Folk & Traditional / All styles

"Širom fashion maximalist avant-garde soundscapes from antique acoustic instruments like the balafon and hurdy gurdy. Their artfully rootless roots music makes an impassioned statement both aesthetically and, more opaquely, politically too.” - Uncut The Slovenian avant-folk trio Širom are back with a sonically and thematically expansive 5th album; a thrilling follow-up to their widely praised 2022 release The Liquified Throne of Simplicity. Navigating almost two dozen instruments (some of which …

*2024 stock* To launch Mr Bongo’s new Cuban Classic Series, we are thrilled to present this sought-after, psychedelic-funk masterpiece. A fusion of traditional Latin and Afro-Cuban rhythms meets disco, jazz, and funk, with hints of 70s soundtrack productions, this much-loved cult album featuring nine predominantly instrumental tracks is a real treasure that deserves a much wider appreciation. One look at the trippy artwork and you know it is going to be special. Originally released in 1977 on Ar…

New Music for the 6 String Guitar is the 7th studio album from Radnorshire based guitarist Toby Hay. His debut in 2017 ‘The Gathering’, and 2018’s, ‘The Longest Day’, were both nominated for the Welsh Music Prize. This new album is a follow up to 2019’s ‘New Music For The 12 String Guitar’. Since then, he has released two collaborative albums, 2023’s self-titled ‘Jim Ghedi & Toby Hay’ released on the legendary Topic label, and 2024’s ‘After a Pause’, with Aidan Thorne, released on his own, Cambr…

To mark Nina Hagen's 70th birthday, Personal Jesus is being released for the first time on vinyl, including a bonus track – exactly fifteen years after its original release. The bonus track is titled "I Am Born To Preach The Gospel" and is a cover of Washington Phillips. With Personal Jesus, Nina Hagen delves deep into rock, blues, and gospel in 2010. Raw, unpolished, and full of intensity, she interprets songs about faith, resistance, and redemption – carried by her unmistakable voice, which bu…

Pandit Uday Bhawalkar is an Indian Hindustani vocalist. He is an exponent of the dhrupad genre. Uday Bhawalkar is a standard bearer for Dhrupad, and a strong force in its growing recognition and popularity. Uday believes that when immersed in the note and raga, the self disappears and music takes on its own existence; the principle of ‘darshan’. These values are helping him on the path of devotion to Dhrupad. Dhrupad is one of the oldest forms of North Indian classical music and Uday maintains i…

Legendary Egyptian vocalist and cultural icon Umm Kulthum, revered worldwide as “the Voice of Egypt” and often described as “Egypt’s fourth pyramid,” remains one of the most powerful figures in music history. Originally released in 1961 on Parlophone, The Twinkling Star is a luminous showcase of her unparalleled vocal mastery—an album that captures both the grandeur of her artistry and the emotional intensity that made her a cultural phenomenon across the Arab world and beyond.   A cornerstone o…

In truth, singing is not all that different from acting. Performing a song is very similar to playing a role in a theatrical production. A singer's delivery — the way they interpret and emphasize certain parts of a song — is much like what an actor does with their character. That's why we often find singers who go on to gain popularity as performers — some on stage, but more often on the silver screen (film). These are called 'singing stars' — vocalists who are also featured actors, usually give…

We at EM Records love to transport our listeners to new worlds, other worlds; "Pantilde", this magical new album from Cornish avant-folk performance artist The Worm, is indeed an ethereal new world: otherworldly, but somehow rooted; an imaginary oral and musical story of everyday village life in an alternative Celtic landscape. The music here is strange yet familiar, fantastical and enchanting while remaining simultaneously attached to the earth. Amy Lawrence, aka The Worm, plays cello, harp, re…

Re-pressing of Martin Carthy's debut album, originally released on Fontana in 1965 and re-issued by Topic in 1977. In the early 1960s, the approach Martin Carthy took to folk music was nothing short of revolutionary, albeit a relatively quiet revolution befitting of his humble nature. You wouldn't find Carthy's music clambering up the singles charts; his was not a face adorning the teen magazines. Instead, his influence was felt at a grass-roots level. He plied his trade in the folk clubs, which…

*2025 stock* Introducing 'A Path to Open Air II,' Tobias Wilden reimagines the tonal textures first shaped in his 2013 release, 'A Path to Open Air'. Diving further into his perceptions of nature and music, the album blends acoustic intimacy with ambient depth, painting serene scenes of remote landscapes. Wilden combines guitar, cello, double bass, and Sanshin with orchestral layers and fleeting electronic glimmers. It’s an ode to the in-between, where jazz meets not-jazz — a musical terrain tha…

CD reissue of the 1971 debut solo album from the former vocalist for the Zombies. One Year was co-produced by Blunstone's former Zombie colleagues Rod Argent and Chris White who also contributed three songs to the album. On the album, Blunstone is backed by Argent, led by Rod and featuring Russ Ballard, Jim Rodford and Robert Henrit.

"David Nance’s doom spiral tour of the supermarket. The spectral glade fashioned by the Spatulas in “Heaving Chimes." The hazy, chattering, crypt-riot of Bruce Russell and Peter Wright’s Escalation. The warmth and momentum of Liam Grant’s barn dance. These intensely physical spaces are all conjured through song, an unexpected venue for such somatic expression. It’s a bracing, welcome tangibility, a mark of exceptionalism shared by this music. But what do these songs have in common, beyond their …

*Comes in a CD-sized papersleeve album replica (gatefold), with obi-strip and insert of notes mostly in Japanese..2024 stock* Third album released in 1969 by Pentangle, who led the British fark/trad scene with Fairport Convention. A historical masterpiece, crystallising at a high level an ensemble of master British acoustic guitarists Bert Jansch and John Renbourn, highly jazz-based musicianship, and the vocals of the red-hot, transparent Jackie. Definitive release in paper jacket, SHM-CD, 4 bon…

Sangeetha Kalanidhi Sri Nedunuri Krishnamurthy, is with his 80+ age one of the very few remaining great vocalists from the golden period of Karnatic music. In 1968 he was at the height of his powers and we managed to capture a full evening concert that lasted nearly four hours in Nagercoil in Tamil Nadu. We are extremely proud to release the complete concert in a 3-cd set. Soundwise this is a high quality release, a unique document from nearly 50 years ago with music that will delight the…

This album bridges past and present through the voice and instruments of Maria Violenza and Luciano Turella, with the Irtumbranda project (formerly performing as the duo BrandaMaria), offering an intimate and visceral reinterpretation of Sicilian musical tradition. On Side A, the island’s ancient melodies come to life through an interpretation that enhances their raw and profoundly visceral character. Maria Violenza, who grew up listening to these songs in family gatherings and popular festivals…

"Kizaki Ondo" is a folk song from Nitta Kizaki town in Gunma, north of Tokyo. Played annually by local performers at the Bon-Odori traditional summer dance festival, it features unabashed lyrics about prostitution along with a rhythmic drive sure to appeal to fans of contemporary electronic genres as well as aficionados of traditional musics. The first track is a wildly echoing vocal version recorded in 1980, redolent of humid summer nights; the second track, recorded in 1981, is an instrumental…

TAKAAT (pronounced tuh-cot), meaning “noise” in the Tuareg language Tamashek, is the trio of Ahmoudou Madassane, Mikey Coltun, and Souleymane Ibrahim, also known as the rhythm section of Mdou Moctar. TAKAAT is sonic chaos, improvisation, freedom of exploration, and the punk styles of bands such as Fugazi and Unwound, all mixed together with the guitar music from the Sahel. TAKAAT started during soundchecks while on the road with Mdou Moctar when the trio indulged their shared love for amps crank…

40girls by Ya Tosiba: Rooted in folk music’s storytelling spirit the album introduces a dynamic conversation between generational memory and progressive innovation. It is crafting a soundscape that feels feminine, elusive and powerfully transformative. The album opens with delicate samples of the Şüştər and Rahab makams with its soft and ethereal textures intertwining with subtle, noisy experimentation. Kita Koun Kan by Sabou-Gnouman De Kita: Kita, a small town in the West of Mali was once consi…

Mega rare UK private album (99 copies originally pressed in 1969) by singer/songwriter Jeremy Harmer, featuring David Costa of psych-folk band Trees on guitar. Melancholic, introspective psych-folk with chamber/ baroque feel. Guitar, flute, viola, bass, drums… Jeremy Harmer started singing and playing at school and university, where his circle of friends included aspiring folk musicians like Nick Drake and pre-Trees David Costa. Jeremy has a long history as a singer/songwriter and performer, alo…

Repress in vintage-styled tip-on hard cardboard sleeve. Guerssen Records present a reissue of Dave Bixby's Ode To Quetzalcoatl, originally released in 1969. Since its discovery in the late '90s, Dave Bixby's legendary $2000 private press album from 1969 is considered by all serious record collectors as the king in the loner / downer folk genre. After being involved in '60s Michigan folk and garage-rock bands such as The Shillelaghs and Peter & The Prophets, Bixby started playing acoustic guitar …

From the makers of Hillbillies In Hell... Private Press Prophets and Vanity Vinyl Visionaries.  Presented here for the very first time are 20 timeless slices of Luciferian Gospel, End-Times Prophecy and Doomsday Sermons from the Surreal Sacred Songbook. Armageddon Rockabilly collides with Kindergarten Sulphur and Brimstone diatribes. Backwoods Demonic Disco confronts Beastly Predictions and Southern Fried Incubus Funk. All excavated from deep within the forgotten margins of Homespun and Private …

From the makers of Hillbillies In Hell...A Celebration of Spiritual Triumph over Terrestrial Adversity. Originally cut on Homespun, Private-Press and Vanity labels across the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s, this collection features voices almost never heard in the professional entertainment industry. The Dis-abled, the Less-abled, the Blind, Cancer survivors, those confined to a Wheelchair, those born with Dwarfism, those born without Limbs and some with many other challenges. Here, they shine and…

Two of the most exciting visionaries in contemporary guitar music, Bill MacKay and Ryley Walker, announce the reissue of their seminal debut album, "Land Of Plenty." Originally released in August 2015, this instrumental masterpiece will be available again on vinyl on September 26th via Drag City, giving new listeners and longtime fans alike a fresh opportunity to experience a milestone in the modern guitar canon. Recorded live over a month-long residency at The Whistler in Chicago, "Land Of Plen…

"The Begena is one of those rare musical instruments of the world that has survived for more than 5800 years. What is fascinating about it is not only its age but the fact that both its manufacture and the purpose for which it is being played have never changed during all these years. It is still made of wood and animal products, such as the intestine of the sheep for the strings, the leather that covers the sound box. It is used for praying, for praising God and for meditation, just as it was i…

Julian Kytasty is celebrated around the world as a master of the bandura. This plucked-string instrument has become a symbol of Ukraine through its association with the deep tradition of the kobzari. On Songs of Truth: Music and Song from the Kobzar Tradition of Ukraine, he brings expressive clarity and vibrancy to this centuries-old repertoire of these blind bards through skillfully retold historical epics, timeless philosophical songs, biting satire, and joyful dance tunes.

"Shinshunfu" exists at a crossroads, a form both distinctly Japanese and distinctly "other", a complex blend of folk strains that is deep with emotional resonance and hard to place even for aficionados of Japanese traditional music. "Of "Shinshunfu", only the drone of the shō and the occasional taiko hit appear in plain view. The exploration sits comfortably in the idiosyncratic sound world that Ken has been prolifically constructing for himself in the last few years (what he has come to call "…

A one-sided 7" single! A great and rare song, never before reissued, an early 80s electric molam classic produced by Surin Phaksiri. This release celebrates "Classic Productions by Surin Phaksiri 2: Molam Gems from the 1960s-80s", an upcoming EM Records compilation spotlighting this legendary producer; however, this song will not be available on the compilation, so get the vinyl or DL, and don't miss this groovily swaying paean to the pick-up truck share taxi, performed by Chabaphrai Namwai and …

"This was traditional, transformative music, and music that made so much sense coming from EM's epicenter."― Matt Werth  Printed on special paper embossed with matte silver aluminium foil. Please consider the jacket illustration as an image as the texture of the original cannot be reproduced graphically. The disc is a translucent coloured disc with the image of the Okinawa sun. A charming set of double transformations on this 7 inch. "Kajyadhi Fu Bushi" is a traditional Ryukyu minyo (Okinawa fol…

"Deep session! It is rare to hear folk music from Japan in such beautiful fidelity and incredible dynamics. This recording is intensely gorgeous and hauntingly disarming. This should open up a whole new world of adventurous listening for folks outside (and inside!) Japan."―Brian Shimkovitz  "Sounds absolutely great! Super interesting and engaging."―Ben UFO "Just Give Me That Old Time Religion, It's Good Enough For Me."―Japan Blues A hotline to the gods! Kagura is a thousand-year-old form of Japa…

This collection of 12 luk thung (*1) songs from the 1960s-70s, all produced by Surin Phaksiri, is a superb showcase of cross-genre/multi-national fertilization, with Latin, jazz, western pop, Indian and Japanese music seamlessly melding with the musical culture of Isan (northeast Thailand), which is strongly rooted in Laotian culture; indeed, the Isan language, as featured in these songs, is a form of Laotian. Esteemed producer Surin Phaksiri, an Isan icon, always strove to drive Thai music forw…

The third album by Levon Eskenian's Gurdjieff Ensemble, recorded in Yerevan in 2021: Gurdjieff's music for Armenian folk instruments, set beside songs of Armenian bards such as Sayat-Nova, with the National Chamber Choir of Armenia.

Marewrew (pronounced: Ma-leoo-leoo / mɑleːul̯ eːu)̯ is a female vocal group that sings traditional Ainu songs. The music of the long-suppressed people from northern Japan has been a particular focus of Pingipung's output in recent years, together with Oki Kano who recorded and produced many Ainu artists. Following various re-releases by Umeko Ando, the late grande dame of traditional Ainu music, the spotlight is now on the a cappella music of Marewrew, which by the way means ‘butterfly’ in Ainu.…

Tip! The Sahaja Veena is a stunning stringed instrument with a unique and beautiful design reminiscent of the Vichitra Veena and Chitra Veena. With a wider range than the traditional Indian veena and a deep, warm sound, the instrument can produce compelling melodies and delicate ornamentation, often evoking deep emotions, and is therefore also known as the “Sagar” (‘Sagar’ meaning “sea” in Hindi). “(Sagar means ”ocean" in Hindi). Noor Zehra Kazim is the world's only Sagar Vina player. Her father…

Restock due soon! Edition of 500 copies. Shane Parish is a member of the Bill Orcutt Quartet and Tzadik Recording Artist. Solo guitar arrangements of various jazz /avant garde/electronic/etc. tunes. Imagine: It’s sometime in the back half of the 19th century, America. You’re sitting in the parlor of your mansion, or in the only room of your shack; things are dusty and smell like sweat and hair, no matter how wealthy you may be. You don’t own a phonograph, and you don’t know who Tony Hawk is, but…

This studio album is recorded after Guo Yongzhang performing on the 5th Tomorrow Festival stage.

Tip! *In process of stocking* "This album has its genesis in a precious reel-to-reel tape recording which we discovered in a radio station. It is unfortunate that the tape itself does not contain information on the date of recording, which we roughly speculate to be around the late-1980s to the early-1990s.  The recording in this album has two parts. The first is Daulet Halek’s interpretation of folk tunes from other ethnic minority groups, including the Tatars, the Mongols, the Sibe, and the Ky…

"Bayawan" is the common name for Muqam music used by the Dolan people. Bayawan, or Dolan Muqam, is a unique form of folk music and one of the most important cultural heritages of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang, China. Generally speaking, Muqam is a form of large-scale suites which include songs, dances, and instrumental sections, in which the development of music often features a significant degree of improvisation. The Muqam of the Uyghurs is characterized by its diversity of musical styles. Apart fro…

*2023 stock* "Vashti Bunyan will always be most known for her 1970 album Just Another Diamond Day, a big cult favorite among some folk-rock fans, and her 2005 comeback Lookaftering. She did, however, release a couple obscure singles in the mid-'60s, as well as doing quite a few unreleased studio and demo recordings around the same time. This 25-track collection couldn't be bettered as a thorough sweep of her material from this era, including both sides of her two mid-'60s 45s; three tracks from …

2009 release ** "Raw and rocking collaboration between Jack Rose and the Black Twigs with some of the most swinging, hard-hitting string music waxed in many a decade. Rose’s solo playing has always had a tough edge, with his prodigious technique often employed in the service of dropping right-hand bombs – his use of a thumbpick originates from his years of duets with Twig Mike Gangloff, struggling to make his guitar heard over Gangloff’s crashing banjo. The front line of Rose and Gangloff’s stri…

2009 release ** Limited edition of 500 hand-numbered copies in oversized cardboard sleeve. "Italian flautist Bardini and French noisemeister Jolif have united to celebrate the music and culture of the Breton nation. With few exceptions, most of the lyrics are taken from traditional songs, but set to their own music. It need not be said that this is largely in the Breton tongue. The downbeat tune is envisioned through the prism of post-industrial, with light effects alongside the primary backbone…