Folk 353 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!

The Invisible World Of Beautify Junkyards is Lisbon band Beautify Junkyards’s third album and effortlessly blend their love of English Acid Folk and Brazilian Tropicalia. In a collection of songs that conjure up a warm and verdant faerie world, delicate acoustic guitars evoke an autumnal England suffused with Iberian heat by other- worldly voices; the ethereal lilt of João Branco Kyron and the warm languor of Rita Vian (a voice redolent of Gal Costa or Os Mutantes’ Rita Lee.)

The production is tempered with a haunted electronic palette that anchors the band squarely in the world of Ghost Box. But more than this, Beautify Junkyards’ sheer song writing talent, production skill and performance virtuosity grant them a place amongst the great outside-of-time bands like Broadcast or The High Llamas.

In 2012, the band’s eponymous first album set out their stall, with a collection of cover versions; mainly of classics of the British Acid-Folk period, but also taking in Tropicalia and German Kosmiche. The album was a hit in Portugal and picked up for airplay in the UK on BBC Radio 2 & 6 Music. Their version of Kraftwerk’s Radioactivity was included on DJ Food’s Krafwerk Kover Kollection.

Their second album in 2015, The Beast Shouted Love, carried their influences forward with original songs and cemented a style that is at once traditional, experimental and exotic. In 2016 the band debuted on Ghost Box with a single as part of the label's Other Voices Series.

Packaging: The lavish packaging on all formats is designed by Julian House with artwork that attempts to capture the band’s love of the Czech New-Wave and the twilight worlds of WB Yeats. The heavyweight vinyl LP includes a free download card.

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!!).

Cindy Lee, the performance and songwriting vehicle of Canadian artist Patrick Flegel (who fronted influential indie group Women earlier), previously stunned listeners with Act Of Tenderness, a heart-wrenching statement informed by the noirish core of celebrity, and has continued to enchant with every album, including the startling What's Tonight To Eternity released earlier this year. Cindy Lee (who uses the gender neutral pronoun they) is a drag persona drawing on suburban closet queens and mid-century divas. In keeping with Flegel's interest in the faultlines of identity, gender expression, performance and media, Model Express delivers an intense and diverse set of unforgettable songs.

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.