The Macedonian Gypsy singer Usnija Redžepova passed away today at the age of 69. I cannot say if she is related to her fellow Gypsy countrywoman, Esma, but when Usnija was young, she looked like Monica Belluci fronting a Roma band. RIP.
70s
[Music] Ferdi Tayfur – Batan Güneş
I wish to thank my Google+ friend and colleague, Mehmet Hanedar, for always providing me with a glimpse into Turkish, Turkic and Central Asia music.
Today’s artist, Ferdi Tayfur, hails from Turkey and was seen as a leading light in Arabesque Music in the 1970s.
[Music] Ken Hyder’s Talisker – Close the Window and Keep It Down (1977)
Ken Hyder is an incredible Scottish percussionist who has worked with some of the most interesting musicians in Great Britain, and as far away as Siberia. This is early material, thankfully reissued and available at Forced Exposure.
[Music] Gianni Ferrio – Il Killer (Shake)
Some happy beat music from Italian conductor and arranger Gianni Ferrio!
[Music] Q65 – Night
Dutch psychedelic band Q65 were a band I discovered reading magazines like Record Collector, who hyped them up as a band with a monstrous reputation. They were, and to my ears, are, among the best bands of the late 1960s.
[Music] Third Ear Band – Inverness: Macbeth’s Return / The Preparation / Fanfare / Duncan’s Arrival
The Third Ear Band were among the first British bands (who shared this affinity with Krautrock projects from Germany) to move into a field we now know today as world music. This piece actually comes from the soundtrack to Roman Polanski’s adaptation of William Shakespeare’s classic tale, Macbeth.
A thanks to Al Clark, who picked up on the errata of this post.
[Music] Love (Japan) – Time Gives Life
Folk-psych from 1977. The band Love is not the legendary Los Angeles band fronted by Arthur Lee, but a Japanese group who churned out at least one magnificent album before disappearing into the aether.
[Music] Urszula Dudziak – Space Lady
Urszula Dudziak is a vocalist and pianist from Poland who did quite a lot of work in the United States during the 1970s.
[Music] Rudolph Johnson – The Highest Pleasure
Soulful jazz-funk by Rudolph Johnson, who sounds like someone Kruder & Dorfmeister would have ripped a riff from.
[Music] Hawkwind – Hassan i Sabbah
It’s almost insulting to call Hawkwind the Grateful Dead of the United Kingdom. There’s simply no comparison. The playing was heavier, the lyrics wittier, and the solo projects also bore much fruit.
No knock on the Dead, who I love in a live setting. But I find Hawkwind to be a much better band.
A Miscellany Of Tasteful Music 