Category Archives: Music

numün’s voyage au soleil

They had me at “Morton Subotnick.” The 1960s electronic music pioneer is listed as one of the influences of numün on voyage au soleil, their inaugural full-length release. I listened and was captivated. Numün is a New York-based trio of … Continue reading

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Pat Keen’s Cells Remain

Pat Keen has unleashed one of the most enigmatically enjoyable albums of 2020. Or perhaps it’s the most enjoyably enigmatic. Probably both. Cells Remain is a puzzle wrapped in a conundrum, or whatever that saying is. On the surface it’s … Continue reading

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What’s New for the 9th of August: two London based urban fantasies, Devolving Europe Festival, Oysterband live and other interesting things…

There’s nothing for your comfort in the place where I was born  Someone’s got the roses ’cause my people got the thorns;  My people are the poor ones, their country made of stones  Their wealth is in persistence, in stories and in bones Oysterband’s … Continue reading

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What’s New for the 5th of July: four American baseball films, an opera by John Gay, live music from from Mavis Staples, dim sum in Hong Kong, Middle-Earth maps and much more!

To the people who insist they really do have a great idea but they just can’t write, I’d say that given some of the books I’ve read, or at least started to read, it would appear that not being able … Continue reading

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Auli’s Voices of the Ancestors (Senču Balsis)

There just aren’t enough albums that combine bagpipes and yodelling. If you don’t see yourself agreeing with that statement you can just stop reading now. Okay, whoever’s still with me, meet the Latvian drum-and-bagpipe ensemble Auli.  They’ve been making music … Continue reading

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What’s New for the 14th of June: fey ethnography courtesy of Terri Windling, a song from Peter Beagle and other fascinating things.

“I am no king, and I am no lord. And I am no soldier at arms,” said he. “I am none but a harper, and a very poor harper That has come hither to wed with thee.” Peter S. Beagle’s … Continue reading

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Various artists’ The John Hartford Fiddle Tune Project, Volume 1

As we approach the 20th anniversary of the passing of John Hartford, his family and friends and many of the musicians he influenced are working to ensure we don’t forget him. Hartford is best known by the public as the … Continue reading

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Kristen Grainger & True North’s Ghost Tattoo

One of the ways I distinguish what’s called Americana music from its relatives bluegrass and old-time is its tendency to lean more toward a cultural progressivism as opposed to the related genres’ cultural and musical conservatism. That’s certainly true of … Continue reading

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PRIM’s Garnet Tales

Vienna-based PRIM isn’t the first or only ensemble to challenge the expectations of the piano trio format. But they’re doing it with a lot of wit and intelligence, as we see on their latest release Garnet Tales. I see them … Continue reading

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Bror Gunnar Jansson’s The Cotton-Eyed Joe single

Nordic musicians are some of the best Americana musicians around. Witness from 2019 alone the top-notch releases by Swede Daniel Norgren, Norwegian Jens Carelius, and Finn H.C. Slim. One has to wonder whether the ghastly mid-90s Eurovision hit of the … Continue reading

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