• 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…

  • Music

    Badieh – Badieh

    March 6, 2023 - By 

    This is quite a pairing.  Badieh consist of Spaniard Michel Gasco, who plays oud and rebab, pairs with Iranian musician Mohammed Miragharzadeh on tar and setar. From Badieh’s Bandcamp site: “Worlds Within Worlds is proud to announce the release of Badieh’s self-titled debut album – a collection of mystifying folk pieces from the Greater Khorasan region of Iran and Afghanistan. A collaboration between two masters of their craft, Badieh is the project of Michel Gasco and Mohammad Miraghazadeh. A step past Gasco’s previous Orontes project, these delicate reinterpretations of traditional Khorasani folk track takes his instrumentation to new heights. Each…

  • Music

    Dur-Dur Band Int. – The Berlin Session

    March 4, 2023 - By 

    Somalia’s Dur-Dur Band have released fresh material, so if you’re interested in Somali music, Afrobeat, funk or soul, you might want to pick this up quickly. From the band’s Bandcamp site: “The Berlin Session travels far beyond the gems collected from dusty cassettes. It is a bridge between the sorrow of all that has been and the delight of a magic which survived, a shining pearl rescued alive from the Atlantean fate of forever drowning in the Indian Ocean.”

  • Music

    Kimi Djabaté – Dindin

    February 25, 2023 - By 

    Cumbancha Records usually put out world-class music, but this one stood out rather brightly.  From Kimi Djabaté’s Bandcamp site: “Hailing from the country of Guinea-Bissau, gifted guitarist, percussionist and balafón (African xylophone) player Kimi Djabaté is one of Africa’s most exceptional talents. Now based in Lisbon, Djabaté has collaborated with Mory Kanté, Waldemar Bastos and Netos de Gumbé, and, most recently, the pop star Madonna on her single “Ciao Bella.” On Djabaté’s exceptional new album “Dindin,” the multitalented musician carries on the customs of his griot heritage, singing entrancingly about the complexity of life in modern Africa for a broad,…