Russian World Music Chart: The best folk albums in Russia in 2023

The Russian World Music Chart launched in the fall of 2021 with the aim of attracting the attention of the world music community to the latest Russian folk music. An international jury of music writers, world music broadcasters, bloggers and podcasters annually vote on their choice for the top 10 folk albums from Russia.

Here is the list for 2023, with links to those we have reviewed.

1. Shono’s Kolkhozoy Traktor — CPL-Music
2. Merema’s Eryamon’ Koytneva — CPL-music
3. Nytt Land’s Torem — Napalm Records
4. Rabor’s Beyond the Outskirts — C. O. D. / Der Schwarze Tod
5. Belukha Jam’s Belukha Jam — Self-released
6. Irina Ladkina’s Inga — Self-released
7. (3-way tie) Ryohei Terada’s Kyzyl Tokyo — Halva music / Sainho Namchylak’s Where Water Meets Water: Bird Songs & Lullabies — Ponderosa / Elem’s Northern Spirituals — Self-released
8. (2-way tie) EthnoProject Kolenkor’s Chuzhbina — Self-released / Kiberspassk’s Smorodina — Out Of Line
9. Hazina’s Naza — Yummy Music
10. Aina’s Northstar — ddbd

• Best EP of 2023: Tatyana Molchanova’s Memory Card — Self-released
• Best authentic (traditional) album of 2023: Santeri Dobrynin, Egor Masaltsev, and Olga Plekhanova’s Karjalan Jouhikko: Karelian Instrumental Music — Antonovka Fecords
• Listeners’ Choice 2023 Album — Belukha Jam’s Belukha Jam — Self-released
• Listeners’ choice EP 2023 — Evgeniy Zontikov’s Round Dance of Times — RAYS music!

Here is the list of the 2023 judges and short CVs, beginning with Daryana Antipova and Irina Brykova, founders of the Chart.

Daryana Antipova is a music journalist, organizer of showcase conferences on folk music “Tavrida Narodnaya” and Kamwa, speaker at the largest conferences on world music: Womex, Folk Allience International, Budapest Ritmo, Czech Crossroads, Without Borders, etc. From 2015 to 2020 she was co-director Russian World Music Awards. Musician of the group Vedan Kolod. Writes for Folk Galore, eFolk and Scythian Horn. Hosts Planetary Caravan on WFHB. Member of the Transglobal World Music Chart and Balkan World Music Chart.

Irina Brykova is the leader of the folklore ensemble “Ladushki,” a teacher of the highest category, an artist of the Tula Regional Philharmonic, organizer of the “Ethno-WE” project and the vocal marathon “PRO’voice.” Head of ANO “Ethno-WE.” Active participant in all-Russian forums and conferences: “Dialogue of Cultures,” “Tavrida,” “VFMS,” “Altai,” Conference of the Association of Folk and Choral Groups and many others. etc.

Arne Berg (Norway) is a radio host and music producer at the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK). He hosts music programs on radio and television, and is also a stage producer at the World Music Festival in Oslo.

Christian Pliefke (Germany) — director of the Nordic Notes, CPL-Music, Beste! Unterhaltung. Actively publishes Russian performers (Vedan Kolod, Otava Yo, Staritsa, Shoodja-Choodja, Dobranoch, Merema, etc.). Editor-in-Chief of the music magazine Folk Galore.

Toni Pennachia (USA) is the creative director of MergingArts Productions. Tony produces the shows Transworld Airwaves and Donne del Mondo, which air on Pacifica Radio in Boston on WZBC. She also compiles charts for NACC and Roots Music Report.

Marc Baudouin (Belgium) – music journalist, editor-in-chief of the magazine “Le Canard Folk.”
Tamás Galgosi (Hungary) – music journalist, http://ekultura.hu

Dani Heyvert (Belgium) is a music journalist currently writing for the music portal Rootstime.be. He worked as a music journalist for such publications as Hottown News Music Magazine, Rootstown Music Magazine, and was a music presenter on Radio Succes (Brussels Region) and BRTN National Radio.

Jordi García Paton (Catalonia) — music journalist, broadcast Demésenllà, member of the Transglobal World Music Chart and jury of the TMWC Festival Awards.

Vladimir “Potkan” Potanchok (Slovakia) is a radio presenter of the Hudba sveta_FM program on Radio_FM, the fourth channel of the national radio and television of Slovakia (RTVS). Vladimir works as a jury member of the international World Music Charts Europe, and is also a participant and co-founder of the World Music from Slovakia platform since 2015 and an employee of the World Music Festival in Bratislava.

Milan Tesarz (Czech Republic) is the head of WMCE since November 2020. Since 1995 he has been a radio presenter on Radio Proglas, the programs “Slyste, lide!,” “Jak se vam libi,” hosts a regular monthly program on the Czech public radio (Czech Radio Jazz station), regularly prepares music reviews and interviews for print and online magazines in the Czech Republic (UNI cultural magazine, Harmonie monthly, Catholic weekly) and Poland (Twój Blues magazine). Member of the music jury in the field of world music, jazz, blues projects.

Nikola Glavinic (Serbia) — Journalist and music editor of the Public Media Service of Radio-Television of Vojvodina. Host of the world music radio show (Randevu s muzikom) on Radio Novi Sad. Writes for the magazine Etnoumlje and the portal of the Serbian Music Association.

Boyan Djordjevic (Serbia) — In 1990, he began hosting the first radio broadcast in the history of Serbia about experimental and alternative music on the independent radio B92. This weekly show, called “Disco 3000,” is still broadcast today, and in 1999 it was voted the best radio show in Serbia. Boyan compiled collections of folk music “Srbija: Sounds Global” and “Rromano Suno.” Art director of the Ring Ring and Todo Mundo festivals.

Giovanni Alcaini (Italy) — Since 1993, Giovanni has been the author of the radio program FOLKNIGHTS, which is broadcast weekly on RADIO CERNUSCO STEREO 93.9.

Araceli Tsigane (Spain) is the host of the radio program “Mundofonias” in Spain, which is broadcast in 16 countries in Europe and America. She collaborates with other well-known media, such as Spanish National Radio, El País, Musicasdelmundo.com. In addition to journalism, Araceli works with world music musicians from Spain and Portugal and brings international artists to the Iberian Peninsula as director of Mapamundi Música. Araceli is a jury member of several music competitions and a lecturer on artist management.

Ludwig Liebhardt (Germany) is the host of the radio show “FOLK&WeltMIX” in Munich. In his radio show he talks about folk and world music, both German and from around the world, including on Raadio2.

Wojciech Ossowski (Poland) is an ethnomusicologist who has been working at Polish Radio since 1985. Wojciech had his own shows on MultiKulti, WDR Koln, WDR Bremen and Radio 3 (Swedish State Radio). Almost from the very beginning he has been a member of WMCE, Europe’s largest folk music chart. In Poland he works as a producer and organizer of touring festivals and also is a veteran of saber fencing.

Lev Belyakov (Russia) – radio host, author of the “FolkRoom” program. Founder and owner of the FireStorm Production label.

Angel Romero Ruiz (USA) founded the online music magazines worldmusiccentral.org (English) and musicasdelmundo.com (Spanish). He is co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart.

Rudolph A. “Rudy” Carrera (USA) is a blogger, podcaster, publisher and curator of new music from around the world. Since 2004 he has run the blog and podcast MusicYouNeedToHear.com.
Roger Holdsworth (Australia) has hosted the weekly Global Village program on PBS-FM in Melbourne, Australia, since 1989.

Tatyana Naryshkina (Russia) — music journalist, musician, eFolk blogger, Scythian Horn, TWMC panelist