reading

Nasim Khushnawaz – Songs From The Pearl of Khorasan

Worlds Within Worlds in an Australian record label releasing music from Iran, Afghanistan and India.  This album features rubab (or rebab) player Nasim Khushnawaz.  From the label’s Bandcamp site: “As a master of the Afghan rubab, Nasim Kushnawaz hails from one of the most important musical lineages in Afghanistan. The Continue Reading

Shono – Kolkhozoy Traktor

Our dear friends at CPL-Music will be releasing some solid music from Buryatia in Eastern Russia.  From the bio sheet: “Unheard sounds from Buryatia: Shono revive the ancient rituals of the vast Eurasian grasslands. The autonomous Russian Republic of Buryatia is located in the far east of the country, bordering Continue Reading

Lounès Matoub – Lettre Ouverte Aux​.​.​. (25th Anniversary)

Lounès Matoub was the controversial voice of a generation of Algerian Kabyle people.  He was brutally assassinated on June 25, 1998, but his work lives on.  From Elmir Records’ Bandcamp site: “In commemoration of the 25th anniversary of his assassination, Elmir offers the very first vinyl edition of the reference Continue Reading