Folk /
Piwal
Other Minds is pleased to present Piwal by the Balinese composer and gamelan musician Putu Septa. Septa represents a new generation of maverick Indonesian composers, “evident,” as ethnomusicologist Oscar Murakami-Smith writes in his liner notes, “from the title of the multi-movement piece presented on this album—Piwal, a Balinese word which may be defined as ‘rebellion,’ ‘resistance,’ ‘disobedience,’ ‘denial,’ or ‘deviation.’” Piwal is Septa’s attempt to square the traditional lineage of gamelan…
The Story Of Valerie
2025 Stock. The discovery of a cassette of Carola Baer's early 90s private home recordings was the equivalent of finding a needle in a haystack. Made as a one off mixtape of newly recorded songs, and given away to a long-since forgotten recipient, this cassette was found in 2017 at a Goodwill "bins" location in Portland, Oregon. These chaotic, by the pound thrift stores contain 1000's of unsorted items in constant flux, which are only available for the public to buy for a limited time before th…
Eye
*250 copies limited edition* Mariska Baars, aka soccer Committee is a force to be reckoned with: whoever heard one of her albums, or was lucky enough to see her live, knows that no one masters the art of peeling away every unnecessary layer of a song like she does. From the very first notes of 'Eye, it’s clear that Baars is at the peak of her powers. The most traditional songs here remind us why we fell for her songwriting in the first place: they’re delicately strong and quietly fierce. Other p…
In the Wind of Night, Hard-Fallen Incantations Whisper
"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 …
Pantilde
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…
The Sun Is Not True
"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 …
Is Noise Vol. 1
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…
Batch #6 - Party
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…
Land Of Plenty
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…
Kajyadhi Fu Bushi
"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…
Kantalon
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…
Stenhjärta 2
The second album from Stenhjärta follows up Gryning Kommer Röd (Grapefruit Records, 2024) and very much continues in the same vein while approaching a rather damn catchy pop song format at times. Fear not, Stenhjärta is still a group heavily rooted in the Swedish prog/folk tradition of the 70's, the 13 songs here just showcases a somewhat wider scope, the duo taking things a notch further with more elaborate songwriting and a whole slew of wonderful A-sides along the often damaged ride. Lyricall…
Counterclockwise
Faun Fables’ most encompassing collection of “songtelling” to date: a true family album, etched exquisitely and studded with fine-hewed jewels of song. The richly lived-in atmosphere is a sonic world unto itself. Timeless folk music, warmly redolent of traditions passed down in an eternal recurrence that promises renewal – the a joyous counterclockwise movement spread over generation upon generation.
New Music For The 6 String Guitar
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…
Forefowk, Mind Me
The record is largely sung in Scots language, one of Scotland’s three official languages along with Gaelic and English. “Scots gives me a way of expressing myself which is connected directly with the landscapes I love. It brings the songs alive and it is a fascinating language. The name of the record is in Scots - Forefowk means the people who came before, or ancestors. When we say ‘mind me,’ we can mean a few things- remind, remember, watch over or care for me. The record explores how tradition…
Hiraeth
“Hiraeth,” the second collaborative album by Sofie Birch and Antonina Nowacka, explores longing for the intangible. Inspired by Welsh “hiraeth,” the duo’s acoustic improvisations—recorded in Sokołowsko and Copenhagen—prioritize vulnerability, nature, and analog warmth, crafting music that feels alive and deeply connected.
Sunwise
After the remarkable success and acclaim that greeted her second album Carry Them With Us (tak:til / Glitterbeat, 2023), Scottish composer and small pipes player Brìghde Chaimbeul returns with a magic(k)al third album, Sunwise, which sees her push forward experimentally but also immerse her music more deeply in tradition, folklore and mystery. Chaimbeul has travelled in a short time from her roots as a teenage piping contest winner into a fearless, widescreen artistry. She appeared on avant-pop …
Real Essence
2015 release ** Limited edition of 900 hand-numbered copies. "Real Essence is an album made with the acoustic Tricanta Veena, recorded in India, in the spiritually dense hours before dawn. The music of this great comeback by Paolo Tofani is not only for lovers of Indian music. As if Robbie Basho had lived in India, it is influenced by the East and the West. A new music, syncretic and deeply rich in inner peace, recorded with an impressive sound, like a hi-fi demonstration, without any tricks or …
World Behind Curtains
2012 release ** “While guitarist Yair Yona was first lured into the world of acoustic fingerpicking by a Bert Jansch CD that he found in a London shop, the Takoma school is his foundation. Like Steffen Basho-Junghans, he’s embraced this fundamentally American style on its own terms, learned its language inside out, and still made music that’s true to an upbringing on the far side of the Greenwich Meridian.” Recommended if you like: John Fahey, Robbie Basho, Leo Kottke, American Primitive Guitar,…