Folk & Traditional / All styles

*The LP also comes with a free CD featuring additional material* This album is a compilation of hard-to-find 7" singles released in Kenya by the Audio Productions stable in the first half of the 1980s and most have never been released outside of East Africa. Amongst others, it features artists such as Super Wanyika, led by the legendary vocalist Issa Juma, originally from Tanzania, who played a pivotal role in the Kenyan club scene in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Also featured is Orchestra Sh…

An exciting collection from pioneering Thai molam idol Banyen Rakkaen, featuring her most thrilling performances from the early to mid-70s, with innovative genre-bending arrangements and production from Thepphabut Satirodchomphu. These tracks, all originally released on 7-inch vinyl, showcase her powerful yet alluring voice, revolutionary yet rooted in tradition. Her exciting performance style was revolutionary and shocked traditionalists, but none could dispute the fact that she was a truly gif…

*Bilingual book in English and Italian* Singer and composer Amelia Cuni (1958-2024) was the first European woman to pursue a professional career in the male-dominated field of dhrupad, a music genre rooted in the temple and court traditions of pre-modern South Asia. Cuni’s pioneering work not only continues to inspire generations of Westerners but also gave dhrupad a contemporary orientation, also influenced by her experiences with avant-garde music. This CD book is a sonic and written tribute t…

2007 release “New minimal full-length album from Family Underground that abandons the drug-hit-sally-inside feel of early Velvets jags for the sound of the last gasp of Lou Reed’s long-suffering amp in the final seconds of ‘Black Angel’s Death Song’ extended to oblivion. Comes in a fold-out four panel digipak.”

2008 release "According to Indian mythology everything was born and will be born with vibration, sound. What Western civilization calls music, is narrow, nothing but strictly controlled thread in that vibrating area. Other kind of threads have been mastered elsewhere. Inevitably these threads will also face each other and become one. Basic note chimes in blues, raga and mantra. I dreamt of musics and players who can modulate with music, no matter which cultural background they come from – I felt…

2008 release ** "Based in Jyväskylä, Finland, Keijo Virtanen (1951-2022) was somewhat of a legend in the whole finnish psych scene (on the same level as Pekka Airaksinen - in fact the two have collaborated before). He’s been working on music for ages but his work has only been starting to get attention during the last few years. This artist’s music is unlike any other, it is often based in ambient and drone and incorporates weird traditional folk instruments from around the world just as much as…

2025 stock "Limited restock, last copies... An original sealed pressing of Michael Yonkers's Michael Lee Yonkers from 1974. Self-recorded in 1971 and '72, Michael Lee Yonkers has often been referred to as Michael's "country" album. It is many folks' favorite of his early works, and is likely the weirdest. The roughhewn quality of these recordings has caused listeners to make comparisons with other "real people" outsiders like Grudzien and the Holy Modal Rounders, but there are more obvious, well…

How can we explain the power of music? How can songs delivered in a language which we don't understand move us so? This collection contains the very best songs from Hongthong Dao-udon, one of the great Thai singers of the "third generation" of Molam singers, one of the artists who succeeded in fusing Molam with Luk Thung, thus triggering a new generation of singers; in fact she was the first to sing both genres from the beginning of her career, considering herself to be situated happily between …

Never Forget Me is the second release on EM Records from Angkanang Kunchai, one of the greatest Thai singers; the original 1979 vinyl release, now extremely rare, was a collection of her self-produced songs, backed by her own band. This radically independent stance, though admirable, caused the album to languish in relative obscurity, due to her lack of support from the business masters of the Thai music scene of the time. "Never Forget Me" is a plea to her fans, and although the original album …

Super Mazembe's "Greatest Hits," serves as a definitive collection celebrating the band's remarkable contributions to East African music. Released in 1986, this compilation features a carefully curated selection of the band's most iconic tracks, encapsulating their vibrant sound and the infectious energy that made them a household name. Highlights include fan favorites like "Shauri Yako"  and "Kasongo" each track showcasing the band's skillful musicianship and unique ability to blend traditional…

Born in the province of Ubon Ratchathani in Isan (the northeastern region of Thailand), Angkhanang Khunchai was a young female prodigy who emerged on the molam scene, and became one of the first generation of molam performers who were able to "sing" popular music. From an early age she was mentored by renowned national molam artist Chawiwan Damnoen, and in her mid-teens joined the legendary musical troupe the Ubon Phatthana Band as the lead vocalist. In 1971 at the age of 16 she released a singl…

A revered figure in his native Isan region, and indeed throughout Thailand, Doi Inthanon is a legendary composer, producer, visionary and talent-spotter, a man who combines business acumen with an unerring ability to both predict and engender new directions in Thai popular music. Fittingly naming himself after the tallest mountain in the nation, he has towered over Thai music since the early 70s, and is still active today. This compilation, the first "various artists" collection in the EM Record…

For reasons unknowable, certain places in certain eras become hotbeds of music, fertile in their growth and flowering of musical talent. Thailand in the 1970s was such a place, and Dao Bandon is one of the enduring greats of that era. Born in the farm country of the Isan region, Bandon came from a poor family and was a monk during his teens, two great influences which shaped him, with his farm roots grounding the earthy heart of his lyrics, and his years of monastic chanting lending a unique res…

Ultra rare album reissue for the first time Worldwide. Fantastic Proto-Zouk from Georges and Pierre-Edouard Decimus. NSI (New sound From the Islands) is a concept launched by the Decimus family, and the album was released at the end of 1981, at the same time as Kassav's Album "N'4" with the singer Jocelyn Moka.

Tip! In a generation of musicians that came of age in postwar Japan, Kazuki Tomokawa stands as a pioneer of radical individualism, with a sound marked by shocking intimacy and blistering honesty. In his third album, A String of Paper Cranes Clenched between My Teeth, released by Harvest Records in 1977, Tomokawa creeps “ever more inward,” as Kiichi Takahara writes in the record’s original introductory text—embracing an attitude pervasive amongst musicians of the time who interrogated the prosaic…

“I keep thinking about this idea that once you think you’re on the path, you’ve lost the path,” says New York musician Devin Shaffer, explaining the ethos behind Patience, her first studio album. “There is no certainty, there is no knowing. It’s all about surrender.” Written between 2021 and 2023 and Shaffer’s move from Chicago to New York City, Patience mirrors life’s highs and lows on the search for spiritual meaning, purpose, and connection. For the first time, Shaffer leads a group of sensit…

Though packaged together, Joshua and Same Day Walking chart distinct worlds. Recorded in northern California and produced by Robby Moncrieff (Dirty Projectors, Zach Hill), Joshua is woolier and warmer, evoking haze, humidity, and overgrown Spanish moss. Meanwhile, Same Day Walking — recorded in Iceland and produced by Moncrieff alongside two-time GRAMMY-winning composer / sound designer Sam Slater (Joker, Chernobyl) — is, appropriate for its icier climes, windswept and beholden to the vast empti…

2024 Stock. Ravi Shankar's son, Brij Narayan, learned to play the sarod, an Indian plucked guitar with a softer sound than its sister, the sitar. He trained with both his father and Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. The eerie Lalit and the peaceful Bairagi Bhairav are played here in the early morning. Lalit is given a 25-minute alap that is played slowly and without accompaniment, and the great Zakir Hussain plays the two pieces for 25 minutes. The shorter Bairagi Bhairav is a treat, full of memorable, beau…

*2024 stock* 3 raga from one of finest sarod's master.

2024 Stock. The most famous exponent of Hindustani flute music is off course the great Hariprasad Chaurasia playing the bansuri (the bamboo flute) and to a lesser extent Ronu Majumdar. In the West, North Indian music has always overshadowed South Indian (Carnatic) music, which is a pity as the latter is as profound and beautiful as the former. North Indian music has changed through the Middle Ages by the Arabian, Turkic and Persian influences the Mogol Invaders brought with them. It had become m…

2024 Stock. Global violin icon Dr. L. Subramaniam, is the world’s leading authority of South Indian classical music and violin, having performed for more than 65 years now. Constantly propelled from Singapore to Paris, from Delhi to Los Angeles, he has conquered every audience with the elegance and virtuosity of his style.  He performed his first concert when he was 6 years old and received the best violinist prize from the President of India H.E. Dr. S. Radhakrishnan for winning the All-India R…

2024 Stock. Builds slowly from the statement of the melody to intense sections of stunning brilliance

2024 Stock. Sensitive sitar from one of the instrument's leading younger exponents, specializing in the vocal-derived gayaki style. Pandit Budhaditya Mukherjee is an Indian classical sitar and surbahar maestro of the Imdadkhani gharana (school), recognizable by his intricate vocalic playing complemented by spectacular high speed playing. He holds a unique distinction of being the ever first artist (not just musician) in history to perform in the House of Commons, London. Famously proclaimed the …

*2024 stock* "Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia has excelled himself in the rendition of raga Patdip in this album. His melodious alaap and creative phrases as only he can, take the listener to the lush meadows of ancient India."

2024 Stock. Ustad Imrat Khan hails from a great tradition of musicians called the Imdadkhani Gharana, named after his grandfather. It has produced great masters of the sitar such as Ustad Vilayat Khan and his son Shujaat Khan, Shahid Parvez and Budhaditya Mukherjee. This renowned gharana specializes in gayaki; the vocal style of sitar playing, which is obvious when listening to this recording, as I can't help singing along with the Ustad's beautiful lyrical playing. Imrat Khan is the master of t…

2024 Stock. This sensuous evening raga for the bamboo bansuri flute was recorded with tabla by Sabir Khan.

2024 Stock. The Sarangi remains not only the authentic and original Indian bowed instrument but the one which most poignantly, and in the hands of Ram Narayan, most revealingly expresses the very soul of Indian feeling and thought. I cannot separate the Sarangi from Ram Narayan, so thoroughly fused are they, not only in my memory but in the fact of this sublime dedication of the great musician to an instrument which is no longer archaic because of the matchless way he has made it speak

*2024 stock* Zia Mohiuddin Dagar was the pre-eminent master of the Rudra Vina, and his profound artistry and understanding of Raga -- and the states of consciousness embodied in them -- is evident on this album. If you appreciate North Indian music, you will probably already know of Dagar Sahib's work. If you are new to the genre, this album may seem abstract if you don't have the knack of going below the usual mind-stuff (with which most of us are preoccupied) to the deep meditative state which…

2024 Stock.  The album presents a deeply meditative world, resonating with the mysteries of India. When it comes to sarangi - a forgotten Indian instrument that has been overshadowed by the violin in terms of popularity and accessibility - nobody can compare to Ram Narayan. Both Ram's growth and the ragas performed on this CD are deeply emotional. Additionally, the tabla playing is both powerful and precise. To experience the ethereal sarangi sound, this is a must-have. Ram Narayan (1927-) is a…

*2025 stock* In 1972, Barry Dransfield recorded his debut solo album. Just called “Barry Dransfield”, the album is a real delight from start to finish. It features an array of traditional songs arranged by Barry, some original ones and some fantastic covers from people like Michael Hurley (“The werewolf”) and David Ackles (“Be my friend”). Sadly, the album was deleted just after nine months from his initial release, because it was released on Folk Mill, a Polydor sublabel created to enter the fo…

*2024 stock* “An authentic legend in Ethiopia, Mahmoud Ahmed has set the bases of a truly original musical style in that he synthesizes the most diverse influences into a language both typical and universal. With his haunting, husky and velvety voice that rises up in wild spirals, Mahmoud Ahmed has invented a world of uncertain borders, an unlikely mix of East-African rhythmic turns, mysterious melodies with refined ornamentation and surprising Indian inflections, all this streaked with electric…

We are delighted to welcome American singer and folk artist Joesphine Foster to Nyahh Records!! This wonderful and strange recording features Victor Herrero , Paz Lenchantin, Michael Zerang and musicians from the village of Joujouka, Morocco. This latest release has Josephine digging deep into her archives.  Raw and wonderful field recordings from Morocco and Spain. Enjoy!!

2025 restock. The World Arbiter label presents 1941 recordings of the Kokusai Bunka Shinkokai -- masters of the koto and shamisen, heard with excerpts from theater and songs performed by many artists born in the Meiji period. They represent the earliest examples of ancient classical traditions. In the late 1930s, Japanese musicologists and experts completed years of work on a project to record their country's musical cultures, starting with ritualized shamanic traditions of the palace's gagaku, …

The fifth and final volume of World Arbiter's Japanese Traditional Music marks the completion of the label's excavation and restoration of 60 10" 78RPM discs of Japanese traditional music, bringing a great body of lost music to light and offering in full a legacy that has been almost entirely unavailable until now, even in Japan. The original set was manufactured in 1941 by a company now called the Japan Foundation, and was intended to be presented exclusively to libraries (though the Japan Foun…

Double LP version, Gatefold sleeve, 8pp booklet. The third part of Ideologic Organ Music’s trilogy of field recordings of sacred flute music from Papua New Guinea, recorded by Ragnar Johnson and Jessica Mayer in the 1970s. A book titled »A Papua New Guinea Journey« consisting of Ragnar Johnson’s account of the circumstances behind the recordings will be published simultaneously with this music release. »The recording of a male initiation ceremony with sacred flutes, bullroarers and ‘crying bab…

Originally released in 1968. Jerry Moore was working as a folksinger in Greenwich Village when ESP-Disk' artist Randy Burns brought him to the label's attention. Recorded in August 1967 at Impact Studios, NYC, the soulful Life Is a Constant Journey Home (also issued at one point as Ballad of Birmingham, acknowledging its most famous and important song) is so legendary that we'll just let the press quotation below describe it. But please also consider this: that's a heckuva band Mr. Moore's backe…

Reed instruments are capable of some of the most impassioned music on the planet, all due to the malleability of the reeds, themselves—historically made of plant tissue – which vibrate when air hits them. The origin of most reed instruments is steeped in rural, pastoral culture. Many insistent, loud, often joyful, reed instruments have always been played outdoors as traditional accompaniment for dancing and celebrations. This compelling album is the second volume in the Excavated Shellac release…

Expansive and ambitious, Tender Revolutions is the latest from Vietnam-born, Portland-based multimedia artist Dao Strom. A fluid album, existing between genres—part ambient folk, part sound collage, part spoken word, part post rock—it blurs the line between the work of an experimental composer and the work of an accomplished singer-songwriter. Instruments slip in and out (guitar, piano, synthesizer, strings, drums, percussion) amid field recordings and samples, all anchored by Strom’s singular v…

2025 stock The best of Khwanta Fasawang, the heart and soulful Sister No. 1 of 1980s Lam Phaen, queen of the cassette era. She was chosen, from over a thousand demo tapes, by legendary producer and songwriter Doi Inthanon, who wanted to create a new, streetwise dance style of molam(*) music. The Lam Phaen genre was the result, and Khwanta Fasawang was the singer he chose to be its representative. Combining earlier musical trajectories with electronic elements and lyrics dealing with drinking and…

2025 stock How can we explain the power of music? How can songs delivered in a language which we don't understand move us so? This collection contains the very best songs from Hongthong Dao-udon, one of the great Thai singers of the "third generation" of Molam singers, one of the artists who succeeded in fusing Molam with Luk Thung, thus triggering a new generation of singers; in fact she was the first to sing both genres from the beginning of her career, considering herself to be situated happi…