Spain

[Music] Various Artists – Meticulous Midgets Magazine 2020

/ Rudy Carrera / Leave a comment

Meticulous Midgets is a magazine out of Russia who did me one of the kindest honors by doing a sketch on the blog. I am delighted to return the favor by covering their survey on not only the Russian electronic, avant-garde, experimental and indie music, but a few tracks from the United States, Spain, France, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Croatia, The Netherlands and Great Britain as well. This is a compilation whose broad scope equals that of my colleague Raffaele from Unexplained Sounds Group.

I expected to hear good headphone music, and I am happy to say that the comp delivers handsomely. There are three standout tracks for me:

The whole comp makes for solid listening, but just by hearing these three tracks, you can hear the depth and scope of the sort of music Meticulous Midgets covers. They have made a fan out of me.

[Music] Abdel Karim Ensemble – Joyas de la Música Culta Árabe

/ Rudy Carrera / Leave a comment

As I spent Chinese New Year’s Eve in the company of a friend and watched in amazement as to how empty my part of town was, I decided to call it a night and spent a bit of time enjoying some music.  This was the first result of a healthy list of music I indulged in.  This was my first exposure to the Abdel Karim Ensemble.  I’m looking forward to finding more albums, as they play great traditional music from Syria, Egypt, Morocco and pre-Reconquista Spain.  Magnificent listening.

[Music] Santiago Fradejas – The Box You Sleep In

/ Rudy Carrera / Leave a comment

It’s a very happy occasion when I get to review a new album by Santiago Fradejas!  Our friend, guitarist and composer now based in Barcelona, Spain, comes at us with another disc full of soundscapes which sit well between the more mellow compositions of John McLaughlin, the usual powerful post-Industrial soundscapes, and maybe because I have been listening a lot to him lately, some bits that would not sound out-of-place in a Charles Mingus album.

[Music Podcast] Mundofonías 2017 #66 | Samarcanda, Jerez, La Habana

/ Rudy Carrera / Leave a comment

I implore you, my friends…

Make time to catch the best World Music podcast in the world. Mundofonías‘ Juan Antonio Vázquez & Araceli Tzigane have spent years introducing an international audience to world music with their themed podcasts, and this one is no exception.

To hear this week’s episode, click here or on the image. The track list is as follows:

Zulya – Kubalagem – Aloukie
Zulya and The Children of the Underground – We twelve girls – 3 nights
Ulzhan Baibussynova – Talim – Music of Central Asia, vol.4: Bardic divas, women’s voices in Central Asia [VA]
La Banda Morisca – En toíto yo te encuentro – Algarabya
Manuel Parrilla – Bulerías “Abuelo Parrilla” – Pa mi gente
Burruezo – La mora d’Aragó – Dervishes & troubadours
Mujeres con Raíz – Sale el sol por la mañana – Las edades de la vida
Tündra – Baile de procesión – Bastardüs
Al Valdés y su Conjunto – Guajira – Cuba! Cuba! [VA]
Ignacio Carrillo – Pico y pala – Cuban playground [VA]
Rubén González Jr. – Pianísmo – Best of Cuba [VA]
Rubén González – Descarga Rubén y Cachaíto – Introducing… Rubén González [ed. 2017]
(Ska Cubano – Loca rumba – Cuban playground [VA])