Another smooth, mellow, and intricate gem, courtesy of Lakshminarayana Shankar, the Indian-born violinist, in collaboration with some of the best sidemen on the ECM roster, like Garbarek, Hussain and Gurtu.
Ethnic
[Music] Milcho Leviev – Dave Holland – Cavatina
Bulgarian pianist Milcho Leviev came to my attention about 20 years ago via the Los Angeles record label MA Recordings, a high-end label. I was floored by the quality of his playing, and wondered why he didn’t receive more attention in the US than he has. Bassist Dave Holland needs little introduction, as he has a flood of crucial records on labels like ECM Records.
[Music] Grupa Marina Škrgatića – Čežnja
Grupa Marina Škrgatića are one of a score of magnificent groups which came out of the former Yugoslavia who produced music of ridiculously high quality. As usual, there’s little information in English about the band, so it’s best to use Chrome or Firefox and see if you can translate this.
[Music] Peace & Love – Tijuana
Peace & Love were a psychedelic rock/garage band out of Mexico. There isn’t much available about the band in English, but for those who can handle Spanish, this website gives a nice synopsis of their career.
[Music] Isihia [Исихия] – Lord I Called Thee [Господи Возвах]
[Music] Boomerang – Mirage (Kazakhstan/USSR, 1986)
Another Soviet ethno-jazz project of high quality. Boomerang hailed from Kazakhstan, and this particular album is considered their rarest.
[Music] Gregory Ayriyan – s/t
After years of having to let this project lie dormant, I’m proud to announce the resurrection of my record label, the Carrera-Linn Cultural Exchange (CLCX). Our first release is from the Russian-based Armenian-American violinist Gregory Ayriyan, who composed all but three of the tracks on this disc. The other composers include Sayat Nova, Komitas, and Niccolò Paganini, so he interprets the cream of the crop.
[Music/Podcast] Sneum’s Palads / Lake Radio
Two radio programs to share from Jan Sneum, a wonderful radio host and commentator I met at the Without Borders Festival in Balchik, Bulgaria.
For more like this, subscribe to The Lake Radio’s Soundcloud feed.
[Music] Sato – Pereday Dabró Pá Krúgu (Uzbekistan/USSR, 1987)
Through scouring the net over the past 20 years, I’ve come to find that Uzbekistan hides a treasure trove of music. First, prog-rock seems to be relatively popular there (bands like Fromuz and magazines like ProgressoR come to mind).
However, this release was a true gem. Ethno-jazz performed by the band Sato, who have almost nothing in terms of information online.
Thanks to the blog Digg Hop for the information they provided to an intriguing band.
[Music] Louvat Bros. – Manastir
One of the reasons I enjoy going every two years to the WithoutBorders Festival, held at Balchik Castle near Varna, Bulgaria, is first, for the camaraderie between those of us who want to promote good music. The second reason is that the talent on display is magnificent.
The Louvat Bros. are from Belgium, but you’d never know it if you didn’t hear them speak. They have a passion for Americana which dwarfs the modern bluegrass scene in the United States. They’re also not afraid to take risks, mixing influences from Bulgaria, Hungary and the Celtic world.
A review of their recent release on Acoustic Music Records from Germany is forthcoming.
All thanks to Patrick De Loecker for introducing me to their music.
A Miscellany Of Tasteful Music 