Folk /
Kaikou
Makoto Moroi (1930-2013), his name is well-known early electronic works at NHK electronic music studio, composed numerous works for Japanese traditional instruments during the 1960s and 1970s. His most notable works include "Chikurai Gosho" (1964) and "Uitenpen" (1973), with "Symphonia for S.M. ― Shin" (1972) considered his crowning achievement. On the other hand, this piece, "Kaikou,” had not been revisited since it was broadcast on NHK FM's "Contemporary Music" program on November 2, 1975.
As …
Kizaki Ondo
"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…
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…
Elders of the Begena: The Harp of David in Ethiopia
"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…
Songs of Truth: Music and Song from the Kobzar Tradition of Ukraine
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.
Kyogokuryu-Sōkyoku "Shinshunfu"
"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 "…
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…
Yumi Kagura
"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…
Christer Bothén Donso n’goni
Black Truffle is thrilled to present the first ever solo Donso n’goni recording from octogenarian Swedish multi-instrumentalist Christer Bothén. Active in the Swedish jazz and improvisation scene since the 1970s, often heard on bass clarinet, Bothén travelled to Mali in 1971, eventually making his way to the Wassoulou region in the country’s south where he encountered the Donso n’goni, the sacred harp of the hunter caste of Wassoulou society. Though playing the instrument has traditionally been …
A Collection of Songs in the Traditional & Sean-Nós Style
Nyahh Records is proud and excited to announce this compilation of singers, which has been on the back boiler for some time!! Inspired by the song collecting of Alan Lomax, this compilation brings together two generations of singers from all across the island of Ireland. Some of the songs previously appear on albums, but the rest were recorded by the singer themselves on their phones to give the song a real and raw effect that brings an authentic feel and immediacy to the songs.
A long standing …
Teppana Jänis & Arja Kastinen
Teppana Jänis was born in the village of Uuksujärvi in Suistamo on 21 June 1850. After becoming blind in the late 19th century, he went house to house, supporting himself by playing the kantele, a traditional Finnish and Karelian plucked string instrument belonging to the southeast Baltic box zither family. He performed at dances and in schools, and also participated in the Suistamo kantele and runosong competitions in 1911.
In the summers of 1916 and 1917, the young folk music researcher Armas …
Dancing The Line
Ultan O’Brien is a fiddle player and composer from the wilds of County Clare in the West of Ireland. Ultan is a performer as well as a regular at sessions all of Ireland and can be found by chance in any pub in Dublin, Cork or some remote village on the edge of nowhere, flying jigs and reels around the room. Ultan was reared in the rich tradition of Irish music which is so commonly found and heard in Co Clare, but he also delves deep into sound art and experimental music.
He has often been heard…
A Collection Of Slow Airs By Some Very Fine Fiddlers
Nyahh is honoured to be able to present this collection of airs to you from some of Ireland’s best fiddlers.
老来难 = Old Man Blues
*2025 stock* Born in 1945, Guo Yongzhang has performed zhuizi, a traditional Chinese style of narrative singing, for half a century. An artform whose history spans over a century, zhuizi originated in Henan province. Its main musical instruments are the zhuihu, a two-stringed bowed lute, and the zhuibang, a wooden percussion played with foot tapping. Almost completely blind, Guo Yongzhang is known for his peculiar, resounding yet smooth vocal style. He sings with deep feelings and great verve. L…
Nikhil Banerjee in California 1967
*2025 stock* These are live recordings of Nikhil Banerjee at KPFA Radio in Berkeley, California, on the 9th of July, 1967. It is for the first time they are made into vinyl record and published in China. The original recordings were on two reel-to-reel tapes. In 1988, American record label Raga Records released the recordings on both CD and cassette. Until a few years ago, it was by chance that producer Tu Fei got hold of these reel-to-reel tapes and decided to release this vinyl version, hoping…
Zhuizi Selections
This studio album is recorded after Guo Yongzhang performing on the 5th Tomorrow Festival stage.
Songs of the Civil War
The Civil War, one of the most deeply felt episodes in America's history, has left a heritage of music that reflects those feelings in the most vivid way. Indeed, this music was so intimately involved with events of the time that it became part of those events. These songs were sung in homes, North and South, at rallies, political gatherings and mass meetings, and on the very battlefields. This selection comprises several of the most popular songs of the era. First recordings from original editi…
Centrafrique - Central Africa
A long-time best-seller of the MEG-AIMP collection and long out of print, this album of sanza music recorded among the Gbaya people of the Central African Republic by ethnomusicologist Vincent Dehoux was originally released on CD in 1993. It is now being reissued to coincide with the exhibition Afrosonica - Soundscapes. It features a selection of 'songs for thought': an intimate repertoire conducive to introspection, accompanied by the repetitive, meditative sound of lamellaphones.
s/t
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…
Metamusik Festival Berlin ‘74
Carrying on from recent archival releases from masters of Indian classical tradition such as Kamalesh Maitra and the Dagar Brothers, Black Truffle is pleased to present a previously unheard recording of a concert by Pakistani vocalist Salamat Ali Khan. Born to a musician family in Hoshiarpur in the northwestern state of Punjab, Khan moved with his family to Lahore in Pakistan after the 1947 partition of India, becoming a child musical prodigy. Khan was a master of the kyhal form of Hindustani cl…