Folk 249 Items

Yugoslavia - six republics, four decades, one dictator and a single record label that ruled them all: Jugoton (Zagreb, Croatia). Jugoton was by far the country's largest label with the strongest and most diverse output that stretched from Balkan roots to contemporary trends and the sound of tomorrow . The early days of Yugoslavia featured strong censorship but by the end of the 60's the Communist party views softened up by a large degree. Westernized music already had a solid presence and first James Brown influenced compositions were released. Yugo funk, a term coined by DJ’s and crate diggers from the Balkans, encompasses a wide variety of performers and genres: from the 60's merseybeat rock bands, prog rock groovers and big band jazz orchestras to the late 70's sophisticated 4x4 funk and essentially everything in between. Jugoton Funk Vol.1, a first of its kind, celebrates the pioneer years of funk infused music released by Jugoton. While in pursuit of these treasures all over the Balkan region and beyond, the compilation’s selectors, Dr. Smeđi Šećer & Višeslav Laboš, both active as DJ's and crate diggers from the sole beginnings of the ex-Yu craze, wanted to capture the authentic and idiosyncratic funk sound of Jugoton and Yugoslavia. So here it is, comb your moustache, light up a fat one, turn up the amplifier and headbang away to these amazing tunes remastered from original master tapes dug out of the Jugoton vaults (now Croatia Records). - Compiled by Dr. Smeđi Šećer & Višeslav Laboš. Here’s the exclusive interview with Dr. Smeđi Šećer: www.psychedelicbabymag.com/2020/09/jugoton-funk-vol-1-a-decade-of-non-aligned-beats-soul-disco-and-jazz-1969-1979.html

Neil Young finally releases his 1975 album "Homegrown" which was shelved back then due to him feeling uncomfortable with it being to personal.

Really an amazing atmospheric and psych-influated album by Afet Serenay. Mind-blowing tunes by the players, band members were famous musicians and the band called "arilar" (which means The Bees). Some hard-hitting rhythm section blending into a prime example of the swingin' sound of the cool influences of Psychedelic Folk.. Most of the songs are from traditional Turkish folk songs with groovy arranges, drum attacks, percussions, saz and absolutely superb moog sounds going there and here.. Lovely and tasty Turkish Delight..! Enjoy the sound!

First album for post hardcore Boston band Pile

Pharaway Sounds proudly presents a compilation dedicated to Erkin Koray, the father of Anatolian Rock / Turkish Psych. "Halimem" includes rare single & cassette only tracks (mostly from 1970-72 plus three killer ones from 1987!!).

More than 25 years in the making, Swedish folk rock pioneers Garmarna continue to reinvent what music rooted in the Scandinavian tradition is about. New album 'Förbundet' is a hard-hitting record that pushes the boundaries of traditional folk and defines the soul of Garmarna. One of the underlying themes of the record is facing the beauty of living and the beauty in saying goodbye. Some of the core songs on the album, like Dagen Flyr, Ur Världen Att Gå and Avskedet, spread their message of sorrow and letting go across all of the other songs. Having always pushed to reinvent themselves with every record, Garmarna does not shy away from modern, electronic influences on ‘Förbundet’. Simultaneously, the musicians also took a closer look at what they believe is the core of their music, calling it the most satisfying album they have made so far. ‘Förbundet’ is all about that soul, from start to finish.

Steve Gunn and John Truscinski's collaborations are point where experimental instrumental rock and cosmic jazz meet. This is their fourth album overall and first in three years. Gunn-Truscinski Duo fans are intense in their love of these records - they naturally spin off from Steve's solo work but also go in their own directions as well. This track - and album - will be rapturously received by the fans of this project as being cut from a similar cloth that they already know and enjoy but covering some different and previously unworn ground. The first release in the Three Lobed Recordings 20th anniversary series, this should be a title with multiple sales points (Gunn, Three Lobed, other participants in the 20th series).

"Three Queens in Mourning first gathered in summit to sing celebration of the publication of Will Oldham’s book of collected lyrics, Songs of Love and Horror. Alasdair Roberts (Appendix Out) , Jill O’ Sullivan (Jill Lorean), and Alex Neilson (Trembling Bells, Alex Rex) each arrived provisioned with a small armful of selections nearest and dearest from Bonnie Prince Oldham’s far-reaching catalogue. On this back to back records, The Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy LP is a collection of three cover versions from Ali, Jill and Alex directory and one original track." (label info)

Türküola proudly presents a brand new Cem Karaca album where most of the songs made their premieres inside this release. From the original masters of Türküola, we will be hearing Apaşlar, Ferdy Klein and even Dervişan era of Cem Karaca with English lyrics. As the opening track, we hear “Mutlaka Yavrum” which he recorded with Dervişan in 1975 which is really a political piece also with English lyrics. Karaca tells the stories of the children in refugee camps because of the Palestine and Israel conflict. The English versions of “Kendim Ettim Kendim Buldum”, “Emmioğlu”, “Muhtar” and “Baba” have the same playback with their Turkish versions but this time directly and faithfully transferred from their original masters. These tracks were recorded with Ferdy Klein Orchestra in 1970. The Turkish versions of these songs were previously released but the English ones were in the treasure box till now. “Tears”(Resimdeki Gözyaşları), “No No No” (Emrah 1970), “Why” (Oy Babo) and “Istanbul” (Istanbul’u Dinliyorum) are the recordings of Apaşlar with the support of Ferdy Klein Orchestra dated 1968 and the English versions were also released in the same era as two separate singles. In this album, we also hear instrumental tracks played by Apaşlar with the support of Ferdy Klein Orchestra namely “Memories of Marmara” (Emrah 1970) where vocal parts are replaced with strings, “Laila’s Dream” (Resimdeki Gözyaşalrı-Tears) where vocal parts are given with brass and solo sax, “Oy Bana Bana” where vocal parts are replaced with electric guitar and sax. These three songs were previously released in the LP of The Bosporus Sound Orchestra named “Laila’s Dream” which had been released by United Artists, Liberty, and Türkofon before. The Bosporus Sound Orchestra was, of course, Ferdy Klein’s pseudonym for his orchestra. Thanks to Türküola for making these legendary recordings meet its collectors and Anatolian Pop fans via faithfully transferred master recordings.

"Country Hits...Feelin' Blue", released by Tennessee Ernie Ford in 1964, is a throwback — or as the liner notes to this country classic (perhaps Ford's best) say, »You don't hear much singing like this nowadays — just a voice with easy guitar and bass accompaniment«. But oh, what a voice. Ford's resonant-voiced baritone might be best known for his 1955 cover of Merle Travis' grim coal-mining song "Sixteen Tons“, with sales topping 4 million copies. The hit cemented Ford's place as one of America's top entertainers — a singer and TV host who enjoyed success during the 1950s, '60s and '70s in multiple musical genres — country, pop, and gospel.
He first guested on the Grand Ole Opry in 1950, and in 1953 he became the first country singer to appear at London's prestigious Palladium. Soon NBC hired him to emcee the television game show "Kollege of Musical Knowledge", and also to host his own weekday program. His subsequent prime-time network variety programs made »Bless your little pea-pickin' hearts« a household catch phrase and provided wide exposure for his musical renditions of great country and gospel favorites.
The songs chosen by Ford for "Country Hits...Feelin' Blue" are all favorites, some of the best tunes from the inspired pens of such country composers as Hank Williams, Fred Rose, Jenny Lou Carson, Willie Nelson, and Don Gibson. The album (one of Ford's favorite LPs) was recorded with backup provided by just two musicians; guitarist Billy Strange and bassist John Mosher.
Some of these songs go back to the start of Ford's career when he and Strange were working together as cast members of Los Angeles's "Hometown Jamboree" country music radio show. Mosher was a member of Ford's TV show band since its inception. Strange created the musical arrangements for "Country Hits...Feelin' Blue" — a quiet, simple get-together with the songs they had been playing and singing down through the years. That's why it's more than just another album. You can hear the affection and understanding coming through.
For this Analogue Productions reissue we turned to the experts who once again bring their stellar craftsmanship to the creation of a phenomenal-sounding release. Lacquers were cut by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio who mastered the LP from the original tape. Plating and 200-gram pressing was by our own Quality Record Pressings, makers of the world's finest-sounding LPs noted for their superior sonics and silent backgrounds. And nothing less than a Stoughton Printing old-style tip-on jacket would suit such a great LP.
Albums have been made with lots more people and lots more sound. But quantity never did mean quality. This is just a simple, great album. Great voice, great guitar and bass, and great songs — the best of each.

In the life of any interesting artist, there is the perpetual war between the
simplicity of public perception and the complexities of reality. Consider Hanni
El Khatib, a definitive purveyor of visceral, blues-wracked, punk-spiked,
soul-warped, knife fight rock n’ roll over the last decade. You may be familiar
with him through any one of his four acclaimed solo albums on Innovative
Leisure, his work with Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys, or as one of the rare
polymaths able to artfully blend serrated guitars and hardcore rap on collaborations with GZA and Freddie Gibbs. And while these are all real things that
could accurately yield a sketch of the multi-dimensional Los Angeles-based
artist, they amount to little more than a black and white pencil sketch.
From 2010 until 2017, there was the usual cycle that consumes most working
21st musicians: make an album, and tour it for the next 18 months. Return
home, rinse and repeat. And with it came the predictable pitfalls that ensnare
too many artists whose professional obligations require high-octane performances before 1,000 or more strangers every night. It is a dream until that
one night when it isn’t any longer, and despite his gratitude for his fans and
station in life, El Khatib found himself wracked by depression and anxiety.
What had once been joyous creative outlet felt like a job. In the wake of the
release of 2017’s Savage Times, it became readily apparent that if El Khatib
didn’t make drastic changes to his lifestyle, there might not be a life to speak
of. So he quit drinking, stopped touring, and took an indefinite hiatus from the
studio. But eventually, the desire to create songs slowly returned.
What would eventually become El Khatib’s fifth studio album, the virtuosic
but characteristically raw FLIGHT began as spontaneous experimentation.
Over the last several years, El Khatib had become close friends with Leon
Michels, best known as the mastermind of the soul controllers, the El Michels
Affair, but who has also quietly racked up producer credits for the likes of pop
juggernauts like Lana Del Rey, Rick Ross, Travis Scott, A$AP Rocky, and
Eminem -- as well as frequently working in sessions with Grammy-winning
super-producer Mark Ronson. The finished result is a rollicking sampledelic
opus that recalls the beautiful chaos that the Dust Brothers created on Paul’s
Boutique and Odelay. It’s the type of thing that Dilla and Madlib would’ve
created if they had come up on The Cramps.
The irony, of course, is that for a record that sounds like little else El Khatib
has ever done, it’s the most complete embodiment of who he is as an artist.
It’s a record both dense and intricate yet direct and spontaneous. It is garage
rock, it is hip-hop, it is soul, it is blues, it is psychedelic, but more than
anything, it’s a brilliant Hanni El Khatib record -- one that taps into the adolescent spirit of creation that first stirred him to make songs in the first place.
Here he is on his fifth album, back for the first time.

Chaotic Good is J. Warren’s fifth full-length album and first for Wax Nine/Carpark Records. It represents a moment of rupture in the singer-songwriter’s career as she transitions away from the quiet, folk-adjacent work that defined her early solo albums with a bold statement piece that demonstrates the breadth of her ambition.

Roza Eskenazi was a giant of rembetika, the urban Greek music of Ottoman origin associated with the poor underclass. Eskenazi’s life was extraordinary: born Sarah Spinazi to a poor Sephardic Jewish family in Constantinople, probably in the mid-1890s, after an itinerant childhood, she began dancing at the Grand Hotel Theatre in Thessaloniki. She eloped with the wealthy Yiannis Zardinidis around 1913, with whom she bore a son, but after his untimely death in 1917, she placed the son in the care of an orphanage and moved to Athens, where she danced with Armenian cabaret artists. Eventually, the composer Panagiotis Toundas discovered her singing and arranged her first recordings for Columbia Records in 1929, which catapulted her to fame. Cutting over 500 songs in the 1930s, she became the leading exponent of the Smyrna school of rembetika. Running a nightclub in Athens during the German occupation of World War II, she hid resistance fighters and British spies and helped many Jewish families flee the country. She finally toured the USA in the 1950s, and though her career subsequently waned, a 1970s revival led to further work. The longevity of her output is such that her song Misirlu was included on the soundtrack of Pulp Fiction; the 21 gems collected here were recorded between 1931 and 1947.

This compilation features some great examples of rebetika songs from the 20's and 30's including some well known artists like Rosa Eskenazi, Markos Vamvakaris, Anestis Delias, Rita Abadzi and others. An excellent overview of the phenomenon for anyone interested in southern European folk music history.

Box including a 4CD Anthology, 2LP on black vinyl, 1 LP of Macalla, a 7", a book, 4 post cards and a poster.

Sam Burton is a singer/songwriter from Salt Lake City, now based in Los Angeles. After several years circulating homemade cassettes on labels like Chthonic and embraced by blogs like Cassette Gods, Sam has recorded his first proper debut album with producer Jarvis Taveniere (Purple Mountains). Due in mid-2020, Sam's debut LP will be preceded by two limited edition 45s, one which will be available exclusively for Record Store Day in the UK. Sam is slated to tour the UK and Europe in 2020 with fellow Tompkins Square artist Gwenifer Raymond.

MYRNINEREST is the new Hallucinatory Cartoon channelled by David Tibet in order to work, outside of CURRENT 93, with some of the artists and friends he admires the most. ""Jhonn," Uttered Babylon", their harrowing and haunted debut, featuring James Blackshaw and David Tibet, is centered on Davids friendship with, and love for, the late Jhonn Balance of COIL as well as Jhonns death and how it affected the circle of friends around Jhonn. With all lyrics by David and all music written by James, the album was recorded during February 2012 with James Blackshaw on classical guitar and harmonium and David as vocalist. Both LP and CD formats contain the same songs, but with very different mixes by different artists, and the tracks on the 2 formats have also been given different names.The vinyl version is mixed by The Bricoleur and comes in a full-colour, reverse-board, sleeve with a 4-page insert containing the albums text and reproductions of two charco...

In August of 2012, Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit assembled in their home state of Alabama in front of a couple of sold-out concert halls to record their first live album, Live From Alabama. After years of hard touring, the critically-lauded band has gelled into a versatile rock and roll squad that is equally at ease performing Muscle Shoals soul to hardcore country to balls-out rock. Live From Alabama’s tracklist mines some of Isbell’s most popular songs and includes a pair of inspired covers in Neil Young’s “Like a Hurricane” and Candi Staton’s “Heart on a String.”

Cuts from essential albums like Cowboy In Sweden Features duets with Suzi Jane Hokom, AnnMargret and Nina Lizell Audio remastered from original tapes Unreleased song “I Just Learned To Run” Indepth liner notes & unseen photographs As a true legend of the great American songbook and a rebellious pioneer who left behind a lengthy trail of echo laden pop masterpieces, Lee Hazlewood’s influence continues to reverberate today. Between 196871, Hazlewood not only released his finest solo work, but produced numerous artists on LHI. From acidfolk and countryrock to poppsych and soul, LHI issued dozens of long forgotten 45s and LPs. This series will include material from LHI (remastered for the first time from the original analog tapes), along with Lee’s output for other labels, rarities, and unreleased gems.

With his handlebar moustache and booming baritone, Lee Hazlewood was one of the defining stars of the late ‘60s. Though he’s perhaps best known for his work with Nancy Sinatra (including writing megahit “These Boots Are Made For Walking”), Hazlewood did stunning work away from that particular glamour queen and found latter day champions in Beck, Sonic Youth, and Jarvis Cocker. Now, for Record Store Day 2012, we are kicking off our excavation of the Lee Hazlewood archives with this anthology, Singles, Nudes & Backsides, collecting the best of Lee’s solo songs and duets from his LHI (Lee Hazlewood Industries) imprint.

As a true legend of the great American songbook and a rebellious pioneer who left behind a lengthy trail of echo laden pop masterpieces, Lee’s influence continues to reverberate today. Between 196871, Hazlewood not only released his finest solo work, but produced numerous artists on LHI. From acidfolk and countryrock to poppsych and soul, LHI issued dozens of long forgotten 45s and LPs. This series will include material from LHI (remastered for the first time from the original analog tapes), along with Lee’s output for other labels, rarities, and unreleased gems.

See the sleeve: surrounded by nude girls, each wearing a fake moustache, Hazlewood wears a suit, eversoslightly awkwardly playing the role of the ‘60s playboy. Just like the picture, the songs present a man conflicted; he’s the tenderhearted romantic, the brokenhearted loser and the rugged cowboy, all in one. It’s there in the western swing of “Califia (Stone Rider)”, the loneliness of ”The Bed” and the bleak beauty of ”If It’s Monday Morning.” Hazlewood’s tremulous voice was made for duets (indeed, he wrote ”Some Velvet Morning”, one of the greatest of all time); here, Suzi Jane Hokom, AnnMargret and Nina Lizell play counterpart to his manly tones.

In the wonderful liner notes, written by British journalist Wyndham Wallace, the writer describes his friend Hazlewood as “a curmudgeonly, unpredictable sort at the best of times, as impatient with his own talent as he is with other people.” The Hazlewood Wallace knew was puzzled by the growing interest in him in the last two decades of his life, which was ended by cancer at age 78. That late flurry of interest saw him perform at the Royal Festival Hall in 1999, his first ever solo performance in the UK.

A natural wanderer, Lee lived a big life, fighting in the Korean War, working as a radio DJ in Phoenix, Arizona, setting up Viv Records in the ‘50s, working as a bigshot LA producer in the ‘60s, signing Phil Spector to his Trey Records label and prematurely announcing retirement in the wake of the mid‘60s British invasion. He didn’t: Nancy Sinatra came along, the hits started flowing and he continued producing characterful solo albums into the ‘70s, which saw his move to Sweden. By 2007, Hazlewood was living in Vegas, and begrudgingly enjoying that flurry of latterday interest in his work. This landmark compilation promises to create many more converts.

Peter Oren's new album The Greener Pasture offers a bleak answer to the question "where will I go/ if I don't want to be/ with idle hands awaiting catastrophe/ here in the Anthropocene" posed on his title track of his previous album Anthropocene: "The greener pasture is also fenced in/ the wider trough has an asterisk/ rotate the herd every few days/ or is it every few years/ we got their tags on our ears/ standing in shit crying bovine tears." Indiana-born, everywhere-based singer-songwriter Peter Oren possesses a remarkable singing voice, low and deep and richly textured: as solid as a glacier, as big as a mountain. Similar in its baritone gravel to Bill Callahan, a hero of his, it rumbles in your conscience, a righteous sound that marks him as an artist for our tumultuous times, when sanity seems absent from popular discussions.

LP version comes with download of the album."There's No Leaving Now", the newest record from Kristian Matsson's aptly titled moniker, The Tallest Man On Earth, finds the Swedish troubadour trading in the sense of urgency that fueled his first two records for a confidently relaxed approach. The results are paralyzing. Drums, piano, baritone guitar, woodwinds and pedal steel layer this collection of songs that never compromise virtuosity for immediacy. The songwriting is every bit as detailed and captivating as his previous work, but this time around, Matsson is showing a few more cards. The music of the Tallest Man on Earth has traditionally centered around the power of performance and has served as a reminder that directness is the best course of action. However,...

Altın Mikrofon (Golden Microphone) is a music contest organized in 1965 by "Hürriyet", one of the biggest newspapers of the time. The first Golden Microphone contest was organized in 1965. The qualifiers of the 2nd Competition organized in 1966 were held in 9 hours in front of a jury including the famous artist Zeki Müren. This time 7 finalists were selected and their contest tracks were released as 45 rpm singles. They gave concerts in Izmir, Ankara, Istanbul, Bursa, Bursa, Eskişehir, Samsun and Konya. The last concert was again held in Istanbul. Silhouettes won the contest with 4563 votes. Second place was Blue Lights with 2850 votes, just like last year. The third with 2382 votes was Selçuk Alagöz. The finalists Kent Yedilisi, T.P.A.O.Batman Orkestrası, Cahit Oben, Siluetler, Ali Atasagun, Mavi Işıklar and Selçuk Alagöz Orkestrası shaped the Turkish Pop Music and Anatolian Rock movement

Altın Mikrofon (Golden Microphone) is a music contest organized in 1965 by "Hürriyet", one of the biggest newspapers of the time. The first Golden Microphone contest was organized in 1965. The goal with this competition was to support Turkish Light Western Music, which is just beginning to emerge. Hürriyet explained the purpose of the contest by saying, "The Golden Microphone Gift Contest is designed to give a new direction to Turkish music by utilizing the rich techniques and forms of western music and playing it with western instruments." 78 artists participated in the first competition, which was a record among the competitions of the period. The first prize for the winning artist was to be made into a record and to play in a music hall on a regular basis. Forty-one artists submitted their works to the competition and these songs were evaluated by a jury of 80 people. Of the artists who participated, 10 made it to the finals. These 2 albums were originally released as single 45 rpm in 1965. Many of the artists featured on the album later became famous and shaped Turkish Pop Music. Among the artists featured on the album are Cahit Oben Orchestra, Silüetler, Mavi Işıklar Orchestra and the Selçuk Alagöz Orchestra became the pioneering representatives of the movement later called "anatolian Rock"

NYC satanic ska/metal band's third album from 1999 on vinyl for the first time. Ska's own Satan worshipping, hardcore and metal influenced act returned with an album that expanded its musical range, working some jazzier textures into their hyperactive ska-punk-metal circus. It's part Slayer and Metallica while still embracing their Fishbone and Specials flavors. They blur the lines between their influences, not only in the same song, but quite often at the same time. Twenty plus years later the album is enjoying a true rebirth, new fans are discovering this "lost classic" while many longtime fans are realizing they missed the goods the first time around!

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the band's first full-length studio album, The Oh Hellos present a special re-mastered LP reissue of Through The Deep, Dark Valley on black 180g vinyl.Remastered for the occasion, the reissue offers fans a chance to hear the music in a new light, and refresh their relationship with the album.Through The Deep, Dark Valley is a self-contained concept album, so for best results should be listened to in its entirety, in order, in one sitting."When we first wrote Through the Deep, Dark Valley, we wanted the album to flow like a narrative," says Tyler Heath. "Ever since, it's been a pattern we've found ourselves leaning into more and more with every record. To celebrate that original narrative spirit a decade later, we wanted this anniversary reissue to feel a little like a pop-up storybook that draws you in for the journey. We also enlisted the talented Charlie Kramsky to shine up our old recordings into a new Ten Year Anniversary Remaster."