From: SERBIA (Yugoslavia technically… and perhaps Hungary again)
Dope album that I almost passed on. Really skilled musicianship throughout the entire project. Experimental violin compositions, ranging from somber to goofy, but all excellent and full of life.
Swiss punk. Perhaps a miss, wasn’t too big on it. Little to hectic for my punk tastes. Apparently Switzerland had quite the underground punk scene in the 80’s, figured it was worth digging up.
Pop/soul, almost like a toned-down Janelle Monae, but with less distinction. Some chill production, and overall a decent release, but unfortunately most of the tracks feel unfocused and never really go anywhere. Everything seems to lack a certain passion... not sure if I'd rec.
Sci-fi prog, kinda like is Douglas Adams could play guitar, but with female vocals. This one’s a bit of a cheat, but it’s a cool concept album based on a book the guy wrote around the same time (which… I recently did/am working on… figured I’d give it a go). It's actually much better than I thought it'd be.
Unquestionably essential ‘cool’ camel-riding music. Like, a camel with sunglasses and a blunt. Don’t own a camel? Don’t worry, give it a shot anyway (the record, not riding a camel). The album as a whole is probably 20 minutes too long, but give it a spin. Arab jazz.
I think this is a comp, but a short one. If it weren't for a longer jam at the end, it'd only be around 25 minutes. I think most of the recordings were made in the early 70's, and they aren't terribly clean... unfortunately a few points come up where the vocals really screech. Sounds like something that'd come out of Mali a decade later. They disbanded "shortly before the military coup [in Mauritania] which would spell not only the end of the Orchestra, but the end of a democracy". A couple 7"'s survived.
The instrumentation on this is super chill, and there’s a certain warmth to the cheapness of it all, but I kept feeling like the vocals were getting in the way (recorded badly, a bit piercing). Truly, if this was instrumental only (and maybe…22-23 minutes shorter), it’d be a solid record. Torn, but mostly positive.
I’ve found some albums from Poland that I really dig, and some that I absolutely hate. It’s really a hit or miss country for me. Love Demarczyk, Jacaszek, Komeda, Niechec, Ksiezyc, Merkabah… a few more… So, on Jerzy Milian Trio’s Baazaar, I somewhat expected the same quality as most Polish jazz from the ’60’s. Can’t say it disappointed, but it’s certainly tamer than I would have figured. A fairly straightforward vibraphone jazz record. Good, fresh, worth a listen.
Borderline-jazz highlife played on a kora, excellent album, about as good as you could hope for. Despite the album's length, it doesn't overstay its welcome. A solid rec.
Gotta admit, I picked this up sometime last year in hope of sampling a single track off of it (which I did), but mostly skimmed through the rest. Sat down and gave it a proper relisten. It's a decent record, middle-eastern leaning, slick, well produced, full of flavour, but just lacks a little diversity.
Suuuuper dope stuff from a female DJ/singer/actress in Taiwan. Leaning on the rock side of things most of the time, it's super clean, modern, yet somewhat gritty. Bit tricky to find, but I could share my copy in a sec.
Another revisit. Whack/psych/something with middle eastern vibes. Like listening to drugs. Honestly, I wouldn't even think anyone in Saudi Arabia would consider making music like this. Not for everybody, but I’ll rec it... just perhaps dive into it in small doses.
Unofficial entry, just giving more Victor Jara a listen. Fantastic record.
Diving more into his life, murder and legacy... definitely a heartbreaking story. Hadn't a clue so many artists (U2, The Clash, Springsteen, Bert Jansch, Simple Minds) had written songs about him or covered his music. Don't know how I hadn't heard about him before this year.
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