Folk & Traditional / All styles

*2024 repress* "Osondi owendi. What is cherished by some is despised by others. One man’s meat is another man’s poison. Different strokes for different folks. To each their own. Osondi owendi. It’s a conventional aphorism in the Igbo language but if you utter the word “osondi owendi” in Nigeria today, the first thing that comes to anybody’s mind is the cucumber-cool highlife music maestro Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe and his legendary album that takes its name from the adage. Released in 1984, Os…

Live recording of the final show of SANAM's debut European 2023 tour at London's home for experiemntal music, Cafe Oto.

The third album from Levon Eskenian’s remarkable ensemble is its most adventurous to date. As well as reclaiming the music of esoteric teacher G. I. Gurdjieff for folk instrumentation, Zartir situates Gurdjieff in a tradition of Armenian bards and troubadours including Ashugh Jivani, Baghdasar Tbir and the legendary Sayat-Nova. In parallel, an emphasis on pieces for sacred dance reaches its apex in The Great Prayer, an entrancing collaboration between the Gurdjieff Ensemble and the National Cham…

Stephan Micus is a unique musician and composer. He collects and studies instruments from all around the world and creates his own musical journeys with them. This is his 25th solo album for ECM and its sound is dominated by the four-metre long Tibetan dung chen trumpet, an instrument he has recently learned and is using for the first time. It was the thunderous sound of this instrument that led to the album’s name and its nine tracks celebrating deities around the world. “I dedicate this music …

Amish Records is pleased to finally announce an expanded and remastered edition of P.G. Six’s 2001 debut album, 'Parlor Tricks and Porch Favorites', to be released as a gatefold double LP and digitally on Feb 24, 2023. Fully remastered by Giuseppe Ielasi, artist Meredyth Sparks reimagines the beautiful Chris Krol cover art in an evocative gatefold design.

Singer-songwriter Bob Lind will forever be immortalized by his 1965 hit, »Elusive Butterfly«, but his career is so much more interesting than the fading wonder of that one hit. Once a hard-partying buddy of Charles Bukowski, Lind was the inspiration for the character »Dinky Summers«, a down-on-his-luck folk singer in Bukowski's 1978 novel Women. Lind also doubled as a writer, penning a number of novels and plays as well as serving as a long-time staff writer at the lowbrow tabloid Weekly World N…

"Debut album by this legendary German folk outfit centered around the family core of brothers Christian and Jochen Grumbcow and including Christian's wife, Nanny, as the band's lead singer. Another sample of Dieter Dierk's talent for turning otherwise average folk albums into something else, their album for Pilz was a refined and complex work which included such remarkable guests as Bröselmaschine's Peter Bursch on sitar or Walter Westrupp on flute. A German progressive folk master opus which to…

A fantastic percussive album performed by the Osuwa Daiko Preservation Society and veteran jazz pianist Masahiko Sato. A great blend of avant garde and traditional music recorded at Osuwa Daiko's dojo in Okaya City, Nagano, Japan. The Suwa Daiko is a tradition of Kagura (sacred music and dance) and drums of the Suwa Taisha Shrine that enshrines the life of the Takeminakata (one of god in Japanese mythology). It is a folk performing art that is recorded in an ancient document of the "Koshin-etsu-…

Gwydion Pendderwen was one of the more chatoyant figures of the folk music underground. Both of his albums -- Sings Songs for the Old Religion (1975) and The Fäerie Shaman (1982) -- were far above the average standard folk of his time, especially on his second album from 1982, reissued here for the first time. The Neo-Pagan and environmentalist tried a different path seven years after his haunting debut album, mixing bluegrass, country, gospel, and dixie into classic folky singer/songwriter tune…

Originally released in 1983 in former Yugoslavia, this album is a truly undiscovered gem of ethereal folk music. Pesmi combines the old traditional melodies of Eastern Europe and the Balkan States area with the lush and enchanting instrumentation of late '60s and early '70s folk with elements of progressive folk and singer/songwriter music from England and the USA. This results in a highly-mystifying and still easily folksy piece of exclusively acoustically instrumented music with haunting femal…

Which Way You Goin' Billy?, released in 1969, was the first album from Vancouver, British Columbia band The Poppy Family. The Poppy Family were the Canadian duo of Terry and Susan Jacks, who were husband and wife at the time. Terry Jacks, who four years later would release the ubiquitous "Seasons in the Sun," wrote the song whilst Susan sang lead. Terry was a big Buddy Holly fan, and started writing the song in his pre-Poppy days with the working title "Which Way You Goin' Buddy?" He had the mel…

The title of this album - originally released in 1974 - means “The creation” and Serbian singer Maja De Rado together with her band create a very dreamy and colorful kind of music that merges different pop styles of their time with a folky approach. This album could have easily emerged from the late 1960s West Coast scene of the USA except for having lyrics in the musicians’ native tongue. The lush instrumentation with organs, flutes, acoustic guitars builds a multi layered fruitful soil on whic…

An incredible soundtrack to Donald Prokop's film 'Gone' specially composed by Zelienople - and trust us when we say it's worthy of the cost of admission in itself* This unbelievable album from Chicago's Zelienople evokes the spirit of some of the most treasured music we've come to know over the years, fusing in elements of Talk Talk at their most washed-out, early Bark Psychosis and the narcotic sweeps of Slowdive fused in with the smoky menace of Bohren and Der Club of Gore, Angelo Badalamenti …

Recording is the Trip - The Karen Dalton Archives is a three-LP, three-CD box set, including a download card and a shirt. Three LPs: Includes for the first-time ever on clear vinyl, limited edition the 1962 double live album Cotton Eyed Joe remastered, the 1963 home recordings album Green Rocky Road remastered. The three CDs are the same albums as the LPs. Includes one download card of 13 unreleased home recordings including a mesmerizing take on "God Bless The Child". 56-page book with scans of…

"If American primitive guitar begins with John Fahey and the Takoma School, then the actual origins of this sound are found within this collection of fourteen classic solo guitar performances. Recorded between 1923 and 1930, this set is the 'Rosetta Stone' of style and repertoire tapped into deeply by Fahey, Basho, and Rose, among many others. Sam McGee, Riley Puckett, Bayless Rose, Sylvester Weaver, Lemuel Turner, Frank Hutchinson, and Davey Miller are the rural artists included in this …

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…

"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…

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…

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 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…

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.

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…

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 …

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…

This is the album any record collector would have at the top of his wants list when visiting Spain. No matter if you are into prog rock, psychedelia, leftfield jazz, kraut or just looking for interesting breaks and beats, this is THE record you will need. But let’s face it, there are little chances of coming across an original copy of Pan y Regaliz’s only album; groundbreaking quality music did not sell well in early 70s Spain.Despite the late release date (1971), the album is often compared wit…

Duck Baker is an internationally acclaimed American acoustic finger-style guitarist who plays in a variety of styles: jazz, blues, gospel, ragtime, folk, and Irish and Scottish music. He has written many instruction books for guitar, famously released several albums on Stefan Grossman's Kicking Mule label in the 70's, and later recorded for Windham Hill and Shanachie among others. Les Blues Du Richmond is a collection of previously unreleased early demos recorded for Grossman in the 70's.

Reissued by Fledg'ling in 2005. First released in 1968, Large As Life And Twice As Natural is a tremendous acoustic-folk-blues-jazz masterpiece. As always with Davy Graham, the music seems to defy categorization. Perhaps the simplest description would be "great." On Large As Life And Twice As Natural, Davy is joined by the legendary Harold McNair on flute, Dick Heckstall-Smith on saxophone, Jon Hiseman on drums (both from Colosseum) and Danny Thompson (from Pentangle) on double bass. For this ca…

With a deeply resonant voice that exuded a hundred things at once—pain, joy, weariness and decades ofexperience—Fred Neil created a small body of work that covered the world like paint. No one from the vibrant early '60s Greenwich Village folk scene had more staying power than this legendary recluse. Fred Neil's 1964 debut, Bleecker And MacDougal, captures the great man at the apex of his talents. Exact repro on High-Definition Vinyl, from the original analog masters!"Given the late Fred Neil's …

For centuries, the Jemaa El Fna (Rendezvous of the Dead) has remained the stage for one of the most spectacular social forums on the planet. By day, this central square in the city of Marrakesh, one of Morocco's great imperial cities, fosters a kaleidoscope of entertainment for its local inhabitants; storytellers, acrobats, magicians and snake charmers all create intriguing displays of bewitching spectacle. As the sun sets, the evening grows frantic with the pulse of the crowd; it is then that t…

One word describes the CD If I Could Only Remember My Name from David Crosby...awesome! A real acid folk masterpiece whose inclusion in this catalogue might surprise some of the soundohm website visitors, but here it is. Originally released at the pinnacle of CSNY’s fame—singer-songwriter David Crosby’s 1971 solo debut is a transcendent tour de force that allmusic.com calls, “among the finest splinter albums out of the CSNY diaspora.”

Double LP version. 380 gram sleeve; Includes color insert. Sub Rosa present Music From Yemen Arabia: Sanaani, Laheji, Adeni And Samar a reissue of both Music From Yemen Arabia: Samar and Music From Yemen Arabia: Sanaani, Laheji, Adeni, recorded by Ragnar Johnson and Jessica Mayer. These songs originate from the city of Sanaa, the sheikdom of Lahej and the port of Aden. These songs originate from the city of Sanaa, the sheikdom of Lahej and the port of Aden. Samar is the delicious, luxury tim…

Fifty years ago, Harry Taussig and Max Ochs were featured on a sampler LP, 'Contemporary Guitar - Spring '67', alongside John Fahey, Robbie Basho, and Bukka White. Both guitarists were "re-discovered" by Tompkins Square in 2005, and have since released new recordings for the label. 'The Music of Harry Taussig & Max Ochs' features newly recorded material, commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Takoma sampler they first appeared on.

Flashback present the first ever reissue of John Wonderling's Day Breaks, originally released in 1973. Described by its enigmatic creator as "one of the best-kept secrets of all time," this wonderful set of melodic, wistful ballads was originally released in 1973, but - for unknown reasons - only a handful of copies are known to exist. Featuring backing from some of the best-known musicians of the time, it finally gets its first proper release here, together with background notes and four rare b…

"A companion EP to the recent double LP retrospective This Song Was Borne, Flight Of The Light Air Force features three exclusive tracks by cult favorite outsider-folk duo Fraser & DeBolt. The majestic title track is an outtake from their second Columbia LP With Pleasure; left off that album for reasons of space (it clocks in at eight minutes), it would've easily been the finest song on the record and a highlight of their career. On the flip side, we have two cuts recorded live at a February 197…

One of his earliest LPs in its entirety, Ragas & Talas (origibally on His Master’s Voice ALP1665), issued in 1959 is finally available again. All played with a hypnotic quality that's really wonderful! Indian musician Ravi Shankar (1920–2012) was one of the best-known exponents of the sitar in the second half of the 20th century. In 1956, he began to tour Europe and the Americas playing Indian classical music and increased its popularity there in the 1960s through teaching, performance, and his …

A collection of 16 pieces privately released by Norma Lyon in the late 1960s. All are original compositions for piano and organ. Dark, moody and dramatic, each of these 'sketches' was inspired by a place Ms. Lyon has lived. The tone of the record is set by its fantastic titles, including 'Flight of the Spirit Geese,' 'Phantom Cathedral of the Sea' and 'Dirge of the Sea Gods.' The first side, 'Dune Sketches,' is based on a period when she lived amidst the dunes in southwest Oregon. The sec…

Matt Valentine and Erika Elder have been cutting new synaptic pathways through brainic underbrush since before most people became capable of breathing air. That said, their albums (many of which are CDR-only issues on their own Child of Microtones imprint) often have a specific delirious blueprint, designed to shift only a certain batch of molecules and/or air into forms that translate into music. Such is not the case with Alpine Frequency. This lazily explorative 2LP set was sewn into a w…

Yann Novak is a multidisciplinary artist based in Los Angeles. Ornamentation is Novak's first physical release on Touch and continues his investigations of presence, stillness and mindfulness through the construction of immersive spaces, both literal and figurative. On Ornamentation, Novak resists modernism's problematic relationship to race, class and labor, and attempts to decouple contemporary minimalist sound work from this historical precedent. The title refers to Adolf Loos's notoriou…