China’s rich and diverse musical heritage has been recorded and documented in a stunning, original collection. With a total of twenty albums, 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 the concluding volume of a twenty album series, exploring China’s rich and diverse musical heritage. It features banquet and hua’ersongs of the Hui; folk songs of the Manchu, featuring the Ba jiao gu (octagonal drum); dingba tunes of the Xibe, accompanied by the feite kena; lyrical songs of the Korean peoples, including songs from Arirang tune group; and sea songs of the Gin peoples accompanied by the duxianqin.

Fong Naam is one of the great musical acts from the under-heard Southeast Asian nation of Thailand. It is a culture rich in sounds and tradition but the culture we are mostly exposed to is often just vapid exotica. To preserve and revitalize the country's music, Thai renat instrumental great Boonyong Kaetkhong and American musicologist Bruce Gaston formed the stellar group, Fong Naam. And they've been doing that for over a decade. Since the mid-90s though, Fong Naam has rarely been heard on record and sadly Boonyong Kaetkhong has passed away. However, they did record five sessions for the label, Marco Polo-an affiliate of the Naxos family. This re-release of the first of those classic sessions-made in 1990, before all of Fong Naam's other international releases-with Gaston's original notes will hopefully bring their eminence back into the world music spotlight. This mixture of the very old and the very new in the group's repertoire seeks to emphasize the ever-changing nature of this ancient but still-living musical tradition. With The Piphat: Siamese Classics Vol.1 Fong Naam has given us something fascinating and breathing. Similarly this re-release on acclaimed international budget label Naxos World aims to keep the legend of Fong Naam alive.

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.

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.

Fadhilee Itulya is from Kenya. He began his professional music career in 2008 when he was featured on the Nairobi Alliance Française compilation album “Spotlight on Kenyan Music”. He draws inspiration from a style of Kenyan guitar music called omutibo from the Luhya people of Western Kenya that is driving, syncopated, and gets people to dance like nothing else. His music has elements of acoustic folk, pop / dance and World music – making for a melange of good time music that is grounded in culture, community and care for the environment. Fadhilee counts Habib Koite (Mali), Ayub Ogada (Kenya) and Richard Bona (Cameroon) among his musical influences. His debut album Kwetu (meaning home in Swahili) features 14 vibrant tracks and includes Isukuti percussion and chants, showcasing the roots percussion style of Western Kenya. Besides his performing career, Fadhilee hosts a monthly concert series called 'Fadhilee's garage,’ and is the founder of Utam Festival (Kenya).

This album features folk songs from the Tajik and Russian ethnic minority groups living in the western and northwestern areas of Xinjiang, China. These folk songs have an earthy beauty that is theirs alone. Many of the Tajik songs featured here are accompanied by the Rewap – an ancient stringed instrument made from mulberry trunks. The sound is similar to that of an acoustic guitar, but the tone is brighter and more elastic. Many of the Russian songs feature the Bayan (a type of accordion) and the Balalaika.

This series explores China’s rich and diverse musical heritage. The songs featured in this recording are folk songs of four of the minority ethnic groups of Guangxi province – Zhuang, Bouyei, Mulao, Maonan. As with Chinese traditional visual arts, the song titles explain their mood and origin. It is noteworthy that the music of the Dong-Tai language speakers presents a common feature of incorporating polyphonic or heterophonic songs. Although this feature is present in the music of more than 20 minorities in China, it is rare that the speakers of a whole language family all incorporate multi-voice songs in their music. The performance forms of these multi-voice songs include nearly all the types found in folk music. The number of harmonic intervals is limited because the songs usually employ only one octave. Aside from pentatonic scales, the folk music of the Dong-Tai language speakers also incorporates the scales of three or four notes.

Milégé is a group of young talented musicians who derive inspiration from the diverse cultural musical traditions of the different tribes of Uganda, which they fuse with contemporary elements. The group writes: “We derive our name Milégé from the ankle rattle, a bell worn round the ankle to create rhythmic sounds that compliment dance performances. The rattle exists across the entire continent of Africa in different forms and in other parts of the world. Milégé is a symbol of unity, celebration and heritage. This album is very special to us, this will be our first album after nine years of the band’s existence amidst countless hurdles. It is for this reason that we chose the album name Afwoyo which means thank you in Thuphadola, a luo dialect from the Japhadola tribe of Eastern Uganda.We are thankful for the love and support from all those who have believed in our sound and have waited patiently for this authentic piece of work. We hope that this music will bring healing, hope and inspiration to the world!”

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.

Noukilla’s Soley is a mix of sega and seggae music, with a touch of jazz: a tribute to their home country of Mauritius. Created by Creole slaves, sega music was publicly shunned in Mauritius until the 1960s, when it was embraced nationally. In the 1990s, a Mauritian Rastafari, known as Kaya after the Bob Marley classic, infused it with reggae, creating seggae. Although he died under questionable circumstances in 1999, countless contemporary Mauritian musicians are influenced by his legacy and music. The album cover features the island’s most famous ex-resident, the dodo bird.

This album features songs from ethnic minority groups living in Taiwan: Amis, Atayal, Saisiyat, Tsou, Paiwan, Rukai, Bunnun, Seediq and Truku. These aboriginal ethnic groups are distributed across mountainous areas, high plateaus, and flat plains, adhering to various beliefs, lifestyles and musical cultures. Listening to this album in its entirety feels like flying across the island with a kite camera, overlooking all of the people living with their traditions. One minute you are put into the scene of a sacred ceremony, the next into a hunting trip or a wedding. As with Chinese traditional visual arts, the song titles explain their mood and origin. A booklet with lyrics and translations is also included.

This release kicks off a new series exploring China's rich and diverse musical heritage. The songs featured in this recording are folk songs of the five minority ethnic groups of Qinghai and Gansu provinces - Tu, Bonan, Dongxiang, Yugur and Salar. As with Chinese traditional visual arts, the song titles explain their mood and origin. The five minority ethnic groups that perform on this album mainly live in seven autonomous counties under the administration of the Gansu and Qinghai Provinces in northwestern China. Bordering Qinghai to the west, Gansu is located between the Tibetan Plateau and the Loess Plateau. The Yellow River flows through the southern part of Gansu, where the Qilian Mountains are located. Volume 2, Folk Songs of Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang is scheduled for release in October 2019.

The singer-songwriter tradition of any country reflects the hearts and thoughts of the people, and in Russia this is no different. In quiet, often acoustic settings, the artist performs his music, making the song and it's words the focus above all else. Through vivid lyrics, metaphorical language, and soulful melody, the singer-songwriter can mask controversial and difficult topics to bring his message home, or simply convey his most personal thoughts through music. During the days of the Soviet Union, artists like Vysotsky, Vertinsky, and Okudjava pioneered the Russian singer-songwriter style. All wrote on themes central to Russian life, sang with heartfelt passion, popularized a genre for the people and about the people, and, through their individual and unique styles of performances, ensured the lasting popularity of the singer-songwriter.

Andr� Toussaint was a native Haitian who made his home in Nassau, Bahamas, for most of his singing career. He was known for his golden voice, sometimes compared in his calypso lounge-style to Harry Belafonte, and thrilled guests everywhere he performed. Toussaint was a regular at the popular Bay Street bistro Blackbeard's and the famous La Fin, where one of his live shows was recorded. Several selections from that performance are featured on this collection.

The music on this album represents profound and direct communication between two human beings. Jon Hemmersam & Asal Malekzadeh had never met prior to the recording of this album, but they had the deep desire to create something beautiful together. In an entirely improvised set, they combine the sounds of the acoustic guitar and the Daf, a Kurdish drum. "To me, the music on this recording represents some of the most profound and direct communication between two human beings you can possibly imagine. Asal Malekzadeh and I had never met or played together prior to this recording. We only had the desire and deep wish to create something beautiful together. I would call it an invitation from our destiny, to follow the path of One Truth, One Music, One Love." - Jon Hemmersam

About the artist Originally formed in the early 1970s to play Afro-inspired music, the present group has maintained a consistent lineup since the early 1990s. While the band started performing covers of West African tunes, Good People has evolved to be a repertoire of original material with some traditional tunes with new arrangements. As more and more African immigrants entered Finland, they joined the band and now Good People can boast it features top West African musicians as well as some of the best Finnish professionals around. About the music Drawing inspiration from both traditional West African music and Western pop-based music, the group combines these distinctive styles for a special 'Good People' sound. The percussive beats make use of indigenous instruments like djembe drums, balafon, marimba while modern equipment like guitar and saxophones provide a contemporary air to the melodic proceeding. Mix in it's inspirational lyrics of harmony and fabled stories, and the result is a pulsing delight of Afro-Nordic jamming.

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.

Takillacta: Music of the People. It dates back to the mid-eighties, when I was a newcomer to New York City. One day I was walking down through Soho and heard music that was familiar, but with a distinctive flavor in the sound. It turned out to be some of my future bandmates playing on the street. What I was hearing was a new way of expressing the folklore of our latitudes: Andean highlands and valleys; Patagonia; South American pampas; and the Tateyama Mountains of Japan. We, the members of Takillacta, come from different countries and musical backgrounds: Per�, Colombia, Chile, Argentina, and Japan. Beneath the sound of our music are the life stories and traditions brought by each of us from those distinct places. This project is a reflection of those backgrounds and the folklore carried in each of us, the memories of which have nurtured us through our years of living in New York, the city where you can't escape blending with so many people and cultures. This album is dedicated to the native people of the Americas, and to artists and poets of all backgrounds who embrace tradition while letting it grow into new forms.

Pipa master Gao Hong and guqin virtuoso Zhao Xiaoxia revisit some of China's best-known traditional pieces, such as Three Variations on the Plum Blossom and Yangguan Sandie, complementing them with improvisation and adaptation full of their own unique creative charm. Here, they masterfully combine the rich history of traditional culture with the avant-garde energy of contemporary art to create a work that is both a philosophical meditation and a spiritual journey.

Uniquely inspired by sixteen pristine, biodiverse isles belonging to the territory of her homeland Sri Lanka, Tanya Ekanayaka's sixteen contrastive and palpable compositions, or 'Piano Isles', comprising this album, embody two distinct forms of composition-performance. Eight works were composed between 2022 and 2024. The remaining eight Extempore Compositions involved simultaneous composition-recording, on a single day of the album recording session in April 2024, each as a whole, and each incorporating a distinct musical motif - a form of artistry never presented through any of Tanya Ekanayaka's previous work.

Dedicated to spreading awareness of Carnatic (South Indian classical) music throughout the West, Jyotsna Srikanth interprets compositions from revered 15th- and 18th-century Carnatic composers. Exhibiting a range of beautiful ragas derived from the traditional Melakarta system, all pieces feature her exceptional fingering technique and the delightful fusion of musical expression and emotion.

Roll up, roll up! All aboard the 19th century Zri celebration cruise from Vienna to Odessa! Our legendary house band are as stylishly up to the moment as ever, reimagining the latest hits by Herren Rossini, Strauss, Schubert and even Dr Brahms with an intoxicating Romani twist!

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.