KOES BERSAUDARA Koes Bersaudara 1967 (Sublime Frequencies) cd 17.98
Another incredible archival discovery from Sublime Frequencies, this the first in a series of releases chronicling Indonesian popular music from the fifties through the seventies. Koes Bersaudara were a band of brothers, heavily influenced by the Beatles, the Everly Brothers, the Byrds, and this collection is the first ever reissue of two of their impossible to find recordings, most notably, To The So-Called "The Guilties", considered by music historians THEE Indonesian garage rock masterpiece. And it is fantastic, jangly guitars, soaring vocals, some awesome guitar playing, super catchy, very poppy, but with hints of darkness running though many of the songs, which is not surprising, considering how difficult it was to be a rock band in Indonesia at the time, especially one playing Western styled rock and roll. In fact at one point, the brothers were jailed for three months for performing Beatles covers. Another interesting fact, is that aQ faves Dara Puspita (whose PlusTapes reissues we carried a while back) were performing around the same time, and rumors were circulating about various power plays, the Koeswoyo brothers being perhaps considered too difficult to control, with their flagrant disdain for authority, not just covering the Beatles, but for writing songs about the leader that imprisoned them ("Poor Clown") and many songs chronicling their time in jail ("In Jail", "The Ballad Of Room 15")
Once out of jail, their old label didn't want to have anything to do with them, but as the climate became more conducive to the modern styles of music, they found a new home, and recorded To The So-Called "The Guilties", the first album in Indonesian history to challenge the ruling regime. Their story is so fantastic and inspiring, it's strange to hear this music, which on the surface seems so innocuous, knowing just how controversial it was and how much of a harbinger of change it would be for Indonesian music.
But for fans of classic '60s garage rock, regardless of the back story, this is some seriously good stuff, the power and energy of life surrounding the music only infusing it with a passion and energy that transforms it from simple rock and roll to something more. This reissue includes the To The So-Called "The Guilties" lp, a 10" recorded the same year, with a bonus compilation track, extensive liner notes, chronicling the history of the band, the recording of these albums, the producer, and the music scene in Indonesia at the time. Tons of photos too, all in a swank digipak, the nicest Sublime Frequencies packaging yet. WAY recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Hari Ini (Today)"
MPEG Stream: "To The So-Called "The Guilties""
MPEG Stream: "Poor Clown"
MPEG Stream: "Balada Kamar 15 (The Ballad Of Room 15)"
MPEG Stream: "Djadikan Aku Domba Mu (Make Me Your Sheep)"

KOES PLUS Dheg Dheg Plas & Volume Two (Sublime Frequencies) cd 16.98
Another release in the continuing series of archival releases of Indonesian popular music brought to us by the always awesome Sublime Frequencies, this one comes from Koes Plus, the "Beatles of Indonesia", perhaps the most beloved pop group ever in Indonesia, who began life as Koes Bersaudara, and whose music was collected on another recent Sublime Frequencies compilation, but for all the promise shown by the controversial Koes Bersaudara, who were jailed for covering the Beatles, it's when they streamlined their sound, and became Koes Plus that they EXPLODED, recording more than 40 albums throughout the seventies, even going so far as to record albums in specific styles catering to fans of different genres. And it all paid off. According to the liner notes, TODAY, there are Koes Plus fanclubs in nearly every city, there are more than 60 Koes Plus cover bands on the island of Java ALONE, there are multiple radio shows dedicated to the group's music, all that and they have remained relatively unheard and unknown outside of Indonesia.
This collection compiles their first two insanely rare albums, Dheg Dheg Plas and Volume Two, both fantastic examples of the group's mastery of Western pop music, the Beatles comparisons are definitely apt, but they did more than ape their heroes, these songs are fantastic, catchy and melodic, jangly and dreamy, vocal harmonies, intricate guitar playing, it's not just the Beatles they're indebted to either, the Byrds, the Bee Gees, and judging from "Pent Juri Hati (Heart Stealer)", even the Monks, it's a DEAD ringer, fuzzed out guitar, wild drumming, and howled vocals that sound JUST like the Monks, definitely the odd track out, but it hints at where these guys could have ended up had things been a bit different.
But for fans of classic garage rock, and sixties / seventies psychedelic pop, Indonesian music of all stripes, this stuff is really fantastic, it's still difficult to believe virtually no one outside of Indonesia has heard this stuff until now. Some folks have suggested that had these guys been based in the UK or the US during the sixties or seventies, they would have been one of the most popular bands in the world, and listening to them now it's not hard to believe.
Housed in a fancy 6 panel digipak, with a huge booklet, packed with liner notes and loads of rare photos.
MPEG Stream: "Kelelawar (The Bats)"
MPEG Stream: "Derita (Suffer)"
MPEG Stream: "Awan Hitam (The Black Cloud)"
MPEG Stream: "Tiba Tiba Aku Menangis (Suddenly I Cried)"
MPEG Stream: "Bergembira (Have Fun)"

KOREAN BLACK EYES, THE s/t (PlusTapes) cassette 5.50
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
After a flurry of contemporary releases, Chris Connely, Chicago Thrash Ensemble, Mako Sica, PlusTapes returns with another mindblowing archival release, this one comes from Korea, and is the collected works of an all girl trashy rock and roll garage band called the Korean Black Eyes, who totally kick ass. Brash and snotty and groovy. The opening jam, is all buzzing bass, reverbed surf guitar, pounding drums, bleating sax, and some seriously raspy bad ass lead vocals, complete with wild throat shredding screams, her voice rough and raw and so passionate. The second track finds the Black Eyes getting all groovy and funky and soulful, adding some warm whirring organ to the mix, channeling Sly Stone and Funkadelic, but giving it their own twist. The vocals are amazing, and pretty much make the band, sung in English, but with a SUPER thick accent, and it's that total rock bad girl voice, weathered from whiskey and cigarettes, but still so sexy and sultry.
The interesting thing, as with many of these bands, is how did a band like this survive in Korea in the early seventies? In a time when this sort of rock was not at all encouraged. And most certainly not by women.
But we're so glad they did. And we're so glad PlusTapes tracked this stuff down. The B side even gets all ballady, opening with a Moody Blues cover, but it's not at all cheesy, their version is smokey and mysterious, sung in Korean, the sax slithery and slippery, the sound humid and heavy. And then they go off and finish the record with "Jesus Christ Superstar", epic and groovy, and subtly psychedelic, and again the vocals just seal the deal. It's criminal how good these women are. In different circumstances they could have been, should have been huge, and certainly the vocalist would have been a superstar with her tough and sexy Tina Turner / Janis Joplin yowl. Total kick ass bad girl garage rock and roll genius.
LIMITED TO 100 COPIES!! Pink tapes, each one hand numbered and hand decorated, with cover art by Plastic Crimewave.

KRISHAN, GOPAL The Art of the Vichitra Veena (Ocora) 2cd 42.00
When Allan said that we were getting a CD of recordings of the "Hawaiian guitar of India", I had visions of Gabby Pahinui being backed up by fast and furious tablas. In reality, the music of Gopal Krishan and the vichitra (or strange) veena is nothing like Hawaiian music, so clean that out of your head. No, the reason why Hawaiian guitar is mentioned in connnection with this strange veena instrument is due to the fact that, unlike the sitar, this zither has no frets and instead the performer utilizes a pieces of stone (glass, or wood), much like a Hawaiian guitar, over the strings to reach the proper pitch. This slide guitar like way of performing allows not only for much longer sustained notes -- the decay resulting from bending a pitch via applying pressure to the string on a sitar or sarod is much quicker -- but greater precision and variability of pitch: hence, greater possibility for expression. Another item that apparently makes this veena particularly strange is that, unlike other instruments in the veena family which don't generally have sympathetic strings, it does. And not only that, because the plucked strings are quieter than normal, the sympathetic strings sound much louder relative to the melody. As far as performers of the vichitra veena, Mr. Krishan is pretty much it. The guy has an unintentional monopoly on the instrument and as such, gets to travel far and wee to play it for fascinated crowds. Each disc contains one track, that divided into three parts: a solo prelude by the veena and then two sections accompanied by tabla, the second faster than the first. Beautiful and sublime. Comes with a heaping portion of liner notes in French, English and German.
RealAudio clip: "Raga Jog - Alap"
RealAudio clip: "Raga Jog - Teen Tal Drut"

KRONOS QUARTET AND ASHA BHOSLE You've Stolen My Heart: Songs From R.D. Burman's Bollywood (Nonesuch) cd 21.00
We've already sold a ton of these. It's not hard to see why. Everybody loves Bollywood film music, and Asha Bhosle is the queen of Indian cinema singers. And the always-adventurous chamber group the Kronos Quartet are pretty cool as well, aren't they? So the idea of Kronos teaming up with Bhosle to record a bunch of the best film songs written by famous Bollywood composer Rahul Dev Burman (1939-1994) is a fine one, and it's worked out marvelously on this disc. Rather than the hyperkinetic, energetic style of music that accompanies the big production dance numbers so often characteristic of Bollywood film, these tracks are of a more languid, moody variety, full of tender sentiment and romantic yearning. Perfect for the sad yet uplifting strings of Kronos (with help on tabla and other percussion from guest Zakir Hussain, and also Wu Man on pipa). And of course perfect for the lovely voice of Bhosle, who sang so many of these songs originally. We said "moody" but these moods do range widely, from sad to seductive to joyous.
This package (which comes ensconced in a nice metallic cardstock slipcase) includes a thick booklet full of detailed notes and photos. You get lyrics and even a synopsis of each of the films in which these songs first appeared, generally back in the early '70s. All in all, gorgeous tribute to Burman and his classic Bollywood ballads, and mostly likely a worthy introduction to them for many.
MPEG Stream: "Dum Maro Dum (Take Another Toke)"
MPEG Stream: "Mehbooba Mehbooba (Beloved, O Beloved)"
MPEG Stream: "Nodir Pare Utthchhe Dhnoa (Smoke Rises Across The River)"

KUVEZIN, ALBERT AND YAT-KHA Re-Covers (Plane / Yat-Kha Recordings) cd 22.00
The best cover versions, we always think, are the ones where the band doing the covering really makes the song being covered their own, do you agree? Then, that makes this one of the best covers albums ever, 'cause regardless of whether Kuvezin and Yat-Kha are doing Led Zeppelin or Kraftwerk, it sounds like the music of the steppes. That's right, Yat-Kha are the band from Tuva in Central Asia whose music is already a hybrid of the rustic folk traditions of their native land and Western rock, on records like Yenisei-Punk and Tuva-Rock. We like 'em very much. I mean, a rock band with a throat-singer is hard to beat!
Vocalist Albert Kuvezin is always a regular member of Yat-Kha (he's the band leader in fact), but he gets special star billing here I guess 'cause the songs they're doing are his selections, reflecting his influences outside of Tuvan folk music. You can tell that the counter-cultural Kuvezin is no garage-band or electro-clash obsessed youngster, but the tracks he's picked are, taste-wise, pretty right-on. A good balance of the hip, classic, and obscure. The aforementioned Zeppelin and Kraftwerk songs are also joined by the works of Hank Williams, Iron Butterfly (it says "via Slayer" but we don't hear any of the latter), Joy Division, Captain Beefheart (whose voice Kuvezin must love!), Motorhead (another vocalist Kuvezin clearly appreciates), the Rolling Stones, Bob Marley, and others, including some less familiar names like Russian cult figure Vladmir Vysotskiy and Tuvan symphonic composer Alexei Baktrevitch Tchyrgal. There's notes on each track (about why they were chosen, what they mean to Albert and Yat-Kha) and even a map pinpointing the geographical origins of the original artists. There's of course a novelty aspect to this in part, we can't deny (just as we can't deny that it's just plain cool to hear "Orgasmatron" performed acoustically with a singer who makes Lemmy's gargle sound like the voice of a song-bird) but it's not as if Kuvezin and Yat-Kha aren't serious, and like we said, they really make these songs their own -- you might not always immediately figure out what you're hearing, and even when you do, if you didn't know better you might be able to believe that "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" was originally a Tuvan tune, for example, meant for Kuvezin's rumbling voice and the high lonesome Country Eastern sounds of Yat-Kha's traditional instrumentation.
MPEG Stream: "In A Gadda Da Vida"
MPEG Stream: "Love Will Tear Us Apart"

LEGONG: DANCE OF THE VIRGINS (Milestone) dvd 34.00
Here's a fine specimen of film history and a semi-authentic look at Bali in the early 20th century. Filmed on location in 1933 in glorious Technicolor, the film fell almost immediately into obscurity. Its lackluster success was perhaps due to the perception amongst critics of the director as a Hollywood dilletante. For while Legong was directed by French aristocrat the Marquis Henry de la Falaise de la Coudray, the project was produced with funds from his current wife at the time -- the actress Constance Bennett. Falaise was certainly jumping on board the boats of F.W. Murnau and Robert Flaherty, the latter's Nanook of the North was the groundbreaking docu-fiction for which Murnau took inspiration for his final masterpiece in 1931. So when Falaise came around two years later with a film shot on location on the exotic isle of Bali with an all native cast and boasting cultural authenticity, it was met with heavy skepticism. In retrospect however, aside from Falaise's dubious credentials as a filmmaker, the project stands the test of time. Woven into this sad tale of unrequited love are stunning shots of Balinese life and ceremony, inluding the Legong and Barong dances and cremation ceremonies. But perhaps what makes this DVD most worth getting worked up about is the newly added score collaboratively composed by Richard Marriott and I Made Subandi and performed by the Club Foot Orchestra and Gamelan Sekar Jaya. And before all you purists get worked up about it: yes, the original score is also included. So you can choose either one when you watch the film. The new score however is absolutely stunning. It's wonderfully tempered scene to scene with parts featuring only the Club Foot Orchestra, others with solely Sekar Jaya and parts where both play. Along with completely newly composed material there are some sections where Club Foot Orchestra echoes the original score, while in others Sekar Jaya performs the traditional pieces that you witness on the screen. While it would be impossible to sync up the sound for an entire dance without a recut of the film, they do manage to arrange their pieces in the film such that during both a Barong and Legong dance there are scenes which perfectly match up to the dancers' movements. Included along with the entire film, presented completely restored and uncut (the British print in the day censored images of violence, while the American print censored the nudity) for the first time are a 1956 documentary entitled Gods Of Bali by Robert Snyder, Falaise's Kliou, The Killer (which had been believed to have been lost) and an interview with composers Subandi and Marriott.

LI JIANHONG San Sheng Shi (aRCHIVE) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
51 minutes, 1 track. 1 guitar, 1 guy: Li Jianhong. No, we didn't think we'd ever heard of him, either. But this is an aRCHIVE release, super limited and super swank, which means that we HAD to order a bunch in. We trust those guys, aRCHIVE. And we're glad we did, this is great! That is, if you're into distortion and feedback and heavy drone guitar like we are. This is extremely droney, very vast and very physical, sheets of glorious amped up fuzz. What's not to like? It moves forward with energy, building, swelling, keening, billowing. Rising and falling, at about 30 minutes in, subsiding from a dense, intense drone-tone into a mellower respite, before Li Jianhong leans on his amps/pedals/volume knob/etc. and dials up the distortion yet again.
He's the Chinese Keiji Haino perhaps, but without any of the shrieking vocals. Yep, this is some nice, thick, bleak psychedelia (it says so on the sleeve, "bleak" and "psychedelia" being some of the only text not in Chinese, and it's true).
Turns out Li's a member of PSF label noise band D!O!D!O!D!, reviewed here a while back, and has some other solo works out on his own label... we'll definitely look out for more from him in future... While D!O!O!O!D! was one for improv skree-lovin' noiseniks only, we wouldn't hesitate to recommend THIS to fans of, say, Boris's Feedbacker. And the likes of Suishou No Fune and LSD-march. Also Nadja, Fear Falls Burning, Birchville Cat Motel...
LIMITED TO ONLY 500 copies. Packaged in a tri-fold sleeve featuring live photos of an impassioned performance by Li, inside a tri-fold vellum wrapper bearing a image of a craggy mountain peak.
MPEG Stream: "San Sheng Shi (excerpt 1)"
MPEG Stream: "San Sheng Shi (excerpt 2)"

LUCAS, GARY The Edge Of Heaven: Gary Lucas Plays Mid-Century Chinese Pop (Indigo) cd 22.00
This new record from ex-Captain Beefheart's Magic Band guitarist Gary Lucas is a gorgeous and heartfelt musical love letter to the Chinese pop that changed his life. The liner notes detail his years spent in Taipei, in the midst of a torrid love affair where he first discovered this languid, lush pop, that would influence his playing and songwriting for years and plant the seed that would become a full blown obsession with Chinese vocalist Chow Hsuan (who you may have heard on the soundtrack to Wong Kar Wai's In The Mood For Love). This record is totally gorgeous. No Beefheart skronk or Magic Band mayhem here, just dreamy and ethereal, wistful and delicate, perfect pop. So lovely. Gently fingerpicked guitars, and soaring, songbird vocals, with lilting melancholy melodies and spare, spacious arrangements. Also, amidst these gorgeous pop songs are scattered solo guitar pieces, also traditional Chinese although they don't always sound it, that are really beautiful and sound quite a bit like John Fahey or Jim O'Rourke, ranging from faux Appalachian abstract blues folk to shimmery, heavily reverbed minor key soundscapes, albeit with slightly Eastern tinged melodies. But it's the gorgeous vocals that are the centerpiece here, from two amazing vocalists, effortlessly channelling the spirit and sound of Chow Hsuan and the Chinese pop of the mid twentieth century. So nice.
MPEG Stream: "Old Dreams"
MPEG Stream: "Please Allow Me To Look At You Again"
MPEG Stream: "The Mad World"
MPEG Stream: "The Wall"

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.

MEHRPOUYA, ABBASS Mehrpouya Sitar (Persianna) cd 25.00
Long overdue reissue of this lost psychedelic Indian funk gem from one of Iran's top sitarists, his only record, recorded sometime in the seventies, and a holy grail ever since. The liner notes claim this is one of the rarest and most in demand albums from Iran, and it's easy to hear why. Imagine your favorite jams from the Ethiopiques series, WITH SITAR and FLUTE, and we're talking total psych funk groove nirvana.
Heavy and fuzzy and druggy and a little bit space-y these mostly untitled jams totally destroy, we can only imagine the sort of joyous meltdown any crate digger lucky enough to snag one of these must have experienced, the drums are fierce, powerful, organs swirl, flutes soar and flutter, and all over the tracks that sitar buzzes gloriously. Some of the songs are a bit folkier and more pastoral, sounding like some seventies acid folk record only with sitar and haunting Eastern melodies. But it's the stomping funk workouts that seal the deal, especially the 11 minute funk rock epic "African Jumbo" (one of only two songs here with titles), that sounds straight out of some seventies sitcom, or like it was purloined by Tarantino for one of his soundtracks, looped and hypnotic, super melodic and catchy as all get out. A few of the tracks feature vocals, deep and dramatic, and those songs slip into Bollywood love scene territory for sure, mysterious and moody, in fact the last few songs tend toward ballad territory, until the record closer, a bonus track taken from a super rare tape, that is murky and heavy with strings and wah guitar, total Indian blaxploitation soundtrack groove, that slips from sexy strut, to dreamy croon, to cinematic soar and back again. Amazing stuff. Fans of the Ethiopiques series and the funkier Sublime Frequencies releases will definitely dig...
MPEG Stream: "1"
MPEG Stream: "2"
MPEG Stream: "African Jumbo"

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)"

NATHAMUNI BROTHERS Madras 1974 (Fire Musem) cd 14.98

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
Back in print, and back in stock!!
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 s/t (Rhino / Scorpio) lp 16.98
Kitschy sitar / Moog classic from 1970, featuring a great cover and some amusing covers ("Jumpin' Jack Flash" and "Light My Fire") alongside Shankar's own Indian music meets Western pop experiments...pretty cool. Finally reissued legit.

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"

SINGH, CHARANJIT Synthesizing: Ten Ragas To A Disco Beat (Bombay Connection) cd 17.98
Now available on compact disc!!! The vinyl version was limited or something (perhaps being repressed), but now that this is on cd, and we've got plenty, we can make it Record Of The Week! As it should be, since it gets played here at least several times a day.
This is so absolutely brilliant and bonkers, that when we first heard it, we thought it must be fake, some modern day Rephlex artist putting everyone on, taking the piss, with a "raga-techno" album supposedly from the early '80s. But, no joke, this is the real thing! In 1982, Charanjit Singh, a famous Bollywood composer (he was featured on Sublime Frequencies amazing Bollywood Steel Guitar compilation), had a plan to translate ancient traditional Indian classical ragas to the synthesizer. Using the very synths that would later define Acid House (Rolands TB-303 and TR-808!), Singh unwittingly created a proto-acid masterpiece, before the techno genre ever existed. Since only a hundred or less copies were made originally, this release was mostly a rumor since its creation. We vaguely remember Drew Daniel from Matmos talking about it on Pitchfork, a couple of years back, saying someone should reissue it, but we weren't ready for how incredible and ahead of its time it sounds. Imagine if Kraftwerk (or even Oneohtrix Point Never) started composing music for a Bollywood Rave. Or imagine a more raga-inspired take on another proto-acid classic, Manuel Gottsching's epic E2-E4. While the "disco" rhythms are fast and frenetic and don't really vary that much between tracks (they're not really disco beats per se, but more akin to acid's trancey bounce), the synth flourishes and squelches of the raga over the top are soaring and floaty, making the tracks deliriously hypnotic. Capturing acid house's lysergic transcendence but with an outsider's economy that refuses to date it specifically to the era. We guarantee there is not another release quite like this one in your collection. Highest Recommendation!
MPEG Stream: "Raga Bhairav"
MPEG Stream: "Raga Madhuvanti"

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.

SOULEYMAN, OMAR Jazeera Nights: Folk And Pop Sounds Of Syria (Sublime Frequencies) cd 16.98
We'll admit, we're a sucker for Sublime Frequencies, they've yet to release a record that didn't totally blow our minds. Which says as much about SF's curating as it does about the unheard music worldwide. Treasures everywhere, amazing and passionate and personal and far out sounds, being made in homes and yards, on street corners, in bars, at picnics and parties, not conceived for public consumption, meant for a small audience, and often for a specific purpose, getting a glimpse into these magical musical moments is what Sublime Frequencies is all about, and we feel lucky to get to experience these sounds.
This is the third record from Omar Souleyman on Sublime Frequencies, and just might be the best one yet, which is saying A LOT. A collection of live recordings culled from nearly 15 years worth of cassettes, these tracks are incredible, energetic, passionate, so full of life, effusive and emotional, funky and celebratory, and to Western ears, seriously far out. There's almost a wild Bollywood vibe (even though this is from the Middle East, not India), in the vocals, and the rhythms, and with the crazy tangled synthesizer melodies, the propulsive drumming, and Souleyman's distorted, wailed vocal delivery, it all sounds just so perfect, even listening to this music on record, it sounds sweaty and exhausting and cathartic, it's easy to imagine a big crowd of people dancing and bouncing along, freed from all cares and concerns letting the music just carry them away.
Like all Sublime Frequencies releases, the liner notes offer up so much information, on Souleyman, his life, the history of Syria, on Syrian folk music, etc, but even without all that info, if it's just about the music, these are some of the most amazing sounds you'll ever hear. Frantic Eastern melodies, frenetic percussion, analog synths wound around Souleyman's vocals, this is party music, dance music, but not like party or dance music the way we normally think about it. The music of Souleyman is transcendent, spiritual, psychedelic, transformative, a folk pop known as Dabke, rarely heard in the West, perhaps not at all if it wasn't for Sublime Frequencies, and we'd imagine these sounds might be overwhelming for casual world music listeners, it is after all wild and frantic and relentless, the melodies complex and twisted and tangled, there are some moments that verge on folky for sure, the final track is a gorgeous haunting lament, just vocals and buzzing synthesizers, but barring that track, even on the folkier jams, those strange synths, the unique melodies, the repetitive tranced out rhythms, those all transform Souleyman's folk into something much more, and in most cases, it's not long before the band explodes into yet another super intense sweat soaked psychedelic Syrian folk pop workout. So great!
MPEG Stream: "Hafer Gabrak Bidi (I Will Dig Your Grave With My Hands)"
MPEG Stream: "Ala Il Hanash Madgouga (The Bedouin Tattoo)"
MPEG Stream: "Hot Il Khanjar Bi Gleibi (Stab My Heart)"
MPEG Stream: "Kell Il Banat Inkhatban (All The Girls Are Engaged)"