As a member of one of the foremost musical families in India, Irshad Khan has won worldwide acclaim as a virtuoso player of both the sitar and surbahar (bass sitar). Khan is renowned not only for his mastery of these two instruments, but for his unique presentation of the different genres of Indian classical. On the inaugural Naxos World release, The Magic Of Twilight, Khan presents a glorious performance of North Indian Hindustani ragas in it's most beatific essence. Recording this spiritual and enchanting music at it's most apropos time of the day, when dusk signals a time for introspection and reflection, Khan demonstrates his startling musicality and phenomenal improvisational technique in the two exquisite musical pieces.

Embark upon a wondrous musical and cultural exploration into the connections between the Gaels and their Northern European neighbours. Featuring ancient and modern texts, the songs speak to our past, present and future with music ranging from the simple voice to expansive arrangements and exquisite sound design. (Naxos World)

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

This latest album by Ignacio Lusardi Monteverde unearths the historical influences and musical interactions of various cultures, and their effects on the numerous toques heard in flamenco today. Within his own avant-garde compositions, inspired by his travels around the Andalusian provinces, India and the Middle-East, Ignacio embraces the original modes, melodic phrases, specific tempos and rhythms that have been developed and passed down over the centuries. “Ignacio’s willingness to explore out of his comfort zone and reach out to other cultures speaks to his character.” (Phil Manzanera, Roxy Music)

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.

This series explores China’s rich and diverse musical heritage. The songs featured in this recording are folk songs of five minority ethnic groups of Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang—Mongol, Daur, Oroqen, Evenki and Hezhen. As with Chinese traditional visual arts, the song titles explain their mood and origin.

The Authentic Light Orchestra was founded in 2009 by the Swiss multi-instrumentalist with Armenian roots, Valeri Tolstov. His idea is to combine ancient Armenian folk songs and mix them with classical influences, jazz, rock and a touch of electronica to create a new musical form. In this fusion of styles, all of the elements supplement each other harmonically, producing a unique sound and an original interpretation of Armenian folk- the defining musical language of the Authentic Light Orchestra. In 2014, the band won the Grand Prix at the Armvision contest for Best Arrangement and Performance of a Folk song, and in 2016 they received the first Russian World Music Award.

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

There is a new artist on the East African/Kenyan music scene by the name of Papillon. He not only writes all of his own music- in several languages- but he designs and creates his own instruments. Papillon is among the first musicians in recent times to look at African musical instruments with an eye to redesign, combining and upgrading them for a new musical experience. Moyo means 'heart' in Swahili, and 'life' or 'spirit' in Mbeere- Papillon's mother tongue. The music on this album is inspired by the singing of birds in the morning, the roaring of lions and the cries of monkeys- it is Mother Nature speaking. With his soaring voice and haunting melodies, coupled with an abundance of African instruments, many of his own making, Papillon is a musical force to be reckoned with.

Timba MM (pronounced 'Timba emmay emmay') take traditional Cuban sounds and adapt them further with other musical genres from around the world. Michel Medrano Brindis (who has performed with the likes of David Sanborn, Gipsy Kings and Dominique Fils-Aim�) formed Timba MM with good friends Mathieu S�n�chal and Adam Goulet. They compose their own songs inspired by contemporary Cuban artists such as the Pedrito Martinez Group, NG La Banda, Sintesis, Afro Cuban All Stars and Buena Vista Social Club.

Iberi invite you to a supra feast full of gorgeous Georgian polyphonic singing! With sacred songs, historical ballads, lullabies, work songs and ‘table songs’ for feasting, they celebrate the age-old tradition of supra and its popular toasting themes. This traditional style of polyphonic singing is inscribed in UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Iberi have released an accompanying cookbook to provide the full Georgian experience – the holy trinity of food, wine and song! “They look like warriors and sing like angels!” (Nick Hobbs, Charmenco Music Agency)

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 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.