World / Traditional / India
640 products
Ghanaian hiplife phenom Yaw Atta-Owusu presents charming results of his first studio session since 1994’s sleeper hit ‘Obaa Sima’, which found an overdue, cult audience via the blogosphere as one of Awesome Tapes From Africa’s earliest and greatest drops in 2015. If you weren’t snagged on the ohrwurming keys, vox, and groove of the title tune to Ata Kak’s ‘Obaa Sima’ in 2015, you probably weren’t going to the right clubs and checking the right sites. 10 years later it still kills and is set to be joined by this fresh haul from the Bishop Beatz recording studio in Kumasi, Ghana, where Ata Kak laid down ‘Batakari’, his 1st recordings in three decades, recapturing the moxie of his original sound on six cuts that betray time and space travelled within more ambitious arrangements of signature fast chat factored by layered harmonies and rhythmic variegation. “Honed in studios around Kumasi over the last several years, the songs feature the rapper-singer’s acrobatic rap, signature scatting, dramatic drums and even traditional Akan harp. The compositions are more ambitious than his earlier work, with more complex arrangements and layered harmonies. Ata Kak’s new songs are also the natural expression of a restless artist—he is a prolific poet and author of a half-dozen books, as well as an active gardener and busy painter. Born in Ghana in 1960, Ata Kak wasn’t always involved in music. But his travels and openness to the world lead him into the music industry. While living in Germany, he was invited to play drums in a reggae band and subsequently played in highlife bands in Ontario after moving to the Toronto area. He recorded “Obaa Sima” there at his home studio and released it in Ghana in 1994. He didn’t participate in music much in the intervening years until “Obaa Sima” was reissued in 2015. He started performing his song live with the help of a brilliant cast of London-based musicians and has toured three continents and played to thousands of fans in venues of all kinds.”
Released by VDE/Gallo, a long-established label based near Lausanne, Switzerland, this 1992 field recording by Patrick Kersalé captures the traditional music of the Aka Pygmies of the Central African Republic. Centered around the Aka people's distinctive polyphonic singing, the album features a variety of indigenous instruments including bowed string instruments, harps, and percussion.
Released by VDE/Gallo, a long-established label based near Lausanne, Switzerland, this album features performances of classical Mugham music by Elshan Mansurov, a master of the traditional Azerbaijani string instrument kamancha.
Released by VDE/Gallo, a long-established label based near Lausanne, Switzerland, this compilation brings together deeply spiritual music rooted in the traditional religious practices of Ethiopia’s Amhara people. Featuring liturgical chants and the resonant tones of the begena—a large ten-string lyre also known as the Harp of David—the album offers meditative reflections on themes such as prayer, faith, death, and salvation. This rare recording, also known through its vinyl reissue on Death Is Not The End, is now available on CD.
Released by VDE/Gallo, a long-established label based near Lausanne, Switzerland, this field recording documents the musical culture of the Tuareg people living in the Azawagh region of northern Niger. Rooted in the nomadic lifestyle, the music is performed with simple yet powerful instruments such as the one-string fiddle (anzad), flutes, and percussion. Through women’s choral singing, poetic recitations, and the voices of children, the diverse sounds of the community intertwine, creating a rich tapestry of collective expression.
Released by VDE/Gallo, a long-established label based near Lausanne, Switzerland, this two-disc album features performances by Tsar Teh-yun, one of the most prominent guqin players of 20th-century China. Her playing emphasizes spiritual depth and lingering resonance over technical display, presenting masterpieces of classical Chinese music such as “Yang Chun,” “Xiao Xiang Shui Yun,” and “Ping Sha Luo Yan” with the soft timbre of silk strings and a serene sense of space.
Released by VDE/Gallo, a long-established label based near Lausanne, Switzerland, this album features solo performances by shakuhachi master Teruhisa Fukuda, rooted in the Zen Buddhist tradition. Centered around classical pieces from the Fuke sect—known as the meditative music of komusō monks—the recording unfolds a serene sonic landscape where breath and silence take prominence. Tracks such as “Kyorei,” “Mitanigawa,” and “Shika no Tone” embody the aesthetics of wabi-sabi, offering a deeply introspective listening experience.
Released by VDE/Gallo, a long-established label based near Lausanne, Switzerland, this album features traditional pieces of Japanese court music known as Gagaku. It includes ancient instrumental and dance compositions such as “Etenraku” and “Soshima,” performed with traditional gagaku instruments like the shō, hichiriki, and ryūteki. The performances are by Ono Gagaku Kaï, one of Japan’s oldest private gagaku ensembles, founded in 1887 by Yoshimichi Ono, chief priest of Ono Terusaki Shrine in Tokyo. The group has also released albums through the French label Ocora.
Released by VDE/Gallo, a long-established label based near Lausanne, Switzerland, this field recording captures the traditional music and ritual songs of the Jarai people living in the central highlands of Vietnam. The album offers a rare and profound glimpse into Vietnam’s musical diversity and spiritual depth, with natural sounds that evoke the essence of minimalist music.
Released by the long-established Swiss label VDE/Gallo, based near Lausanne, this field recording captures traditional songs of ethnic minorities living in the highlands of northern Vietnam. Ritual songs and folk melodies performed by the Nùng, Yao, Hmong, and Tai peoples are documented with raw, heartfelt vocals and distinctive melodic structures. These songs are deeply rooted in daily life, expressing themes such as love, prayer, labor, and lullabies. The unadorned yet powerful voices and unique tonalities reflect the cultural backgrounds of each ethnic group, offering a vivid experience of Vietnam’s musical diversity and spiritual depth through differences in language and vocal technique. The album also includes profound two-part harmonies, whose quiet intensity demands deep listening—more akin to hearing a prayer or a spoken tale than conventional music. As a rare and valuable recording, it holds particular significance for ethnomusicologists and field recording enthusiasts alike.
Released by VDE/Gallo, a long-established label based near Lausanne, Switzerland, this field recording captures the traditional music and songs of the Hmong people living in northern Vietnam. The album features vocal performances sung in various contexts—funerals, love, lullabies, and rituals—reflecting the everyday and spiritual life of the community. The voices of both men and women are raw and powerful, and the melodies are marked by hypnotic repetition and a ritualistic resonance.
"Released by VDE/Gallo, a long-established label based near Lausanne, Switzerland, Anthologie musicale de la péninsule Arabique: Poésie chantée des bédouins; vol.1 is a field recording that documents the sung poetry traditions of Bedouins in the Arabian Peninsula. Recorded in Kuwait between 1970 and 1972, the album serves as a valuable resource for understanding the relationship between oral poetry and music in the region.
Released by VDE/Gallo, a long-established label based near Lausanne, Switzerland, Italie: Polyphonies des Quatre Provinces is a valuable field recording that documents the polyphonic singing traditions of a mountainous region in northern Italy, known as a cultural area where music, language, and customs transcend administrative boundaries. In this region, festive music combining orally transmitted polyphonic vocals and traditional instrumental accompaniment continues to be passed down, making this album a vivid sonic experience of the vocal culture and communal memory rooted in the Italian highlands.
Released by VDE/Gallo, a long-established label based near Lausanne, Switzerland, Portugal: Musique de l'île de Porto Santo (Archipel de Madère) is a field recording made in 1982 on the island of Porto Santo in the Madeira archipelago of Portugal. This valuable collection documents the island’s religious and secular festive music traditions, featuring polyphonic singing and instrumental performances by local musicians
Released by VDE/Gallo, a long-established label based near Lausanne, Switzerland, Cachemire: Le Sūfyāna Kalām de Srinagar is a valuable field recording documenting the tradition of Sūfyāna Kalām, a form of Sufi music from the Kashmir region of India, performed by Ustad Ghulam Mohammad Saznawaz. Sūfyāna Kalām is a musical form rooted in Islamic mysticism, consisting of vocal and instrumental suites performed during meditative nighttime gatherings known as mehfil. It is based on melodic structures called maqām and features traditional instruments such as the sāz-e-kashmīrī.
Released by VDE/Gallo, a long-established label based near Lausanne, Switzerland, AMAZONIE: Contes sonores is a field recording work produced in conjunction with the 2016 exhibition Amazonie: Le chamane et la pensée de la forêt (The Shaman and the Thought of the Forest), organized by the Museum of Ethnography in Geneva (MEG).
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Kenta Taku Yu Tataku 2nd Album
Physical release on cassette tape along with digital release. The cassette is limited to 100!
Imagine from the sound.
Create sound.
The "sound" that overflows from Kenta Nakagome and Yuta Sumiyoshi, who chose the media "cassette" in an era where they can listen to anything with various streaming services, is particular about their own sound and the sound that only two people can make "NAYUTA". It became a work called.
Please prepare a cassette deck and fully enjoy the difference in texture and sound quality peculiar to analog that can never be reproduced digitally.
Also pay attention to the cassette design that you want to collect and the bonus stickers that come with it!
Latency presents the first-ever arrangements of iconic Ethiopian composer Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru’s music for piano and strings, honoring her desire to broaden the interpretation of her work beyond the piano.
Led by pianist, composer, and Emahoy’s friend Maya Dunietz, a nine-piece string ensemble performed her compositions during two tribute concerts at the Bourse de Commerce in Paris, in April 2024. This album celebrates the centenary of Emahoy’s birth and commemorates the first anniversary of her passing.
The album marks the culmination of a journey that began nearly two decades ago, in 2005. While browsing a London record store, pianist and composer Maya Dunietz and conductor Ilan Volkov discovered a CD by Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru, released as part of the acclaimed ‘Éthiopiques’ series. Intrigued, they sought out the esteemed musician, eventually locating her in a small monastery in Jerusalem. Their initial meeting blossomed into a deep, lengthy conversation. Emahoy recounted her life in the monastery and the challenges of making music in that setting. They delved into her music, discussing it in great detail. When they asked Emahoy about notation, she invited them to read her notebook, which contained compositions written that very morning. Maya and Ilan played some on the piano. At that moment, Emahoy began to trust them. Before leaving, Maya wrote her phone number in Emahoy’s notebook and invited her to call if she ever wanted or needed anything.
A few years later, the call came: Emahoy invited Maya to the monastery, handing her a couple of wrinkled old Air Ethiopia plastic bags filled with hundreds of her composition manuscripts. She asked Maya to help create a book of her piano compositions, making them accessible to people around the world. Faced with such a monumental undertaking, Maya partnered with the Jerusalem Season of Culture to embark on this ambitious project. This collaboration resulted in the publication of a book of sheet music and a collection of essays in 2013, as well as numerous concerts performed worldwide. These concerts, along with Maya’s work on Emahoy’s music, grew from a deep bond of love and mutual respect between the two women.
During one of their many meetings, Emahoy mentioned her dream of arranging her songs for orchestral instruments. She remarked that it was too late for her, but, with her trademark smile and a wink, suggested: «Maybe you could do it?» For Maya, this tremendous compliment became the catalyst for all the string arrangements she would create for Emahoy’s beautiful music—arrangements now collected in this album after years of collaboration and discussions between Maya and the record label Latency.
This album celebrates the centenary of Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru’s birth and commemorates the first anniversary of her passing. All compositions were recorded during two tribute performances at the Bourse de Commerce in Paris, held in April 2024 in her memory.
Eje Eje, the orbiting side project of Şatellites founder and multi-instrumentalist Itamar Kluger, shares ‘Primordial Soup’, his second album on Batov Record, stirring an even wider pot of influences from East to West that defies genre. Kluger first achieved international success with six–piece Turkish psychedelic rock evangelists, the Şatellites, whose enviable catalogue has won them support around the world, from KEXP in Seattle to BBC Radio 6 Music, and FIP in France. Kluger launched his solo project, Eje Eje, with the 2023 ‘Five Seasons’ LP, playing the majority of instruments himself and refining his production chops. Kluger’s blend of traditional Mediterranean and Middle Eastern music with psych, funk, dub, and beat production, culminated in strong support from BBC Radio 6 Music, BBC Radio 2, and Songlines. Much like its predecessor, ‘Primordial Soup' was largely self-recorded by Kluger, blending meticulous studio work, recalling DJ Shadow or early Four Tet, with raw, expressive performances - mainly himself on strings, bass guitar, percussion, and keys, including a new recently acquired microtonal keyboard - perfect for exploring Eastern musical scales, plus musical friends such as drummer Raz Man of Sababa 5, Şatellites and Project Gemini fame. Taking its name from the scientific theory on the origins of life, ‘Primordial Soup’ is as much about sonic experimentation as it is a metaphor for existence itself. For Kluger, the title represents both a philosophical question and a creative mission. “‘Primordial Soup’ is a scientific theory about how life began - thick mixtures of organic matter that, with the sun’s energy, formed self-replicating systems”, Kluger explains. “I still feel sometimes we are just some kind of walking soup bound by a skin balloon”. The album mirrors this idea in its fusion of disparate elements - a bubbling mix of Turkish percussion, psych guitars, dub textures, synths, drum machines, and Middle Eastern musical scales - forming a cohesive yet unpredictable whole. “This album is also a thick mixture of many things, a primal fusion of sounds that exist together only in my imagination, with a potential to come to life”. Kluger began work on Primordial Soup in October 2023, though many ideas had been gestating long before. The process was shaped by both creative compulsion and emotional necessity: “It was a very hard time. Making this album felt like something I had to do to stay sane. I hope it came out banging like my heart did at that time”. Album opener, “Oyun Çorbası” is a playful fusion of Turkish folk and indie rock textures. Its title is a wordplay on Oyun Havaları (traditional dance tunes) and çorba (soup), reflecting the track’s mix of influences. A tight, marshy groove from drummer Raz Man drives the rhythm, while a phased baglama riff leads, layered with swirling keys into a hazy, cymbal-driven bridge. Drawing on the spirit of Ottoman-era dance music but twisted into something uniquely modern, with a Stone Roses meets Turkish folk twist. “The Bride” is a collaboration between Eje Eje and rising flautist, percussionist and multi-instrumentalist Elad Kimhi. Inspired by Lebanese weddings, the track blends tradition with dancefloor energy. Known for his work with Firqat El Nur Orchestra, Sharif, among others, Kimhi brings a deep understanding of Mediterranean music, from Andalusian to Moroccan and Turkish. Middle Eastern synths fly across the funk driven groove, arguably like Omar Souleyman if he made boogie. Brighter in tone than much of the album, poppier but with a psychedelic twist, “The Bride” was made with one thing in mind: parties. Similarly, the uptempo “Puzmak” has a highly celebratory feeling and is set to wreak havoc on dancefloors and parties. Middle Eastern horns lead the track, but carried by heavy percussion, a solid bass groove, and subtle drum machine programming. “Horrorizon”, is heavy in almost every sense — dark, cinematic, and immersive. Relentless, languid drums, a hypnotic bassline, and harsh bouzouki textures create a foreboding atmosphere, evoking a deep sense of an ominous future. Think early DJ Shadow with a pile of Turkish psych wax. Kluger imagines it as a kind of “riding song” for “an old carriage wobbling its way down a muddy road into the unknown night”, recalling “the alertness in your guts that something isn’t right about where humanity is heading”. From brooding cinematic rides to joyous wedding bangers, ‘Primordial Soup’ explores what it means to be alive, connected, and creative in turbulent times and cements Eje Eje as one of the most exciting voices fusing Middle Eastern traditions with cutting-edge beat culture. Whether on the dancefloor or in headphones, this is music that moves.
In Kasimyn's own words, the phrase "BUNYI BUNYI TUMBAL" signifies a "Synthetic Feeling for Anonymous Sacrifice," encompassing the emotions born out of a deep dive into the Indonesian war archives. These archives include a trove of photographs documenting the era of Dutch rule, captured through the lens of the colonizers themselves. It is from this point of departure that the project HULUBALANG was born.
HULUBALANG's gaze is drawn to the peripheral figures populating these historical records. These secondary characters, devoid of individual significance, bear no names, receive no recognition, and serve as props in the broader narrative of history. Simultaneously, they become indispensable instruments in acquiring "lessons learned" from the perspectives of both the victors and the vanquished. Within this framework, the notion of TUMBAL, the non-belligerent "sacrifice," assumes a weight surpassing its translation. TUMBAL neither acts as a victim nor martyrs itself for its cause. It hauntingly reminds us of the systemic curse perpetually engendering disillusionment.
BUNYI BUNYI TUMBAL is a personal act of catharsis stemming from a long lineage of anger. It stands as a tribute to a village whose ritualistic dance, one night, was disrupted by external forces, causing the tune to shatter and leaving the dance caught in a space between innocence and pain.
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Kusnah berjalan lamban di tepi gumuk pasir, di sebrang pesisir pantai. Di sini lebih aman pikirnya. Di garis horizon dia melihat hamparan fata morgana. Di pikirannya fata morgana jauh lebih baik sebagai tujuan ketimbang dia harus diam dan menetap di desa: tubuhnya diperlukan untuk persembahan, mungkin buat para dewa-dewa yang haus akan anatomi dan spirit dari human being atau buat pembangunan yang dibangun oleh darah dan konstruksi tulang-tulang. Mungkin juga sebagai tumbal politik. Pikirnya, di tempat dimana politik berkelindan dengan nyawa, disitu dunia betul-betul sedang bekerja.
Sambil menatap nanar tumpukan tiram di pesisir pantai, di kepalanya terdengar musik-musik pesta dengan dentuman nakal dan dawai berantakan. Sebuah umwelt. Lagu-lagu kemenangan yang sering ia putar keras-keras dipikirannya ketika ia merasa kalah. Bukan kalah, tapi mengalah. Dalam hidupnya, terlalu banyak waktu dia bagi untuk mengalah. Dia melihat tumpukan tiram dengan miris. Dia berpikir keras mengapa manusia melihat tiram sebagai makhluk rendahan dibandingkan species lebih advance seperti manusia, oh lebih tepatnya, dia mengingat perkataan Plato bahwa manusia hedonist sama saja dengan seekor tiram. Hidup hanya dalam momen hari ini dan saat ini.
Tapi Kusnah merasa ia adalah manusia hedonist. Dia hidup untuk hari ini dan saat ini. Dia hidup bukan untuk progress. Persetan dengan progress dan pembangunan pikirnya. Dia hidup untuk menikmati waktu. Dia hidup untuk bersenang-senang. Jadi baginya, Plato ada benarnya. Sambil melihat lagi si tiram dengan sangat teliti, lagu-lagu di kepalanya terdengar semakin nyaring. Dia bertanya pada dirinya sendiri: sebagai hewan hedonist yang hanya diam dan menikmati deburan ombak, apakah para tiram ini juga memiliki musik yang berputar dalam tubuhnya dan membuat merasa menang diantara lautan kekalahan?
Tatapan Kusnah semakin intense. Dari belakang terdengar bunyi suara langkah manusia-manusia berlari bergerombolan. Satu, dua, tiga, empat bunyi familiar sepatu lars. Lima, enam, tujuh bunyi derap sendal jepit. Fata morgana di gumuk pasir buyar seketika diterobos gerombolan haus darah. Semakin lama semakin ia dengar samar-samar suara teriakan. “Itu dia orangnya!” terdengar sayup-sayup tapi mengeras. Langkah-langkah itu semakin kencang. Musik di kepala Kusnah pun semakin kencang terdengar. Tak butuh waktu lama hingga ia mulai menari. Seperti orang kesurupan kalau kata banyak orang. Tapi dia tidak kesurupan, dia hanya menikmati musik yang berputar dikepalanya. Berpuluh-puluh orang mulai terlihat secara high-definition ketika Kusnah membuka kelopak matanya.
“Akan kami persembahkan kamu kepada para dewa pembangunan!” teriak para lelaki dengan parang dan golok ditangannya. Kusnah menari seperti kerasukan. “Ayo! Tangkap dia” para lelaki itu bergegas mendatangi Kusnah, membawa tali tambang untuk mengikat dirinya. Kusnah tersenyum lebar, sambil tidak bisa berhenti menari.
“Ambil tubuhku, tapi aku tidak akan pernah membagikan hulubalang yang mengaum di dipikiranku!”
Kepala Kusnah terpisah dari badannya, persis setelah dia meneriakkan kalimat tersebut.
Riar Rizaldi
Ditulis ketika mendengarkan album pertama dari Hulubalang.
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Aditya Surya Taruna (aka Kasimyn) is one half of the Indonesian electronic duo Gabbar Modus Operandi known for their acclaimed records PUXXXIMAXXX and HOXXXYA (out via Yes No Wave and SVBKVLT, respectively) and overwhelming, hyper-active and unprecedented live experiences which have made them a popular act on several festivals of experimental music. In 2022, Kasimyn contributed with beats on Björk's latest album, Fossora, featured on three tracks: "Atopos", "Trölla-Gabba", and "Fossora”, and appears in two of the album’s music videos Atopos and Fossora. After joining Björk on her Cornucopia tour in Japan, Kasimyn is announcing his solo album on Drowned by Locals under his new project HULUBALANG.
Counter Culture Chronicles presents a historic discovery: La Monte Young & Marian Zazeela – Live in Rome, 23/6/1969, an 18-minute drone recording of exceptional sound quality, now released for the first time. This intimate document captures the legendary duo at a pivotal moment in their artistic development, just as they were establishing the foundations of what would become their revolutionary Dream House concept. Recorded in 1969, this performance predates their landmark 31 VII 69 10:26-10:49 PM / 23 VIII 64 2:50:45-3:11 AM release by only months, placing it at the height of their Theatre of Eternal Music period. The duo's Roman concert represents their early European touring, spreading the drone music revolution beyond New York's downtown scene where they had been central figures since the early 1960s. The 18-minute duration captures the essence of Young's "dream music" philosophy—sustained tones that exist, as he conceived them, "before and after any particular performance." This recording documents the hypnotic power of their live work: precisely tuned frequencies that create physical sensations in listeners, sounds that change with the slightest movement of the head, and harmonic relationships that challenge conventional musical perception.
This 2-track single is a gift from the past, reissuing two rare Thai treasures from the late 1960s, big hits from that time which were actually covers of Japanese songs. Pan-Asian music produced by Surin Paksiri, a legendary presence in the Isan music scene from the 1960s until the present. The first song "Ya Deon Show" was Paksiri's first hit, a Thai-language version of "Soran Bushi", a traditional work song of Hokkaido fishermen, sung here by popular actor Banchop Chaiphra. The song fuses a Luk Thung arrangement with a Japanese "Dodonpa" rhythm. The second singer here is Samai Onwong, a key force in the development of Thai pop music, with "Sakura La Kon (Goodbye Sakura)", sung in both Japanese and Thai. The original was a 1968 hit by Pinky & The Killers and features some fine Khaen playing by Samai, lending a bittersweet Thai feeling. With English lyrics and liner notes, this is a lovely treat, guaranteed to bring a smile and perhaps a tear.
What is luk thung?
A musical genre whose name means ‘country person’s song’ or ‘children of the field’. The name became established in the latter half of the 1960s and now has the status of a national genre of popular song unique to Thailand. The lyrics of luk thung songs deal mainly with the rural idyll, comparisons between the city and the countryside, life in the big city and current affairs. There are certain typical traits to the music, but no official musical form.
The Alien Dub Orchestra is ragtag collective of Bavarian musicians, featuring members of The Notwist and G.Rag y los hermanos Patchekos. The cohort formed around the idea of performing the standards of the fabled Breadminster Songbook, aka the back-catalogue of lone dubman Elijah Minnelli. Minnelli is known for constructing wheezy, forlorn odes to his hometown, both as highly sought-after self-released 7" singles, and a critically-acclaimed debut album, ‘Perpetual Musket’ for FatCat Records, lauded by the likes of The Guardian, The Wire, and The Quietus. ‘The Alien Dub Orchestra: Plays the Breadminster Songbook’ finds group covering Minnelli’s cumbia-infused dub reggae with full band, playing an eclectic array of instruments including: guiro, accordion, melodica, sousaphone, trumpet and assorted percussion.
The tale begins in 2022, when Minnelli was invited to lend his unique dubbing style to a pair of remixes for The Notwist, and what followed was an ever-flourishing relationship between the Breadminster native and the wider Munich scene. The seeds of the Alien Dub Orchestra were sown during a support gig for The Notwist, where assorted musicians joined Minnelli for a encore, reinterpreting one of his dub remixes across woodwind, brass and assorted percussion.
“The idea of real, competent professionals playing something you’ve muddled together on a computer in a damp basement is quite overwhelming,” reflects Minnelli on the process, “hearing them interpret and improve these melodies is a real joy and privilege.”
Despite the non-traditional origins of the source material, the inherent musicality of Minnelli’s songwriting shines through across his releases, and this creative kinship is what attracted the Orchestra to reimagining his work. The first live collaboration led to recording sessions and further gigs, with the Orchestra building a full set of Minnelli’s music.
The resulting album puts forward the strongest case yet of the shared musical throughline between the acts, where cumbia, dub and folk sensibilities coalesce to something all together unique. The tracks are wrought new, with melodies fleshed out and broader instrumentation expanding the sonic possibilities of the compositions. The tactility of the tracks is perhaps best demonstrated on the gorgeous ‘Vine and Fig Tree’, with it’s layed vocals and expressive bassline returning as a cavorting sousaphone line. Elsewhere, fan favourite ‘SLATS’ sounds as if it was simply written to be performed this way.
To further instill the cylindrical nature of these collaborations, the entire second half of the album is made up of dub versions of the Orchestra’s renditions. For these dubs, Minnelli is joined by Raimund Wong, who had caught his ear with his ambitious live sets, a daisy chain of tape machines and FX pedals. Again, despite their differing creative processes, the two bonded over a shared love of dub music. Each dub was a one-take, with Minnelli riding the faders and Wong’s filters and FX supplying a sound that doesn’t seek to imitate dub, so much as it tries to be it’s own chaotic self. The droning, psychedelic hypnosis of ‘Pundit Dub’ stretches the material to a whole new realm that feels outside of anything else Minnelli has produced before, an ode to the benefits of recycling sound if ever there was one. The whole second half is a perfect closing note to an album that is undoubtedly a love letter to folk tradition, dub ideology and, most importantly, the joy of uninhibited collaboration.