Current 93 - Sing Omega (2014)

This week, after a mere 8 years of waiting, I received David Tibet's lyric book 'Sing Omega'. It looks gorgeous, and you should probably get it. What you won't be able to get, unless like me you pre-ordered it and paid for it all those years ago, is this cardboard bonus CD, throwing together some odds and ends from Current 93's vast discography, some previously released (but hard to find), others never available before. I don't see why you shouldn't be allowed to hear it though, so here you go. No title mentioned anywhere, so I just went with the title of the book it came with. Not to be confused with the 2010 album 'Baalstorm, Sing Omega', of course.
Be warned: it starts with 20 minutes of Tibet talking into a dictaphone about some ideas for a novel, and singing some a cappella stuff. For hardcore Current 93 fans! ;-)

Tracklist:
1. The Tale of the Descent of Long Satan and Babylon (Dictaphone Recording)
2. A Song for Douglas (After He's Dead) (Dictaphone Recording)
3. Hitler as Kalki (Dictaphone Recording)
4. Silence as Christine (Dictaphone Recording)
5. Anyway, People Die (Dictaphone Recording)
6. Chewing on Shadows (Instrumental)
7. Moonbird for Jhonn (Feat. Ben Chasny)
8. Quiet Crosses
9. Conspiracy Born
10. Moonless (from O Poço)
11. Black Ship Bloodbells (Live)
12. Not Because the Fox Barks (Live)
13. The Dream of the Green Goddess
14. She Took Us to the Places Where the Sun Sets (Outtake)
15. The Seahorse Rears to Oblivion (Instrumental)

320kbps.

Kan Mikami - Daiyonshishuu - Spirit of Aomori 2010.12.4 (2010)

As promised, here's the second of two obscure Kan Mikami (三上寛) albums I dug up and saw fit to disseminate. This one is as weird as the 'Jumping Beans' 12-versions-of-the-same-song one. "第４詩集: Spirit Of Aomori 2010.12.4" is an odd bag. I haven't had the time yet to sit down with the booklet and try to figure out what it's all about, but it seems to be part of a series that celebrates several regions of Japan and their shinkansen lines (in this case Aomori, the very northernmost region of Japan's main island Honshū, where Mikami is from), and at at the same time a tribute to Shūji Terayama (寺山修司), who is probably best known as the director of such '70s movies as トマトケッチャップ皇帝 ('Emperor Tomato Ketchup'), 書を捨てよ町へ出よう ('Throw Away Your Books, Go Out Into the Streets!'), and 田園に死す ('Death in the Country', aka 'Pastoral Hide and Seek'; this one is amazing by the way, and Mikami is in it!); and also as the founder of experimental musical theater group 天井桟敷 (Tenjō Sajiki), well known for their collaborations with J・A・シーザー (J.A. Seazer). When I find out more about what this is really all about, I'll update this post. Anyway, what you get here is some well-known Mikami songs, newly recorded, some unknown songs, and some snippets of interviews and other talk. An odd mishmash, but somehow very enjoyable and certainly worthy of being rescued from oblivion.
Released in 2010 by H.I.T.
Get it.
320kbps.

Kan Mikami - Jumping Beans (2003)

So anyway, when I said 'new posts in the near future', I meant '4 months from now' (apparently). Yes, I've been hibernating, but so what. There's plenty of bloggers still out there, somehow, despite the persistent threat that all their shared files can be deleted without warning at any time. I'm not going to go over older posts myself, I imagine a lot of the links are dead, maybe all of them... If there's anything you would like to see re-upped, ask, and I'll see what I can do... only that Kazuki Tomokawa DVD rip, which seems to be in demand, I don't know... where do people upload files of that size these days? It's been up here for many months, can I pass the torch to anyone else?
Anyway, if I have awoken (however briefly?) from my slumber, it is because I've stumbled upon something I realize I can't leave unshared. Not one, but two albums by one of my favourite artists of all time, that have been out for 2 (the other one) and 9 (nine!) years, respectively - and I hadn't the foggiest notion they even existed! How did that happen?
I don't know, but something tells me I'm not alone in this, so here they come.
First let me remind you that the very first post ever on this blog was a (stunning) Kan Mikami album, so this Mikami-induced resurrection seems fitting. If you don't have that one yet, go get that first. There was also that weird split live album with David Peel, for completists only. Now, first up, here is something entitled ジャンピング　ビーンズ, or 'Jumping Beans'. This mysterious 29-minute CD was released by a label called スファイロス (Sufairosu, presumably to be read Sfairos (Σφαῖρος?)). It contains 12 versions of one and the same track (!) - good thing it's a track you won't find on any other Mikami album, and that it's pretty damn great. Sufficient variation makes for a fine listening experience. The track is entitled 闇に浮く ('Yami ni uku', '(I?) Float in Darkness'). The music and fierce growls are by Mikami but the lyrics are credited to one ラロカ・デ・ラ・カーサ (Laroca de la Casa?). The whole thing seems to have something to do with some piece of theatre, presumably about airborne vegetables. OK, so the origins of this little curio remain shrouded in darkness, but at least now we can all listen to it. The other Mikami obscurity is coming up soon (really!).
Enjoy!
320kbps.

V/A - Azərbaycan Ulduzları (2012)

As we all know by now, the future is looking bleak for blogs like this, and for the internet in general. It looks like some links may be gone due to the whole Megaupload fiasco. I will reupload what I can upon request (just did Aihiyo), and should this blog get closed down (what with the major losses the big labels are no doubt suffering because of me), I may start again somewhere else, I don't know... keep your eyes and ears open and fight the power, or whatever. There's more out there than the crap the majors want to cram down your throat.
Anyway, while I do plan to have some posts of my own in the near future, this one is yet again courtesy of the inimitable Mr. IX - and this time (a Schwebeablaut first!) it's an 80 minute home-made compilation ("mix tape" if you must), and even comes with some very professional-looking artwork you can print, if you want to burn your own CD. Many thanks as ever to Mr. IX!


"This is a very personal mix of music from Azerbaijan, loosely focused on muğam, but much more on personal taste. A bunch of favourite songs, limited to the length of one cd. I could make a four hour compilation but I figured to keep it snappy.


Unesco has something to say about this as well: 
The Azerbaijani Mugham is a traditional musical form, characterized by a large degree of improvisation. The Mugham, though a classical and academic art, draws upon popular bard melodies, rhythms and performance techniques and is performed in many venues throughout the country.
Contemporary representations of the Azerbaijani Mugham reflect different periods of Azerbaijan’s history and its contacts with Persians, Armenians, Georgians and with other Turkic peoples. This musical genre shares artistic characteristics with the Iraqi Maqam, the Persian Radif and the Turkish Makams. In the past, Mugham was primarily performed on two secular occasions: the toy, the traditional wedding feast and the majles, a gathering of connoisseurs in private settings. It was also cultivated by members of the Sufi orders and by performers of religious dramas known as ta’zie or shabih. Official competitions and informal contests served to establish the reputation of accomplished musicians.
This modal genre features a male or female singer accompanied by musicians playing traditional instruments, such as the tar (a long-neck lute), the kamancha (a four-string spiked fiddle) and the daf (a type of large tambourine). Since Mugham cannot be transcribed in a fixed form, multiple versions are transmitted by masters who train students in the fine art of interpretation to ensure the variety of this artistic expression.
The Mugham has lost some of its aesthetic and expressive characteristics largely due to European influences, which are particularly apparent in the manner in which contemporary musicians perform and transmit their skills to the younger generations.

There, as much as I appreciate the traditional form I also appreciate the mixing with European influences. For this compilation I kept things fairly but not rigidly traditional. I went for an entertaining listen first and foremost, keeping things diverse but within an esthetic frame, so for instance no jazz/funk, let alone drum computers. Sound quality hasn't been much of an objective either. The songs are put in order and (mildly) segued, so best listen in the order presented, whether you burn to a cdr (small booklet included) or not."


Tracklist (track title - artist):
1. Könlümə düşmüsən - Zeynəb Xanlarova
2. Bir Xumar Baxışla - Şövkət Ələkbərova
3. Sarı Gəlin - Qədir Rüstəmov
4. Mehriban Olaq - İslam Rzayev
5. Mirzə Hüseyn Segahı - Mircavad Cəfərov
6. Şirin Dil - Gülağa Məmmədov
7. Bayatı-Şiraz - Fehruz Məmmədov
8. Daşlı Qala - Əbülfǝt Əliyev
9. Çargyah - Habil Əliyev
10. Anama - Rübabə Muradova
11. Heç Küsməyin Yeridirmi - Natiq Nuriyev
12. Müxalif təsnifi - Bülbül
13. Laylay - Fatma Mehrəliyeva
14. Bakının Ulduzları - Rəşid Behbudov


And don't forget, kids: you got it from Schwebeablaut - where you can download good music in the safety of knowing that you won't have to spend half an hour trying to correct the tags.
[Bitrates are of course lower than usual this time around, but that comes with the territory.]
Here.

Grupul Vocal „Fărșeroții” - Muzică Populară Macedo-Română (1971)

Oh me oh my, here comes another guest post from the masked blogger, Mr. IX! Many thanks to him.


More vocal polyphony. This is a rip from an old Electrecord (Romanian state record company) with music from a minority that's spread all over the Balkan called the "Macedo-Romanians" or "Aromâni". These recordings are from a section of that called "Fărșeroții", who live in small groups called "fâlcare". An ancient proverb is "the Fărșeroții are never worried, they sing the whole day". They may come from the Dobrogea region in Romania (which crosses the borders of Moldova and Bulgaria), the style is surprisingly similar to South-Albanian polyphony posted here earlier. "Dzeana iu-ți vineai", the fourth track, adds a strange Afro-American gospel feeling to it.
Have at it.
320kbps.

V/A - Albania - Vocal and Instrumental Polyphony (1988)

So it looks like I've been terribly lazy with this blog again... Not to worry! In comes a guest post (all good blogs have them!) from a friend whom I will simply call Mr. IX, but who is also known to those who, err, know him as 'He with the vast music collection' or 'He of encyclopedic connoisseurship'. He even deigned to write a little blurb to go with it, and threw in some video links. Thanks, Mr. IX! Here goes.


As a kid I heard music from the Balkans and Anatolia but it took a while out of the parental home to start rediscovering it. The public library was the place to explore in those days and one day I got the Chants Du Monde release "Albania: Vocal And Instrumental Polyphonics". It hit me as one of the weirdest and grimmest traditional musics I heard until then, way before drone became fashionable again through Sunn0))) and the revival of the experiments in that field in the sixties and seventies. Yet, this was no experimental academic music but regular folks singing incredibly subtle harmonies dense with pain and dissonance (not as dissonant as some other traditions I learned later, like Georgian gurian style  and gange singing from Croatia, but that stuff is even more alien and hard to relate to). I've heard a bunch of collections of this style of singing and this still stands as my favourite. Especially "Legend Of The Walled-In Woman" is nothing short of breathtaking.

From Unesco.org:

The traditional Albanian polyphonic music can be divided into two major stylistic groups as performed by the Ghegs of northern Albania and Tosks and Labs living in the southern part of the country. The candidature file id dedicated to the iso-polyphonic music performed by the Tosks and Labs of southern Albania. The term iso is related to the ison of Byzantine church music and refers to the drone, which accompanies the polyphonic singing. The drone is performed in two ways: among the Tosks, it is always continuous and sung on the syllable ‘e’, using staggered breathing; while among the Labs, the drone is sometimes sung as a rhythmic tone, performed to the text of the song. It can be differentiated between two-, three- and four-voice polyphony.

Two-voice iso-polyphony represents the simplest form of Albanian polyphony and is popular all over southern Albania. Iso-polyphony is practised mainly by men, but there is a number of female singers, too. The music is performed at a wide range of social events, such as weddings, funerals, harvest feasts, religious celebrations and festivals such as the well-known Albanian folk festival in Gjirokastra.

Albanian iso-polyphony is characterised by songs consisting of three parts: two solo parts, a  melody and a countermelody with a choral drone. Four-part singing is found less often and only among the Labs. This form consists also of two solo parts, but is accompanied by a double drone, one choral and one solo. The structure of the solo parts differs according to the different ways of performing the drone, but there is also a great variety of structures within the two drone types, especially in the pedal style that is popular with all groups performing this music.

Over the last decades, the modest rise of cultural tourism, along with the growing interest of the research community in this unique folk tradition, has contributed to the revival of Albanian iso-polyphony.


Here.
320kbps.

Kazuki Tomokawa - Sakura no kuni no chiru naka o (1980)

While I still can't quite figure out the title to Kazuki Tomokawa (友川かずき)'s fifth studio album, 'Sakura no kuni no chiru naka o' (桜の国の散る中を) must mean something like 'Within the Country of Falling Cherry Blossoms'. Wouldn't 桜の散る国の中を make more sense though? Just goes to show how hard it is (for me at least?) to get a good grip on this devilish language. So anyone with more insight, please help an otōto out.
Anyway, this album was released in October 1980 on Bellwood, and reissued in 1992 and again in 1995 on King. The studio album that preceded this one was 1978's 俺の裡で鳴り止まない詩 ('Ore no uchi de nariyamanai mono'), which was posted here earlier; but in the meantime Tomokawa had released his first live album, 犬～友川かずき秋田コンサートライブ ('Inu - Tomokawa Kazuki Akita Konsāto Raibu', or in translation: 'Dog - Tomokawa Kazuki Akita Concert Live'), which I may get around to some other time (it's essential if only for that exclusive song 寂滅 ('Jakumetsu', which means 'Nirvana')).

The tracklist on this one is as follows (Japanese / rōmaji / translation); the translations are the ones given on the official website.

1. 犬  /  Inu  /  A Dog
2. 闇  /  Yami  /  Darkness
3. 点  /  Ten  /  Point
4. 問うなれば  /  Tou nareba  /  Must Start Questioning
5. 赤子の限界  /  Akago no genkai  /  The Limits Within an Infant
6. おどの独白  /  Odo no dokuhaku  /  Odo's Soliloquy
7. 口から木綿  /  Kuchi kara momen  /  Cotton From the Mouth
8. 因われのうた  /  Toraware no uta  /  A Song of Captivity
9. 桜の国の散る中を  /  Sakura no kuni no chiru naka o  /  Within the Country of Falling Cherry Blossoms

The last one, the epic title track (dig that choir!), is subtitled （会田哲士君の霊に捧ぐ）in the booklet: 'Aida Tetsushi-kun no rei ni sasagu', 'Dedicated to the Soul of Mr. Tetsushi Aida'. I don't know who this is, but the 'kun'-suffix would seem to indicate that it's a younger friend of Tomokawa's.

There does not seem to be any link between the Odo in the spoken sixth track and the eponymous killer from Kan Mikami (三上寛)'s song on his first album, 三上寛の世界 ('Mikami Kan no sekai', 1971).

In the booklet (scans included), we find the following credits:

友川かずき (Kazuki Tomokawa): singing, guitar

ピップエレキバンド (Pippu Ereki Bando = Pip Electric Band; as far as I can recall the only other album this band is mentioned on is 'Inu'):

石塚俊明 (Toshiaki Ishizuka, yes, the guy from Vajra): drums, percussion

古家恭子 (Kyōko Furuya, who was already there from the first album): piano, keyboard

山脇クマ (Kuma Yamawaki): bass

菊池雅志 (Masashi Kikuchi): shakuhachi, yokobue (two types of Japanese flutes)

牧良介 (Ryōsuke Maki): narration on track 6

There are a bunch of other musicians in minor roles, but let's not go crazy.

By the way, last year's live DVD has been reuploaded here.

Just listen.

320kbps.

Susan Alcorn - And I Await the Resurrection of the Pedal Steel Guitar (2007)

Original CD-R cover art.

I'm pretty tired and lazy at the moment, but I promised myself I would try not to let this blog gather cobwebs again (at least not too soon), so if you don't mind I'm going to go with this promo text I found on Boomkat. It pretty much says what I was going to write anyway (except for the odd ellipsis and the very frequently found typo 'Messaien' for [Olivier] Messiaen, weird right?):
'Susan Alcorn is already up to her fifth album of solo pedal steel explorations, and this latest on Olde English Spelling Bee sounds every bit as beautiful as it looks. Proving that the instrument can easily out manoeuvre any Nashville stranglehold, Alcorn's music is as far removed from country as you could imagine. Making fine use of the volume pedal, Alcorn creates stately swells of electric string warmth, rising up and disappearing in mists of echo, or sliding and detuning into a discordant abyss. There are so many more textures at play in Alcorn's work: at times you'll [hear?] something encroaching upon Loren Connors' haunted blues, at others she'll drop in some angular, fractured riffs on Messaien-influenced harmony. This feels like a really special release, a modern exploration of [an?] instrument that's seldom given the opportunity to break free of its supporting-cast shackles. Highly recommended.'

Cover of the LP reissue. I know, it's prettier.

I will just add two things, quickly:
1. Prior to the LP on Olde English Spelling Bee, this was actually released on CD-R by miss Alcorn herself, probably in a pretty limited run.
2. This CD-R version contains an unlisted bonus track not on the vinyl: a moody cover version of Domenico Modugno's Emmy-Award-winning song 'Nel blu dipinto di blu' (1958), popularly known far and wide as 'Volare'.

That quaint cottage industry feel again.

Enjoy.
320kbps.


PS: to make up for my laziness I will add (but just this once all right? Don't expect me to make a habit of it), a very nice video: Susan Alcorn performing Messiaen's 'O Sacrum Convivium' (1937), usually for a cappella choir.

Richard Youngs - Live In Salford (2008)

This may be upside down, who knows.

Richard Youngs is one of my favourite artists when it comes to that whole folk-with-a-twist scene, but he's also one of those artists who will release just about anything they record (I've lost track of what he's released this year alone) - and if no label will have it, he'll just do it himself on his own No Fans imprint.

The 17th (!) of these home-made CDR releases is 'Live in Salford', a whopping 50 of which were released in 2008 and available exclusively through that ecstatic channel of cosmic hype surrounding anything that is cottage-produced and purposely made to sell out in less than a week and become sought-after by collectors, thus lending an aura of CULT upon the creator, and if possible, also a bit upon the seller - yes, I'm talking about Volcanic Tongue, and yes - I'm taking the piss of course (but there's something to it, admit it...). This one shows all the usual trappings: unique packaging for every single copy, hand-stamped and written wax paper wrapper, white stamped CDR carrying a 28 minute live recording, 25 minutes of which consists of ecstatic flute playing, followed by a coda of Youngs' trademark singing, equal parts folky and psychedelic. While this is in no way an essential Youngs release (try 'Sapphie' or 'River Through a Howling Sky' or 'Under Stellar Stream', to name just a few classics - or this year's 'Amplifying Host'), this is definitely a charming by-product of a relentless artist whose heart overfloweth with a goodly matter. Not a good starting point, but a nice addition to the more easily available recordings for the - oops, I almost said fans.
Here.
320kbps.

Kinshi Tsuruta - Biwa, the World of Tsuruta Kinshi (1995)

Followers of this blog who have been craving more biwa madness ever since that Junko Ueda post can finally relax. Kinshi Tsuruta (鶴田錦史, 1911-1995) is something of the grandma of the genre (doesn't have that ring to it that I was going for, but anyway), going as far as to create her own adapted version of the traditional lute-like instrument. Ueda was in fact one of her many female pupils. Admirers of Japanese cinema may have heard Tsuruta perform during the Hōichi segment of Masaki Kobayashi (小林正樹)'s classic movie 'Kaidan' (怪談, also transliterated 'Kwaidan', 1964). It was composer Tōru Takemitsu (武満徹) who got her to perform on that soundtrack, when in fact at the time she hadn't played for years. The thing is, she had decided in her twenties to go into business and make some money, so that by the time she was 50 or so she could play her instrument as she pleased for the rest of her life. And as it turned out she was 54 by the time 'Kaidan' needed soundtracking, so Takemitsu's invitation was just the spur she needed to get her back into the studio. Years later she worked together again with Takemitsu (who got over his distaste for traditional music thanks to her) on some of his compositions, the most famous one being 'November Steps'. Her playing shows some radical departures from classical practice; she rubs the strings and slaps the body of the instrument. Her voice is pretty awe-inspiring as well. I'm telling you, this old lady was not to be messed with.

Dig those specs.

This album (琵琶劇唱〜鶴田錦史の世界 or 'Biwa Gekishō - Tsuruta Kinshi no Sekai') presents three traditional pieces performed in the studio in October 1993, at the age of 82. There is 俊寛 ('Shunkan'), a prelude to the downfall of the Heike clan; 壇の浦 ('Dan no Ura'), which tells of the tragic final battle and the emptiness of the glory vanished in the sea; and 義経 ('Yoshitsune'), which describes three episodes in the life of the hero of Genji, rival clan to the Heike. These tales have been told many times before in various forms (noh, kabuki, bunraku, biwa music), but these readings breathe new life into them.

Original cover (1995); the white one is the 2005 reissue.

Tsuruta-san performed one more concert after this recording, but less than a week later suffered a cerebral infarction which left her bound to a wheelchair. She died two years later, when these recordings were released on King Records (benchmark of quality traditional music, unfortunately also synonymous with ridiculously high prices and scarce availability outside of Japan).
There is another late recording of Tsuruta on Ocora, but it has been out of print for years. If you see it in the second-hand bins, definitely pick it up. For now, enjoy this nice King release. Files tagged in Japanese. Scans included (half of the liner notes are even in English!). You're welcome.
320kbps.
Here.

Chie Mukai - Songs & Improvisation (2003)

Here is a very obscure CD-R release by Chie Mukai (向井千惠). It's a live recording from "2002.5.1" (thanks to the ubiquitous confusion regarding the notation of dates, I can not say with any certainty if this is January 5th or the 1st of May - what could be more logical and unambiguous than dd.mm.yyyy people, come on?), recorded at Pepperland in Okayama. She is credited with "胡弓 (er-hu), vocal, piano, percussion, etc.". 胡弓 is actually the Japanese kokyū, which is not quite the same as the Chinese èrhú (二胡), but apparently there is some confusion in the use of these terms. Enough already with the confusion! Anyway, it's an eastern Asian spike fiddle with 2 or (in Japan) 3 strings.
Chie Mukai is a unique improviser who is not averse to some minimalist droning or wordless vocalizing. She is perhaps best known as the leader of free improvisation ensemble Ché-SHIZU (シェシズ), formed as far back as 1981. They have a couple of albums on PSF, one of which ('Nazareth') was also released in 2003. Another notable group she performs with is Enkidu (with Éric Cordier and Seiichi Yamamoto). Check out their album 'Hasselt' (also 2003!), which, unlike the Ché-SHIZU album mentioned, was in fact recorded in the fair city after which it is named.
This disc (a blue TDK Toughness CD-R, 650MB) is a bit of a mystery, there's no info to be found anywhere. I think it's basically something she copied herself in very limited quantities and handed out to friends or sold at concerts. Here's your chance to hear it for yourself. Oh, by the way, the third track (not the second one as is mentioned on the back (see scans), as the entire thing is preceded by a 2 minute warm-up) is a (slightly misquoted) cover of 'A Maid That['s] Deep In Love', a traditional but no doubt based on the Pentangle version, from their 1970 album 'Cruel Sister'. About the last 2 tracks (transliterated, 'Okoru' and 'Tokimeki no Hata') I have no information. Do you?
Hear me now.
320kbps.

V/A - Outsinging the Nightingale: Lost Treasures of Bulgarian Music 1905-1950 (2010)

What better way to appease the countless fans of this blog, after such a long drought, than with 4 discs (306 minutes) chock-full of old Bulgarian songs sourced from original 78s, released last year on JSP? No scans this time and a lower bitrate than you're usually regaled with here, but hey - just buy it why don't you. In fact, if you are pleasantly tickled by this and are ready to hit that order button, please do so from the expert compiler (Lauren Brody) herself.
Unlike the actual box set, this rip contains a tracklist in Cyrillic for us Friends of All Languages.
Parts 1 and 2.
192kbps.

Kazuki Tomokawa - Ore no uchi de nariyamanai mono (1978)

The complete title is 俺の裡で鳴り止まない詩～中原中也作品集 (Ore no uchi de nariyamanai mono - Nakahara Chūya sakuhinshū). I only noticed the tiny furigana next to 詩 recently, I always read it as 'uta'. In any case, the title means 'Poems that won't stop crying inside of me - Collection of works by Chūya Nakahara', and this is the 4th studio album by bluesy folk hero Kazuki Tomokawa (友川かずき); if you've been following this blog, you should know him by now. This is one from the first 2 decades of Tomokawa's career, before he was picked up by P.S.F. Records, and these albums are to this day far less easy to obtain than the later ones. The songs, settings of poems by Nakahara (whom you can get to know better here) are quite lavishly orchestrated. Once you get to know them, you can treat yourself to a comparison with 中原中也作品集 (yes, that's basically the same title, with the first line omitted), a 2003 album (it was originally only to be found in the lavish P.S.F.-released 13-CD box) on which Tomokawa records all these songs again solo. I kind of like the almost bombastic arrangements on some of the versions here, though they may be an acquired taste for some.
Tracklist with transliterations and translations (the latter taken from Tomokawa's official site):

1. サーカス (Sākasu) - The Circus
2. 臨終 (Rinjū) - One's Dying Hour
3. 湖上 (Kojō) - Upon the Lake
4. 帰郷 (Kikyō) - Going Back Home
5. 桑名の駅 (Kuwana no eki) - Kuwana Station
6. 夏の日の歌 (Natsu no hi no uta) - Song of a Summer Day
7. 汚れっちまった悲しみに (Yogorechimatta kanashimi ni) - For the Tainted Sorrow
8. 春の日の夕暮 (Haru no hi no yūgure) - Dusk of a Spring Day
9. 六月の雨 (Rokugatsu no ame) - Rainfall in June
10. 坊や (Bōya) - Sonny Boy      

The album was released in 1978 on Bellwood and reissued in 1990 on King. The rip was made from this CD reissue. There is a later remastered reissue (from ca. 2003?) that I haven't heard, but this one sounds fine to me. Files are tagged in Japanese for your pleasure. Scans included, because you deserve it.
By the way: when is that documentary going to be released on DVD already??
320kbps.
Here.

Damon & Naomi - Monday, January 19th, 2004 At Kichijoji Manda-la 2, Tokyo (2005)

Mention was made here recently (in the Kim Doo Soo post) of Damon & Naomi (you know, formerly Galaxie 500). Here's a little something they released on the side in 2005, supported as they often were (still are?) by Michio Kurihara (栗原ミチオ), who played guitar in Ghost, The Stars and White Heaven. My main interest in this short live recording is the fourth track, which is a cover version of Kazuki Tomokawa (友川かずき)'s song 私の花 ('Watashi no hana', translated here as 'My Flower'), from his 1993 album 花々の過失 ('Hanabana no kashitsu', aka 'Fault of Flowers'). There's also covers of Caetano Veloso ('Araçá Azul'), Jacks ('Love', which is a version of their 遠い海へ旅に出た私の恋人 / 'Tōi umi e tabi ni deta watashi no koibito' if I'm not mistaken - a more literal translation would be 'My Lover Who Went on a Journey to a Distant Sea') and - a standard by now even in D&N's repertoire - Tim Buckley's 'Song to the Siren'. Taishi Takizawa (瀧澤大志) plays flute on the last 2 songs; he was also in Ghost. This was a CDR release for Japanese label Disk Union, numbered to 100 copies. The title given here is what is printed on the disc itself.
Enjoy.

320kbps.

Kim Doo Soo - Bohemian (1991)

Here's a nice treat: 'Bohemian' (보헤미안), the third album by Korean folk singer/guitarist Kim Doo Soo (김두수). I also found the titles 자유로운 마음강변마을 사람들 and 'Jayuro-un ma-eum / Kang-byun ma-eul sa-ram-deul' for this somewhere, no idea what they mean or if they are correct. Let's call it 'Bohemian', shall we.
Kim has gained many new fans in recent years because of his inclusion on 'International Sad Hits vol. 1', a compilation album released by the Damon & Naomi people on their 20 20 20 label, where he appeared alongside Kan Mikami (三上寛), Kazuki Tomokawa (友川かずき) and Fikret Kızılok, and because of his move to P.S.F. Records. This one, released in 1991 on Sea Ra Bul Records, predates all that though, and is rather hard to find. The trademark sound is there though (albeit with more accordion, cello, organ and harmonica here), the gorgeous wistfulness and quavering voice already in place. Here's what the track titles supposedly translate to:
1. A Bohemian
2. The People in the Riverside Village
3. Free of my Hearts
4. The Sun Shines on the Water (Ad Lib for Meditation)
5. The River
6. At the Distance
7. The Secret of Green Barley Field
8. The Shade of a Tree
The cover shown here and in the scans is the one of the 2004 mini-gatefold CD reissue on Hyundai Records. Tracks are tagged in Korean.
Enjoy!
320kbps.

Kazuki Tomokawa - Le Petit Papier Important & Detaramena Yoru (2010)

Kazuki Tomokawa (友川かずき, or in recent years more often with his first name in katakana: 友川カズキ) is a Japanese folk singer, songwriter and poet. He's also a painter, a bicycle race fanatic, occasional actor and, reportedly, quite the skilled drinker. Born in the same year as Kan Mikami (三上寛), 1950, he too debuted in the first half of the 1970s, and over the years created a highly personal, very passionate style, accumulating a vast œuvre and eventually being picked up by PSF Records (originally a psych rock label, as the name - Psychedelic Speed Freaks - indicates). They have recorded together, too: a shared live album entitled 御縁 ('Goen', meaning 'Fate', but with a play on the word for '5 yen coin') was released in 1994; there was also a video cassette of the event. More video material was released in 2004: a live DVD entitled ピストル：渋谷アピア・ライブ ２００３ ('Pistol: Shibuya Apia Live 2003'); a great concert, unfortunately not the greatest sound.

With Vincent Moon's documentary on Tomokawa ('La Faute des Fleurs', referring to the 1993 album 花々の過失, 'Hanabana no Kashitsu' aka 'Fault of Flowers') doing the rounds at film festivals and in art theatres, Tomokawa's profile is finally on the rise. To tie in with this, a lavish book containing all (well, most of, I noticed some omissions) his lyrics from 1974 to 2010 has been published along with his new album 青いアイスピック ('Aoi Aisupikku', 'Blue Ice Pick'). It is entitled 'ユメは日々元気に死んでゆく ('Yume wa hibi genki ni shinde yuku'), which was already the title of a 1998 album (except there the kanji for the word 'yume' was used, rather than the katakana characters: 夢) and was translated there as 'Dreams Die Blithefully Day by Day'.

The book, released by Million Shuppan (ミリオン出版) is housed in a cardboard slipcase that also contains an extra folder with a DVD inside: 大事な小さい紙／出鱈目な夜 ('Daiji na chiisai kami / Detarame na yoru', or as it is also labeled on the cover: 'Le Petit Papier Important & Detaramena Yoru'). The first part refers to 61 minutes of live recordings made in 'Kingdom of Belgium', France and Switzerland in 2006; the second part to a 47 minute concert recorded 7 August 2010 at a place called Cafe Gati. On top of this, there's an interview (in Japanese, no subtitles) of about 20 minutes.

The whole package can still be obtained through various Japanese sources, but will cost you 69$ outside Japan. For us gaijin, this is perhaps a bit steep, considering that the book is entirely in Japanese. Since the DVD is not available separately, you can have a look here.


Tracklists: below you'll find the Japanese titles, followed in the case of the European recordings with date and location of recording; a transliteration of each title followed by the translation as given on Tomokawa's site; and the album on which each track was first featured.


大事な小さい紙 (Le Petit Papier Important) 27 Oct - 9 Nov 2006


1. サーカス (rec. 28 Oct, Ghent, Belgium) (Saakasu / The Circus)
from: 俺の裡で鳴り止まない詩~中原中也作品集~ / Ore no uchi ni de nariyamanai uta - Nakahara Chūya sakuhinshū / Poems That Won't Stop Crying From Within Me (1978)

2. ジャン・ジュネに訊け (rec. 31 Oct, Bourogne, France) (Jan June ni kike / Ask Jean Genet)
from: エリセの目 / Erise no me / The Eyes Of Elise (2001)

3. おじっちゃ (rec. 2 Nov, Marseille, France) (Ojitcha / Grandpa)
from: 肉声 / Nikusei / A Natural Voice (1976)

4. ぜい肉な朝 (rec. 3 Nov, Lyon, France) (Zeiniku na asa / Fat In The Morning Light)
from: ぜい肉な朝 / Zeiniku na asa / Fat In The Morning Light (1996)

5. 似合った青春 (rec. 4 Nov, Geneva, Switzerland) (Niatta seishun / A Fitting Adolescence)
from: 肉声 / Nikusei / A Natural Voice (1976)

6. ピストル (rec. 6 Nov, Metz, France) (Pisutoru / Pistol)
from: サトル / Satoru / Satoru (2003)

7. 訳のわからん気持 (rec. 7 Nov, Strasbourg, France) (Wake no wakaran kimochi / Can't Comprehend The Meaning Behind These Emotions)
from: サトル / Satoru / Satoru (2003)

8. カラブラン (rec. 9 Nov, Nantes, France) (Kara Buran / Kara Bran)
from: 青い水　赤い水 / Aoi mizu akai mizu / Blue Water, Red Water (2008)

9. グッドフェローズ (rec. 4 Nov, Geneva, Switzerland) (Guddo ferōzu / Good Fellows)
from: 一人盆踊り / Hitori bon-odori / Dance A Bonodori Alone (1995)



出鱈目な夜 (Detaramena Yoru) 7 Aug 2010
(the title is hard to translate, something like 'An Evening of Nonsense')
subtitled in the cardboard folder: 欧州ツアー秘録 (Ōshū tsuā hiroku / European Tour, Secret Notes)


1. 花あそび (Hana-asobi / Flower Trumps)
from: 青いアイスピック / Aoi aisupikku / Blue Ice Pick (2010)

2. 三種川 (Mitanegawa / Mitane River)
from: イナカ者のカラ元気 / Inakamono no karagenki / A Bumpkin's Empty Bravado (2009)

3. 海みたいな空だ (Umi-mitai na sora da / Look At The Sky, It's Like The Ocean)
from: 無惨の美 / Muzan no bi / Beauty Without Mercy (1986)

4. 顕信の一撃 (Kenshin no ichigeki / A Blow By Kenshin)
from: 顕信の一撃 / Kenshin no ichigeki / A Blow By Kenshin (2002)

5. シシャモ (Shishamo / A Smelt-Fish)
from: エリセの目 / Erise no me / The Eyes Of Elise (2001)

6. 先行一車 (Senkō Issha / Senkô Issha)
from: 青いアイスピック / Aoi aisupikku / Blue Ice Pick (2010)

7. 青い水　赤い水 (Aoi mizu akai mizu / Blue Water, Red Water)
from: 青い水　赤い水 / Aoi mizu akai mizu / Blue Water, Red Water (2008)

8. 絵の具の空 (Enogu no sora / Pigment Sky)
from: イナカ者のカラ元気 / Inakamono no karagenki / A Bumpkin's Empty Bravado (2009)

9. 明るい耳 (Akarui mimi / Bright Ears)
from: 青いアイスピック / Aoi aisupikku / Blue Ice Pick (2010)

10. 赤いポリアン (Akai porian / A Red Polyanthus)
from: 赤いポリアン / Akai porian / A Red Polyanthus (2000)

11. 生きてるって言ってみろ (Ikiteru 'tte itte miro / Say With Conviction, I Am Alive)
from: 千羽鶴を口に咬えた日々 / Senbazuru o kuchi ni kuwaeta hibi / Clenching A Senbazuru In My Mouth Day After Day (1977)

12. ワルツ (Bonus Track) (Warutsu / Waltz)
from: 無惨の美 / Muzan no bi / Beauty Without Mercy (1986)

*NOTE*
Newly uploaded files, November 2011. The original zipped folder has been freshly cut up into 5 new chunks, so don't combine these with any original parts you may have - will not work!

1 2 3 4 5

V/A - Viryavakay - Oh mother, protectress of the forest. Songs and melodies of the Mordva (2001)

The Mordva are the largest Finno-Ugric people in Russia; in other words they are related to Hungarians, Finns and Estonians, not to the Slavic Russians. This compilation on Dutch label Pan Records presents an overview of their traditional music, featuring fiddles, balalaika, accordion and recorder alongside a whole bunch of singing. There are wedding songs, laments, songs about family and history. There is a bunch of information in the booklet, so check out the scans included.
Available once more!
320kbps.

Junko Ueda - L'épopée des Heike (1990)

Today I would like you to hear a wonderful album of traditional Japanese music. Junko Ueda (上田純子) studied the Satsuma biwa (薩摩琵琶) under Kinshi Tsuruta (鶴田錦史, whose albums on Ocora and King are also highly recommended). She is now herself one of the big names in the genre, and doesn't shy away from more contemporary fare either, as performances of works by John Cage, Toshi Ichiyanagi (一柳慧) and Jean-Claude Éloy confirm. On this French CD release ('The Epic of the Heike'), she sings and strums her way through three chapters of the Heike Monogatari (平家物語), written around 1200. They are:
1. 敦盛 (Atsumori)
2. 那須与一 (Nasu no Yoichi)
3. 大原御幸 (Ōhara-Gokō)
Chilling stuff, this ain't no parsley sage rosemary & thyme. Scans of the English half of the booklet can be found here (sorry for the separate download). Files have been tagged in Japanese.
320kbps.
Here.

David Peel / Kan Mikami - Jirokichi Live at Koenji (2004)

This is probably one of the most obscure Kan Mikami albums, and - let's face it - deservedly so. A split album with some guy named David Peel, who, Wikipedia tells me, is an early performer of punk rock music while at the same time appealing mostly to hippies because of his lyrics about marijuana and "bad cops". Apparently they shared a stage at some point (3 December 2003 to be exact) and thought the recordings deserved a CD release. Somehow I think there have been about a 1000 other and better Mikami concerts throughout the decades that went unrecorded or at least unreleased, but such is life. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with the Mikami half per se (though there isn't much we haven't heard in a better version elsewhere either), but the Peel half sounds completely retarded to me. I can't figure out what drew these two together. Not essential by any means, but hard to find and probably of interest to Mikami fans, so there you go.
The Mikami tracks are:
1. インバ (Inba)
2. 五百子先生と山羊 (Yuriko-sensei to yagi)
3. 大きい羊は面白い (Ōkii hitsuji wa omoshiroi)
4. ここまで引かれた線 (Koko made hikareta sen)
5. 枝分かれ (Eda wakare)
6. 端雲～楢山節 (Zuiun / Narayama-bushi)
7. 虎をペットにしてる尼 (Tora o petto ni shiteru ama)
8. 黒く，飛ぶ人 (Kuroku, tobu hito)
9. 美術館 (Bijutsukan)

1 to 6 are from １９７９ (2003), 7 and 8 are from レスボス ('Lesbos', 2002 PSF), and 9 is from アラシ・雨・アラシ ('Arashi Ame Arashi', 1998), all on PSF. Except for the last track, live versions of all of these can also be found on 異議ナシ！('Igi Nashi', 2005 Open) - maybe something for another blog post here, some day.

The titles of the Peel tracks (10-15) are too idiotic to be mentioned here - check the scans I added (including the lyrics). This was released on Captain Trip Records in 2004.
320kbps.
Here.

Famille Lela de Përmet - Polyphonies vocales et instrumentales d'Albanie (1992)

Unfortunately this blog's tradition of impeccably tagged files must be interrupted today, due to my equally unfortunate lack of Albanian language skills. Or rather, due to the perennial disdain for foreign languages exhibited by those who profess to love foreign music (an imbalance I have never really understood). OK, no rant, just to say that this beautiful album of Albanian traditional music was released on a French label (Label Bleu) that has chosen to spare us the odd and possibly frightening-looking characters that are current in Albanian orthograph (i.c., the ë, as in the name of the family's hometown Përmet; we are granted the ç, because the French are fond of that one as well). So if anyone fluent in this language can offer some corrections to the track titles, that would be very welcome.
Anyway, 9 Albanians (most of them named Lela) perform some vocal and instrumental (clarinet, accordion, lute, percussion, violin) polyphonic music here, and it sounds wonderful. Get it here.
320kbps.