Tri Nguyen, classical pianist and dàn tranh (Vietnamese zither) master, presents 14 enchanting pieces composed in the form of a heartfelt letter to his late mother. With his bicultural upbringing, Tri showcases his mastery of the piano, at times reciting Bach, Vivaldi, Ravel… as well as his profound knowledge of the ancient techniques of dàn-tranh playing. An elegant blend of ancient and modern, Western and Asian, touching on tales of his childhood, the challenges of Covid-19 and his profound love and gratitude for his mother.

Tanya Ekanayaka presents a stunning array of 43 works for solo piano composed between 2021 and 2022, drawing inspiration from 40 languages ranging from rare and critically endangered languages spread across Earth’s six continents, home to permanent human habitation, to some of the most famous and unusual languages of South Asia. Mystical, vibrant, contemplative and poetic, the sutras and pianisms traverse a broad spectrum of moods and thought. Throughout, the prolific composer-pianist’s fearless musical authenticity glistens within the beautiful originality of this remarkable double album.

Lodestar Trio present their striking debut album, one that not only exhibits the three performers’ outstanding musicianship but also presents new interpretations of baroque classics (Bach, Lully, Couperin...), folk tunes and new compositions. Together, they push the boundaries of their mystical and magical Scandinavian string instruments. With Max Bailie on violin, Olav Luksengård Mjelva on Norwegian Hardanger fiddle and Erik Rydvall on Swedish nyckelharpa, they skillfully showcase the dexterity of each instrument, bringing out new qualities, whilst paying tribute to the roots of a much-honored musical period.

REVIEWS:

The starting point for many creative partnerships often comes from a chance encounter that ignites a spark. Sometimes this spark might be bright but fleeting, like a shooting star. Other times the spark grows into something radiant and long lasting.

Lodestar Trio possess many traits that signify this is the beginning of a fresh, exciting and enduring collaboration. The three luminaries involved – Max Baillie, Olav Luksengård Mjelva and Erik Rydvall – are individually all highly sought-after musicians from seemingly different worlds but who share a common desire to explore and seek new challenges.

-- Vivo Musique

China’s rich and diverse musical heritage has been recorded and documented in a stunning, original collection. With twenty albums in the pipeline, this is a highly specialized series with the appeal of perhaps being the closest thing to the ‘complete works’ of traditional Chinese music.Each album features a different region of the vast territory; an historical snapshot of China’s heritage. Due to the cultural privacy China mandates, these are in fact rare, musical gems. This is volume nineteen of a twenty album series, exploring China’s rich and diverse musical heritage. It includes ballads and love songs of the Lahu, featuring the gourd mouth organ and Jew’s harp; the most famous working song of the Jingpo people, the husking rice tune Yue Lu; mountain and hunting songs of the Jino peoples, played on bamboo ideophones; and excerpts from the Achang opera of spring lantern.

China’s rich and diverse musical heritage has been recorded and documented in a stunning, original collection. With twenty albums in the pipeline, this is a highly specialized series with the appeal of perhaps being the closest thing to the ‘complete works’ of traditional Chinese music. Each album features a different region of the vast territory; an historical snapshot of China’s heritage. Due to the cultural privacy China mandates, these are in fact rare, musical gems. Folk songs from the Tujia and Sui peoples of Hubei and Guizhou Province. This album features ‘inserting chant’ songs and south songs of Changyang by the Tujia peoples, and various ancient songs of the Sui. All played on traditional instruments such as mouth organs, bronze drums, gongs and suona, as well as the popular dongdong kui (bamboo clarinet), that dates back thousands of years. This is volume seventeen of a twenty album series, exploring China’s rich and diverse musical heritage.

Kadialy’s captivating kora skills originate from his long family history of Kouyate griots. Embracing the art of traditional storytelling, via the 21-stringed kora, he draws on his past heritage for inspiration while creating his own uplifting compositions. In the Senegalese society, ‘aado’ stands for ‘moral customs and values’. Kadialy’s enchanting songs touch on these principles and reflect on the Mandinka culture.“...Admirable skill and precision.” (Songlines #125) “Kadialy’s skillful and emotional playing of the kora produces some peaceful ethereal and yet highly melodic rhythms which I truly love.” (The Folk Roots) “Kadialy Kouyate’s kora playing soothes the soul with its beautiful melodies and deep messages from the griot tradition of West Africa.” (Penny Black Music, Nicky Crew)

In 2018, Fadhilee was asked to take part in a research program to explore the musical genre Omutibo. This finger-picking style of guitar playing, which originated from the Luhya people of Western Kenya, was popular around the mid ‘50s to the late ‘60s. Fadhilee started implementing it into his own songs after noticing his own natural playing style was similar. He is now a modern-day pioneer known for bringing Omutibo music to a new generation. SHINDU SHI is an album of good-time music, fetching its roots from the Luyha technique ‘Omutibo’ from Western Kenya. With a comical, dramatic and playful flair, Fadhilee is a breath of fresh air to the Kenyan and international music market, creating his own vibrant style.

China’s rich and diverse musical heritage has been recorded and documented in a stunning, original collection. With twenty albums in the pipeline, this is a highly specialized series with the appeal of perhaps being the closest thing to the ‘complete works’ of traditional Chinese music. Each album features a different region of the vast territory; an historical snapshot of China’s heritage. Due to the cultural privacy China mandates, these are in fact rare, musical gems. This album features ballads from the She, wandering love songs from the Miao, and lullabies from the Li peoples. All played on traditional instruments such as the suona, lu sheng and yehu. This is volume fifteen of a twenty album series, exploring China’s rich and diverse musical heritage.

China’s rich and diverse musical heritage has been recorded and documented in a stunning, original collection. With twenty albums in the pipeline, this is a highly specialized series with the appeal of perhaps being the closest thing to the ‘complete works’ of traditional Chinese music. Each album features a different region of the vast territory; a historical snapshot of China’s heritage. Due to the cultural privacy China mandates, these are in fact rare, musical gems. This is volume fourteen of a twenty album series, exploring China’s rich and diverse musical heritage. Folk songs from the Monba and Lhoba peoples of the Tibet Autonomous Region. These celebrational love songs of the Monba and the Jia yi jia and Bai li songs of the Lhoba, are played on a range of traditional instruments such as the Da beng, Jew’s harp and double-tube flutes.

Bringing together the music of Wales and the Khasi Hills in North East India, 'Sai-thaiñ ki Sur (the weaving of voices in Khasi) is a unique cross-cultural collaboration. Between 1841 and 1969, hundreds of men and women left Wales to establish and maintain the first Welsh Overseas Mission in the Khasi and Jaiñtia Hills. This three-year album project explores the folk songs, poetry, missionary hymns, folklore, and resultant culture of the crossing of Wales and India. Welsh songwriter Gareth Bonello (The Gentle Good) has recorded this poetic, beautiful album with artists from the indigenous Khasi community.

China's rich and diverse musical heritage has been recorded and documented in a stunning, original collection. With nineteen albums in the pipeline, this is a highly specialized series with the appeal of perhaps being the closest thing to the 'complete works' of traditional Chinese music. Each album features a different region of the vast territory; an historical snapshot of China's heritage. Due to the cultural privacy China mandates, these are in fact rare, musical gems. This series explores China's rich and diverse musical heritage. The songs featured in these recordings are folk songs from the Tibetan peoples of Qinghai province and the Tibet autonomous region. Beautiful folk singing, atmospheric soundscapes of nature and varied traditional instruments are heard in this colorful album from Tibet.

China's rich and diverse musical heritage has been recorded and documented in a stunning, original collection. With nineteen albums in the pipeline, this is a highly specialized series with the appeal of perhaps being the closest thing to the 'complete works' of traditional Chinese music. Each album features a different region of the vast territory; an historical snapshot of China's heritage. Due to the cultural privacy China mandates, these are in fact rare, musical gems. This series explores China's rich and diverse musical heritage. The songs featured in these recordings are folk songs from the Bai, Nu and Derung peoples of Yunnan province. As with Chinese traditional visual arts, the song titles explain their mood and origin.

China’s rich and diverse musical heritage has been recorded and documented in a stunning, original collection. With nineteen albums in the pipeline, this is a highly specialized series with the appeal of perhaps being the closest thing to the ‘complete works’ of traditional Chinese music. Each album features a different region of the vast territory; an historical snapshot of China’s heritage. Due to the cultural privacy China mandates, these are in fact rare, musical gems. This series explores China’s rich and diverse musical heritage. The songs featured in these recordings are folk songs from the Dai and Hani peoples of Yunnan province. As with Chinese traditional visual arts, the song titles explain their mood and origin.

The Cuban classical pianist Yamile Cruz Montero and the Greek jazz drummer Christos Asonitis are a couple in life and in music. Although they come from two different musical worlds, they have found a common language. Both of them arrange classical to contemporary Cuban piano music with great precision and feeling, such as compositions by Aldo López Gavilán, Andrés Alén, José Maria Vitier & Ernán López-Nussa for piano and percussion. They present the traditional and popular Cuban music styles and fuse them with influences from world music. Some of the works leave space for improvisation, which the two musicians use with creative enthusiasm. The international duo has already played live in Cuba, Germany, Great Britain and Greece. They are very proud to present their debut album as a creative duo: Rapsodia Cubana.“Magical, authentic, touching” (The New Listener)

China’s rich and diverse musical heritage has been recorded and documented in a stunning, original collection. With fifteen albums in the pipeline, this is a highly specialized series with the appeal of perhaps being the closest thing to the ‘complete works’ of traditional Chinese music. Each album features a different region of the vast territory; an historical snapshot of China’s heritage. Due to the cultural privacy China mandates, these are in fact rare, musical gems. The Uzbek and Tatar peoples both live in Xinjiang province and speak Turkic languages. The population of Chinese Uzbeks is around ten thousand, which is approximately three times that of the Tatars. The majority of these two peoples live in the northern and western regions of Xinjiang province. The Uzbek music displays its artistic charm with complex melodic variations and gorgeous ornaments. Their instrumental music mainly includes interludes of Shashmaqam and dutars accompany all the Uzbek musical pieces. The music of the Tatars is the gemstone in Xinjiang’s musical crown, with many of their songs being popular among different ethnic groups. In this album, the accordion accompanies all the Tatar songs. The kubyz, the brass jew’s harp, is another popular instrument among them and they also perform on an instrument similar to a long end-blown flute, the qurai.

China’s rich and diverse musical heritage has been recorded and documented in a stunning, original collection. With fifteen albums in the pipeline, this is a highly specialized series with the appeal of perhaps being the closest thing to the ‘complete works’ of traditional Chinese music. Each album features a different region of the vast territory; an historical snapshot of China’s heritage. Due to the cultural privacy China mandates, these are in fact rare, musical gems. The Kazakhs pass on their pastoral lifestyle from generation to generation, their music is delicate and their dance mellow and enchanting. There is a saying that ‘music and horses are the two wings of the Kazakhs’. Kyrgyz music however draws influence from Persian-Arabia, with brighter tones and sharper playing. For the audience who are not familiar with the music from Xinjiang, it is also easy to distinguish the songs between the two minorities in this album by their accompanying instruments. The tunes of Kazakh and Kyrgyz are accompanied by dombra and komuz respectively. As representative instruments for the minorities under discussion, the two are very popular among their peoples.

A.G.A Trio are three musicians from Armenia, Georgia and Anatolia (Asian Turkey), who have taken their heritage of melodies passed down through the ages and reinterpreted them to create vibrant ensemble music. From caravan travelers' lamentations in times of war to lively wedding dances in times of peace; this budding new group’s performances have captivated audiences in Europe. Born in Istanbul, Turkey, Deniz Kartal graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Turkish folk dance in 2005. He has since used his skillset to explore many different genres, including Balkan ska / reggae, electronic and folk music. He has performed with bands in Turkey, Sweden, Germany and the Czech Republic. Mikail Yakut studied classical accordion and jazz piano at university, he is a member of two bands and involved in numerous collaborations such as an electro-acoustic techno duo with Korhan Erel. One can hear influences of classical, contemporary, jazz and blues in his music. He enjoys mixing different styles and crossing genre borders while leaving room for improvisation in his live performances. Arsen Petrosyan is a young duduk master numerously awarded for his talent. He lives in Charentsavan, Armenia. Seen as a musical prodigy, he initially started his studies at the age of six. He has toured internationally and created diverse collaborations that go beyond the boundaries of traditional Armenian music.

This album features songs from the Qiang and the Yi tribes, who both mainly live in the mountainous regions of southwestern China, specifically in Sichuan and Yunnan provinces. Many of the Yi folk songs make reference to the mountains in this region, especially in love songs and group dance songs, as heard in tracks 19 and 23. The music of both of these two minority groups includes lively short dance songs in duple metre and long melodious labor or love songs that employ a free rhythm. At first, you may not be able to distinguish between the music of these two minority groups; in fact, the two tribes are closely related and the Yi are thought to be descendants of ancient Qiang tribes. The languages of the Qiang and Yi both belong to the Sino-Tibetan language phylum. Yet the music of each tribe has its own distinct characteristics. Although both of them often prefer high pitches, the songs of the Yi tribe use a broader vocal range. The dance songs of the Qiang have lively rhythms and are structured with repetitions of a few musical phrases. The dance songs of the Yi incorporate more melodic and rhythmic variations and long, resounding cries. The cries also appear in other types of Yi songs, for example, the middle of track 23, and the beginning and end of track 24. It is noteworthy that the songs featured here have distinct local characteristics, which may differentiate them from the songs of the Qiang and Yi minority groups living in other parts of China. The Qiang songs in this album come from Xin Beichuan County, the only Qiang autonomous county in China.