V/A Shadow Music Of Thailand (Sublime Frequencies) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
It's almost impossible to pick a favorite Sublime Frequencies release. Every one is amazing, mysterious, wondrous, fantastical, funky, fun, far out, in fact, we could just have a standing Record Of The Week reserved for all the Sublime Frequencies records. However, no matter how hard it is, we do in fact have favorites, and this is most definitely one. Not sure how SF decides which records to release as vinyl only, or cd only, it's definitely frustrating for the format specific fan, the vinyl is expensive, limited, and often ends up on eBay for crazy amounts of money, the cd is simple and cheaper, and most of the releases are in fact cd, most likely never to make it to vinyl. Thankfully, at least for the digitally inclined, all of the lp only releases seems to eventually make it to cd, they may make us wait, make us sweat a little, but it always happens, and it's always worth the wait. We wanted to make this Record Of The Week when it first came out on vinyl, but it seemed sad to leave out the still sizeable group of turntableless music lovers, but now it's on cd (and sadly out of print on vinyl), so here we go, another fantastic Sublime Frequencies release, and latest Aquarius Record Of The Week, Shadow Music Of Thailand!
So what is Shadow Music Of Thailand? Well, it's Thai pop heavily influenced by UK instrumental rockers The Shadows of course. More specifically it's a strain of sixties Thai guitar pop heavily influenced by Western music, rock, garage and especially surf. The guitar being the most obvious influence.
So here we have a collection of some of the most notable purveyors of "Shadow Music": The Son Of P.M., P.M. Pocket Music, P.M 7 / Jupiter and Johnny Guitar. You may have noticed the recurring P.M., well that stands for Payong Mukda, one of the most prolific composers and performers of the time and the music genius behind all of those P.M. groups.
On first listen, the Shadow Music here doesn't sound all that different than much of the Thai Pop we've heard before on other collections, and no doubt there is some overlap. But keep listening, and all sorts of strange and unique little sonic flourishes reveal themselves. Really, where else can you hear gamelan percussion with super fuzzed out ? And The Mysterions style organ and wailing surf guitar? From groovy garage rock to shimmery surf, lots of organ, and plenty of gamelan, vibraphone, xylophone, gorgeous vocals, strange harmonies, mysterious melodies, but it's those guitars, it buzzes and howls, chugs and twangs, woven into all of the songs here, creating this strange hybrid, Thai Pop, Bollywood, surf rock, blues rock, Latin, soul, all woven into a wild groovy psychedelic fuzzy funky garage folkpop that will totally hit the spot for fans of exotic grooves and wild and wonderful sounds.
Full color booklet with tons of original Thai artwork and brief liner notes.
MPEG Stream: THE SON OF P.M. "Luk Tung Klong Yao"
MPEG Stream: P.M. POCKET MUSIC "Kack Toi Mor"
MPEG Stream: JOHNNY GUITAR "Mon Du Dow"
MPEG Stream: P.M. 7 / JUPITER "Susie Wong"

V/A Shadow Music Of Thailand (Sublime Frequencies) lp 25.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Another super limited lp installment in Sublime Frequencies' ever expanding collection of fantastic and mysterious world musics. It's unclear, why a few releases have been vinyl only, and if the shelf-life of the last Sublime Frequencies lp was any indication, these won't last long at all.
So what is Shadow Music Of Thailand? Well, it's Thai pop heavily influenced by UK instrumental rockers The Shadows of course. More specifically it's a strain of sixties Thai guitar pop heavily influenced by Western music, rock, garage and especially surf. The guitar being the most obvious influence.
So here we have a collection of some of the most notable purveyors of "Shadow Music": The Son Of P.M., P.M. Pocket Music, P.M 7 / Jupiter and Johnny Guitar. You may have noticed the recurring P.M., well that stands for Payong Mukda, one of the most prolific composers and performers of the time and the music genius behind all of those P.M. groups.
On first listen, the Shadow Music here doesn't sound all that different than much of the Thai Pop we've heard before on other collections, and no doubt there is some overlap. But keep listening, and all sorts of strange and unique little sonic flourishes reveal themselves. Really, where else can you hear gamelan percussion with super fuzzed out ? And The Mysterions style organ and wailing surf guitar? From groovy garage rock to shimmery surf, lots of organ, and plenty of gamelan, vibraphone, xylophone, gorgeous vocals, strange harmonies, mysterious melodies, but it's those guitars, it buzzes and howls, chugs and twangs, woven into all of the songs here, creating this strange hybrid, Thai Pop, Bollywood, surf rock, blues rock, Latin, soul, all woven into a wild groovy psychedelic fuzzy funky garage folkpop that will totally hit the spot for fans of exotic grooves and wild and wonderful sounds.
LIMITED ONE TIME PRESSING OF ONLY 1500 COPIES. 180 gram vinyl, super thick, gatefold sleeve, full color with tons of original Thai artwork and brief liner notes.
MPEG Stream: THE SON OF P.M. "Luk Tung Klong Yao"
MPEG Stream: P.M. POCKET MUSIC "Kack Toi Mor"
MPEG Stream: JOHNNY GUITAR "Mon Du Dow"
MPEG Stream: P.M. 7 / JUPITER "Susie Wong"

V/A Shir Hodu: Jewish Song From The Bombay Of The 30's (Renair) cd 17.98
Fascinating collection of Hebrew paraliturgical songs by Eastern Jewish singers from the Bene Israel and Baghdadian Jewish communities residing in Bombay, India during the thirties. Originally released on 78's from the King, Hebrew, and Jay Bharat Record labels, these recordings from various Hazzanim (cantors and prayer leaders), music school directors, an entrepreneurial meat-shop owner, Shofar (ram's horn) blowers, and instrumental stars of the Indian cinema are the long lost sonic artifacts from a nearly forgotten world of Indian Jewish musical traditions. We never realized before how intertwined these two musical traditions were, but of course it makes sense with the cross-pollination of Eastern European, North African and Middle Eastern populations through the bustling trade city of Bombay, that the cultural traditions would intermingle and possibly influence each other. Thus this is also recommended for fans of early Indian music, as well as for those intrigued by rare Jewish music recordings. The cd comes with a richly illustrated 24-page booklet with memories and photos of the descendants, relatives and friends of the singers and instrumentalists, gathered from across the globe.
MPEG Stream: SIMEON JACOB KHARILKER "Adon Olam"
MPEG Stream: ABID DAVID "Deror Yikra"
MPEG Stream: ZAKY SOLOMAN ISAAC "Yodukha Raayonai"
MPEG Stream: NATHAN SOLOMON SATIMKAR "Deror Iqra"

V/A Siamese Soul: Thai Pop Spectacular Vol.2 1960's-1980's (Sublime Frequencies) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Elsewhere on this week's list you'll find a review of another Sublime Frequencies release, the Shadow Music Of Thailand, where we discuss how hard it is to pick a favorite release, cuz they're all so goddamn good.
And such is the case with this one too, a sequel of sorts to 2007's Thai Pop Spectacular 1960s-1980s, this one titled Siamese Soul, but the first one was pretty soulful as well, so we'll presume that it was just chosen as a catchy title, because this does play out like a continuation of the first part which is in no way a bad thing, in fact, we'd been hankering for more ever since that first volume.
As the loner notes discuss, Cambodian pop has gotten so much attention lately, that it seems almost criminal that Thai pop wasn't getting the same attention, which becomes even more apparent listening to Siamese Soul (as well as the first volume). In the review of the first volume we described Thai Pop as "an awesomely confusional mix of Molam, Bollywood, Ethiopian groove, funk, soul, American pop and surf rock, all tangled up into amazing shapes, and peppered with killer hooks, amazing vocalists, bizarre production techniques, but most of all amazing amazing songs." Which of course still absolutely applies. Heavy Western funk to Ethiopian sounding grooves, tripped out organ drenched fuzz rock, with creepy sexy female vox to Shadows / Ventures style surf rock, a bunch of the songs like many of the tracks on the two Molam: Thai Country Groove Sublime Frequencies comps, totally remind us of whatever Thai song the Butthole Surfers appropriated for their song "Kuntz", that distinctly Thai vocal melody is so unmistakable and unforgettable. The whole record is just so wild and fun and varied and out there, slipping easily from classic sounding pop, to mysterious folk music, to stomping funk, to twangy soundtrack sounds to smokey bar ballads, to slithery soul, to far out almost Bollywood sounding exotica, all with a distinctly Thai flavor. Funky, groovy, soulful, so so good. Check out the sound samples. Sometimes we feel words can't quite do sounds like these justice. And the more we listen to this, the more THIS one is becoming one of our favorites, and heck, we could very well have made this another Record Of The Week too!
MPEG Stream: DAW BANDON "Bong Ja Bong (Bong, Oh Bong)"
MPEG Stream: KWAN JAI & KWAN JIT SRIPRAJAN "E-Saew Tam Punha Huajai (Advice Column For Love Troubles (Part 1)"
MPEG Stream: KWAN JIT SRIPRAJAN "Panatibat (Sin No. 1: Do Not Kill)"
MPEG Stream: ROONG PETCH LAEM SING "Kob Kanong Fon (Frogs Dancing In The Rain) "

V/A Simla Beat 70 (Particles) cd 17.98
Originally reissued some years ago as a double cd, this killer collection of Indian psychedelic garage rock, has now been split into two different compilations, delineated by date, one disc for 1970, the other for 1971, but odds are you're probably gonna want both of them anyway. If not, either one is a great place to start. Some of you may remember the Psych Funk Sa-Re-Ga! Psychedelic Funk Music In India 1976-1983 compilation we made our Record of The Week a while back, a few of those tracks were taken from these comps, but for the most part, most of this stuff is exclusive.
While Simla Beat may sound like some cool record nerd classification for Indian psych from that era, Simla was in fact a cigarette company, who recognized that besides smoking, the kids also really dug rock and roll, specifically the sort of Western influenced sounds that were bringing surf and garage rock to India, so they founded a battle of the bands, complete with an awards show with the prizes presented by Bollywood stars, and the winning songs would get released, and hence we had these Simla Beat compilations. There were rumors, that since none of these tracks feature sitar or tabla or any distinct Indian instrumentation, that they were in fact hoaxes, and that none of these bands were in fact Indian, which was obviously proven to be false, and while there may not be sitar or tabla, there is a distinctly Eastern vibe to these tracks, and the sound, as well as the various productions, definitely takes the more Western version of surf rock and garage rock and makes it into something new and exciting.
Both discs contain some killer jams, and we could easily go through both track by track, but we'll just pick out a few highlights, and there are samples below too, which you should check out, pretty hard to resist we think. Simla Beat 70 starts off with "Voice From the Inner Soul" by the Confusions, which is so good, and catchy, it sounds like it must be a cover, but as far as we can tell it's an original, crunchy guitars, fuzzy organs, a groovy stomp with a KILLER chorus. Then there's the Dinosaurs, who offer up another original that sounds super familiar but is not a cover, the vocals raspy and scratchy, wound around some skittery drumming, and some fuzzy guitars, and another wicked hook. You probably remember X'lents' "Psychedelia" with its "Secret Agent Man" opening riff and some seriously kick ass psychedelic garage rock. The Dinosaurs also cover Creedence Clearwater Revivals's "Sinister Purpose" and make it their own, even more raw and fuzzed out than the original.
The 1971 installment is just as great, starting off with The Fentones' "Simla Beat Theme" which is total surf rock bliss, a littler off kilter, with some killer guitar playing, which gives way to the Nomads' "Nothing Is The Same" which begins with a dark swirling cloud of heavily effected guitar buzz, before slipping into a woozy surfy groove, then there's Hipnotic Eye's "Killing Floor, which is a dead ringer for the imaginary band the Sacred Cows from Get Smart (YouTube it!), and then there's Velvette Fogg's droned out organ heavy nearly 8 minute groover "I'm So Glad", and so it goes, like the 1970 volume, killer jam after killer jam!
Again, not sure why they split em up, cuz it's tough not to want both, but even if you choose just one, each has much to offer, although if you're music nerd obsessives like we are (and we're figuring you are), you might as well just grab 'em both...
MPEG Stream: THE CONFUSIONS "Voice From The Inner Soul"
MPEG Stream: THE DINOSAURS "You Can't Beat It"
MPEG Stream: X'LENTS "Psychedelia"

V/A Simla Beat 71 (Particles) cd 17.98
Originally reissued some years ago as a double cd, this killer collection of Indian psychedelic garage rock, has now been split into two different compilations, delineated by date, one disc for 1970, the other for 1971, but odds are you're probably gonna want both of them anyway. If not, either one is a great place to start. Some of you may remember the Psych Funk Sa-Re-Ga! Psychedelic Funk Music In India 1976-1983 compilation we made our Record of The Week a while back, a few of those tracks were taken from these comps, but for the most part, most of this stuff is exclusive.
While Simla Beat may sound like some cool record nerd classification for Indian psych from that era, Simla was in fact a cigarette company, who recognized that besides smoking, the kids also really dug rock and roll, specifically the sort of Western influenced sounds that were bringing surf and garage rock to India, so they founded a battle of the bands, complete with an awards show with the prizes presented by Bollywood stars, and the winning songs would get released, and hence we had these Simla Beat compilations. There were rumors, that since none of these tracks feature sitar or tabla or any distinct Indian instrumentation, that they were in fact hoaxes, and that none of these bands were in fact Indian, which was obviously proven to be false, and while there may not be sitar or tabla, there is a distinctly Eastern vibe to these tracks, and the sound, as well as the various productions, definitely takes the more Western version of surf rock and garage rock and makes it into something new and exciting.
Both discs contain some killer jams, and we could easily go through both track by track, but we'll just pick out a few highlights, and there are samples below too, which you should check out, pretty hard to resist we think. Simla Beat 70 starts off with "Voice From the Inner Soul" by the Confusions, which is so good, and catchy, it sounds like it must be a cover, but as far as we can tell it's an original, crunchy guitars, fuzzy organs, a groovy stomp with a KILLER chorus. Then there's the Dinosaurs, who offer up another original that sounds super familiar but is not a cover, the vocals raspy and scratchy, wound around some skittery drumming, and some fuzzy guitars, and another wicked hook. You probably remember X'lents' "Psychedelia" with its "Secret Agent Man" opening riff and some seriously kick ass psychedelic garage rock. The Dinosaurs also cover Creedence Clearwater Revivals's "Sinister Purpose" and make it their own, even more raw and fuzzed out than the original.
The 1971 installment is just as great, starting off with The Fentones' "Simla Beat Theme" which is total surf rock bliss, a littler off kilter, with some killer guitar playing, which gives way to the Nomads' "Nothing Is The Same" which begins with a dark swirling cloud of heavily effected guitar buzz, before slipping into a woozy surfy groove, then there's Hipnotic Eye's "Killing Floor, which is a dead ringer for the imaginary band the Sacred Cows from Get Smart (YouTube it!), and then there's Velvette Fogg's droned out organ heavy nearly 8 minute groover "I'm So Glad", and so it goes, like the 1970 volume, killer jam after killer jam!
Again, not sure why they split em up, cuz it's tough not to want both, but even if you choose just one, each has much to offer, although if you're music nerd obsessives like we are (and we're figuring you are), you might as well just grab 'em both...
MPEG Stream: THE FENTONES "Simla Beat Theme"
MPEG Stream: NOMADS "Nothing Is The Same"
MPEG Stream: HIPNOTIC EYE "Killing Floor"

V/A Singapore A-Go-Go (Sublime Frequencies) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Sublime Frequencies seemingly can do no wrong. A keen ear and a deft curatorial skill means that every release is not just interesting sociologically, but is musically kick ass as well. Singapore A-Go-Go is a collection of singles recorded and released during a brief period in the sixties and seventies, when various Southeast Asian countries were bucking the stringent requirements of the Chinese state, embracing both Western pop and traditional Chinese music, which were essentially banned. Thanks to American G.I.s and Radio Free Asia, young people grew up listening to both Chinese music, and all manner of Western pop, the fact that the economy was booming, also meant that kids could afford records and record players, and musicians could afford instruments and studio time, which of course meant tons of records reflecting this classical Chinese / Western pop hybrid. The liner notes this time around are dense and fascinating, all about the time and the culture and the climate, the musicians and the proliferation of small labels, which is all just icing, on this amazing compilation of gorgeous garage-y girl group pop, the mix of cultures and sounds is definitely heady. Morricone-ish twang, soulful grooves, and sing songy traditional Chinese music will coexist peacefully and perfectly within the same song, pounding drums, whirring organs, Joe Meek style instrumental surf rock will wrap around jazzy vibraphones, and funky basslines, some songs sound like American TV show themes, others sound almost Bollywood, while still others sound like Perrey & Kingsley. Soft easy listening Lawrence Welkisms flow right into more rocking psychedelic rock, the Mission Impossible theme is reappropriated, with vocals added for a cool brooding surfy rock jam, Eastern style melodies are infused into classic sixties girl group sounds, and the vocals mostly female, are exuberant and girlish and wide eyed and playful, and make this whole collection so much fun. Like everything on Sublime Frequencies, way way way recommended!
MPEG Stream: GRACE LEE AND THE STYLERS "Each And Every Flower"
MPEG Stream: LINDA YONG AND THE SILVERTONES "Good Luck In The New Year"
MPEG Stream: CHARLIE ELECTRIC GUITAR BAND'S SOUND OF JAPAN "Carnation"
MPEG Stream: LIM LING AND THE SILVERTONES "(Funny, Funny) Why Do I Fall In Love With You?"
MPEG Stream: LIM LING AND THE SILVERTONES "Si Li Li Li Li Our Hearts Beat As One"

V/A Sitar Beat! Indian Style Heavy Funk Vol. II (Guerrilla Reissues) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We all know that very often sequels pale in comparison to the originals. But leave it to the irresistible Sitar Beat series to throw that convention out the window. The first volume of Sitar Beat brought together their previously vinyl only releases on one cd and it became one of our most played and favorite cds of last year! Volume two keeps the fire going with 16 more totally perfect, sitar fueled, groovy 'n heavy Indian funk delights. Pulled mostly from obscure soundtracks, most of these tracks we had never heard before but we've already lost count of how many times we've listened to this since it arrived in the store a week ago and now most of them have become all time AQ faves just like that! All the obvious names are represented: R.D. Burman, Asha Bhosle, Lata Mangeshkar, Kalyanji Anandji, etc. While the tracks with vocals are all great (how could they not be with folks like Bhosle and Mangeshkar singing) but Sitar Beat is truly about the smokin' funk jam instrumentals. It just doesn't get more funky and fun than this! But it's not just kitschy fun, these are some seriously rocking jams, totally mind blowing music that reminds us once again that music can be strange and inventive yet immediate and exciting at the same time. AQ pal John Dwyer said it best when he came in while this was playing "Damn, this is hot!"
MPEG Stream: KALYANJI ANANDFI W/ LATA MANGESHKAR, ASHA BHOSLE & MAHENDRA KAPOOR "Pyar Zindagi Hai"
MPEG Stream: R.D. BURMAN "Freakout Music"
MPEG Stream: USHA KHANNA "Tera Jasia Pyara Koi Nahin"

V/A Sitar Beat! Indian Style Heavy Funk Vol. II (Guerrilla Reissues) lp 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We all know that very often sequels pale in comparison to the originals. But leave it to the irresistible Sitar Beat series to throw that convention out the window. The first volume of Sitar Beat brought together their previously vinyl only releases on one cd and it became one of our most played and favorite cds of last year! Volume two keeps the fire going with 16 more totally perfect, sitar fueled, groovy 'n heavy Indian funk delights. Pulled mostly from obscure soundtracks, most of these tracks we had never heard before but we've already lost count of how many times we've listened to this since it arrived in the store a week ago and now most of them have become all time AQ faves just like that! All the obvious names are represented: R.D. Burman, Asha Bhosle, Lata Mangeshkar, Kalyanji Anandji, etc. While the tracks with vocals are all great (how could they not be with folks like Bhosle and Mangeshkar singing) but Sitar Beat is truly about the smokin' funk jam instrumentals. It just doesn't get more funky and fun than this! But it's not just kitschy fun, these are some seriously rocking jams, totally mind blowing music that reminds us once again that music can be strange and inventive yet immediate and exciting at the same time. AQ pal John Dwyer said it best when he came in while this was playing "Damn, this is hot!"
MPEG Stream: KALYANJI ANANDFI W/ LATA MANGESHKAR, ASHA BHOSLE & MAHENDRA KAPOOR "Pyar Zindagi Hai"
MPEG Stream: R.D. BURMAN "Freakout Music"
MPEG Stream: USHA KHANNA "Tera Jasia Pyara Koi Nahin"

V/A Sitar Beat! Indian Style Heavy Funk Vol.1 (Guerrilla Reissues) cd 14.98
We were in absolute buzzing raga drone, funk soul heaven when we learned that those amazing and totally fun vinyl-only releases in the Sitar Beat series had now been compiled onto a cd. Most of us were never lucky enough to get the lps but now we can get our sitar funk on all the same! Chances are if you've been in the store in the last couple weeks you've heard us playing this, as this is one of those rare records that every single one of us can't help but be in love with. '60s, '70s and early '80s Bollywood jams and Indian-influenced psych-grooves HEAVY on the sitar. R.D. Burman, Ananada Shankar, Asha Bhosle, Serge Gainsbourg, Klaus Doldinger just to name a few of the responsible parties East and West who will henceforth be making your parties way more fun!!! But be prepared for tons of questions when all your friends start asking you what it is you're playing. We've been fielding those questions for weeks, but we're more then happy to answer with a simple reply: "It's Sitar Beat!..." and before we can even finish our sentence said questioner is on his or her way out the door with a copy. We rest much easier at night knowing that we're doing out small part to spread these amazing soul stirring buzzy freak funk grooves far and wide, filling ears and shaking souls!
MPEG Stream: SERGE GAINSBOURG W/MICHEL COLOMBIER "Pyschastenie"
MPEG Stream: KALYANJI ANANDII "Somebody To Love"
MPEG Stream: R.D. BURMAN W/ASHA BOSHLE & KISHORE KUMORE "Aa Dekhen Jara"

V/A Sound Of Siam (Soundway) 2lp 26.00
NOW AVAILABLE ON GATEFOLD VINYL, WITH A BONUS TRACK!!
So we've actually already had quite a few amazing compilations of '60s and '70s popular music from Thailand, including a whole bunch of discs from the infallible Sublime Frequencies label (Thai Pop Spectacular, Siamese Soul, Molam: Thai Country Groove, Shadow Music Of Thailand, etc., etc.), and also the Subliminal Sounds label's Thai Beat A-Go-Go series, but we were still super excited when we heard about the upcoming release of this new comp of vintage Thai tunes, 'cause it's been put together by Soundway, the UK-based label that also seemingly can do no wrong when it comes to international crate diggin'. Soundway is responsible for all those Nigeria Special comps, and the Ghana Soundz ones too, among other fine collections and reissues, most focused on music from Africa or Latin America. This is their first venture into Southeast Asia, as far as we know, and boy did they do the job well! A more lively, colorful comp could hardly be imagined. The compilers, who have spent hours and days on the ground in Thailand searching out vintage vinyl, know their stuff (their DJ night, "Bangkok Paradise", must be a blast).
Nineteen tracks, 66 minutes of music, ranging from yearning love songs to super groovy funk, all of it quite undeniably 'exotic' to our ears, so that even with Western psych and pop influences, incorporating surprise rock riffs, synths, and brass sections, it's most definitely music from Thailand, utilizing Thai folk traditions, sung in the Thai language, though some of it also reminds us of Bollywood stuff (which makes sense), or possibly the Ethiopiques series as well (a less likely connection there). We recognize a few of the artists' names from those other abovementioned comps, though they seem aware of what's been comped already and we're assured that most of the tracks here have never been released outside of Thailand before.
The subtitle doesn't say "leftfield" for nothing, this probably isn't the most typical mainstream Thai pop from the period, more like the hippest and freakiest, though often from quite popular artists, many revered to this day. Soundway treat us to some wonderfully eccentric picks, gems like Waipod Phetsuphan's "Ding Ding Dong", a song inspired by a dumb 1971 Italian sex comedy about prehistoric cavemen (and cavewomen) that was inexplicably a hit film in Thailand. And the spaced out lounge-jazz of The Viking Combo band's "Pleng Yuk Owakard" must be mentioned. Mindblowing. Walking bass, spooked out electric organ, maniacal vocals, loud shuddery chords, sudden percussion, woah it's a weird one, almost disturbing. Whichever DJ/collector first dug that one up must have been stoked. So much good stuff here, our point is, the treasures of vintage Thai pop are plentiful enough to require this comp, those that came before, and hopefully many more to come. You gotta be thankful when you think about it, without the efforts of labels like Sublime Frequencies, and Soundway, etc., we'd be missing out on so much incredible music that we now listen to on a daily basis, whether it be from Thailand or Nigeria or wherever.
MPEG Stream: ONUMA SINGSIRI "Mae Kha Som Tam"
MPEG Stream: THE PETCH PHIN THONG BAND "Soul Lam Plearn"
MPEG Stream: CHAWEEWAN DUMNERN "Sao Lam Plearn"
MPEG Stream: THE VIKING COMBO BAND "Pleng Yuk Owakard"

V/A South Pacific: Island Music (Nonesuch) cd 12.98
An explicit warning on the back cover admonishes us not to expect to hear any "Hawaiian guitars, ukuleles and the Hula" on this disc. Which is all fine and dandy, because in its stead we're treated to some exceptionally rare recordings that span the wide Pacific ocean. In 1978 David Fanshawe flew from island to island, seeking out the music of the people who lived there and -- if the local governments allowed it -- recorded them. Fanshawe travelled to the Cook Islands, Tonga, Fiji, the Solomon Islands, the Gilbert Islands, Western Samoa and Tahiti. From his travels he culled together twenty eight varied tracks, from the frenetic high speed drumming of the Cook Islands to the soft melodies of the Fangufangu Nose Flute. But most cherished on this collection are the beautiful choruses, both religious and secular, which sound like eerie inverted versions of an American Baptist gospel choir. In one love song, sung by a group of men gathered at a drinking club, the chorus is accompanied by the sounds of a woman pouring kava. Originally released in 1987 as "Island Music of the South Pacific".
RealAudio clip: COOK ISLANDS "Drum Chant"
RealAudio clip: SOLOMON ISLANDS "Pan Pipes And Night Roar"
RealAudio clip: TAHITI "Imene Tarava"

V/A South Sulawesi Strings (Music Of Indonesia 15) (Smithsonian Folkways) cd 15.98
From the liner notes: "South Sulawesi is remarkably rich in string music. Among the instruments are the kacapi (a two stringed, plucked lute), gambus (a plucked lute probably originating in Arabia), mandaliong (a keyed zither), and the violin. This album presents professional narravtive and lyric singing with kacapi from the Bugis, Makasar, and Mandar peoples, along with informal, private singing with kacapi from the Toraja and driving Bugis and Kajang instrumental tunes. Also from the Kajang comes the quite different music of the gambus. And as contrast to the plucked lutes, the album offers, from the Bugis, mysterious violin duets, a violin trio with singers, and a lively ensemble of violins, mandaliong, flute, kacapi, and singers."

V/A Spirit of India (Wagram) 2cd 19.98
French import double cd of Indian music new and old. Disc one ("Traditional") features fifteen tracks from a bunch of doubtless well-known trad Indian artists. Of course Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan -- hey he's not Indian -- and Ravi Shankar are the only ones WE recognize. The selections are pretty cool with lots of wild vocal, tabla and sitar action. There's even some street sounds (honking cars and such) in the mix on one track. Then disc two ("New Vibes") hands things over to the dancefloor DJ crowd, doing the sort of East-meets-Electronica thing that Talvin Singh, Cheb I Sabbah, etc. popularized. They're not on here, but likeminded artists such as Badmarsh, Black Star Liner, Asian Dub Foundation, Up Bustle & Out, Fun-Da-Mental, and of course Bill Laswell make appearances. ...Actually, Talvin Singh IS on here, remixing a track by Ryuichi Sakamoto! Fans of the whole Outcaste label/aesthetic will want to check this out for sure. Of the two discs, the trad wins out with us but I guess we're just old school. A nice comp either way.

V/A Spirit of India 2 (Wagram) 2cd 19.98
As you've already figured out, this is the sequel to the Spirit of India 2cd comp reviewed above. Again we're presented with a disc of traditional material, and a second disc of "New Vibes" -- electronica takes on the sounds of India. Disc one's got Shankar and Khan again, and Trilok Gurtu and Shelia Chandra as well, plus also a bunch of other unknown-to-us artists, and is again pretty cool. Disc two also has some of the same folks from the first "Spirit of India" volume, plus Bally Sagoo, Thievery Corporation, Loop Guru, Transglobal Underground w/ Natacha Atlas, and more. If you dig Talvin Singh style stuff, you'll probably like this disc too.

V/A Steam Kodok (Grey Past Records) cd 24.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Now available on CD and expanded with 9 more tracks than the vinyl! Subtitled "26 A-Go-Go Ultrarities From the 60's Singapore and South-East Asia Underground", this comp seriously smokes in a psychedelic pop haze. Covering standards like "Buttons and Bows", but mostly playing by-the-numbers originals, bands like October Cherries, Rosnah and the Siglap Five, Ronnie Ong, and Naomi & the Boys (playing a great Peter Thomas number) played a mixture of surf, soul, r&b, and plain ole psych pop. A couple of the groups here even went to #1 in their home countries. Fuzz guitar! The tracks featuring girl singers sound just like the Ultra Chicks French girl group comps, thus testifying to the universal appeal the rock music of the day held for young people the world over. File with your Cambodian Rocks and Turkish Delights cds...
MPEG Stream: SWALLOWS, THE "Bunga Berachin"
MPEG Stream: NAOMI & THE BOYS "Bad Loser"
MPEG Stream: J. ISMAIL & "D" IRAMA "Lupakan Aku"

V/A Steam Kodok (Grey Past) lp 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Subtitled "17 A-Go-Go Ultrarities From the 60's Singapore and South-East Asia Underground", this comp fairly smokes in a psychedelic pop haze. Covering standards like "Buttons and Bows", but mostly playing by-the-numbers originals, bands like October Cherries, Rosnah and the Siglap Five, Ronnie Ong, and Naomi & the Boys (playing a great Peter Thomas number) played a mixture of surf, soul, r&b, and plain ole psych pop. A couple of the groups here even went to #1 in their home countries. Fuzz guitar! The tracks featuring girl singers sound just like the Ultra Chicks French girl group comps, thus testifying to the universal appeal the rock music of the day held for young people the world over.
On transparent blue vinyl. Dutch import.

V/A Street Musicians Of Yogyakarta (Mississippi) lp + 7" 15.98
**MISSISSIPPI RECORDS ALERT**
One of two new Mississippi releases we're listing this week, both incredible additions to the already impossibly impressive Mississippi catalog, and as we often mention, there are plenty of people who buy every single Mississippi release, regardless, and most aQ-ers definitely fall into that category, but really, any one at all interested in world music, and we're not talking the Starbucks / Paul Simon variety, we're talking real world music, the sounds you here on the streets and in the homes played by real people in real places all over the world, if that stuff holds any interest for you, then pretty much every single Mississippi release is essential, and without fail, each one will open up a whole new world of sound, and reveal all manner of musical magic to jaded Western ears.
The tracks here were recorded in Indonesia in the late seventies by a field recordist named Jack Brody, and this sampling offers up lots of the different flavors of street musicians at the time, displaying the various influences from Indian Bollywood music, American rock and roll as well as traditional Javanese folk musics, all wound into these unique and personal sonic expressions. The sound seems to be mostly vocal driven, with the majority of the vocalists female, the voices high and clear and soaring, lots of call and response and unique harmonies, strings buzz over simple hand drums and minimal percussion, many of the tracks here are simple and spare, but others are impossibly lush. And as these are all recorded on the streets, the music is peppered with the sounds of life, cars and buses, kids playing, adults talking, babies crying, horns honking. There are a couple of tracks featuring male vocalists, one in particular stands out, the vocalist singing in a super raspy Popeye/Tom Waits voice, over just intricate drumming, his vocal delivery rapid fire and super dexterous, the result dizzying and exhilarating. We could go track by track, but every song here is a gem, and like most Mississippi releases, we find ourselves spinning this over and over and over and getting totally lost in these incredible sounds.
Housed in a super heavy old school tip-on style jacket, and includes a massive booklet filled with liner notes on the music, the region, the performers, including lyrics and actual musical notation, as well as lots of photos and a bonus 7"!

V/A Streets Of Lhasa (Sublime Frequencies) cd 14.98
The 19 tracks on Streets Of Lhasa were recorded by Zhang Jian, a member of Beijing, China's fm3 arts collective during a visit to Tibet in August 2003. Jian would hire the musicians for an entire day, paying them in cash and food, and record their performances in the relatively quiet surroundings of a city park. Most of the recordings are of either solo performers (singing a cappella, or accompanying themselves with a lute or fiddle) or in small ensembles. Many of the performers are children, often singing with their parents. Particularly cute is the father / son duet (with fiddle accompaniment). In addition to these private performances, Jian also made several recordings of ambient sounds and music on the streets of Lhasa: market sounds, prayer bells, children playing, trains, and a 12 minute track of monks heatedly discussing scripture and apparently clapping to puncuate their arguments, though the clapping sounds almost like a crackling fire. The result is a picture perfect audio post card to a place most of us will likely never visit.
MPEG Stream: "Father/Son Vocal With Erhu"
MPEG Stream: "Bian Jing"
MPEG Stream: "Peace On Top Of The World"

V/A Teen Dance Music From China And Malaysia (Thrift Score) cd 14.98
FINALLY RE-PRESSED after years of being out of print! An all time AQ favorite available again!
Fans of The Steps, Ho: Roady Music From Vietnam and fans of instrumental exotica weirdness take note. We are happy to have chanced upon this brand new collection of gems from the cracks of music history. According to the notes on the back of the case, the thrift-store-scouring curator of this collection was blessed with an extreme case of "right place at the right time" syndrome and spotted an entire collection of records from China and South East Asia which had been dropped off in grocery bags only an hour earlier. Wisely seizing the opportunity, our protagonist picked up every last one and took them home to sift through the motherlode at his leisure. The 18 tracks on this disc represent the best, by our guide's judgement, songs in the collection. The cuts are all instrumental (most vocals being mono-syllabic choruses -- read: "oohs" and "ahhs") with the exception of the The Chipmunks-meet-the-Ventures styled "Chella-La" by The Stylers and an off kilter rendition of Prince Buster's "Enjoy Yourself". The tracks range from the very western sounding to the more overtly Asian in melody and all of them are soaked in guitar -- both of the fuzzed out and spaciously reverb drenched variety -- oddball organs, drums, bongos, vibes, bass, etc... You get the idea. There are several tracks of popular film arrangements including For A Few Dollars More, a medley of James Bond Themes and a go-go version of Bridge Over The River Kwai. But there are plenty of less obvious sources quoted including a psychedelic mambo which even features a yelp Perez Prado would be proud to call his own, some very Martin Denny-esque arrangements, as well as some very Ventures or Shadows (depending which you feel more worthy of the credit) like numbers. This one comes highly recommended.
RealAudio clip: TACIT BLESSING "(indecipherable)"
RealAudio clip: STYLERS, THE "Chella-La"
RealAudio clip: STYLERS, THE "Themes From James Bond"

V/A Thai Beat A Go Go Volume 3 (Subliminal Sounds) lp 28.00
Now on vinyl!! Here's some of what we said when we reviewed the compact disc version, though as before the programming of the cd and vinyl versions differ somewhat, but even if the track list isn't quite the same (the cd had 5 more songs), the general thrust of the following review still stands:
It's beginning to appear as though Subliminal Sounds' well of amazing undiscovered Thai Beat music might be bottomless! We were a bit surprised when they managed to pull off a second excellent collection of Thai bubblegum psych tunes from yesteryear, but now a *third*?? "Is it just as good", you ask? Well, heck yeah, it is! It doesn't seem as though they culled the best for the first, or even the second, collection. This third volume may in fact be the best - though it's hard to choose. This one has about the same ratio of purely weird and inimitably Thai "pop" to off-kilter covers of your favorites from the golden era of rock, but add into that mix a great deal of seventies funk & disco and even some Santana-esque rock, all with a Thai twist and lots of fun. In addition to all the cool music on this collection is album's cover, which looks as though it were taken from a '70s Thai B-grade horror film. A "scary" looking dude in blue slacks, red sweater, and dracula fangs is lightly held back (or is he dancing with?) two sexy Thai girls wearing matching green skirts and white knee high boots. WOW! is our reaction to that, and the whole disc as well!

V/A Thai Beat A Go-Go Volume 1 (Subliminal Sounds) cd 16.98
REPRESSED! All three volumes, each somehow better than the last, of this crucial SE Asian psych rock series... Here's the first:
From the label that brought us Dungen, Parson Sound and Abner Jay comes a crazy collection of Thai Beat A Go-Go, as they put it. We're still reeling from the double whammy of the two volume Cambodian Rocks releases and the excellent Cambodian Cassette Archives and now this. Though to be fair to the latter, this release might not necessarily cater to all the same fans. The music here is more likely to appeal to fans of obscure '60s pop and garage than say, fans of off kilter pop influenced Thai music. In fact, much of what's on this disc would be difficult to place within any particular country, let alone region of the world through listening alone. Apparently the musicians here were first and foremost concerned with reproducing an accurate replica (there are many overt copies included here) of popular American music of the day. This was, after all, during the Vietnam war and plenty of American servicemen were stationed in Thailand and American music was being broadcast far and wide for their benefit. That said, there are still plenty of great rocking vocal and instrumental tracks here and a few nutty renditions of classics. Of note is The Son Of P.M.'s version of the "James Bond Theme", which gets a little spicing up with Thai drums and The Cat's "Meow" or Louise Kennedy's "Poo Yai Lee", either of which would have been an excellent addition to the Ultra Chicks compilations. There's also a version of Hank Williams' "Kaw Liga" with augmented Native American drumming and a super upbeat bridge, and Johnny Guitar's "Klongyao", probably the best representation of Thai-Western pop hybrid on the collection. Definitely stick this one out to the end when you pick it up though, as it seems heavily weighted with the best tracks in the second half.
MPEG Stream: THE VIKING BAND "Phom Rak Khoon Tching Tching"
MPEG Stream: JOHNNY'S GUITAR "Klongyao"
MPEG Stream: PAIBOON "Yom Pha Barn Norn Pahwaa"

V/A Thai Beat A Go-Go Volume 1 (Subliminal Sounds) lp 28.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This all-time AQ favorite is finally available on vinyl! Weirdly, it omits a few cuts from the cd version, but adds two that were NOT on the cd as well.
From the label that brought us Dungen, Parson Sound and Abner Jay comes a crazy collection of Thai Go-Go. We're still reeling from the double whammy of the two volume Cambodian Rocks releases and the excellent Cambodian Cassette Archives and now this. Though to be fair to the latter, this release might not necessarily cater to all the same fans. The music here is more likely to appeal to fans of obscure 60's pop and garage than say, fans of off kilter pop influenced Thai music. In fact, much of what's on this disc would be difficult to place within any particular country, let alone region of the world through listening alone. Apparently the musicians here were first and foremost concerned with reproducing an accurate replica (there are many overt copies included here) of popular American music of the day. This was, after all, during the Vietnam war and plenty of American servicemen were stationed in Thailand and American music was being broadcast far and wide for their benefit. That said, there are still plenty of great rocking vocal and instrumental tracks here and a few nutty renditions of classics. Of note is The Son Of P.M.'s version of the "James Bond Theme", which gets a little spicing up with Thai drums.
MPEG Stream: THE VIKING BAND "Phom Rak Khoon Tching Tching"
MPEG Stream: PAIBOON "Yom Pha Barn Norn Pahwaa"

V/A Thai Beat A Go-Go Volume 2 (Subliminal Sounds) cd 16.98
REPRESSED! All three volumes, each somehow better than the last, of this crucial SE Asian psych rock series... Here's the second:
Hot on the heels of the first volume, Subliminal Sounds has released this second collection of Thai garage beat pop go-go madness. And we have to say it's better than the first. Like the first volume the tracks here are all distinct replicas of popular music from the Occident of the late sixties. Some notable covers include the King's "All Shook Up", Serge Gainsbourg's "Je T'aime Moi Non Plus" and The Beatles' "Lady Madonna". What makes this collection stand out for us though is both the inclusion of a wider range of severely demented production aesthetics and a great deal more songs that, vocally, sound more Thai. The album starts off with a bang to Viparat Piengsuwan's "YoK YoK" with chipper explosive vocals that could only come from Thailand. So cute it'll make you barf. Not skipping a beat we're led into Surapon's "Ding Dong", which sounds like a seriously fucked up deconstruction of the "Surfing Bird". A little later Waipot Petsuwan's "Mia Chaa" throws a monkey wrench into our expectations with a dreamy ellyptical vocal line -- that sounds reminiscent of Mo Lam -- over an otherwise standard garage beat tune, instantly transforming it into a classic. Then, of course, there's some demented production like excessive reverb in the oddest places and a strange Thai version of the Chipmonks that'll have you spitting your lunch out your nose. Highly recommended!
MPEG Stream: VIPARAT PIENGSUWAN "Yok Yok (Jump)"
MPEG Stream: WAIPOT PETSUWAN "Mia Chaa (My Darling)"
MPEG Stream: SURAPON ALIAS THE FOX "Nang Maew Pee (The Ghost of Catwoman)"

V/A Thai Beat A Go-Go Volume 2 (Subliminal Sounds) lp 28.00
This is a bit confusing, like the lp version of volume 1, this lp has the same title as the cd version yet has a decidedly different tracklisting. Needless to say, if you've dug these comps, and wished for a vinyl version, this is definitely worth picking up, and if you're a vinyl fanatic, and have never checked out any of the Thai Beat A Go-Go series, boy are you in for a treat.
Hot on the heels of the first volume, Subliminal Sounds has released this second collection of Thai garage beat pop go-go madness. And we have to say it might be even better than the first. Like the first volume the tracks here are all distinct replicas of popular music from the Occident of the late sixties, including lots of covers (like The Beatles' "Lady Madonna"). But what makes this collection stand out for us is both the inclusion of a wider range of severely demented production aesthetics and a great deal more songs that, vocally, sound more Thai. The album starts off with a bang courtesy of Viparat Piengsuwan's "YoK YoK" with chipper explosive vocals that could only come from Thailand. So cute it'll make you barf. We're soon led into Surapon's "Ding Dong", which sounds like a seriously fucked up deconstruction of the "Surfing Bird". All the tracks are fantastic and freaked out.
The songs sure, but of course, there's the demented production too, like excessive reverb in the oddest places and a strange Thai version of the Chipmunks vocals that'll have you spitting your milk out your nose. Highly recommended!

V/A Thai Beat A Go-Go Volume 3 (Subliminal Sounds) cd 16.98
REPRESSED! All three volumes, each somehow better than the last, of this crucial SE Asian psych rock series... Here's the third:
It's beginning to appear as though Subliminal Sounds' well of amazing undiscovered Thai Beat music might be bottomless! We were a bit surprised when they managed to pull off a second excellent collection of Thai bubblegum psych tunes from yesteryear, but now a *third*?? "Is it just as good", you ask? Well, heck yeah, it is! It doesn't seem as though they culled the best for the first, or even the second, collection. This third volume may in fact be the best - though it's hard to choose. This one has about the same ratio of purely weird and inimitably Thai "pop" to off-kilter covers of your favorites from the golden era of rock (including "Hang On Sloopy" and another Elvis number "Heartbreak Hotel"), but add into that mix a great deal of seventies funk & disco and even some Santana-esque rock, all with a Thai twist and lots of fun. But the real gems on this collection are two tracks - "Thai Boxing" and "Siamese Boxing" - by Jiraphand Ong-Ard which nearly bookend the anthology and completely fill their own void of strange rock. Both tracks pay homage to Muay Thai boxing and raam muay - the traditional music that accompanies boxing events. The music of raam muay features a Thai reed instrument that sounds like a kazoo run through a Marshall amp. Both the tracks use this music as an odd bridge mixed in to them - almost arbitrarily - in such a way that they sound bi-polar. In addition to all the cool music on this collection is album's cover, which looks as though it were taken from a '70s Thai B-grade horror film. A "scary" looking dude in blue slacks, red sweater, and dracula fangs is lightly held back (or is he dancing with?) two sexy Thai girls wearing matching green skirts and white knee high boots. WOW! is our reaction to that, and the whole disc as well!
MPEG Stream: JIRAPHAND ONG-ARD "Thai Boxing"
MPEG Stream: SUPAPHORN "Lua Chan See"
MPEG Stream: FLASH "Where Is the Love?"

V/A Thai Pop Spectacular 1960s-1980s (Sublime Frequencies) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Another killer installment in the Sublime Frequencies series of wondrous and fantastical musics from around the world, and although we've probably proclaimed this about past volumes, this just may be the best one yet. The hardest thing about enjoying strange musics from other lands, though, is realizing that the music only seems strange to us. And with that realization comes a responsibility, c'mon, the pop music popular in the US must seem just as strange to folks in other countries, Avril Lavigne, Britney, every singer from American Idol, or how about Weird Al? So you sort of have to take into account that knowing the language, and growing up listening to the various popular musics of a region, would probably help to contextualize the strange hybridized pop music that we love to listen to and that is such a cornerstone of this series. Imagine how different it would be listening to a band like Circle if you understood Finnish. Might not seem so crazy. But that's part of the joy, it does sound crazy, and wild and weird, and wonderful, and there's certainly nothing wrong with being fascinated by seeming strangeness of the music, or enjoying the lyrics as just another instrument since we don't speak the language, and digging the seemingly bizarre juxtapositions, as long as we respect the heritage and the makers of this music that gives us such pleasure. And we do.
And holy crap does this latest installment give us all kinds of pleasure. It -is- wild, an awesomely confusional mix of Molam, Bollywood, Ethiopian groove, funk, soul, American pop and surf rock, all tangled up into amazing shapes, and peppered with killer hooks, amazing vocalists, bizarre production techniques, but most of all amazing amazing songs. The sort of songs that get stuck in your head and you find yourself humming to yourself, wondering if it was something you heard on the radio or something that was playing in some store you were just in, then realizing it was actually some seventies Thai pop song!
We knew this collection was going to be amazing before we even got to the music. Past installments in this series focusing on Thai music were already among our favorites, the photos are awesome, and check out some of these song titles: "There Are Many Handsome Men Out There", "You Should Die By Bullets", "Drinking Whiskey Until I'm Blurred", "Look Whose Underwear Is Showing", "Monthly Wife", "Uncle Dee Is A Drunk"...
And the music is just as fun and funky, crazy and catchy. A killer collection of Thai disco classics, music from Thai films, a bunch of stone cold pop gems, some unknown, some by Thai superstars, and a totally tweaked version of "The Night Chicago Died".
Some of our favorites are "Dance Of The Ngeo" by Johnny Guitar, a bad ass surf guitar jam, that begins with some strange trash can percussion, that surfaces again and again throughout, as well as some awesome fuzz organ, all making it sound like the coolest weirdest track Joe Meek never recorded, "You Should Die By Bullets" by Chailai Chaiyata & Sawanee Patana, a super funky slab of tripped out Bollywood style disco, with some truly damaged alien synths, and some amazing vocals, "We Both Think We're The Best" by Sangthong Seesai, a seasick, slithery groove, all blown out percussion, fuzzy organ, really grimey and groovy and sultry sounding, "Long Time No See" by Generation, a badass Barney Miller wah guitar groove, strutting and sexy, with a super strange totally blown out cymbal that gives the track a really strange shimmer, "Wise Old Man" by Gawao Siangthong, a funky horn flecked funk workout, that almost sounds like the Thai version of an Ethiopian Grooves track, there's even a weird breakdown in the middle of the song, where the two vocalists joke and banter, before launching right back into the song, "Title Theme from Live From The Rocket Festival" by Chalermpon Malakum, a space age seventies sitcom soundtrack groove, with weird warbly synths, funky horns, and a killer psychedelic guitar solo, and maybe our favorite (although it's practically impossible to choose), "Papaya Salad Merchant, by Onuma Singsiri, a slow burning shuffle, moody and brooding, with super sultry vocals, a wicked Morricone-ish Spaghetti Western twang guitar, some subtle waka waka rhythms, and a main melody to die for.
It's hard to describe any of these tracks without the word 'groove', as the above would seem to demonstrate, and that's because almost all of these tracks are indeed groovy, full of funky horns, wah wah guitars, bouncy bass lines, wild percussion, wicked drumming, and an incredible array of vocals and vocalists... but even the tracks that aren't inherently groovy, still seem to groove somehow... and even though we picked our favorites above, the more we listen, the more -every- song here is becoming one of our favorites... so so great!
Unlike a lot of other titles in this series where the sources were dubbed tapes or unlabeled recordings or radio broadcasts, each track here is credited to the performer (and hopefully, we assume, the performers will see some of the profits this time around?), each with it's original Thai title and translated English title, as well as what album the song is taken from, and there are liner notes from Sublime Frequencies head honcho (and Sun City Girl) Alan Bishop and frequent SF contributor Mark Gergis.
MPEG Stream: BUPPAH SAICHOL "Roob Lor Thom Pai"
MPEG Stream: ONUMA SINGSIRI "Mae Kha Som Tum"
MPEG Stream: JOHNNY GUITAR "Fawn Ngeo"
MPEG Stream: CHALAI CHAIYATA & SAWANEE PATANA "Kwuan Tai Duew Luk Puen"

V/A Thai? Dai! - The Heavier Side Of The Luk Thung Underground (B-Music / Finders Keepers) cd 16.98
Another fantastic collection of far out seventies South East Asian grooves, from rock to garage to surf music, once again HEAVILY influenced by American and European music of the time, although this time we do in fact mean HEAVILY, as this collection features various hard rocking jams from Asia, recorded in the seventies, all songs and sounds that lean toward the heavy, the psychedelic, the metallic even, with lots of fuzzy guitars, pounding drums, distorted horns, throbbing basslines, not to mention some wholesale borrowing from popular rock songs of the time, all given a distinctly Asian sonic makeover, mixing traditional folk vocals with thick super distorted guitar crunch, or wrapping wild psychedelic guitar freakouts around funky grooves and more traditional sounding vox.
This strange hybrid is probably best exemplified by the killer opener, Sroeng Santi's "Kuen Kuen Lueng Lueng", which essentially swipes that oh so iconic riff from Black Sabbath's "Iron Man", without doing much to it at all, but then mixes it with a dark slithery low slung verse, all broody and fuzzy and a little bit sinister, with those totally irresistible Thai vocals, which as we've mentioned before, most of us heard for the first time via the Butthole Surfers' track "Kuntz", in fact, "Kuen Kuen Lueng Lueng" sorta sounds like an "Iron Man" / "Kuntz" mash up, and it RULES.
Then there's Jalwal, Annie & Geerasak's "Klug Tum La", which is essentially a Thai version of Chicago's "25 or 6 To 4", that immediately recognizable riff, SERIOUSLY fuzzy and crunchy, and then the horns, fantastically atonal and harsh, adding a strange vibe, as do the sweet crooned female vox, which occasionally slip into a powerful witchy howl, there's also a seriously fierce, super distorted psychedelic guitar solo.
Another one of our favorites is Teungjai Bunpraruksa's "Kanong Krung" which is just crazy and over the top and so good, pounding and fuzzy and groovy, with wild horns, twangy guitars, frantic drumming, a fat fuzzy main riff, super strange girl gang vocals, all distorted and often erupting into wails and screams, a total free for all party anthem for sure.
A lot of the tracks here are not necessarily super heavy, but they all share a certain something, whether it's a bit of fuzzy guitar, or some wild chaotic drumming, or some psychedelic guitar leads, and the sounds do vary dramatically, with many on first listen sounding like they could have come from any of the other recent Thai and Asian comps from Sublime Frequencies or Subliminal Sounds, whether it's twang flecked Morricone-esque moodiness, or Ventures like surfiness, or groovy fuzzy exotica, but spend a little time with each song, and no matter how traditional they sound at first, before you know it, some fuzzy riff or tangle of psychedelic guitar, or burst of skronking horns, or flurry of tribal drums will surface, and the song is transformed into something else. And we do mean SOMETHING ELSE!
Includes a booklet with photos, and liner notes, with more details about the history of the music, as well as the artists and the songs.
MPEG Stream: SROENG SANTI "Kuen Kuen Lueng Lueng"
MPEG Stream: PLEARN PROMDAN "Ruk Kum Samong"
MPEG Stream: RUNG PETCHBURI "Pai Joi"
MPEG Stream: SROENG SANTI "Nam Mun Pang"
MPEG Stream: TEUNGJAI BUNPRARUKSA "Kanong Krung"

V/A Thai? Dai! - The Heavier Side Of The Luk Thung Underground (Finders Keepers) lp 24.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Now available on vinyl!
Another fantastic collection of far out seventies South East Asian grooves, from rock to garage to surf music, once again HEAVILY influenced by American and European music of the time, although this time we do in fact mean HEAVILY, as this collection features various hard rocking jams from Asia, recorded in the seventies, all songs and sounds that lean toward the heavy, the psychedelic, the metallic even, with lots of fuzzy guitars, pounding drums, distorted horns, throbbing basslines, not to mention some wholesale borrowing from popular rock songs of the time, all given a distinctly Asian sonic makeover, mixing traditional folk vocals with thick super distorted guitar crunch, or wrapping wild psychedelic guitar freakouts around funky grooves and more traditional sounding vox.
This strange hybrid is probably best exemplified by the killer opener, Sroeng Santi's "Kuen Kuen Lueng Lueng", which essentially swipes that oh so iconic riff from Black Sabbath's "Iron Man", without doing much to it at all, but then mixes it with a dark slithery low slung verse, all broody and fuzzy and a little bit sinister, with those totally irresistible Thai vocals, which as we've mentioned before, most of us heard for the first time via the Butthole Surfers' track "Kuntz", in fact, "Kuen Kuen Lueng Lueng" sorta sounds like an "Iron Man" / "Kuntz" mash up, and it RULES.
Then there's Jalwal, Annie & Geerasak's "Klug Tum La", which is essentially a Thai version of Chicago's "25 or 6 To 4", that immediately recognizable riff, SERIOUSLY fuzzy and crunchy, and then the horns, fantastically atonal and harsh, adding a strange vibe, as do the sweet crooned female vox, which occasionally slip into a powerful witchy howl, there's also a seriously fierce, super distorted psychedelic guitar solo.
Another one of our favorites is Teungjai Bunpraruksa's "Kanong Krung" which is just crazy and over the top and so good, pounding and fuzzy and groovy, with wild horns, twangy guitars, frantic drumming, a fat fuzzy main riff, super strange girl gang vocals, all distorted and often erupting into wails and screams, a total free for all party anthem for sure.
A lot of the tracks here are not necessarily super heavy, but they all share a certain something, whether it's a bit of fuzzy guitar, or some wild chaotic drumming, or some psychedelic guitar leads, and the sounds do vary dramatically, with many on first listen sounding like they could have come from any of the other recent Thai and Asian comps from Sublime Frequencies or Subliminal Sounds, whether it's twang flecked Morricone-esque moodiness, or Ventures like surfiness, or groovy fuzzy exotica, but spend a little time with each song, and no matter how traditional they sound at first, before you know it, some fuzzy riff or tangle of psychedelic guitar, or burst of skronking horns, or flurry of tribal drums will surface, and the song is transformed into something else. And we do mean SOMETHING ELSE!
MPEG Stream: SROENG SANTI "Kuen Kuen Lueng Lueng"
MPEG Stream: PLEARN PROMDAN "Ruk Kum Samong"
MPEG Stream: RUNG PETCHBURI "Pai Joi"
MPEG Stream: SROENG SANTI "Nam Mun Pang"
MPEG Stream: TEUNGJAI BUNPRARUKSA "Kanong Krung"

V/A The Classical Indian Collection: 26 of the Most Relaxing Indian Songs (Outcaste) 2cd 16.98

V/A The Crying Princess: 78 RPM Records from Burma (Sublime Frequencies) lp 21.00
Second collection of vintage 78 rpm records from the Sublime Frequencies label, following the fantastic Scattered Melodies compilation we reviewed recently, which focused exclusively on music played on the kayagum, a Korean instrument similar to the Japanese koto. This new one is all music from Burma, now Myanmar, all ultra rare recordings from 1909 to 1960, and again assembled by Robert Millis, a member of aQ faves Climax Golden Twins, and more recently, the curator of many of our favorite world music compilations.
The provenance of these recordings is almost as fascinating as the music itself. The liner notes explain that these records were collected by Millis and former Sun City Girl Alan Bishop over the course of several trips to Burma, some given to them by a dealer with boxes of records tied to the back of his scooter, others from small shops in tiny villages, one in particular where the proprietors would wash its records under the town's single faucet, and still others from their driver, who handed over a bag of records belonging to his dead father. The music itself is as varied as the sources, the A side made up of various 'zat pwe's, a term avid Sublime Frequencies fans might remember from several other SF comps we've carried in the past, and which refers to troupes that would travel throughout Burma performing their musical dramas, soaring emotional vocals, wild squiggly melodies, tinkling chimes, and darkly shimmering gamelan like percussion, some of the tracks are sung by children, the vocals almost always the focal point, the wild melodies in the background tightly wound up in those vocal melodies, making for lush tapestries of exotic inspirational sound, hypnotic and mesmerizing.
The flipside offers up several tracks featuring the Burmese harp, one of the most important instruments in Burmese music, with some tracks sounding like American blues, rich throaty vocals over laid back twang, and what sounds like wildly sawed fiddles, and the thick layer of crackle definitely furthers that whole early shellac / old timey sound. A few of the tracks are more modern, with piano, and male/female vocals, some of the tracks even sound almost like big band jazz, a definite Western influence for sure, but deftly woven into a distinctly Burmese sound. And then it's right back to another stretch of quavery almost traditional sounding Burmese folk music, buzzing strings, intricate vocal melodies, dreamy and dramatic and so divine.
When we first got this in, we sold two copies within minutes of putting the needle in the groove. Fantastic, gorgeous, utterly unique, emotional and haunting, all in equal measure. Obviously recommended for international / world music enthusiasts, but the sounds here totally transcend any sort of classification, anyone into adventurous listening and discovering new (old) sounds should most definitely take a flyer on this, you won't be sorry. Pure sonic bliss that will hopefully open up your mind, and ears, to a whole other world of music out there, past and present.
Comes housed in a heavy, old school Stoughton style tip-on full color jacket, and includes a printed insert with extensive liner notes, and rare photos.

V/A The History Of Indian Film Music (Times Square) 10 cd + book box 99.00
Rarely has something showed up in the store that so many of us have wanted so badly, so instantly. An incredible TEN DISC boxset, accompanied by a huge book, tracing the history of Bollywood music, from its beginnings in the 1930s, to the present. All its influences represented, from classical to rock and jazz, new age, disco, hip hop, featuring so many legendary Bollywood vocalists including Asha Bhosle, Kishore Kumar, Hemant Kumar, Geeta Dutt, Sonu Niigaam, Lata Mangeshkar, Mohd. Rafi and tons more. 168 tracks total! We haven't actually opened one up yet, but odds are we're all gonna end up buying one, $99 for ten discs and a book, hard to beat, and judging from the tracklisting and the artists included, it's bound to be incredible, just figured we would get it up on the list/site sooner rather than later, and give aQ listers first crack at scoring one of these amazing collections!

V/A The Sound Of Siam (Soundway) cd 16.98
So we've actually already had quite a few amazing compilations of '60s and '70s popular music from Thailand, including a whole bunch of discs from the infallible Sublime Frequencies label (Thai Pop Spectacular, Siamese Soul, Molam: Thai Country Groove, Shadow Music Of Thailand, etc., etc.), and also the Subliminal Sounds label's Thai Beat A-Go-Go series, but we were still super excited when we heard about the upcoming release of this new comp of vintage Thai tunes, 'cause it's been put together by Soundway, the UK-based label that also seemingly can do no wrong when it comes to international crate diggin'. Soundway is responsible for all those Nigeria Special comps, and the Ghana Soundz ones too, among other fine collections and reissues, most focused on music from Africa or Latin America. This is their first venture into Southeast Asia, as far as we know, and boy did they do the job well! A more lively, colorful comp could hardly be imagined. The compilers, who have spent hours and days on the ground in Thailand searching out vintage vinyl, know their stuff (their DJ night, "Bangkok Paradise", must be a blast).
Nineteen tracks, 66 minutes of music, ranging from yearning love songs to super groovy funk, all of it quite undeniably 'exotic' to our ears, so that even with Western psych and pop influences, incorporating surprise rock riffs, synths, and brass sections, it's most definitely music from Thailand, utilizing Thai folk traditions, sung in the Thai language, though some of it also reminds us of Bollywood stuff (which makes sense), or possibly the Ethiopiques series as well (a less likely connection there). We recognize a few of the artists' names from those other abovementioned comps, though they seem aware of what's been comped already and we're assured that most of the tracks here have never been released outside of Thailand before.
The subtitle doesn't say "leftfield" for nothing, this probably isn't the most typical mainstream Thai pop from the period, more like the hippest and freakiest, though often from quite popular artists, many revered to this day. Soundway treat us to some wonderfully eccentric picks, gems like Waipod Phetsuphan's "Ding Ding Dong", a song inspired by a dumb 1971 Italian sex comedy about prehistoric cavemen (and cavewomen) that was inexplicably a hit film in Thailand. And the spaced out lounge-jazz of The Viking Combo band's "Pleng Yuk Owakard" must be mentioned. Mindblowing. Walking bass, spooked out electric organ, maniacal vocals, loud shuddery chords, sudden percussion, woah it's a weird one, almost disturbing. Whichever DJ/collector first dug that one up must have been stoked. So much good stuff here, our point is, the treasures of vintage Thai pop are plentiful enough to require this comp, those that came before, and hopefully many more to come. You gotta be thankful when you think about it, without the efforts of labels like Sublime Frequencies, and Soundway, etc., we'd be missing out on so much incredible music that we now listen to on a daily basis, whether it be from Thailand or Nigeria or wherever.
This comes in a digipack with a thick 24 page booklet that boasts plenty of full-color graphics (lots of vintage record sleeves and labels, plus pics of some of the artists, and a couple shots of the interior of a vinyl shop in Bangkok) and extensive liner notes. There's a lengthy essay discussing the development of, and distinctions between, such popular musical forms as luk thung, luk krung, and molam, with the impact of Western sounds such as surf rock and Santana also being discussed. Then each track gets its own detailed explanatory note as well, often giving some insight into the sometimes peculiar lyrical content the songs. (Also one mentions that Ethiopian groove-master Mulatu Astatke once spent time in Thailand, and has been quoted as having found some of the sounds of Thai music quite similar to those of his own country, so it's not just us.) Super thorough and informative, much as we expect from Soundway. Yay!
MPEG Stream: ONUMA SINGSIRI "Mae Kha Som Tam"
MPEG Stream: THE PETCH PHIN THONG BAND "Soul Lam Plearn"
MPEG Stream: CHAWEEWAN DUMNERN "Sao Lam Plearn"
MPEG Stream: THE VIKING COMBO BAND "Pleng Yuk Owakard"

V/A The Sound of Wonder: Rare Electronic Pop From The Lollywood Vaults 1973-1980 (B-Music / Finders Keepers) cd 12.98
D'oh. We didn't know it when we listed this as an import not long ago, but there's a payoff for any procrastinators who wanted this, 'cause it's now available as a much more affordable domestic release!
Yay! It's been awhile since we've had a new Finder's Keepers release, and this one is amazing!
By now we're all too familiar with the Eastern cinematic pop splendor and sitar funk of Bollywood. But what about Lollywood? Yes, just to the north in Pakistan, the city of Lahore had their own cottage film industry. Perhaps not as well known outside Pakistan, Lollywood was highly profitable in the seventies and eighties, housing a unique music division with its own equivalent of Bollywood's R.D. Burman and Asha Bhosle in M. Ashraf and his female collaborator, Nahid Akhtar. With the help of EMI, Pakistani musicians were able to create ambitious music in a world class studio, using far-out instrumentation like Moogs and other synthesizers, accordions, surf-guitars, and tons of traditional hand percussion instruments instead of a proper drum set. It's definitely a far more electric and electronic pop sound , than what we're used to hearing in classic Bollywood music. Having an almost retro-futurist bent in its explosive collision of Eastern and Western musical touchstones: Freak-Beat and Surf Rock meets Space-Age Moog Pop and Urdu Groove! Originally released on 7" mini-lps (a curious marketing scheme was to release one soundtrack on 3 separate 7"s!), this is the first time these wild and delightful cinematic obscurities have been collected. Let's hope more get discovered. This IS the Sound of Wonder!
MPEG Stream: M. ASHRAF "Dama Dam Mast Qalander"
MPEG Stream: TAFO "Karye Pyar"
MPEG Stream: NAZIR ALI "Society Girl"

V/A The Sound of Wonder: Rare Electronic Pop From The Lollywood Vaults 1973-1980 (Finders Keepers) 2lp 27.00
Now available on (import) double vinyl!
Yay! It's been awhile since we've had a new Finder's Keepers release, and this one is amazing!
By now we're all too familiar with the Eastern cinematic pop splendor and sitar funk of Bollywood. But what about Lollywood? Yes, just to the north in Pakistan, the city of Lahore had their own cottage film industry. Perhaps not as well known outside Pakistan, Lollywood was highly profitable in the seventies and eighties, housing a unique music division with its own equivalent of Bollywood's R.D. Burman and Asha Bhosle in M. Ashraf and his female collaborator, Nahid Akhtar. With the help of EMI, Pakistani musicians were able to create ambitious music in a world class studio, using far-out instrumentation like Moogs and other synthesizers, accordions, surf-guitars, and tons of traditional hand percussion instruments instead of a proper drum set. It's definitely a far more electric and electronic pop sound , than what we're used to hearing in classic Bollywood music. Having an almost retro-futurist bent in its explosive collision of Eastern and Western musical touchstones: Freak-Beat and Surf Rock meets Space-Age Moog Pop and Urdu Groove! Originally released on 7" mini-lps (a curious marketing scheme was to release one soundtrack on 3 separate 7"s!), this is the first time these wild and delightful cinematic obscurities have been collected. Let's hope more get discovered. This IS the Sound of Wonder!
MPEG Stream: M. ASHRAF "Dama Dam Mast Qalander"
MPEG Stream: TAFO "Karye Pyar"
MPEG Stream: NAZIR ALI "Society Girl"

V/A Theppabutr Productions: The Man Behind The Molam Sound 1972-75 (Zudrangma Records) cd 23.00
Released on vinyl by Light In The Attic for Record Store Day this year, now here's the cd version (lps all gone now)... Please don't ask us to pronounce Theppabutr, but do ask us why this is so awesome - though the best answer is: just listen to it!
International vinyl diggers, seeking out vintage grooves in far flung parts of the world, have made Molam music from Thailand into something that's now definitely a 'thing' in our world music section - we've had some other great Molam collections on the Sublime Frequencies label, for instance, so of course it's exciting to hear from 'The Man Behind The Molam Sound', Theppabutr Satirodchompu, responsible for the production work on the 17 tracks collected here from a variety of Molam artists. It's Molam of the modern variety (modern circa 1972-1975 that is, in this case), a form of electrified vocal music from Northeast Thailand that combines traditional folk melodies and ethnic instrumentation with electric guitars and electronic keyboards. Great stuff, all of it, lively and rhythmic, emotive and ear-wormy. Even though we don't understand a word, it's still immediately captivating. We love the keening singers and warbly organs, groovy beats and exotic vibes. If you haven't yet given Molam and closely related genre Luk Thung a try, this would be a great place to start. Seventies Molam like this is mighty fine stuff, up there with those 'Ethiopiques' recordings and certain Jamaican reggae of the same vintage, though we'd imagine the vocal stylings here might work for some folks and not so much for others.
Comes in a gatefold sleeve with thick booklet of informative liner notes.
MPEG Stream: BANYEN RAKKAEN "Siang Toey Jak Jai"
MPEG Stream: YUPIN KANFUNG "Sao Isan Lam Khaen"
MPEG Stream: SAKSIAM PETCHCHOMPU "Saksiam Dearn Glon"
MPEG Stream: SABAIPARE BUASOD "Kor Hai Rak Jing"

V/A Theppabutr Productions: The Man Behind The Molam Sound 1972-75 (Light In The Attic) 2lp 28.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Record Store Day alert! Here's a 2013 RSD release that we thankfully managed to get enough copies of to list...
Please don't ask us to pronounce Theppabutr, but do ask us why this is so awesome - though the best answer is: just listen to it!
International vinyl diggers, seeking out vintage grooves in far flung parts of the world, have made Molam music from Thailand into something that's now definitely a 'thing' in our world music section - we've had some other great Molam collections on the Sublime Frequencies label, for instance, so of course it's exciting to hear from 'The Man Behind The Molam Sound', Theppabutr Satirodchompu, responsible for the production work on the 17 tracks collected here from a variety of Molam artists. It's Molam of the modern variety (modern circa 1972-1975 that is, in this case), a form of electrified vocal music from Northeast Thailand that combines traditional folk melodies and ethnic instrumentation with electric guitars and electronic keyboards. Great stuff, all of it, lively and rhythmic, emotive and ear-wormy. Even though we don't understand a word, it's still immediately captivating. We love the keening singers and warbly organs, groovy beats and exotic vibes. If you haven't yet given Molam and closely related genre Luk Thung a try, this would be a great place to start. Seventies Molam like this is mighty fine stuff, up there with those 'Ethiopiques' recordings and certain Jamaican reggae of the same vintage, though we'd imagine the vocal stylings here might work for some folks and not so much for others.
This limited vinyl version is a Record Store Day 2013 release - there is also a (presumably less-limited) non-RSD compact disc edition too, that we'll be stocking and will list next time, but we wanted to get this RSD vinyl listed now before they were gone! Especially since the double vinyl includes two bonus tracks not found on the cd version - as well as a 12"x14" poster, and download card for mp3s of all the tracks. Gatefold sleeve in faux woodgrain wrapper, liner notes, foldout poster inside.
MPEG Stream: BANYEN RAKKAEN "Siang Toey Jak Jai"
MPEG Stream: YUPIN KANFUNG "Sao Isan Lam Khaen"
MPEG Stream: SAKSIAM PETCHCHOMPU "Saksiam Dearn Glon"
MPEG Stream: SABAIPARE BUASOD "Kor Hai Rak Jing"

V/A Those Shocking, Shaking Days (Now-Again) cd 21.00
Subtitle: Indonesian Hard, Psychedelic, Progressive Rock And Funk: 1970-1978. Maybe that's all the review this needs, it worked for us, but we'll go on...
Damn. Now THIS is what all comps/reissues should be like. Just the physical thing itself, both cd and lp formats, makes us go wow. And then there's the music, amazing stuff by bands we've NEVER ever heard of before, for the most part.... international psych-rock grooviness from the '70s, Indonesian division. Twenty tracks, all killer no filler for damn sure. So, to start with the elaborate, you're-getting-your-money's-worth packaging, packed with content: exhaustive liner notes, vintage photos, colorful album cover graphics, in a 64 page book in the cd version (and it really thick enough to be called a BOOK, not a booklet) or a 16 page (but lp-sized of course) booklet with the massive 3lp set. Both are solid, hefty items indeed. The cd itself comes in a sturdy cardboard mini-lp style sleeve, tucked tightly along with the book inside a wraparound slipcover. The vinyl, in a triple gatefold sleeve about a half inch thick. Impressive presentation, topping even that of another recent anthology of non-Western psych/funk stuff we made a Record Of The Week as well not long ago, the Sa-Re-Ga collection. What that was to India this is to Indonesia.
And Indonesia is definitely full of hidden treasures for us Westerners into exotic "hairy funk" and heavy rock sounds of the past. We knew about a few bands on here, that we'd had reissues by before, the Ariesta Birawa Group, Shark Move, Koes Plus, but that's it - all of those are awesome though, so the fact that we'd never heard of the other 16 acts on here (there's 20 tracks, but one band appears twice) just made us more excited to hear this: Rollies, Super Kid, Freedom Of Rhapsodia, Murry, The Brims, Black Brothers, Ivo's Group, Golden Wing, The Gang Of Harry Roesli, Benny Soebardja and Lizard, Aka, Panbers, Rhythm Kings, Rasela, Terenchem, and Duo Kribo.
The music of these groups ranges from heavy progressive bombast to hippie trippiness to out-and-out groovy dancefloor filling fodder, often all at once, and then some. Eastern-tinged (no surprise) psychedelic Sgt. Pepperisms and stomping acid funk are blended in the very first selection here, "Haai", by a band called Panbers, who once opened for the Bee Gees in Djakarta. Off to a good start! A tough act to follow (we imagine the Bee Gees thought so too), but track two's The Brims manage to hold their own with "Anti Gandja", a song apparently with a message of "just say no", though it sure sounds a lot like they said hell yeah. Then the third cut, "Bad News" by Rollies, suddenly introduces a healthy dose of James Brown worship, the others were funky but this one is straight up FUNK. After that, we're treated to one of the highlights from the Shark Move album, one of the few tracks here we knew, the fuzz-heavy shambolic riff-tumble with prog-classical soloing of "Evil War". Up next, the stoned lope of Golden Wing's love song "Hear Me" is a bit more primitive, akin to Japan's Speed Glue & Shinki, or Juan De La Cruz from the Philippines.
So, that's just the first five tracks, so far they're all smokin', and guess what? It just gets better and better believe it or not. Turn it up, play it loud! We can't go into detail about EVERY track, though they all deserve mention, from the spacey soul of Super Kid to the greasy groove of The Gang Of Harry Roselli, but we should at least let you know that the Koes Plus cut is NOT from the cd of theirs you may already have that Sublime Frequencies put out, it's taken from a latter record, 1976's ln Hard Beat 2, and it's a rad one, with a nice la la la vocal chorus echoed by some much more maniacal LALALA screaming, crazy.
Oh, and we know why they put two tracks from AKA on here, how could they chose between the badass hard rock of "Do What You Like" with its headspining psychedelic breakdowns, and the same group's seriously funky, James Brown inspired "Shake Me", which begins with call-and-response chant, the band saying "No" to grass, morphine, and LSD, but "YEAH" to sex.
Ok, we'll leave it to you get this and experience all the fuzzy, funky riffery here for yourself. Familiar in its '70s vibe - ferinstance Benny Soebardja (ex-Shark Move) and Lizard's "Candlelight" is so '70s, classic radio rock, maybe the Indonesian answer to the Steve Miller Band? - yet fresh, definitely from somewhere and somewhen else!!
Kudos to compiler Jason "Moss" Connoy for tracking down all these gems, and to everyone else involved with putting this package together, doing the research, writing, and graphic documentation... obviously an immense job but well done and well worth it. So, if you've been enjoying Sa-Re-Ga, Thai! Dai!, Sound Of Siam, Psych-Funk 101, The World Ends, or any other disc of crate-digging discoveries from around the world we've recommended lately, this one is definitely for you too! Highest recommendation.
MPEG Stream: AKA "Do What You Like"
MPEG Stream: IVO'S GROUP "That Shocking Shaking Day"
MPEG Stream: KOES PLUS "Mobil Tua"
MPEG Stream: FREEDOM OF RHAPSODIA "Freedom"

V/A Those Shocking, Shaking Days (Now-Again) 3lp 27.00
Subtitle: Indonesian Hard, Psychedelic, Progressive Rock And Funk: 1970-1978. Maybe that's all the review this needs, it worked for us, but we'll go on...
Damn. Now THIS is what all comps/reissues should be like. Just the physical thing itself, both cd and lp formats, makes us go wow. And then there's the music, amazing stuff by bands we've NEVER ever heard of before, for the most part.... international psych-rock grooviness from the '70s, Indonesian division. Twenty tracks, all killer no filler for damn sure. So, to start with the elaborate, you're-getting-your-money's-worth packaging, packed with content: exhaustive liner notes, vintage photos, colorful album cover graphics, in a 64 page book in the cd version (and it really thick enough to be called a BOOK, not a booklet) or a 16 page (but lp-sized of course) booklet with the massive 3lp set. Both are solid, hefty items indeed. The cd itself comes in a sturdy cardboard mini-lp style sleeve, tucked tightly along with the book inside a wraparound slipcover. The vinyl, in a triple gatefold sleeve about a half inch thick. Impressive presentation, topping even that of another recent anthology of non-Western psych/funk stuff we made a Record Of The Week as well not long ago, the Sa-Re-Ga collection. What that was to India this is to Indonesia.
And Indonesia is definitely full of hidden treasures for us Westerners into exotic "hairy funk" and heavy rock sounds of the past. We knew about a few bands on here, that we'd had reissues by before, the Ariesta Birawa Group, Shark Move, Koes Plus, but that's it - all of those are awesome though, so the fact that we'd never heard of the other 16 acts on here (there's 20 tracks, but one band appears twice) just made us more excited to hear this: Rollies, Super Kid, Freedom Of Rhapsodia, Murry, The Brims, Black Brothers, Ivo's Group, Golden Wing, The Gang Of Harry Roesli, Benny Soebardja and Lizard, Aka, Panbers, Rhythm Kings, Rasela, Terenchem, and Duo Kribo.
The music of these groups ranges from heavy progressive bombast to hippie trippiness to out-and-out groovy dancefloor filling fodder, often all at once, and then some. Eastern-tinged (no surprise) psychedelic Sgt. Pepperisms and stomping acid funk are blended in the very first selection here, "Haai", by a band called Panbers, who once opened for the Bee Gees in Djakarta. Off to a good start! A tough act to follow (we imagine the Bee Gees thought so too), but track two's The Brims manage to hold their own with "Anti Gandja", a song apparently with a message of "just say no", though it sure sounds a lot like they said hell yeah. Then the third cut, "Bad News" by Rollies, suddenly introduces a healthy dose of James Brown worship, the others were funky but this one is straight up FUNK. After that, we're treated to one of the highlights from the Shark Move album, one of the few tracks here we knew, the fuzz-heavy shambolic riff-tumble with prog-classical soloing of "Evil War". Up next, the stoned lope of Golden Wing's love song "Hear Me" is a bit more primitive, akin to Japan's Speed Glue & Shinki, or Juan De La Cruz from the Philippines.
So, that's just the first five tracks, so far they're all smokin', and guess what? It just gets better and better believe it or not. Turn it up, play it loud! We can't go into detail about EVERY track, though they all deserve mention, from the spacey soul of Super Kid to the greasy groove of The Gang Of Harry Roselli, but we should at least let you know that the Koes Plus cut is NOT from the cd of theirs you may already have that Sublime Frequencies put out, it's taken from a latter record, 1976's ln Hard Beat 2, and it's a rad one, with a nice la la la vocal chorus echoed by some much more maniacal LALALA screaming, crazy.
Oh, and we know why they put two tracks from AKA on here, how could they chose between the badass hard rock of "Do What You Like" with its headspining psychedelic breakdowns, and the same group's seriously funky, James Brown inspired "Shake Me", which begins with call-and-response chant, the band saying "No" to grass, morphine, and LSD, but "YEAH" to sex.
Ok, we'll leave it to you get this and experience all the fuzzy, funky riffery here for yourself. Familiar in its '70s vibe - ferinstance Benny Soebardja (ex-Shark Move) and Lizard's "Candlelight" is so '70s, classic radio rock, maybe the Indonesian answer to the Steve Miller Band? - yet fresh, definitely from somewhere and somewhen else!!
Kudos to compiler Jason "Moss" Connoy for tracking down all these gems, and to everyone else involved with putting this package together, doing the research, writing, and graphic documentation... obviously an immense job but well done and well worth it. So, if you've been enjoying Sa-Re-Ga, Thai! Dai!, Sound Of Siam, Psych-Funk 101, The World Ends, or any other disc of crate-digging discoveries from around the world we've recommended lately, this one is definitely for you too! Highest recommendation.
MPEG Stream: AKA "Do What You Like"
MPEG Stream: IVO'S GROUP "That Shocking Shaking Day"
MPEG Stream: KOES PLUS "Mobil Tua"
MPEG Stream: FREEDOM OF RHAPSODIA "Freedom"

V/A Tibetan And Bhutanese Instrumental And Folk Music (Sub Rosa) cd 14.98
Last year, one of our favorite releases was the always great label Sub Rosa's beautiful assemblage of 1971 recordings from the kingdom of Bhutan entitled Tibetan Buddhist Rites From The Monasteries of Bhutan; and wow, what an intense and powerful collection of recordings it was. Sounds by monks and nuns that pretty much surpassed in sheer intensity and core spirit so much of what we usually drool over in our experimental and metal sections. Now we have the follow up to that which comes from the same recordings by John Levy made in Bhutan from 1971-72. A much different affair, these recordings as made obvious by the title, focus on the actual songs and folk tradition of Bhutan. Featuring skillful and moving instrumentals as well as many songs with vocals that leave us in total awe of their haunting qualities and totally beautiful delivery. You can almost imagine people like Islaja and Will Oldham listening to this with their notebook by their side and their ears wide open hoping to have it all enter their psyche. Parts of the instrumentation no doubt would get members of the No Neck Blues Band standing at attention. So funny how so much of what we know as 'free folk' or "free whatever" can be found in its original incarnation on these recordings. The Bhutanese dramnyen is probably the core and most used instrument on these recordings and wow how much we are in love with its glorious sound: seven strings that are struck with a plectrum and vibrate warmly, instantly washing over you with a darkly gentle vibe of total warmth and surrender. We're so grateful to Sub Rosa for releasing these previously impossible to find recordings. So moving and totally recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Tashi Laso, At The Top Of Lucky Valley"
MPEG Stream: "The Palaces Of Gesar's Family"
MPEG Stream: "Tibetan Dramnyen"

V/A Tibetan And Bhutanese Instrumental And Folk Music (Sub Rosa) cd 14.98
Last year, one of our favorite releases was the always great label Sub Rosa's beautiful assemblage of 1971 recordings from the kingdom of Bhutan entitled Tibetan Buddhist Rites From The Monasteries of Bhutan; and wow, what an intense and powerful collection of recordings it was. Sounds by monks and nuns that pretty much surpassed in sheer intensity and core spirit so much of what we usually drool over in our experimental and metal sections. Now we have the follow up to that which comes from the same recordings by John Levy made in Bhutan from 1971-72. A much different affair, these recordings as made obvious by the title, focus on the actual songs and folk tradition of Bhutan. Featuring skillful and moving instrumentals as well as many songs with vocals that leave us in total awe of their haunting qualities and totally beautiful delivery. You can almost imagine people like Islaja and Will Oldham listening to this with their notebook by their side and their ears wide open hoping to have it all enter their psyche. Parts of the instrumentation no doubt would get members of the No Neck Blues Band standing at attention. So funny how so much of what we know as 'free folk' or "free whatever" can be found in its original incarnation on these recordings. The Bhutanese dramnyen is probably the core and most used instrument on these recordings and wow how much we are in love with its glorious sound: seven strings that are struck with a plectrum and vibrate warmly, instantly washing over you with a darkly gentle vibe of total warmth and surrender. We're so grateful to Sub Rosa for releasing these previously impossible to find recordings. So moving and totally recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Tashi Laso, At The Top Of Lucky Valley"
MPEG Stream: "The Palaces Of Gesar's Family"
MPEG Stream: "Tibetan Dramnyen"

V/A Tibetan Buddhist Rites From The Monasteries Of Bhutan Vol. 1 (Sub Rosa) 2cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Ok, you know how we're always getting giddy about some totally heavy doomy dirgey droney sludgy band, like Boris or SUNNO))) or Earth or Corrupted? Yep, we love that stuff. But let's face it, it's not outside of the realm of possibility that *you too* given the appropriate equipment (guitar, effects, amplification) and the ability to play an open E chord, could come up with something that sounds heavy in *that* way. Maybe. But this double cd is something that we know for sure that we, you, or any of the bands currently cranking up n' out the slow n' low couldn't quite match in sheer heaviness. Not heaviness of the loud and plugged-in variety, of course. A different sort of heaviness, the kind that gets the quotation marks around it, a "heavy" that's timeless, spiritual, feeling, and isn't entirely reliant on volume and bass ('though the droning low-end horns on here sure do provide plenty of both).
'Cause really, a couple of guitars and amps and distortion can't compete with the chanting of dozens of Tibetan monks (and nuns) accompanied by huge long trumpets and rumbling large frame drums and booming gongs and clashing cymbals and chiming bells and the resounding ambience and atmosphere of being recorded in an ancient monastery in the mountains of Bhutan, can they?! No sir, no way. Not if you turn your stereo up while playing this, anyway.
Now, if you're like us you've probably always thought that Tibetan Buddhist monks were cool, and knew they made cool music too. But also if you're like us, it hasn't been entirely clear just which of the many recordings of Tibetan monk music you should invest in, 'cause some just seem too Newagey or likely to also involve some interloper like Mickey Hart. Well, this new release on Sub Rosa -- a reissue of a 4LP set originally released on Lyrichord in 1972 -- is pretty clearly one to get.
These two discs are dense with astonishing, mesmerizing music. From pieces featuring calm, unaccompanied chant to flurries of hypnotically discordant high-end horns that almost sound like electronic feedback to massive Hermann Nitsch style sonic eruptions, the variety and depth here is amazing. 'Twas all recorded on location in the Kingdom of Bhutan in 1971 by legendary, well-travelled British ethnomusicologist and Orientalist John Levy (1910-1976), using a Nagra stereo prototype reel-to-reel recorder that did a wonderous job, as did he. Done in what seems to be the same spirit of exploration that motivates the field recordings found in the AQ fave Sublime Frequencies series, this is well-recorded, yet authentic and raw -- Levy's tapes even captured the flapping and cooing of pidgeons who live in the monastery, heard in the background in the quieter passages!
Disc One has two parts. Firstly, the Rituals of the Drukpa Order from Thimphu and Punakha (nineteen tracks, various invocations and supplications), and secondly, Sacred Dances and Rituals of the Nyingmapa and Drukpa Orders from Nyimalung and Tongsa (five tracks of dances performed in animal masks). Disc Two continues part two from the first cd with another five tracks of prayer, followed by part three: Temple Rituals and Public Ceremonies (fifteen tracks, everything from Milarepa poems and mantras to rituals to subjegate evil spirits). Each cd has its own booklet, full of very detailed notes on the music and the recording thereof. Texts of the various prayers and chants are included in English translation, as well. The reading and listening here will keep you busy for a long time, lots to learn about and enjoy with this for sure.
It's no wonder that when SUNNO))) plays, they dress up like monks...not Tibetan monks necessarily but monks nonetheless. An obvious way to make their music seem more mysterious and massive. So...if you're gonna buy just one Tibetan (or Bhutanese) monk album, this wouldn't be a bad choice at all. And, it's a good deal for two discs too!
MPEG Stream: "Genyen Gi Topa In Praise Of Ge-Nyen"
MPEG Stream: "Nyungne"
MPEG Stream: "Dung Chen, Long Trumpets"
MPEG Stream: "Dramitse Ngachham, The Drum Dance Of Dramitse"

V/A TOUCH: Islands In Between (Touch) lp 15.98
The first in a new series of vinyl only releases from Touch, this is an amazing document of Javanese and Balinese sounds, originally released as a cassette in 1983. A seamless collage of sounds edited into a dizzying sonic travelogue by Touch head honcho Jon Wozencroft, along with BJ Nilsen of Hazard, this collection is essential for fans of Sublime Frequencies and Mississippi Records. Heavy on the gamelan, obviously, the record flits from clanging metallic percussion, to buzzing burbling jaw harp, from super intense vocals, featuring some deeply moving, almost liturgical sounding call and response, in the background of many of these recordings, you can hear children laughing and playing, bustling markets, cars driving by, shouting and various voices, the music in the foreground is wild and chaotic one second, dark and contemplative the next, slowly bleating horns, unfurl a playful melody, before the sound eventually slips into something more modern, still gamelan driven, but in the form of some wistful Indonesian balladry, before finally finishing off in a blaze of super distorted almost free jazz sounding near psychedelic gamelan freakout, the sounds super saturated, and buzzing and crumbling around the lilting melodies, and hypnotic rhythms. Fantastic!
Housed in an orange-stickered plain white sleeve, and most likely fairly limited.

V/A Traveling With My Portable Electric Phonograph : Vol. 1 (Monk) lp 22.00
Known primarily for their American blues reissues, Monk now joins the ranks of Dust To Digital, Honest Jon's and Mississippi Records in the international field with this amazing vinyl compilation featuring music from Africa and India recorded during the 1940s and '50s. While the title and cover art would suggest this was the work of a singular traveller/collector who either had a portable record cutter or player and recorded or collected recordings of many of the hotel bands on his travels through Africa and India, we could find no such actual accreditation. Instead these tracks seemed to be pulled from the vast EMI archives, mostly from their South Asian bureau.
A little online research tells us that many of the African songs are the work of the Zulu, South Africa's largest ethnic group. The songs tend to incorporate traditional Zulu choral vocals into a sound heavily influenced by the western jazz many Africans were absorbing in the wake of British colonial rule. The songs from India likewise show a cross cultural blend of styles, showing at least one positive thing to come out of the generally brutal nature of imperialism. One of the band leaders, Teddy Weatherford, was a veteran of the Chicago jazz scene in the 1940s, while scores of refugees came over following the Japanese invasion of Burma in 1942, so this really is representative of the rapidly changing world of the day. Despite international turmoil, the artists here prove that the transcendent power of music can always shine through no matter where things are going. Bravo.

V/A Turkey: Music From the Yayla (Ocora) cd 14.98

V/A Very Best Bollywood Songs (Outcaste) cd 14.98
The Britain-based pan-Asian label Outcaste releases the third in its series documenting Indian film soundtrack songs from the country's incredibly prolific Bollywood industry. (The first two being Bollywood Breaks and Bollywood Funk.) The songs, called "filmi", found here are some of the biggest hits spanning 1969 thru the '90s. As the liner notes point out, that means there's no stuff from the '50s, or from South Indian cinema (hence no Vijaya Anand, whose AQ-staple Dance Raja Dance is one of our favorite and weirdest of all the comps out there -- you must hear it!), but that's a complaint only for purists as this is a *wonderful* sampler for beginners, and for those already familiar with parts of the Bollywood sound, which is so varied and all-encompassing that it incorporates dub, disco, sappy pop, psychedelic guitar, love ballads, rollicking techno, even (or so the thankfully detailed liner notes claim) ragtime and klezmer. The fact that the songs are all *big hits* means that about half of it sounds relatively more mainstream than we think of as the average AQ customer's taste... but that don't mean it ain't good, and enlightening, and just lovely. We all know there's good music everywhere, even in the mainstream -- and besides, Hindi mainstream isn't mainstream to us. Recommended!
RealAudio clip: "Chaiya Chaiya"
RealAudio clip: "Choli Ke Peeche"

V/A Very Best Of Bollywood Songs II (Outcaste) cd 14.98
Outcaste continues with their impressive Bollywood film music, or "filmi", series with a second volume of songs culled from India's ultra-prolific industry. This collection spans the greatest historical range of the industry yet, including tracks from as early as 1949 and as recent as 2001. Though, on first listen, it seemed a less successful collection than the previous installment -- all the newest songs included at the beginning of the disc -- it really began to grow on me with each listen. The newer tracks, as saturated with factory synth presets as they are, are still amazing arrangements. It's interesting to see how the industry, its composers, arrangers, studio engineers, etc. have developed over the years, continually innovating and throwing in elements from every possible musical genre worldwide. Be it the completely wacked out "Yeh Dosti Hum Nahin" from the film Sholay (1975) with its potpourri of analog synth, banjo-ukulele, harmonica, strings, bolero style horn, fuzzed out guitar and then some. Or how about "Zindagi Ek Safar" from the film Andaz (1971) with its crazy yodelling vocals. All the greatest singers and composers are included here, which leads me to the one small complaint I have about this collection: once again there's a bit of overlap. You'd think that, given the immense number of songs to choose from in such a productive industry, a resourceful label such as Outcaste could find a couple of songs that weren't so recently released on another relatively high profile collection. I speak of two tracks included here by Ahsa Bhosle -- "Chura Liya" and "O Mera Sona" -- that were also on the "Best of Asha Bhosle" anthology released by Manteca last year. For what it's worth, Manteca seemed to get a hold of a cleaner copy of "Chura Liya" for their collection, but I hope this doesn't turn too many people away from this disc.
RealAudio clip: BAKSHI, ANAND "Chalo Chale Mitwa"
RealAudio clip: BAKSHI, ANAND "Yeh Dosti Hum Nahin"
RealAudio clip: JAIPURI, HASRAT "Zindagi Ek Safar"

V/A Vietnam: Anthology of Ede Music (Buda Musique) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Collection of recordings of the music of the Ede people from the Dak Lak Plateau in Vietnam. The 30 tracks, organized by type of ensemble and are amazingly varied. A beautiful polyphonic blend of mouth organs and voices with timbres that disguise the origins of the sounds: double reed instruments that sound like voices and voices that sound like double reeds. There are a few tracks on here that sound AMAZINGLY like Reich's Phase Patterns, and that will remind Can fans of the sublime Vietnamese Boat Woman Song from Canaxis. But my personal favorite is track 29 in which the Bro' - a two string zither with gourd resonators - is accompanied, in a sort of call and response, by what sounds remarkably like a rooster.

V/A Vintage Music from India (Rounder) cd 16.98

V/A Wayang Golek: The Sound & Celebration of Sundanese Puppet Theater (Music of the Earth) 6cd 37.00
Let's see if I can do this set the justice it deserves and be as brief as possible. Wayang, or puppet theater, is the premier form of dramatic expression in much of Indonesia and exists in a myriad of forms, often unique to particular regions. It is performed for weddings, graduations, circumcisions and numerous other auspicious occasions and social events. Combining music, song, and story telling it can relate moral, historical, political, and puerile functions using stories taken from familiar classic tales (most often used are the Indian epics Mahabarata and Ramayana.) What's more, puppet theater is an event that combines high and low culture that could, in western terms, only be expressed analogously as a melange (which it is not) say, of Shakespeare meets Bach's "Matthew's Passion" meets Star Wars meets Wagner's "Ring Cycle" meets Bevis & Butthead and then some. As such, it is a dramatic form that can truly be grasped and appreciated by all members of society regardless of age or education.
Though puppet theater, like much performance in Java and Bali, is a synergetic event, it is the dalang, or puppeteer, that is the real star of the show. He must not only have an excellent story telling, comedic and musical ability (with loads of great improvisational skills), but must be able to bring the puppets to life as well -- often manipulating several at once -- and be able to do all this for very long stretches without a single break. A truly great dalang is also an excellent builder of puppets, the more ornate the better. The enclosed booklet details some of the recent developments in puppet technology, including puppets that actually squirt blood, puke noodles and that can be decapitated. The dalang is not only charged with controlling the puppets and the unfurling of the story, but by extension the gamelan and singers as well by giving them cues (often quite brief) to begin and end the musical pieces which frame events in the story or to accompany battle scenes and the like. Though the general framework of a story is fixed, the dalang's art is in his ability to embellish his narration of the tale, contextualizing it to the event at hand, often delivering witty barbs at the wayang's sponsors or members of the gamelan. The political possibilities of such an event are pretty much limitless and dalang often use the performance as a means of criticizing government corruption and oppression, which has even resulted in the persecution and imprisonment of dalang.
What makes this recording uniquely special is that it is the first time an entire live performance of wayang golek has been recorded and released. There have been plenty of cassette and cd issues of abbreviated wayang performances, many being done in a recording studio. But, clocking in at just under 7 hours (squeezed onto 6 cds), it's no wonder performances of wayang golek are not released in their entirety. This recording was made in 1994 and was sponsored by the national telecommunications company PTT Telkom. The dalang for the performance, Asep Sunandar Sunarya Giri Harja III, is considered one of the best living dalang in West Java and is heavily sought after for performances. Born into a family of dalang (not only was his father a famous dalang, but three brothers are also professional dalang) he received first prize in the annual wayang golek competition in 1985.
The performance begins with a 41 minute instrumental suite that serves to both warm up the musicians and draw guests to the performance area and is ended with a brief introductory speech over the P.A. system by the event's sponsors. Once the performance gets under way, the shrewd and minimal recording method reveals itself: with one microphone over the dalang and another 12 feet away, over the singers and musicians, the super-wide spaced stereo pair is able to pick up as much of the performance as directly as possible. This was important because apparently, just beyond the group was an archaic P.A. system through which the dalang (as well as the female singers) was being reinforced to the crowd of several thousand that were seated beyond the invited guests of a hundred or so. The resulting recording has a bizarre quality; combining the acoustic and unamplified instruments of the gamelan with voice of the dalang picked up by the microphone above him along with the delayed echo of the dalang's voice as it bounces back from distant walls like a bullhorn. The performance moves dreamlike between songs, dialog (with the dalang taking on various voices of the characters in the story), and combinations of both where the dalang will interrupt the singers in the middle of a song with humorous quips, generating mirth from the audience. Although a significant portion of the performance is merely dialog (in fact, during the requisite midnight "clown scene" the dalang sounds almost like a stand up comedian doing a routine at a West Java night club) it is in this writer's opinion that the recording still holds a certain fascination in texture alone. But you needn't worry about missing out on the fun here because the producer has painstakingly gone through the trouble of translating the *entire* performance into English and including it as a .pdf document on the sixth disc (it is also available in Sundanese and bahasa Indonesia if those suit better) which you can print out so you can follow along while listening. Along with the 7 hours of the wayang golek performance and the complete text translation, this set also comes with a detailed 44 page booklet. The very detailed and superbly researched notes cover the history of wayang golek, the puppets, music, plus information specific to this performance such as a story synopsis as well as its origin, and information on the performers involved. Andrew Weintraub, a professor of ethnomusicology at the University of Pittsburgh who specializes in the performing arts of West Java, put together the set (recording the performance, translating the dialog and writing the liner notes) and has done a remarkable job. Though some may find this a bit steep of an investment for an introduction to wayang or Sundanese music in general, it is a remarkable and unique production and one that's worth the bite into the old leather bi-fold. And given how cheap this set is, you're hardly paying much per disc. Highly recommended!
RealAudio clip: "Tatalu (excerpt 1)"
RealAudio clip: "Tatalu (excerpt 2)"
RealAudio clip: "Kawitan"
RealAudio clip: "Murwa Pondok"
RealAudio clip: "Karatagan"
RealAudio clip: "Asa Tos Tepang"
RealAudio clip: "(Cepot Tells Jokes)"