And finally, a bit of actual Christmas music from the Greek Orthodox Church.
Greek Music
[Music] Kyriakos Sfetsas – Greek Fusion Orchestra Vol.1
Kyriakos Sfetsas is originally from Lefkadia an island in Greece, and started this particular band in the mid-1970s in order to expand the boundaries of what Greek traditional music is. Apparently, there is a lot more music of his which has yet to be released. This is as fine an intro to his works as one could hope for.
Much love to Teranga Beat, the Senegalese label which will release this masterpiece on May 25, 2018.
[Music] Psarantonis (Ψαραντώνης) – Η στράτα που βαδίζω (The Street I Walk)
Some magic, courtesy of Greece’s finest Byzantine lyra player, Psarantonis.
[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] Giórgis Manolákis, Níkos Sidirokastrítis sto IMK – Médousa
I have absolutely no information at the moment on either Manolákis or Sidirokastrítis, but their song, Médousa, makes for perfectly mellow listening.
[Music] Mehmet Polat Trio – Everything Is In You!
Turkish oudist Mehmet Polat, a familiar name to this blog, has new music available!
[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.
A Miscellany Of Tasteful Music 