Some magic, courtesy of Greece’s finest Byzantine lyra player, Psarantonis.
Cretan Music
[Music] Various Artists – Don’t Let Me Be Lost To You B-Sides: Albanian, Armenian, Greek, Jewish & Turkish Music from the Me Re, Balkan, Metropolitan & Kaliphon Labels
Canary Records owner (and a rather fine experimental musician himself) Ian Nagoski should be commended for his work in bringing to life so many wonderful albums from the turn of the 20th Century cut by Balkan and Jewish musicians who left their home countries and made quite good names for themselves in places like New York City. These recordings are lovingly restored, and apparently are leftover tracks transferred from 78rpm discs for a forthcoming 5-volume / 6-LP series to be issued in early 2019. Considering how lovingly Ian treats this material, this upcoming collection sounds like a grand project!
[Music] Psarantonis (Ψαραντώνης) – In A Fake World (Στον Ψευτη Κοσμο)
Antonis Xylouris, the aforementioned Psarantonis, is a wizard of the Byzantine lyra, a musical instrument with powerful roots in Crete. Several friends have introduced me to his work, and it amazes me that I missed this man’s work for so long.