Folk /
The Twinkling Star
Fantôme Phonographique present a reissue of Umm Kulthum's (Oum Kalthoum) The Twinkling Star,
originally released in 1961. Kalthoum is a legendary Egyptian vocalist
and one of the biggest celebrities of the 20th century Arab world. She
was dubbed "the voice of Egypt" and "Egypt's fourth pyramid", and is
considered a national treasure. This 1961 album originally released on
Parlophone is one of the finest examples of her vocal ability and a
beautiful example of mid-20th century Egyptian popu…
Singe Tema
The return of the Zanzibara series: a Deep Taarab masterpiece from legendary singer Zuhura Swaleh, recorded in Nairobi in 1981.
Zuhura Swaleh & Party rose to fame on the Mombasa scene in the 1970s
with a new fast-paced taarab style based on local ngoma rhythms and its
melodies. The group sound was lead by an electrically amplified
tashkota (actually a Japanese instrument correctly spelled as
taishokoto), its shape best rendered as being a kind of “typewriter
banjo”—a trio of strings shorted…
Soothing Songs for Babies
Incredible archival LP collecting lullabies recorded at different times and from several countries, co-published by the prestigious Museum of Ethnography of Geneva and swiss renowned Mental Groove Records. All the lullabies presented here come from records published with a copy kept in the Archives internationales de Musique Populaire of the Meg. Lullabies xist in almost every culture in the world: while they relate to the world of childhood, they also evoke the privileged relationship establis…
Working on the Railroad
One man band Jesse Fuller's first recordings from 1954! Jesse Fuller was a truly unique one man band who played blues, spirituals, ballads and folk songs. On these recordings we find Jesse playing guitar, harmonica, kazoo and the footdella (a bass that Jesse built which he plays with his feet). One of the greatest folk musicians of all time in his prime. Features top tunes - San Francisco Bay Blues, Railroad blues, John Henry, Lining the tracks, Hanging 'round a skin game and the Railroad work s…
Offstrings: Inventions for guitar
"Around the turn of the century there seemed to be a wave of guitarists versed in experimental and electronic musics who sought out ways of drawing new sounds from their instrument of choice; the likes of Fennesz, Tim Hecker, Keith Fullerton Whitman (on his still-superb Playthroughs album), Sebastien Roux and Christopher Willits were among the most notable artists in this movement, and now, at the start of a new decade, this excellent album strives to highlight the work of five emerging guitaris…
Olympic Girls
A rare blend of eloquent lyrical craft and explorative musicianship, the songs of Tiny Ruins are etched into the memories of crowds and critics worldwide. Traversing influences that cross genre and era, the artistry of Hollie Fullbrook and her band spans delicate folk, lustrous dream pop and ebullient psychedelia. Building on the sparse arrangements and 'a novelist's eye for detail' (Uncut) cultivated over the past several years, the group's greatly anticipated third album Olympic Girls is reple…
The Ring of the Rise
Smaldone's latest on Immune features much full band accompaniment, exploring sonic reaches of early '70s era Neil Young, or Richard and Linda Thompson's first albums, with electric guitars and homemade tube amplifiers, as well as Micah's familiar acoustic finger-stylings. The Ring of the Rise continues Micah's relentless efforts to mine future truths from the past, this time hauling out a slab of marble spanning the 1950s through the 1970s, veined with slapback echoes, plate reverbs, tube equipm…
Huge Fluid Freedom
Huge Fluid Freedom is a singular melding of American primitive & instrumental guitar rock by one of the most important young guitarists currently mining the underground. Sean Smith
conjures fire and sweat, dew and ash through the guitar. From his Bay
Area locale, Smith has been elevating the language of the acoustic steel
string & exploring volume shredding electric excursions
concurrently for the better part of the last decade, forging a tightrope
walking hybridization of 2 seemingly disp…
Solemns
The 'Prince' & the Marquis (Mick Turner of DIRTY THREE) unfurled the scroll together, with Tren Brother Jim White (DIRTY THREE, CAT POWER) rumbling & banging things & playing drums, & the Bonny gang crew of Van Campbell, Emmett Kelly & Angel Olsen added invaluable dimensions to the moments herein.
Valosta Valoon
"Viewed from the American sub-underground (aka our headquarters), the Finnish scene always looks like a haven of freaks. Surely there are lots of dull rock, pop, and rap outfits from this chilly and heavily forested country, but they don't get exported, so we don't have to hear them. The Finnish bands we've known and loved are psych, prog, hardcore, free jazz, and post-form monsters of all shapes and sizes. A new name to add to the list of Deadly Finns (thanks, Eno) is Niko Karlsson. Well, not e…
Ida Con Snock
An album of new Hurley songs and older, classic compositions from the great American folk outsider, all arranged and performed beautifully at Levon Helm's Woodstock studio. Ida Con Snock has to rank as one of Michael Hurley's most slick sounding enterprises, but it's also a completely natural and untampered with vision of his songs, and there's a tremendous purity of intent resounding throughout pieces like the wonderful and poignant 'Wildegeeses' and the Appalachian fiddle-adorned 'Hog Of The F…
Kietsuzukeru Echo
Kietsuzukeru Echo (which loosely translates to "Disappearing Echo") is Tokyo, Japan stalwart Hisato Higuchi's second offering for Root Strata - his first being an a cappella track for the Tsuki No Seika 7" series in 2011. After over two decades of releases on P.S.F. Records, Family Vineyard, Apollolaan Recordings, and a steady string on his own imprint Ghost Disc, Hisato's latest effort marks a stylistic, yet finely distilled, return to his earliest live sets from the mid-1990s - documented in t…
The Union | A Hem of Evening
Named one of the ten best solo acoustic guitar albums of the year by The Out Door and a top ten album of the year by The Liminal, Tom Lecky’s debut album as Hallock Hill elicited a powerful response when it was first released on CD by Hundred Acre Recordings last May. The album’s unique assembly of stacked and layered acoustic, electric and lap steel guitars delivered a new kind of studio improvisation: pieces that were spontaneously made, yet feel composed, pieces that glide from harmonious to …
World Slide
Courtesy of the same folks who reissued that crazy 'Killing Melody' LP comes an amazing outing from British bluesman Mike Cooper. Since the early 60s he's been active supporting American blues artists such as Jimmy Reed, and Howling Wolf on their UK tours besides earning a crust backing many homegrown R&B bands. He also mastered the steel blues and Hawaiian lap guitar before veering into more avant-garde territory during the 80s, consolidating his various styles into a unique sound. The tracks h…
Three-Lane Blacktop
"Limited to 300 copies LP that bundles a bunch of great performances from the first Charalambides trio line-up featuring Tom and Christina Carter alongside Jason Bill (later of Migrantes). Two full sets that catch the group breaking out from their early Texas-psych sound into a whole new free/folk mutant, with Christina’s jubilant, spooked vocals over rattlesnake guitar and a wash of F/X. Still one of the most important – if relatively unsung – underground rock groups of the past decade plus. Fi…
I Want A Rock & Roll Band / I Got A Lot To Say / Mary Jane
Skip Spence leaves his hotel. Its a cold day in Nashville, climbing to only 43 F in the afternoon. It may be Sunday, but on this day a 22-year-old musician is working at Columbia Recording Studios. Over the past few days, hes recorded a slew of new songs and today will be no different. On December 7, 1968, Skip Spence will record no less than 8 different songs. He has only 3 more days left to finish the album. It's been fast and furious and its also been tough, recording every instrument on ever…
Three Sitar Pieces
"Manufactured Recordings reissues Three Sitar Pieces by trained instrumentalist Pandit Kanwar Sain Trikha, originally released on Vic Keary's underground label, Mushroom Records, in the early '70s. While Vic Keary's background was in reggae, Mushroom Records dabbled in recording a bit of everything. Mostly known for hyper-rare psych, prog and acid folk, Pandit Kanwar Sain Trikha's LP fits in perfectly with their British psych and prog label mates like Simon Finn, Magic Carpet, and Chillum.
Pandi…
Songs Of India
"Manufactured Recordings reissues Songs Of India from prominent vocalist Nitai Dasgupta originally released on Vic Keary's underground label, Mushroom Records, in the early '70s. While Keary's background was in reggae, Mushroom Records dabbled in recording a bit of everything. Mostly known for hyper-rare psych, prog and acid folk, Nitai Dasgupta fits in perfectly with their British psych and prog label mates like Simon Finn, Magic Carpet, and Chillum. Nitai Dasgupta was one of the most talented …
Ilana: The Creator
Born in a nomad camp in Niger and now a leading figure of desert rock, Mdou Moctar stands out as the most innovative artist in contemporary Saharan music. His unconventional interpretations of Tuareg guitar have pushed him to the forefront of a crowded scene. In contrast to polished “world music” fare, Mdou trades in unrelenting grit and has no qualms about going full shred. A long time coming, “Ilana:The Creator” is Mdou Moctar's first true studio album. Recorded in Detroit at the tail end of …
Music On The Desert Road
The late Deben Bhattacharya was a noted Bengali record producer, ethnomusicologist, poet, documentarian, radio producer, and all around renaissance man. Having moved from Northern India to London as a young man, Bhattacharya began working for the BBC as a radio producer. In 1955, having worked all possible angles to securing funding Bhattacharya traveled to India to record musicians. The success of this trip allowed him to travel again soon after to the countries of the Middle East. With recordi…