MANDALAY MARIONETTE MUSIC The Magic Of Burma (Blueberry Buddha) cd-r 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
If you like the wonderful Sublime Frequencies series that we've been in love with here at AQ, here is a new cd-r compiled by an AQ customer that is not a part of that series but for sure captures the same sprit and raw aesthetic as those releases. These are sounds rarely heard outside of Burma. A drum and gong ensemble that accompanies marionette performances which is part of a tradition found both in India and China. During these performances the gong ensemble of 21 or 22 drums are tuned by adding or removing a paste (yes, paste) located at the center of each drum head. The paste itself is a mixture of ash and rice powder. The sounds that are created are so amazingly raw and pleasing. Often instrumental but at times off kilter female vocals lay on top of the percussion. You get the feeling everything could all fall apart at any moment and that sense of chaos mixed with sounds steeped in a rich tradition all make for a totally one-of-a-kind listening experience. We love how it's playful, rhythmic and at times catches a blissed out blown out vibe that you could imagine hearing as part of a warped Boredoms side-project. This recording was taken straight from a cassette that made its way to the states. With no information inside and several unsuccessful attempts to get a hold of anyone involved in the project in Burma, Blueberry Buddha decided to release on c-r a very limited run with all profits going to Burma Forum a nonprofit group which serves as a watchdog and advocate of humanitarian issues in Burma. Highly recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Candle Light Dance"
MPEG Stream: "Pagan Dance 1"

MANGESHKAR, LATA The Queen of Bollywood; Bhajans and Raga-based Filmi (Rough Guides) cd 14.98
In the Rough Guide To Bollywood Legends series. She is a Legend indeed.

MILLIS, ROBERT Leaf Music Drunks Distant Drums: Recordings From Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar (Anomalous) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
It seems like field recordings from southeast Asia have become one of the most popular emergent genres here at Aquarius Records. And while we're not sure if just 'cause you took a trip and recorded stuff you should really get your name on record (like you're some sort of hoity-toity 'sound artist'), we still appreciate the efforts of such recordists as Loren Nerell, the Bishop brothers, and now Robert Millis. The truth is, ambient sound from some street in Thailand or Indonesia can be a lot more fascinating than yet another disc of computerized feedback or lowercase glitch! Never a substitute for going places yourself and using your ears (and other senses) but certainly a valid listening option at home. So no complaints, we'll continue to sing the praises of quality releases in the 'field recordings' genre like those on the Sublime Frequencies label. And certainly if you liked the recent Princess Nicotine disc on Sublime Freq, you'll probably also want to check out Leaf Music Drunks Distant Drums. Actually Millis (a member of American experimentalists Climax Golden Twins) had some involvement in the production of the Sublime Frequencies' dvd release Nat Pwe: Burma's Carnival Of Spirit Soul, and portions of this release were recorded on the same 'expedition'. Listening to this artfully edited distillation of the hours and hours of recordings that this disc represents, you'll be able to tell that Millis obviously spent a lot of time on the ground in SE Asia, ears alert for interesting sonics (musical and otherwise). It'll transport you into an environment that includes the following and more: "improvisation performed by an elephant mahout using only a leaf, ethereal temple orchestras, blind street musicians, insect choruses, stagecoach rides, singing cabbies, drunken spirit orchestras performing Leo Sayer songs..." Byram was especially taken with the track that sounds like a guy sobbing through a bullhorn! A great listen thats very well mixed, segueing nicely, and at a nice pace, from track to track.
MPEG Stream: "Blue Jeans Salesman, Thailand / Morning Sermon, Cambodia"
MPEG Stream: "Blind Street Singer, Thailand"
MPEG Stream: "Distant Drums, Cambodia"

MYSTERIOUS THAI LP (Mississippi / Exiled) lp 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A while back we reviewed a cd called Siamese Temple Ball. A truly mysterious disc, with very little in the way of liner notes or any information really, but a record that we all became a little obsessed with and thus listened to it NONstop. We sold tons of copies too.
Then recently, we get a new batch of records from the always amazing Mississippi Records, and one of the records is entitled simply Mysterious Thai LP. So of course we're intrigued. We throw it on, and lo and behold, it's the very same record. Siamese Temple Ball, now on vinyl.
Not sure how this happened, if it was random, or if as we posited back in the day, that maybe Siamese Temple Ball was not actually music from Thailand, but an incredibly well played homage by some Sun City Girls-like worshippers of Eastern musical tradition. Hardly matters, the music is fantastic, wild, emotional, dense, joyous and yes, very very mysterious.
The cd version featured a sticker that proclaimed in faux pidgen English: "Flight comes to Thailand in the Year of the Rat. Siamese Temple Ball provide the lilting soundtrack for a chemical journey. Schoolgirls dance bashfully for the expectant throng. Life continues at a comparatively slow pace away from the rigours of fierce sun-light." Which was then followed by the (label's) description: "In the tradition of Sun City Girls, Ya Ho Wha 13, The Spacious Mind, Taj Mahal Travellers, Mu, Word of Life, Group 1850, and Ghost, Siamese Temple Ball give maximum pleasure for thirsty brains."
Quite a roster of comparisons, the most fitting of which is definitely the Sun City Girls. So while we assume that this record was recorded by a group of precocious, dilettante, ethnomusicologist hipsters, we like to suspend our disbelief and imagine this to be a genuine Folkways-style field recording, as the recording certainly has a genuine field recording presence - a single stereo microphone in a good location. The music itself is a catchy and mesmerizing steady pulse of various and sundry percussion instruments (metal, wood, skin), hollers, yelps, and rococo melodic lines spun out by tinny electric guitars, xylophones, flutes and Khan (mouth organ.) And besides all that, it's really pretty great!
The Mississippi lp version has all new artwork, even more mysterious than the cd, housed in a thick matte finish sleeve, with NO information at all, not even on the lp labels. We're not sure in what capacity, but it was apparently put out in conjunction with Exiled - also from Portland - another great record store. So recommended. And of course, probably WAY too limited...
MPEG Stream: "Track 1"
MPEG Stream: "Track 2"

NAT PWE Burma's Carnival Of Spirit Soul (Sublime Frequencies) dvd 26.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Like the Jemaa El Fna DVD on Sublime Frequencies, the Nat Pwe DVD also contains no voice over, authoritative or not, to mis-guide you through the festivities. Instead, using the camera in the same way someone might make a field recording in the traditional auditory realm, you are led merely by the camera angles and edits chosen. As a way of background, here's what Sublime Frequencies writes about the event contained here: "In Burma, many people believe in ghost spirits called NATs. These spirits are historical figures who met tragic or violent deaths. They are said to possess the power to assist or devastate the lives of those who recognize them. A PWE is a ceremony held to appease a Nat. Pwes are arranged daily throughout Burma for many purposes including the achievement of success in business, a happy marriage, or improving one's health. A Nat is summoned through a Kadaw; the flamboyent and charismatic master of the Pwe dressed in elegant costume. The Kadaw is a spirit medium, dancer, storyteller, and magician who exposes the crowd to a living incarnation of the Nat brought forth through opening ritual and careful observance of tradition. Many of the Kadaws are male crossdressers performing the role of female Nats and the Nat culture attracts the homosexual, occult, artistically expressive and more outgoing elements of the Burmese population. Cash money is thrown and cigarettes and whiskey are hand delivered by the Kadaw to the willing faithful. Audience participants are often ecstatic, spontaneously launching into trance as the Nat spirit possesses their bodies while the melodically ornamental and thundering sound of the Nat Pwe orchestra plays on as perhaps the last, great unknown musical juggernaut existing anywhere. Each Pwe has its own mood and Nats can dictate a variety of happenings and unpredictable phenomenon. Since the 11th century, there have been 37 officially recognized Nats and every August, in the village of Taungbyon, there is a festival dedicated to two of them. This festival is one of the greatest spectacles on earth. At the peak of the Taungbyon celebration, there are dozens of very intimate venues holding continuous Pwe's for 48 hours without interruption bubbling with excitement and intensity all within the narrow alleys of bamboo shelters amidst a vibe of mysterious, electric charm. What results is the magnetic, unexplainable concoction of conservative tradition, free expression, music, dance, spirit possession, and anomolous synchronicities of Burma's Carnival Of Spirit Soul." Insane stuff. The film begins in the daytime following hundreds of pilgrims as they make their way to the event and ends late into the night after the festivities have reached a zenith of frenzied performance and audience participation. The camera wanders from tent to tent, each one containing a Kadaw, a Nat Pwe Orchestra (a completely crazed percussion ensemble about as removed from Burmese Harp music as you can get) and crammed with people making offerings (mostly pinning money to the Kadaw's head dress and blouse). There's really no way to do it justice in describing this event. If there were ever a comparison in the U.S. it would have to be like a transvestite tent revival held in a New Orleans graveyard with musical accompaniment by the Ruins. Running 85 minutes, I've found this disc also works nicely just as an audio recording. For those of you with a multi-format disc player, it makes a truly cool CD as well. While we forwarn those living overseas that this disc is NTSC, it is also region-free, so if you can handle the format you're in like Flint. Comes with an 8 page booklet of notes and photos.

NATH FAMILY Sounds of the Indian Snake Charmer (Hanson) lp 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
On a brief break from bursting ear drums and shredding synthesizers and destroying clubs in Wolf Eyes, Aaron Dilloway spent a brief period living in Nepal with his wife. While she studied, Dilloway wandered the streets, where he encountered the Nath family, Titu, Kala, Sukha and Ram Chendra, three generations, all street performers, hustlers, and SNAKE CHARMERS. Well, Dilloway quickly befriended the family, hung out, drank, smoked and most importantly recorded their amazing talents. Haunting and dizzying Eastern melodies, performed on traditional bamboo reed instruments called pungis and accompanied by a stringed percussion instrument called a premtal. So lovely, swaying and swooning, droney and buzzy, all hovering above a fluctuating framework of tribal percussion and shuffling, rattling rhythms. At times playful and bouncy (supposedly that's some Bollywood music) but more often mesmerizing and hypnotic, a wavering warbling drone. You can't really hear the swaying cobras, but if you listen really close you can hear folks walking past, talking, cars, all adding to the feeling that you are right there, in an alley in Nepal, seated before huge hooded snakes, being lulled into a trance by the endlessly droning Eastern buzz. Comes in a super snazzy three color silkscreened sleeve. Vinyl only, and limited!!

NATH, PANDIT PRAN Earth Groove: The Voice Of Cosmic India (Change / Mississippi) lp 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
***MISSISSIPPI RECORDS!!!***MISSISSIPPI RECORDS!!!***MISSISSIPPI RECORDS!!!***MISSISSIPPI RECORDS!!!***
Like a Pavlovian bell, just the mere utterance of this vinyl-only Portland label gets everyone aflutter, ready to eagerly acquire, no matter what the sounds contained inside. We suppose if they put out a record solely of sounds made by cement mixers, back-hoes or traffic noises and packaged it in a sweet homemade album cover with nostalgic photos of antique construction equipment, and called it something like "My Heart Belongs To The Public Works", we'd sell out of them just as fast as their awesome compilations of pre-war blues or their reissues of obscure post-punk groups. As cool as that actually sounds, the not one, but TWO Mississippi releases we have this week are both super stellar and we know everyone is going to want at least one if not both of them.
Earth Groove is a reissue of the debut 1968 recording by Master Hindustani classical singer Pandit Pran Nath. Considering his major influence on the giants of twentieth-century minimalist composition and drone music of all forms, as well as the amazing dearth of available recordings on cd let alone on vinyl, this is a MUST HAVE!! Featuring two fantastic side long ragas, Raaga Bhoopali designed for meditation after sunset and Raaga Asavari designed for meditation after sunrise, this is spiritual music of the highest order made for the purpose of destroying negative energy. But it is its amazing sounds of buzzing tamboura drones and tabla rhythms with Pran Nath's perfectly intonated and slowly unfolding vocal style that should please all fans of otherworldly cosmic sounds.
Master of the Kirana Ghirana school, it is believed that Pran Nath spent five years of his life in a cave perfecting his austere intonated singing style. Heavily emphasizing the alap, the opening section of the raga that is unmetered, improvised and unaccompanied (except for the tamboura drone), that sets up a slow tempo and can often last more than an hour. Pran Nath's unwavering adherence to the principles of his vocal style was not that popular to the ears of modern Indians, but it is this recording that reached the open minds of minimalist composer La Monte Young and visual artist Marion Zazeela who persuaded Pran Nath to move to America and start his own school of music in New York. Just rattling off the names of his top students shows what an indelible influence Pran Nath was to late twentieth century music: Terry Riley, Charlemagne Palestine, Henry Flynt, Jon Hassell, Douglas Leedy, Don Cherry, Lee Konitz, Jon Gibson, Yoshi Wada, Rhys Chatham, Michael Harrison, W. A. Mathieu, Sufi Pir Shabda Kahn, Catherine Christer Hennix, and Simone Forti. Enough said.
After being completely enraptured with the extensive and expensive double disc Midnight we reviewed a while back, some folks may not have had the time or means to see what we were raving about, so it's really nice to have this perfect and affordable introduction to Pran Nath's intense and penetratingly beautiful sound world, while they last!

NATH, PANDIT PRAN Midnight / Raga Malk (Just Dreams) 2cd 41.00
This recording, the musical life of Pandit Pran Nath, his influence on Western minimalism, his importance to music, both modern and traditional, is steeped in history, but just as important, if not harder to describe, is the sound. A warm drifting dreamscape, layers of buzz and hum and drone, Nath's perfectly intonated vocals, hovering weightless above a thick swirl of Sitar string buzz and slowly shifting drones. This is true drone music. Warm and rich, thick and effervescent. Densely layered but light and airy. Truly difficult to describe, but a record that has immmediately become one of the most played / listened to records around these parts. Nath spent most of his life studying and performing in India, and became well known for his strict adherence to the authentic rendering of traditional ragas and an unwillingness to change his style or sound to be more 'modern'. His focus on the slower 'alap' sections of ragas was an obvious influence on seventies minimalists like La Monte Young and Terry Riley (both students of his), and other students / followers included Don Cherry, Rhys Chatham, Henry Flynt and many others. He eventually became a US citizen and continued performing, composing and teaching right up until his death. There is a definite dearth of recordings, considering how long Nath had been performing, this 2 disc set was originally released in 2002, and has luckily been reissued. The price tag is steep, but once these sounds hit your ears, any thoughts of price or money as well as all of your other earthly worries will just drift away. Both of these performances, one from 1971 recorded in San Francisco, the other in NYC in 1976, feautre Nath accompanied by Western musicians, Terry Riley, Ann Riley, La Monte Young and Marian Zazeela, who seem perfectly in tune with Nath's sound and vision. Anyone who loves the music of Chalk, Coleclough, Mirror, Ora, Organum, any of that minimal drone music, would do well to dig deep and discover the roots of that music. This is most definitely some of the most beautiful, transcendental drone music we have ever heard.
MPEG Stream: "Midnight (4 VIII 71 SF)"

NATH, PANDIT PRAN The Raga Cycle, PalaceTheatre, Paris 1972 (Sri Moonshine) cd 15.98

MPEG Stream: "Untitled 1 (Excerpt 1)"
MPEG Stream: "Untitled 1 (Excerpt 2)"

NWE, U YEE Sandaya: Spellbinding Piano of Burma (Shanachie) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
In the late 19th century the Burmese (now Myanmarese) were introduced to the piano and were immediately impressed with the exotic instrument. They set about learning to play the entire repertoire of Burmese harp (the most refined music of Burma) and other court musics on it. In the process they developed a new genre of Burmese music (disregrading European methods completely) known today as "Sandaya." Master pianist U Yee Nwe plays traditional and contemporary pieces both solo and accomanied by traditional instruments. A beautiful combination of the strangely familiar and plainly foreign.

OMAR, USTAD MOHAMMAD Virtuoso From Afghanistan (Smithsonian Folkways) cd 16.98
Reissued now for obvious reasons, this 1974 concert recording documents an example of the vital and exciting musical tradition that Afghanistan's former Taliban regime attempted to outlaw. The late Ustad Mohammad Omar was most certainly a virtuoso on the short necked lute called the rabab (similar to India's sarod). Here, he's heard accompanied by the percussion of now-famous Indian tabla player Zakir Hussain. The rabab, considered Afghanistan's national instrument, is played with a pick called a shahbaz, and has a deep, resonant, mesmerizing sound. The Afghan classic music heard here features lovely, stately melodies and much rhythmic improvisation. By the end of the first, 20+ minute track here the listener will be utterly entranced. And of course Smithsonian Folkways does their usual thorough job with the booklet's informative text.
RealAudio clip: "Emen/Tintal"

ONRA Chinoiseries (Baked Goods) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Every crate digger worth their salt has come upon the Asian record dilemma. Records (often Chinese) that look so awesome and full of promise with their mysterious photography, strange graphics and humorous English misspellings, only to be underwhelmed by the most boring, pedestrian and oft-times sickly sweet music contained within. But what's a cratedigger to do when they are actually IN Asia and have to wade through stacks upon stacks of such records knowing they can only bring home a tiny batch? That's the dilemma the French-Vietnamese producer Onra found himself in on a trip to Vietnam where scouring through various flea markets, he picked up a stack of promising but highly worn records. Like the best of recent instrumental hip-hop records by J Dilla, Madlib (especially his Beat Konducta Indian series), and Oh No processed through the radio collage filters of Sublime Frequencies, Onra was able to mine pure gold from the scratchy sounds he collected abroad. Bits of operatic theater, odd sixties easy-listening covers, traditional flute and string ensembles, love songs and obscure soundtracks chopped into loops and grooves with all the rough crackle and sheen kept in tact. Soooo Awesome!!!!
MPEG Stream: "I Wanna Go Back"
MPEG Stream: "Dark Sea"
MPEG Stream: "Here Come The Flutes"
MPEG Stream: "The Vallee of Love"

ORAZBAEVA, RAUSHAN Akku (Dunya) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
WOW!!! When I (Irwin) started working at AQ over a year ago it was kind of like being the luckiest kid in the greatest candy store ever. All this amazing music surrounding me, every day getting to hear something I'd never heard and being blown away again and again. Of course like any good obsessive music fanatic I tried to think of some titles that maybe the store didn't have but totally should. This disc by Kazahkhstan's Rausan Orazbaeva was pretty much at the top of my list. Allan and Andee were able to get some for the store but we never were able to get enough to list...until now! So what has been a nice little secret for our in store shoppers can now be a treasure for everyone to enjoy. Orazbaeva is considered to be the greatest living interpreter of her highly unique instrument, the kyl-koblz, which is kind of like a 2 string cello held vertically and kept very close to the body when bowed. Orazbaeva is a pioneer in many ways, one of which is that it hasn't been until very recently that Kazakh women were even allowed to play this sacred instrument. But what makes Akku such an amazing record is not just that Orazbaeva is a master at her instrument but like those few rare masters she also evokes so much soul, emotion, fragility and power in her playing. These are sounds that you just have to surrender to. Graceful yet commanding. Flowing with beauty but also with moments of dynamic dissonance. Even this week when Andee had a million reviews to be writing and should have been glued to his desk he couldn't help but come up front every time we were playing this just to get a closer listen. You could almost imagine folks like Bjork and the Kronos Quartet freaking out and thinking how great it would be to collaborate with her. The kind of record that transcends genres, traditions, and geography and lands itself in that special section in our record collections designated for absolute brilliance! (In case you come in, don't look for the "Absolute Brilliance" section, cuz it doesn't really exist, but you know what we're talking about...)
MPEG Stream: "Akku"
MPEG Stream: "Kazan"
MPEG Stream: "Ykhlas"

ORGUES-A-BOUCHES RITUELS DES MURUNG s/t (Inedit) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
AMAZING! Sounds like experimental electronic or ambient beauty, yet it's done completely on mouth organs in Bangladesh. The Murung people are an isolated society from a densely forested region of Bangladesh. Just as their religion has remained a type of spirit worship, Murung's ritualist music has developed independently from the rest of the world. It is a hypnotic cyclical music which has preceded the minimalism of Terry Riley and Steve Reich (but done much better!!!) by eons. The Murung perform their songs on 'plung' - mouth organs built of gourds punctured by bamboo and reeds resulting in eerie sustained trills. It may be an irrelavent point, but during these rituals, the Murung get pretty drunk on rice beer - yet remain calm, mirroring the methodic pulse of the ecstatic sounds emanating from their mouth organs. An excellent documentation. Anyone who enjoyed the compilation of music by the Ede people of Vietnam which was one of our 'records of the month' back in February should check this out too!

RealAudio clip: "Piece Pour Orchestre De Plung"

PAING ENSEMBLE, NAI HTAW Mon Music of Burma (Fire Museum) cd 13.98
There is something so thrilling about Burmese instrumentation. The Nai Htaw Paing Ensemble are regarded as masters of traditional Mon music. Using instruments like the Kyam (known as the crocodile zither, a 3-string zither with frets shaped like a crocodile), the Batt Kine, a row of around fourteen pitched gongs, and the Mon violin, a three-string fiddle that's played upright. While this isn't as damaged or fucked up as some of the music from Burma we've gotten our hands on in recent times (like the amazing Mandalay Marionette Music disc we listed at the end of last year), this is still pretty amazing. A really nice example of the more traditional yet still totally fascinating feel of Burmese music.
MPEG Stream: "Dosa Kyam (The King Crocodile's Anger)"
MPEG Stream: "Gwet-Done Glone"

PANDIT, KORLA The Grand Moghul Suite / The Universal Language Of Music (Cherry Red) cd 17.98
While Esquivel, Les Baxter and Arthur Lyman are usually the first names that come to mind when people talk about classic exotica, for our money the leader of the pack should for sure be Korla Pandit. Filled with charisma and a quirky disposition he used his Hammond B-3 organ to create sounds that evoke the sounds of a haunted carnival in a mysterious section of India via a b-movie made on a back lot of a studio in Hollywood. Pandit is best known for his TV show which aired in the 1950's on KTLA and through syndication throughout lots of the country.
You got to check out Youtube clips of it right away, it's simple and stunning black & white filmstock zooming in on the beautiful face of Pandit as he wailed away on his organ, sometimes even playing two of them simultaneously. Adorned in a turban, a voice-over would introduce him and his 'Universal language of music.' While it was often believed that he was born in New Delhi the truth was he was actually born in Missouri and was truly one of the first iconic musicians to create such an elaborate alter ego. We love how Pandit's music was not just throwaway novelty fare. There is true mystique, suspense and playful uneasiness in the sounds he created. It makes so much sense that shortly before Pandit died Tim Burton made sure to get him on the silver screen for a cameo role in Ed Wood. It also makes so much sense that after his run on the KTLA show he was replaced by Liberace. While Liberace may have gained more fame and fortune, Pandit is the one who taps into the imagination and hearts of those of us who love strange and enchanting sounds.
MPEG Stream: "Magnetic Theme"
MPEG Stream: "Trance Dance"
MPEG Stream: "The Banjello"

PARVEZ, USTAD SHAHID Kushal (Dunya) cd 17.98

PHI TA KHON Ghost Of Isan: Thailand's Psychedelic Ghost Festival (Sublime Frequencies) dvd 22.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
It starts with an old man firing a rusty old shotgun into the sky, and from that point on, it's a dizzying three days of festivities, music, dancing, and lots and lots of drinking. Oh and quite a few giant phalluses. A local medium deems what day to begin, and on that day the three day festival of Phi Ta Khon commences, a tribute to ghosts and demons, which occurs at the beginning of the rainy season, and is meant to ensure healthy and bountiful crops. Like all the Sublime Frequencies DVD's it's a fascinating and overwhelming experience. A new world, a completely wild and wonderful celebration, a community banded together, dancing and singing and drinking toward a common goal. And it definitely feels like you are right there. Houses and people, animals, foliage, musicians, parades and processions. And rice wine. A whole section is dedicated to Isan's liquor of choice, and the Phi Ta Khon festival does indeed involve much drinking. Pretty much every stage of the festival is marked by ritualistic imbibing of spirits. Which might go to explaining why it's such a crazy three days.
Another important part of the festival is the creation of incredibly elaborate masks, so intricate and amazing, beautiful and creepy. A dizzying array, from long fanged demons, to mysterious winged bird creatures, to super colorful, kabuki style headdresses. Part of the festival used to involve tossing the masks into the river at the end of the festival, but folk art collectors would fish the mask out of the river to sell them, so now they are saved to be used again, or the mask makers sell the masks themselves.
And the phalluses. Everywhere. Puppets, masks, staffs, all in the shape of giant vividly painted members. It is supposedly good luck to touch the wooden members. They provide comic relief and encourage licentious behavior.
It's totally mind blowing to experience another culture's customs so immersively. For many of us who might never get a chance to visit Thailand, these dvd's are amazing tools, helping us to learn about, understand and enjoy the art and music and culture and magic of other peoples. It's also amazing to note how little violence and aggression there is even with three days of nonstop drinking. Hard to imagine something like that ever happening here without at least one fight or someone getting shot.
The dvd comes with a bonus short film, Spirit House, a video tour of various Spirit Houses filmed over repeated visits to Thailand. Spirit Houses are a bit like our graveyards but so much more colorful and intricate. Supposedly these houses are home to departed loved ones and guardian spirits and are decorated as such, bright colors, multiple levels, lots of windows and doors, small statues, shapes and images, a gorgeous brief glimpse into the spirit world. With haunting musical accompaniment by the Climax Golden Twins.
Finally, the accompanying music is fantastic, it's Molam, which was featured in a previous installment of the Sublime Frequencies cd series, a glorious lively festive music, characterized by lilting almost yodelled male / female vocals, mouth organ, performing traditional Thai songs, often arranged for modern instruments, but still closely connected to the past (Butthole Surfers lifted a Molam classic for their song "Kuntz" on Locust Abortion Technician).
Absolutely amazing. And of course very recommended. As is the Molam: Thai Country Groove From Isan cd which we also stock!

RADHAKRISHNAN, PRASANT East Facing (Lotus Music) cd 14.98
When it comes to specific musical instruments it's definitely tough for us to be won over by the sax. It's an instrument that all too often employed by those who have no business using it (think Kenny G, bad '80s pop rock, etc.) It's questionable use has made it so that even in respected jazz we almost cringe at its use unless its by one of the very few sax masters. So we knew immediately that this record by Carnatic player Prasant Radhakrishnan was something very special when it began with the sounds of a gorgeous alto sax. Part of it was the fact that the sax was being played in a way we had never really heard the instrument used before. Radhakrishnan's ability to bring together the disciplines of Classical South Indian music with Jazz is something he does grace and style. Equally influenced by John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins as much as D.K. Jayaraman and his guru Kadri Gopalnath, Radhakrishnan essentially uses the Sax to play ragas while his group adds violin and traditional Carnatic percussion to round out the sound. Now living right here in San Francisco, Radhakrishnan has found a perfect place to share his transcendent sounds with lots of open minds and ears.
MPEG Stream: "Varnam"
MPEG Stream: "Kshinamai"

RIMPOCHE, BOKAR Sacred Chants & Tibetan Rituals From The Monestary Of Mirik (Sub Rosa) cd 15.98

ROY, DILIP Namaskaar (Cloud Forest) cd 16.98
In our utopian dreams of what it would be like to get off the plane and arrive in India this is what would immediately fill our ears! It makes so much sense that the title of this album is Namaskaar, as it's an age-old traditional greeting in India. An expression used as a warm welcome to visitors and honored guests. It also makes sense that this record was supposedly produced originally as a promotional item for Air India!
Dilip Roy is an Indian composer who creates deeply inviting and warm sounds that make you feel like you've been lifted off your feet and taken to some majestic land filled with color, melody and elegance. While this record was recorded in 1983, we would have guessed it was from the late '60s or early '70s as it has that slightly tripped out sound and lush arrangement that might have been the result had R.D. Burman and David Axelrod joined forces. We can just imagine Four Tet's Kieren Hebden and DJ Shadow drooling over these sounds and wishing they had gotten their hands on them to sample and steal. Imagine the tracks those two could come up with working with this stuff!! It's was no surprise when we learned that Roy sometimes collaborated with Ananda Shankar, such amazing grooves, but what we love so much about this record is how it has echoes of Bollywood in its sound yet it's way more calm and tranquil while somehow still managing to be just as much of a bright and colorful trip. Highly recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Nattu Padangal"
MPEG Stream: "Yaman"
MPEG Stream: "Priyatama"

SAKHI, HOMAYUN Music Of Central Asia Vol. 3: The Art Of The Afghan Rubab (Smithsonian Folkways) cd+dvd 21.00

SAN UL LIM s/t (World Psychedelia Ltd) cd 17.98
First album from 1977 by this South Korean group of three brothers who began to play together while attending their university. Apparently the three, completely disconnected from the greater Korean rock scene, were most inspired by the likes of Australian rockers AC/DC, but lacking the right equipment or technical know-how couldn't replicate their sound. Whether this is factual or not the music of San Ul Lim, it must be said, sounds absolutely nothing like AC/DC; rather, they sound a lot more like Turkish psych faves Erkin Koray, Haramiler, Mogollar, et al. In fact, the second track on this album shared a space next to some of those very Turks on the Love, Peace & Poetry: Asia collection and despite the fact that their tune had been recorded as much as ten years later than some of the others, they sound as if they could have been cut in the late 60's. San Ul Lim, while ostensibly a trio -- with the eldest brother on guitar, the youngest on drums and the middle playing bass -- either did some over-dubbing work or had another un-named member playing keyboards. Small oversight maybe, but the keyboardist has as big a role as the eldest bro when it comes to carrying the solos for the group using a broad array of synths -- a harpsichord farfisa patch being popular -- and electric pianos. On many of the groups songs it seems like they just gave the keyboardist cart blanche to just solo through the entire tune. The bass playing of the middle brother is equally spirited. Not content to merely playing his role in the rhythm section and keeping harmony going, he has a tendency to keep busy with fast moving scale fragments and melodies. It's all almost too much for the youngest on drums to keep up with at times! Definitely something that anyone who dug the HE 6 reissue reviewed recently (or the Shin Jung Hyun disc reviewed on this list) and wants to further explore the Korean '70s psych scene ought to check out for sure. Likewise if you haven't yet delved into these sounds from SK but like the other international psych sensations we've brought you before...
MPEG Stream: "Track 2"
MPEG Stream: "Track 7"
MPEG Stream: "Track 8"

SEKA GAMBUH PURA DESA ADAT BATUAN Music of the Gambuh Theater (Vital Records) cd 14.98
Gambuh is the oldest surviving dramatic form in Bali (incorporating music, literature and dance), a remnant of the Hindu Javanese courts of 500 years ago, it followed those courts to Bali when the Mahapajit dynasty fell to Islam in the 15th century. With the destruction of the royal courts in Bali by the Dutch in the 20th century, Gambuh has become an orphaned form, rarely heard and even more rarely recorded. In fact, this recording represents the first time ever that the entire drama has been recorded and released in commercial form. Although some of the bronze percussion instruments so commonly associated with the music of Bali are included in gambuh, they serve a more perfunctory role here and their numbers are much smaller than what would be found in most gamelan ensembles. The leading instruments, along with the two hand drums, are several (between 4 and 6) bamboo flutes (suling gambuh), some as long as one meter in length. Combined with the rebab, a two stringed bowed lute which plays almost in unison with the flutes, the resulting sound is quite haunting and beautiful. Though the flutes are playing in unison there's a slight inexact nature to their playing, maybe a certain freedom of interpretation of the melody, that gives their melodic lines an eerie echoing nature. The cd's booklet also comes with 21 impressive pages of very thoroughly researched liner notes that will satiate the appetites of budding ethnomusicologists or sundry other hungry music fiends out there. Highly recommended!
RealAudio clip: "Batel"
RealAudio clip: "Gadung Melati (excerpt 1)"
RealAudio clip: "Gadung Melati (excerpt 2)"

SHAGAN, MAZHAR Ragas Au Penjab (Harmonia Mundi) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Not only is Mazhar Shagan a modern master of Hindustani classical music, he is also fairly non-traditional in the fact that he perfoms these gorgeously drone-y, age-old ragas on the very Western mandolin! Like much classical Indian music, these are epic and shimmering, long form drones, steel strings buzzing, weaving a lush nest of sonic overtones, underpinning emotionally rich melodies, weaving hypnotically through the thick sonic miasma. The sound of the mandolin is distinctly non-Eastern, and gives the proceedings an almost country feel, making Ragas Au Penjab sound like early twentieth century Appalachian folk music filtered through Indian classical music. So, so nice. Definitely for fans of modern practitioners of the (American Primitive) raga like Jack Rose, Pelt, Fahey etc, as well of course, as fans of Indian classical music.
MPEG Stream: "Raga Desh"

SHANKAR, ANANDA A Life In Music (Times Square) 2cd 16.98
At last, a readily available cd collection of ultra kitschy, exotic grooviness from the late great Ananda Shankar, nephew of '60s counter-cultural phenom, sitar master Ravi Shankar. Ananda Shankar, a sitar player himself (he gave lessons to Jimi Hendrix, in fact) had his own, rather more cult recording career, beginning with a self-titled album released in the USA in 1970 that featured sitar and Moog laden instrumental versions of such contemporary rock n' roll tunes as "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and "Light My Fire". He went on to record many more albums in India, all of 'em featuring the funky, futuristic East-meets-West fusion of which he was a pioneer. Such tracks as "Dancing Drums" and "Streets Of Calcutta" (both included here) eventually became DJ staples with the rise of the "Asian Underground" club scene in the '90s (Talvin Singh, et. al.).
Subtitled "the best of the EMI years", this 22-track, double cd anthology draws from seven different albums by Shankar, recorded for the EMI-owned Gramaphone Company Of India between 1975 and 1999, when Shankar unfortunately died of a heart attack at the age of 53. There's many gems here to tickle the fancy of anyone into Bollywood-style music. (And if you want to hear that 1970 debut album, it's at last been reissued domestically on cd by Collector's Choice, and is also in stock here at AQ.)
MPEG Stream: "Dancing Drums"
MPEG Stream: "The Alien"

SHANKAR, ANANDA A Musical Discovery Of India (Cloud Forest Recordings) cd 17.98
A few lists ago you might remember us gushing over the work of India's Dilip Roy. His record Namaskar was the perfect musical open armed welcome to the India we always see in our dreams. We mentioned in our review of that record how Roy had done production and arrangements for Ananda Shankar. And then just a few weeks after basking in the glory of Roy's great early 80's masterpiece we were met with the reissue of two great Dilip Roy arranged Ananda Shankar albums on this cd. A Musical Discovery of India was originally a 12" made for the India Tourism Development Corporation in 1978. It makes obvious sense why this would be used to sell travel to India because after listening to these lush arrangements, who in their right mind would not want to jump on the first plane to India?! The second record collected here is the fiery and frisky Sarrega Machan. On this album Shankar was once again joined by Dilip Roy and his majestic arrangements for a record with bizarre themes, of twilight and playful animals, a record that ignites a full sensory experience, like some soundtrack to a wildly colorful nature adventure filled with suspense and intrigue. Ananda always possessed a lighter, groovier and more playful touch than his much revered brother Ravi, but these two records prove once again that in his own approach he added so much richness to Indian music and culture. Highly recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Kaziranga Beat"
MPEG Stream: "Charging Tiger"
MPEG Stream: "Jungle Symphony"

SHANKAR, ANANDA Thoth to Eros (Bombay Beat) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Subtitled "The Best of Ananda Shankar", this is long overdue (the original LPs command hundreds of dollars) material from Ravi's brother. Completely whacked out psychedelic sitar music, albeit a little cheesier (he covers "Jumpin Jack Flash") but sometimes a lot weirder and more experimental than brother Ravi. Supposedly comes with CD-ROM visuals.

SHANKAR, ANANDA, EXPERIENCE, THE & STATE OF BENGAL Walking On (Real World) cd 16.98
Ananda Shankar (RIP) met up in '99 with British "Asian Underground" DJ State of Bengal for this sitar-funk-electronica session. Indeed an "illustrious cult figure in the secret history of pop culture", Shankar was famed for his East-meets-West psychedelic pop experiments decades ago, and this is a fun and fitting finale to his career. If you were into the "Untouchable Outcaste Beats" comp (which featured an old Shankar track alongside folks from the new Asian/UK DJ scene) and/or are a fan of the likes of Talvin Singh, you should check this out.

SHANKAR, RAVI Flowers Of India (Cherry Red) cd 17.98

SHANKAR, RAVI Transmigration Macabre (Cherry Red) cd 16.98
Without a doubt one of the most psychedelic and experimental sounding records in the amazing recorded legacy of Ravi Shankar. Composed as a score for the British art film Viola, this finds Shankar experimenting and traveling with sounds that one might not always associate with him. Of course it's still his playing and several tracks have his unmistakable and totally influential sitar sounds, exactly the way you're familiar hearing them, but what's so nice about -this- record is that there are also moments where if you were listening without knowing it was Shankar you might guess it was any of a handful of psychedelic experimental bands from the last quarter century. Apparently the film is about a possessed man's belief that his dead wife has returned to life in the form of a cat that pursues him. Wow trippy stuff...and Ravi knew just the sounds to convey those otherworldly feelings. Really nice!
MPEG Stream: "Anxiety"
MPEG Stream: "Death"

SHANKAR, RAVI & ALI AKBAR KHAN More Flowers of India (El Records) cd 17.98

SHARK MOVE Ghede Chokra's (Shadoks Music) cd 15.98
Reissues of pretty good obscure '70s prog-psych albums, while not a dime a dozen, aren't exactly hard to find (at a shop like ours, anyway). But when the band's from Jakarta, Indonesia, and they're called SHARK MOVE we get extra excited. Just look at the colorful mythology of the cover art. How could this not be cool? And it is. Originally released in 1970, the sole album from Shark Move is a treat for anyone into the long-haired hippy prog excesses of the day, spiced with an extra special something due to being from a non-Western land, where these guys were REALLY freaks for making this music... UK prog stylings derived from the likes of Genesis and Deep Purple are mixed with some more traditional Indonesian musical motifs, and not all the lyrics are in English. Also the results are further warped away from normalcy by the third-world production quality, which we'd say is a good thing.
With serious songs, complex arrangements (keyboards, flute!), and melodramatic doses of both thee gently melodic and thee instrumentally bombastic, Shark Move were certainly musically ambitious. A trait perhaps best exemplified by the sweeping nine-minute opener "My Life". Meanwhile, the fuzz-heavy shambolic riff-tumble of "Evil War" with its exotic coloration via keyboard and guitar soling is another of Shark Move's selling points. The sweeter stuff (often on the tracks sung in their native tongue) is nice too, and definitely sets them apart from their European and American contemporaries.
Thanks to Shadoks we get to hear this, which has been remastered and has new liner notes for this reissue, all done with the participation of Shark Move's leader, founder, and only surviving member, Benny Soebardja (lead guitar/vocals). Shortly after recording this album, the band's keyboardist was tragically killed in a traffic accident, and Shark Move came to an end, although Benny has continued to rock on with some other groups, including one called Giant Step that may also get a Shadoks reissue we're told.
MPEG Stream: "My Life"
MPEG Stream: "Evil War"

SIAMESE TEMPLE BALL Welcome to the Land of the Smile (self-released) cd 14.98
We recently received an lp simply called "Thai Record". Hmmm, very mysterious we thought, so we threw it on, and were instantly smitten. At the same time, it sounded sort of familiar... but how could that be, what were the odds that some random Thai recording would just so happen to be one we had heard or already owned. It finally clicked, this was no mysterious "Thai Record", this was an old AQ favorite, renamed and pressed on vinyl. Not to infer that it's not mysterious, it most certainly is, it just so happens to be a mystery we had faced before. The record, titled Siamese Temple Ball, was one we had reviewed years ago and was always a steady seller, and for good reason, it's an amazing album. The lp was gone as quick as it came, but it reminded us, that many of you probably missed out on the Siamese Temple Ball cd when we first listed it waaaaaay back, so now here's your chance. A brief discussion of this musical mystery from our original review:
Not much information comes with this disk at all, on the shrink wrap there's a faux pidgen English description claiming: "Flight comes to Thailand in the Year of the Rat. Siamese Temple Ball provide the lilting soundtrack for a chemical journey. Schoolgirls dance bashfully for the expectant throng. Life continues at a comparatively slow pace away from the rigours of fierce sun-light." Which is followed by the (label's) description: "In the tradition of Sun City Girls, Ya Ho Wha 13, The Spacious Mind, Taj Mahal Travellers, Mu, Word of Life, Group 1850, and Ghost, Siamese Temple Ball give maximum pleasure for thirsty brains." Quite a roster of comparisons, the most fitting of which is definitely the Sun City Girls. So while we assume that this record was recorded by a group of precocious, dilettante, ethnomusicologist hipsters, we like to suspend our disbelief and imagine this to be a genuine Folkways-style field recording, as the recording certainly has a genuine field recording presence - a single stereo microphone in a good location. The music itself is a catchy and mesmerizing steady pulse of various and sundry percussion instruments (metal, wood, skin), hollers, yelps, and rococo melodic lines spun out by tinny electric guitars, xylophones, flutes and Khan (mouth organ.) And yes, it's quite good.
MPEG Stream: "Track 1"
MPEG Stream: "Track 2"

SITAAR TAH Semimimimimin (aRCHIVE) cd 16.98
We first heard Sitaar Tah!, Tokyo's amazing 22-piece all-sitar "orchestra", a couple years back on another limited (and now out of print) aRCHIVE release, the sprawling, droning two cd set Animamima on which they collaborated with Japanese dark psych lord Keiji Haino! And we've been eager to hear more from 'em ever since. Now aRCHIVE presents a Semimimimimin, a 43-minute studio recording from the group. Sitars are GO!
So.... You like dense drone. You like exotic, Eastern raga-like stuff. You like psychedelic, pulsing, shimmering beauty. You like ghostly Phillip Jeck-like lo-fi surface hiss. Well what more need we say? You're gonna like this!
One long, trance-inducing track that weaves the sound so many massed sitars into complex patterns of rhythm and melody, modulating and building to more abstract and organic, swarm-of-insects levels... absolutely as soothingly nice as you could imagine.
Beautifully presented in the aRCHIVE tradition, in their usual oversized format, with art by SUNNO)))'s Stephen O'Malley, 4-color silkscreened cover, LIMITED TO 700 COPIES ONLY!
MPEG Stream: "Semimimimimin excerpt 1"
RealAudio clip: "Semimimimimin excerpt 2"

SOTHEAR, SREI AND SIN SISAMOUTH Cambodian Psych-out (El Suprimo / Defective) lp 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
AT LAST, BACK IN STOCK!!
Another amazing compilation of Cambodian psychedelic music recorded from the late sixties to the mid seventies. This comp, culled from much crate digging in the open air markets of Siem Reip, right next to the legendary temples Angkor Wat focus exclusively on songs performed and sung by legendary Cambodian vocalists Sin Sisamouth and Srei Sothear. Sisamouth is a name that should be familiar to all fans of Cambodian psych, as he is featured heavily on pretty much every single compilation of Cambodian psych from that time (including all four of the Cambodian Rocks comps of course). Sisamouth wrote thousands of songs, many performed by Sothear, and many for films in which she also starred. The two become partners and eventually became two of the most (if not THE most) famous singers in Cambodia.
Tragically, both were killed by the Khmer Rouge -- as were their bands and of course millions of their fans. Their musical legacy they left is staggering. Thousands of amazing tunes, from garage rock stomps to full on psych rock blow outs. Wild guitars, buzzing distortion drenched leads, groovy wah wah rhythms, and organs all over the place, whirring, wheezing, warbling, all fuzzy and thick, sometimes spitting out nimble high end melodies, other times a thick carpet of psychfuzz, add in some James Brown funky horns, wild drumming, and some of the most amazing vocals ever, that go from croon to wail to squeal to howl and every place in between, and you've got some of the wildest psych-rock ever made!
Full color psychedelic sleeve with liner notes on the back.
All proceeds of the sales of this album go to the United Nations' Cambodian relief fund Adopt-A-Minefield. You can learn more or donate by going to http://www.landmines.org.

SUARASAMA Fajar Di Atas Awan (Drag City) cd 14.98
Wow!!! A few years ago, we were totally blown away by a compilation put out by Smithsonian Folkways called Indonesian Guitars, which among many amazing tracks happened to feature a song called "Fajar Di Atas Awan" by Irwansyah Harahap. It was of that disc's highlights, with haunting female and male vocal harmonies, lilting acoustic guitar, sruti box drones and cymbals. What we didn't know was that Harahap and singer Rithaony Hutajulu, both ethnomusicology professors at the University of North Sumatra, were the main composers and singers for a larger group of musicians and performers called Suarasama, and that song was the title track of THIS incredibly beautiful, blissful record by Suarasama, a 1997 live recording, now released for the first time in the U.S. by the fine folks at Drag City. We are so stoked, what a wonderful surprise this is.
Formed in 1995, Suarasama's musical influences are widely diverse, creating contemporary music based on vartious aesthetic and conceptual aspects of Middle Eastern, Indian, Sufi Pakistani, Eastern European, Southeast Asian as well as North Sumatra Batak and Malay traditional music. But the results are very far from academic. Instead the music is infused with a hermetic introspective devotional quality that seduces the listener with its soft trance-like rhythms and haunting vocal mantras. Persian and Indian percussion of tablas and defs meld with deft finger-picked guitar and gambus improvisations and dueling vocal harmonies that propel circularly forward in hypnotically beautiful interweavings. Meditative and organic, full of levitation-inducing majesty. For any devotee of raga folk, Masaki Batoh, Six Organs, Daniel Higgs, L, Robbie Basho, Sandy Bull, Congregacion, The Habibiyya, Malachi, Pandit Pran Nath, The Trees Community, or Bruce Palmer, this is absolutely essential!!
MPEG Stream: "Fajar Di Atas Awan"
MPEG Stream: "Sang Hyang Guru"
MPEG Stream: "Lebah"
MPEG Stream: "Habibullah"

SUARASAMA Fajar Di Atas Awan (Drag City) 2lp 19.98
Wow!!! A few years ago, we were totally blown away by a compilation put out by Smithsonian Folkways called Indonesian Guitars, which among many amazing tracks happened to feature a song called "Fajar Di Atas Awan" by Irwansyah Harahap. It was of that disc's highlights, with haunting female and male vocal harmonies, lilting acoustic guitar, sruti box drones and cymbals. What we didn't know was that Harahap and singer Rithaony Hutajulu, both ethnomusicology professors at the University of North Sumatra, were the main composers and singers for a larger group of musicians and performers called Suarasama, and that song was the title track of THIS incredibly beautiful, blissful record by Suarasama, a 1997 live recording, now released for the first time in the U.S. by the fine folks at Drag City. We are so stoked, what a wonderful surprise this is.
Formed in 1995, Suarasama's musical influences are widely diverse, creating contemporary music based on vartious aesthetic and conceptual aspects of Middle Eastern, Indian, Sufi Pakistani, Eastern European, Southeast Asian as well as North Sumatra Batak and Malay traditional music. But the results are very far from academic. Instead the music is infused with a hermetic introspective devotional quality that seduces the listener with its soft trance-like rhythms and haunting vocal mantras. Persian and Indian percussion of tablas and defs meld with deft finger-picked guitar and gambus improvisations and dueling vocal harmonies that propel circularly forward in hypnotically beautiful interweavings. Meditative and organic, full of levitation-inducing majesty. For any devotee of raga folk, Masaki Batoh, Six Organs, Daniel Higgs, L, Robbie Basho, Sandy Bull, Congregacion, The Habibiyya, Malachi, Pandit Pran Nath, The Trees Community, or Bruce Palmer, this is absolutely essential!!
MPEG Stream: "Fajar Di Atas Awan"
MPEG Stream: "Sang Hyang Guru"
MPEG Stream: "Lebah"
MPEG Stream: "Habibullah"

SUKAESIH, ELVY The Dangdut Queen (Rice Records) cd 15.98
One of the best singers from Indonesia, Elvy Sukasih has one of those timeless voices that just effortlessly sweeps you off your feet. It's a combination of seductive flare sure sounding confidence that only the greatest of the great divas possess. Coming of age at the time that Dangut music was starting to bloom, she became one of its pioneers. Mixing Arabic, Indian, and some electric instruments into a high fevered eclectic sound that would become all the rage in Indonesia. While many would follow in her footsteps she actually was doing what would be later called Dangut before there was even such a thing. Recording since her teenage years in the early 60's all the way to today, she belongs in that special class of singers like Ofra Haza and Asha Bosle (Dangut music shares a similar sound and feel to lots of Bollywood music) who have managed to make music that respects their culture while at the same time transcends geography and has the capacity to enter all kinds of hearts.
MPEG Stream: "Penyanyi Sexy"
MPEG Stream: "Kareta Malam"

TENGIR-TOO Music Of Central Asia Vol. 1: Mountain Music Of Kyrgyzstan (Smithsonian Folkways) cd+dvd 21.00
The always in depth, well researched and executed Smithsonian Folkways brings us the first in what will be a series of releases focusing on the music of Central Asia. Tengr-Too is a new ensemble that plays traditional music with remarkable skill and versatility. In fact, one might think this is a compilation of different artists with the extraordinary range Tengir-Too exhibit. From jew's harp jams to vocal fronted folk songs and beyond using unique instruments intregal to Central Asia (Chopo Choor, Komuz, Sybygz, Kyl Kiyak). Don't worry if you don't know what those are, as always Smithsonian Folkways goes the extra mile with extensive liner notes and even an instrument glossary with pictures so you can actually see what some of those amazing instruments look like.
MPEG Stream: "Jangylyk "
MPEG Stream: "Kambarkan"

THAI ELEPHANT ORCHESTRA s/t (Mulatta Records) cd 15.98
First it was Frogs of North America invading our record bins, then it was Antarctic Seals and Penguins, followed by Insects in Stored Foodstuffs... now it's Elephants from Thailand! Brilliant recordings by non-human, um, sound-artists that we just can't get enough of here at Aquarius. In this case, the elephants are not just making their natural noises, they are indeed playing instruments! You may have read about this project in the New York Times -- when we found out about it we immediately contacted the label and ordered a whole bunch (based also on the on-line sample we heard at www.mulatta.org) and now here they are. These are elephants from a elephant preseve in Thailand who have been trained to play specially-built instruments (many marimba-like instruments similar to the traditional Thai renat, as well as such things as harmonicas, drums, and even a stringed "electric bass"), but they haven't been trained *what* to play, it's all improvised with minimal human guidance! Yet it's definitely music. It was kind of an experiment to find out how the creatures might express themselves, and we'd say it was very successful indeed. If we didn't know these were elephants, we'd think this was a strange No Neck Blues Band recording or something. Imagine a stumbling, primitive hippy folk jam on gamelan instruments, but not one that's random or erratic. The elephants play steady beats, the struck gongs or chimes interspersed with their vocalizations as well. With no overdubs and few edits this is certainly a very impressive recording!
The Thai Elephant Orchestra was dreamed up, and this disc produced, by David Soldier (New York musician and academic) and Richard Lair (American expatriate elephant expert, who advises the Thai Elephant Conservation Center where this project goes on). The two came up with the idea that elephants, being social animals, might enjoy playing music together, and proceeded to investigate... Happily, not only did the elephants enjoy playing, they were good at it, demonstrating that they were able to decide what sounded good (to them) and what didn't.
The booklet features photos and detailed, fascinating liner notes by both men. Here is what Soldier says the criteria was for the construction of the instruments, which were made by New York instrument builder Ken Butler (of "Gravikords, Whirligigs..." fame):
"1. The instruments must be suitable to the elephant's anatomy, which means large instruments operated by the trunk.
"2. The instruments must withstand jungle heat, humidity -- and the elephants.
"3. The instruments should require minimum upkeep.
"4. The instruments should have a Thai sound, because the regular daily audience is Thai, the mahouts would enjoy the music more, and the elephants have heard Thai music all their lives."
Some more great tid-bits from the notes: "The elephants took easily to the harmonica, which sparked the first elephant music fad: one morning I arrived to hear the sound of harmonicas from all over -- from the hills and from the river. The elephants were walking in from the forest playing harmonicas, which they hold easily in the tip of their trunks."
"The elephants didn't seem interested in the bells or theremin. At first they were spooked by the synthesizer keyboard, but later two animals were entranced by it. They disliked playing Ken's reed instruments with a large mouthpiece, or rather, trunkpiece. A mahout told me they were afraid that a snake might jump into their nostrils!"
As sort of bonus tracks, in addition to the forty-plus minutes of elephant improv, there's also some non-instrumental elephant field recordings, several tracks of humans and elephants playing together, and even a few traditional Thai songs played by humans, about elephants.
Sure there's a bit of simple amusement to be found here just from the concept alone, but in actual fact the music these elephants make is, to our ears at least, quite beautiful. We could go on and philosophize about how this project speaks to the relationship between man and animals in this world, but we'll leave those thoughts for you to explore if you chose to check out this album, which we highly recommend! Amazing and wonderful.
RealAudio clip: "Jojo"
RealAudio clip: "Duo For Renats"
RealAudio clip: "Harmonica Music"
RealAudio clip: "Heavy Logs"

TINARIWEN Aman Iman: Water Is Life (World Village) cd 21.00
Wow! The latest from this large ensemble from Mali once again demonstrate that they are one of the best bands anywhere on this planet. Their mix of electric guitars with more traditional acoustic percussion comes just flows so naturally with an effortless grace and style that just seeps into your soul. After their great debut from a few years back and a tour of the states (their show here in SF at the Great American Music Hall is still burned into the memories of those of us who were there that night!) there was of course the natural concern that like much great music from the other side of the globe that finally reaches these parts, that some glossy western producer would try to get their hands on Tinariwen and water them down for mass consumption. Tinariwen actually don't need any of that to reach a broad audience as their songs are so well crafted as they are, and so filled with warmth and emotion that they're pretty impossible not to love. Recorded in just two weeks, there is an urgency and undeniable spirit to these recordings, capturing their sound maybe better then any past recording of them has. Their music continues to exude the essence of the desert and what it means to be a nomadic people. The way they are able to find the perfect groove and lock into it is what sweeps us off our feet every time we listen to this. We would love to see them play shows with Brightblack Morning Light, as Tinariwen's warmth and deep grooves would be the perfect match for Brightblack's infectious take on nomad blissed out blues. This is quickly becoming one of our favorite records of the year, one of those discs that we can just say 'get it' with the utmost confidence. And it won't take you long to understand why!
MPEG Stream: "Cler Achel"
MPEG Stream: "Imidiwan Winakalin"
MPEG Stream: "Mano Dayak"

TRUCK Surprise, Surprise (Guerssen) cd 21.00
Here are the few facts we've gathered about this band Truck and their (apparently only) album entitled Surprise, Surprise: they were from faraway Malaysia, released this rare record back in 1974, and were obviously pretty big Beatles fans by the sound of it! And (less of a fact, more of an opinion) they're pretty rad. Sung in English, the ten tracks here are wonderful pop psych that could have come out of London in '68, by a band like Kaleidoscope... well, except for one element: the unexpected strains of spacey analog Moog synth heard in many of these songs. That helps make this Truck album extra-special. But it would be pretty special anyway, with its blend of dreamy, sunny melodies, lush studio orchestration, and a bit of fuzz guitar riffing. And while seemingly inspired by the Fab Four, Truck aren't just about them. We hear hints of The Who, The Creation, and even Joe Walsh in there just as much as ELO or Badfinger. But of course we'd recommend it to people who like obscure, Beatlesy bands like The Aerovons or Peru's We All Together. Released on cd (supposedly limited edition) by the Spanish label Guerssen, this is one of those cool out-of-the-blue reissues we're always stoked to hear! Nice!!
MPEG Stream: "Surprise, Surprise"
MPEG Stream: "This Is Our Love Song"

V/A Cambodian Rocks (original version on Parallel World) (Parallel World) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Previously issued a while back only on vinyl, "Cambodian Rocks" - now on CD - presents a handful of unknown (to the point that no artist names or track titles are given) Cambodian garage bands from the late 60s and early 70s. The liner notes explain that the compiler (s/he is also anonymous) picked up a bunch of random tapes while in Cambodia and put this together of the best tracks from those tapes. For those who are entranced by the psychedelic exotica found in the "Love, Peace, and Poetry" series, "Cambodian Rocks" makes an exceptional companion. For the most part this compilation is dominated by really good fuzzed out organ / guitar garage rich with understandably crappy production. But along with the garage cuts, there's a track of incredibly unfunky James Brown mimicry that make the Make Up's theatrical irony seem even more insincere than they really are. Appropriated dancehall groove/stomps with Cambodian instead of Jamaican overtones. But the highlight is the appearance of the female led garage band who were featured on the Asian Psychedelic chapter of the "Love, Peace, and Poetry" series. Greasy garage rock not far from the Count Five or the Seeds but with reverb drenched female vocals that hits high notes rarely found even on Bollywood sountracks. Totally essential.

V/A Asian Flashback: Underground Music From Asia (PSF) cd 16.98
Since 1991, Japanese label PSF has brought us six volumes in their essential underground psych-rock-noise-improv sampler series Tokyo Flashback. Now they've released a new compilation that's similarly cool, but broadens its geographic scope to include artists from Korea and China as well as Japan, most of whom we'd never been exposed to before. Some of the only familiar folks appear on the very first track, a live-in-Tokyo "improvised trio showdown" featuring Chinese guitarist Li Jianhong (of the noise band D!O!D!O!D! who have a disc out on PSF, and who also had his own awesome solo cd on aRCHIVE recently) teamed up with free jazz drummer Shoji Hano and High Rise guitarist Narita Munehiro, both from Japan. That's an amped-up freakout as you might expect. There's also a noisy D!O!D!O!D! track on here too, but beyond those, it's all new names to us. From Korea: Mustangs, Kim Young Jin, Amature Amplifier, and Soonie. From China: Mafeisan, Xiao He, Li Daiguo. From Japan: Kiyasu Orchestra, Sato Yukie, Yoshiteru Koga Jizo. Also there's a boy-girl Japanese-Korean project called 10, whose track "U-A-U" is a hissing, droning, throbbing backdrop to bizarre vocal expression.
All the tracks are interesting, it's an eclectic mix of experimental/underground styles, from full-on noise chaos to mellow, minimal acoustic guitar balladry, all sorts of stuff... ferinstance the energetic squawk of Kiyasu Orchestra's psychedelic free jazz exotica sits side-by-side here with the Mustangs' sixties style garage psych rock. And perhaps most surprisingly, there's even a dreamy, indie-folk cover of John Lennon's "Imagine" by Korean chanteuse Soonie at the very end of the disc.
The booklet boasts brief liner notes about each contributor, in four languages (English, Japanese, Korean, Chinese). Let's hope that this Asian Flashback is just the start of another series! PSF's antidote to all the mass market J-pop, K-pop, and HK-pop karaoke blandness out there.
MPEG Stream: MUSTANGS "Sativa"
MPEG Stream: XIAO HE "Bird And Water"
MPEG Stream: 10 "U-A-U"
MPEG Stream: SATO YUKI "Solo Improvisation"

V/A Asian Takeaways (Normal/QDK) cd 14.98
Despite the excruciatingly stupid title (why oh why must the food metaphors constantly arise, as if white people are so ignorant of Asian culture that the only thing they know about it is egg foo young and sweet and sour sauce -- aaaaaaauuuugh) title, this is an enjoyable compilation of kitschy east-meets-west Asian pop tunes from the '60s and '70s. Most of the tracks feature female vocalists, mostly with groovy, slinky lounge-rock backing, some with cinematic strings, others with boogie guitar, or bombastic horns... It's all very fun and cheesy and sometimes freaky (but not freaky like "Cambodian Rocks" so don't be hoping for something *that* cool). If you liked any of QDK's other unusual "world music" comps like the two Doob Doob O'Rama volumes of Bollywood tunes and the excellent Love, Peace & Poetry series of psych obscurities, you should check this out. Could have done with some liner notes, though! C'mon, we're only given artists, titles, and countries of origin for these tracks -- no dates, and no further info. It's frustrating -- we want to hear more (about and from) Chang Siao Ying, for one. An essay from the compiler would be nice, at the very least. Still, if it means anything to you, what we know is that the songs are performed by the following: Jing Ting (Hong Kong), Yoon Il-loh (Korea), Chung-ae Ahn (Korea), Yao Su-Yong (Malaysia), Chang Loo (Malaysia), Chang Siao Ying (Singapore), Che-Hong Beck (Korea), Thu Su Yung (Hong Kong), Yiu Peng (Hong Kong), Wang-Li (Singapore) and Shung Sister (Korea).
RealAudio clip: CHANG SIAO YING "Come Back To Me"
RealAudio clip: YAO SU-YONG "Good Bye In Spring"

V/A Asian Takeaways (Normal/QDK) lp 16.98
Despite the excruciatingly stupid title (why oh why must the food metaphors constantly arise, as if white people are so ignorant of Asian culture that the only thing they know about it is egg foo young and sweet and sour sauce -- aaaaaaauuuugh), this is an enjoyable compilation of kitschy east-meets-west Asian pop tunes from the '60s and '70s. Most of the tracks feature female vocalists, mostly with groovy, slinky lounge-rock backing, some with cinematic strings, others with boogie guitar, or bombastic horns... It's all very fun and cheesy and sometimes freaky (but not freaky like "Cambodian Rocks" so don't be hoping for something *that* cool). If you liked any of QDK's other unusual "world music" comps like the two Doob Doob O'Rama volumes of Bollywood tunes and the excellent Love, Peace & Poetry series of psych obscurities, you should check this out. Could have done with some liner notes, though! C'mon, we're only given artists, titles, and countries of origin for these tracks -- no dates, and no further info. It's frustrating -- we want to hear more (about and from) Chang Siao Ying, for one. An essay from the compiler would be nice, at the very least. Still, if it means anything to you, what we know is that the songs are performed by the following: Jing Ting (Hong Kong), Yoon Il-loh (Korea), Chung-ae Ahn (Korea), Yao Su-Yong (Malaysia), Chang Loo (Malaysia), Chang Siao Ying (Singapore), Che-Hong Beck (Korea), Thu Su Yung (Hong Kong), Yiu Peng (Hong Kong), Wang-Li (Singapore) and Shung Sister (Korea).

V/A Asian Travels (Six Degrees) cd 16.98
"Asian Travels" documents current strains of optimistic globalism as musical hybrids of the West's downtempo electronica and the East's rich traditions of vocal melodies. Ambient trance, drum & bass, and trip hop all appear in their most basic club-friendly forms alongside Pakistani & Indian vocals, melodic lines, and sitar drones. Featuring Fila Brazillia, Nursrat Fateh Ali Khan & Michael Brook, Banco De Gaia, Shankar, Euphoria, Cheb i Sabbah, Fun Da Mental, and more. Ethno-music for the honky.

V/A Asmat Dream (New Music Indonesia, Vol. 1: Sunda) (Lyrichord) cd 15.98
Compilation of modern compositions by Sundanese (Western Java) composers, and utilizing a wide variety of instrumentation: from gamelan, traditional Indonesian instruments, western instruments, electronics and tape. A South Eat Asian version of Ussachevsky. Excellent!

V/A Bali: Gamelan Semar Pegulingan: Gamelan of the Love God (Nonesuch) cd 12.98
We just got the first batch of the Indonesia / South Pacific installment of Nonesuch's Explorer reissues, which total 12 in number. Ten of the discs are from either Java or Bali and just about each one features an entirely different form of gamelan. A Gamelan, as a cursory way of introduction, is an orchestra of primarily bronze (though bamboo gamelan are also common) percussion instruments -- metallophones, gongs, gong-chimes -- and drums. Quite often a gamelan will have a specific repertoire that it is exclusively built for the performance of, and certain ceremonial gamelan are limited to the performance of a single piece. On top of this, throughout Java and Bali there is an ever changing world of both village and court traditions which continue to defy definitions. These discs just in from Bali and Central & Western Java just scratch the surface of gamelan throughout Indonesia, but they're a fine introduction anyway.
Gamelan Semar Pegulingan is one of the many now rare gamelan of the island of Bali; displaced by the fall of the Balinese court and the subsequent explosion of gong kebyar. The repertoire of this gamelan, which is named after the god of love (Semar Pegulingan), was specific to two distinct occasions. The most common time in which Semar Pegulingan was used was outside the King's bed chamber in the evenings, but it also played the musical accompaniment for the Legong dance which was performed exclusively by pre-pubescent girls. The set on which the material on this CD was performed was one which had been spared the crucible through the efforts of the Canadian composer/ethnomusicologist Colin McPhee in the 1930's who commissioned a group of musicians to continue the gamelan's repertoire. These recordings were made in 1972 by Robert Brown after the gamelan had been carefully restored to its original condition (it had come into disarray after McPhee's departure from the island and had been decomposing for some 30 years.) It is a particularly beautiful gamelan and hearing it can give on a bit more perspective on the popular gong kebyar. Because of its relatively slower pace, it's much easier to grasp how the instruments interlock within the gamelan.
RealAudio clip: GAMELAN SEMAR PEGULINGAN "Tabuh Gari"
RealAudio clip: GAMELAN SEMAR PEGULINGAN "Sinom Ladrang"