recopilatorios 2006

johnny cash - personal file (columbia)

"when Cash released American Recordings in 1994, he repeatedly stated in interviews that he’d wanted to release stripped-down music since the early 1970’s, but couldn’t get the label to go along. He recorded it anyway for his own pleasure, and this year, we got to hear those performances for the first time. To hear Cash while his voice was still in its prime, completely unadorned and accompanied only by guitar on most tracks, is a reminder of the timeless talent that made him an icon. You’ll learn more about the man from a few of these tracks than you ever could from watching Walk the Line" country universe

the reggaee / sawaadyja / valerio cosi - birth of a new rural europe (ruralfaune, 3xcdr box)

"a super limited and insanely packaged triple cd-r, highlighting, well, just like the title says, the Birth Of A New Rural Europe, a sonic world of free noise, free folk and abstract ambience. Three full length discs, one from each band, the Reggaee, Sawaadyja and Valerio Cosi.French free rock outfit The Reggaee offer up 52 minutes of clattery, rambling, drift, harmonicas wheeze, nestled in a soundscape of field recordings and distant percussion like the chirping of crickets, doomy folk with detuned guitars and ghostly vocals, reverb drenched tribal freakouts, dreamy dreary mumbly ambience, buzzing steel string serenades and every stop in between. Sawaadyja, aka Danish sound maker Mikkel Andersen, contributes a similarly varied disc, starting off with huge thick washes of distorted guitars and buried psychedelic melodies, like a more lo-fi Sunroof!, and quickly drifting into gentle forest folk, with simple childlike melodies over spare tribal drumming, dreamy Appalachian style steel string fingerpicking, a bit of raga like buzz with snake charmer melodies and some spacious abstract shimmer. The final installment comes from Italian sound artist Valerio Cosi, whose disc is maybe the droniest and dreamiest of the bunch. The opening and closing tracks are lengthy slow moving near static shimmers, bookending track two, a nearly half hour long festive percussive free form sonic ritual. Fluttering flutes, clattering pots and pans percussion, buzzing kazoo melodies, thick reverb, like being lost in some bazaar in the center of some foreign city... " aquarius

va - imaginational anthem volume 2 (tompkins square)

"Follow-up to the first volume of this on-going series that joins the dots between an earlier generation of American Primitive guitarists and contemporary intuitive sound-as-thought players. Once again Jack Rose is featured (with an absolutely gorgeous 6 string re-think of "Cross The North Fork 2") but every other player puts in a first-time appearance on this volume. The inclusion of Christina Carter is a particularly inspired move and one that speaks of the liberated range of the series in general and her track is a beauty, a stubby acoustic guitar miniature. Nice cover snap too. Other tracks include a particularly mesmeric recording from UK guitarist James Blackshaw and contributions from Peter Lang, Jesse Sparhawk, Michael Chapman, Sean Smith, Fred Gerlach, Billy Faier, Sharron Kraus, Robbie Basho... Another rich, far-sighted assortment from this great label" volcanic tongue

va - summer & smiles of finland (fonal)

"Fonal Records is a Finnish independent label run by Sami Sänpäkkilä that began releasing mainly domestic music in 1995. Fonal has a catalogue of 40 experimental, folk, ambient and popular music releases and has organized concerts for its artists accross Europe and North America. Summer and Smiles of Finland is a 10th anniversary compilation (islaja, kemialliset ystavat, paavoharju, shogun kunitoki, es, kiila, risto, tv resistori) for promotional purposes only" fonal

va - fuzzy felt folk (trunk)

"In typical Trunk Records style this is a genre-defining collection of true folk oddities from both the UK and the USA. This CD brings together lost naïve psychedelia, beguiling and unreleased film music, spooky nursery rhymes, songs about pixies and trance-like guitar oddities. Some of the music found on this CD is unreleased, some impossible to find, all of it is stunning. This really is unlike any compilation you have heard. Includes work by Basil Kirchin, the man who invented ambient music -- the recording here has never been released and comes from his estate. Barbara Moore is one of the most highly collected female singing artists, and Orriel Smith is a great lost American singer who composed these two psychedelic, progressive, jazzy tracks with funky film composer Philip Lambro-- these tracks have remained lost until now. Reg Tilsley, Pierre Arvay and Claude Vasori are all extremely talented library composers both in the UK and Europe. Much of their music was used in children's TV in the late 1960s, and their tracks are from the legendary De Wolfe Library and have never been commercially released until now. Very little is known about the other artists on this compilation, but their music is incredible. The name Fuzzy Felt comes from a game made up of fuzzy shapes you stick to a felt board, and in the 1960s, was a famous toy in the UK. You use the fuzzy shapes to make little pictures just like on the CD front cover. To us this sums up the innocent, experimental and creative streaks running throughout this incredible music. The other artists include: Christopher Casson, Arthur Birkby, Peggy Zeitlin, and The Piggleswick Folk" forced exposure

loren connors - night through singles and collected works 1976-2004 (family vineyard)

"Essential 3xCD collection of singles by New York City avant blues guitarist Loren Connors, one of America's most unique and challenging voices. Night Through spans four decades of Connors' recordings from the earliest acoustic session and first solo 7" -- Ribbon o' Blues on St. Joan -- to rare singles issued by Table of the Elements, Road Cone, Father Yod, Menlo Park, Gyttja, Union Pole, and others, to his late 90s band Haunted House and recent acoustic recordings.

Overall, three and half hours of music: 12 7" singles, private CDR releases, collaborations with Suzanne Langille and Robert Crotty, compilation appearances, and 22 unreleased pieces including a 1959 recording by Connors' mother Mary Mazzacane. 24 page color booklet contains detailed notes and cover art for each single, never before seen photographs, an essay by renowned blues scholar Dr. William Ferris and commentary from Connors, Langille, Road Cone's Mike Hinds and others."

va - wailing bones volume 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8 (foxglove cdr)

brothers of the occult sisterhood, apple snails, the serial harvest, seht, the stamps, the north sea, broken mask, taiga remains, the clear spots, the lost domain, heavy winged, wolfskull, emerald cloud cobra, ville moskiitto, keijo, bjerga iversen, robert horton, niagara falls, gart & seehatze, sean og's trihornophone, anvil salute, pefkin, rory storm, vxpxc....

the legendary stardust cowboy - paralized! his vintage recordings 1968-1981 (em)

"Imagine a Hank Williams/Elvis/Bob Dylan-styled frontier balladeer rendering punk-primitive, gloriously untutored romantic moonshine miniatures in the kind of technique-bypassing first gush of the muse style of Hasil Adkins, Rod Keith, Lux Interior, Don Ayler and Jad Fair and you're halfway to grasping the brain-paralyzing beauty of original American outsider and folk spirit The Legendary Stardust Cowboy. Best known for his first and only hit, "Paralyzed", a humping mush-mouthed brawl that's as incoherently beautiful as The Novas' "The Crusher" or The Trashmen's "Surfin' Bird", this excellent set on the always impressive Em Records compiles a bunch of his key recordings, including the first single, swooning acapella compositions, ragingly destroyed rockabilly rave-ups, a clutch of un-issued killers and tracks from the 1984 album Rock-It To Stardum. Never easy to source Stardust material, so this is a real slap in the head for both the faithful and the uninitiated and comes with a chunky booklet with tons of pics, labels repros etc. Outsider hunch never sounded so beautifully in-the-pocket" - volcanic tongue

va - ihmettelenpä sanoi kampela jos lahana on plüsu (267 lattajjaa)

black to comm, keijo and jussi karsikas, bjergaiversen, ajilvsga, anla courtis, vlubä, ville moskiitto, silvester anfang, kulkija, rene kita, uton, brothers of the occult sisterhood, voice of the seven woods, emerald cloud cobra, infinite article, december, united bible studies, loachfillet, greippi.

va - and to the disciples that remain (amish)

"Celebration of 11 years of Amish Records. 11 of 13 completely exclusive tracks. Deluxe 6-panel foldout packaging. Front cover by visual artist Sebastiaan Bremer. Includes members of & former members of Hall of Fame, Metabolismus, Tower Recordings, Windsor For the Derby, Polvo, Idyll Swords, Oneida and Town & Country." Artists include: P.G. Six, Mike Wexler, Theo Angell, Oakley Hall, Black Taj, Bird Show, Helen Rush, The Oranges Band, Samara Lubelski, Dan Matz and the Birdwatcher, Dan Brown and Chuck Johnson."

rob mullender*wooden spoon*the eidetic band*ladyswoodsman - free london (bo' weavil)

"Free London, is a split double LP (heavy weight vinyl), of 4 bands/musicians currently working in London's growing improvised folk music scene. LP One: Wooden Spoon is seeking to create a music free from the influence of the contemporary world, to evoke some kind of state of pastoral introspection at once joyful and sad. Influenced by the Takoma school of guitar players, Popol Vuh & folk music from around the world. Rob Mullender, takes the other side of this LP with some solo acoustic pieces that owe much to heroes of the English guitar in Jansch, Renbourn and others. Mullender also spent some time wood shedding with Davey Graham. His music is delicate wonderings that edge towards a freer conception of folk music. LP 2: Eidetic Band Working throughout the different musical diagrams, those both fictional and unreal (the names of folk, noise, drone, jazz etc) -- traditions which inform ways of feeling and playing and showing with sounds. The Eidetic Band are interested in exploring each in never ending turn, in splicing them, in both respecting and devastating en route to feeling sound and its extent, deeper and deeper. The Ladyswoodsman is a London based duo of Luke Garwood (a.k.a Duke Garwood) and Paul May. Using a variety of different instruments from guitars, clarinets to all kinds of percussion in the creation of improvisations that ignites the imagination. Some of the tracks have a down home folky feel, while others could find themselves happily nestling amongst the free jazz greats of the late '60s."

va - art of field recording*50 years of traditional music documented by art rosenbaum (dust-to-digital)

"50 Years of Traditional Music Documented by Art Rosenbaum. The diverse talents of the Rosebaums have allowed them to record music tradi¬tions in a way few others could have done. Dust-to-Digital is proud to announce this project in an attempt to keep alive the music they love so dearly. Get ready for antebellum spirituals, lined-out hymns of country churches, old time frolic tunes, bottleneck blues, hammer-and-pick work songs, dance music of fiddle bands, unaccompanied mountain ballads, and backwoods banjo tunes. Art Rosenbaum has been recording American traditional music for half a century - and in the process pro¬duced over 15 LPs and CDs, two hard-cover books, and archival material deposited in the Library of Congress, Indiana University, and University of Georgia archives." second layer

"This is the real 'roots' music of America, which has been my privilege to hear and record first-hand." - Art Rosenbaum

va - classic railroad songs (smithsonian folkways)

"As 19th-century America expanded, so too did the "ribbons of iron" that crisscrossed the vast landscape and sparked the imagination of music-makers. Work songs, ballads recounting riveting exploits, and instrumental echoes of the once familiar sounds of the steam locomotive have enshrined the railroad in our musical memory. Classic Railroad Songs mines the Smithsonian Folkways archives to create this tribute to a favorite American source of inspiration."

emory cook, new lost city ramblers, furry lewis, pete seeger, walt robertson, leadbelly, elizabeth cotten, cisco houston, l.m. hilton, the virginia mountain boys, annie watson, doc watson, sonny terry, woody guthrie, brownie mcghee, ...

va - raga for peter walker (tompkins square, 2006)

"A Raga for Peter Walker will feature four new tracks from Peter along with original, previously unreleased compositions by the revered contemporary guitarists Steffen Basho-Junghans, James Blackshaw, Greg Davis, Shawn David McMillen, Thurston Moore, and Jack Rose. More a tip of the hat than a “tribute” album, these players all share an appreciation for a gifted musician whose small yet amazing body of work still resonates. Guitarist Peter Walker came up in the Cambridge MA and Greenwich Village folk scenes of the Sixties. He recorded two albums for the Vanguard label in the late Sixties in a style best described as American folk-raga. He studied with Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan, and was Dr. Timothy Leary's musical director, organizing music for the LSD advocate’s “celebrations.” Peter Walker’s 1967 debut album, Rainy Day Raga, features one of the first studio appearances by jazz flautist Jeremy Steig, as well as guitarist Bruce Langhorne, who recorded with Bob Dylan and many others. Rainy Day Raga is a gentle and beautiful fusion of Eastern and Western musical traditions, and one of the earliest examples of a style explored by Sandy Bull several years earlier..."

"Peter Walker was actually a bigger influence on my acoustic playing than John Fahey or Robbie Basho" Ben Chasny, Six Organs of Admittance.

va - so much fire to roast human flesh (bastet)

"a benefit album curated by Josephine Foster. The title is a line from a poem by the great Apollinaire, who died from wounds he sustained while serving in World War I."

"All profits from sales of this compilation will be distributed to specific counter-military recruitment and pacifist organizations and programs. We hope to assist them in their efforts promoting peace and non-militarism in the United States." arthur magazine

"All of the musicians represented here are US citizens. Our voices join with many others across this land that freely question and openly oppose war." Josephine Foster

the cherry blossoms, feathers, michael hurley, meg baird, andrew bar, goatgirl, devendra banhart, kath bloom, charlie nothing, diane cluck, josephine foster, john allingham & ann tiley, angels of light, rachel mason, pajo, mv & ee, kathleen baird, lay all over it

va - molten strings, train wrecks and birdsong (students of decay)

"A commendable, cohesive collection from this young Cincinnati imprint, specializingfor the most part in limited edition CD-R's. The ten artists it collects - half with Students of Decay releases to their names, half without - accurately reflect the label's aesthetic, as implied in the title: a winning mixture of free noise, drone, freak folk, and unclassifiable post-everything improvisation. Robert Horton, Taiga Remains and Family Underground acquit themselves handsomely; Birchville Cat Motel, Brothers of the Occult Sisterhood, Peter Wright and The North Sea chime in handily. Standout contributions are a wincingly scratchy violin piece from Burning Star Core's C. Spencer Yeh, and Zaimph's 'Flying inDark' which echoes heavily with muffled overtones. Fred Lonberg-Holm's invigoratingly abrupt string wrangling improvisation caps a confident statement of intent from apromising label" the wire

va - lead into gold, long-form works (rebis)

"top artists from the spiritual, minimalist, folk, psychedelic and noise undergrounds come together to contribute long-form pieces based on the theme of alchemical transmutation.
includes exclusive tracks from birds of delay, son of earth, keenan lawler, the zoo wheel, the opera glove sinks in the sea, bird show + lichens, bruce russell, the gray field recordings, white/light, and of...ohv (loren chasse + christine boepple)" imaginary year

va - sound surrounds us volume 4, 5 & 6 (mymwly)

keijo and the free players, snow foxx, dinmuck#f, robert horton, little head big body, ray off, no guru, biffplex...music your mind will love you.

va - protest american protest songs 1928-1953 (viper, 2006)

"...this 20 track compilation collects up some of the best American protest songs recorded between 1928 and 1953 and shows a variety of subjects ranging from racism and segregation to nuclear weapons and Hitler. It's moving, political and occasionally humorous, but the best thing about the compilation is surprisingly the music itself, which skates across multiple genres of 'classic' American music. We've got folk and country covered, ragtime and soul, blues. the list goes on and it would be fruitless for me to just name everything. Highlights come unsurprisingly from the always haunting Billie Holiday who's track 'Strange Fruit' is picked here, Woody Guthrie's tear inducing '1913 Massacre' and the opening track 'Old Man Atom' by the Sons of the Pioneers which tells of the horrors of Hiroshima" boomkat

va - creeping dawn volume 2 (students of decay)

"Volume 2 contains exclusive 3'' material by Mike Shiflet, David Kirby, Robert Horton, and Alligator Crystal Moth. All four 3''s are packaged in a customized box with artwork. The set is limited to 50 copies. Disc One Mike Shiflet "Puritan Heartbreaker" Disc Two David Kirby "Shrieks Against the Glass Pt. II" Disc Three Robert Horton "Ritual Ingestion of Insect Substance" Disc Four Alligator Crystal Moth "Cow's Town Ornamental"

va - the stuff that dreams are made off (yazoo)

46 super rarities - classic performances of early blues and old country music from the 1920s and 30s, including 2 never heard before selections by Son House. Large 20 page illustrated booklet included inside! 2-CD Set. country, blues, gospel, fiddle tunes, rags, banjo songs, religious selections, old ballads...

p.d.: 2006

luminous craft

sin duda alguna 'song for nana' es la canción más auténtica que servidor haya escuchado este año. olor a elizabeth cotten, blind willie mctell, algodón, árboles que se parten en dos por culpa de un rayo, cruces de caminos en los que no vendes el alma al diablo a cambio de la melodía perfecta porque ésta ya es tuya. harry smith se habría llevado los bártulos a nuevo méjico para hablar cara a cara con dominick seguro. más que arte luminoso, like wind in your ears.

starbird - night keep moving (spirit of orr)

es escuchar 'mushrooms' y darte cuenta del fatal error que supondría no colar a Starbird entre lo mejor del año, desconozco el puesto exacto que le va bien. sí está claro que Carson Arnold cuela como el hermano pequeño de Joshua Burkett, porque además de compartir sello comparten miras o inquietudes. 'night keep moving' es un desafío que se resume a través de la mastodóntica 'becky', desesperación y placer de la mano. no sé si para llorar a carcajadas o reír a lágrima viva.

uton - mystery revolution (digitalis)

mirtamirta dijo un día que Uton no era un ser de este mundo, Glenn Donaldson lo considera un genio, Valerio Cosi afirma que es el rey, para mí Uton es una convicción, es la esperanza de que este mundo todavía tiene una oportunidad. 'kuun kasi kavelee' cerrando los ojos, atrévete!

p.g. six - music from the sherman box series and other works (amish)

pat gubler explorando las posibilidades de un harpa, descubriendo hasta dónde puede llegar el eco de una nota que rebota en una galería una y mil veces. no puedo ser objetivo con un artista que vive la persona matando al personaje, hecho palpable en todo lo que hace, eso aquí vuelve a notarse y aunque explore, ni se pierde ni epata, y lo más importante, consigue llegar.

josephine foster - a wolf in sheep's clothing (locust)

josephine foster vive tan alto que a veces la perdemos de vista.

no deberíamos.

alex

lo que hace alex no tiene explicación, parece que por culpa de un agujero negro (o blanco quién sabe) pudiésemos sintonizar una radio de los años 50. Alex hace versiones ayudada sólo de un ukelele; Donovan, Animal Collective, Leonard Cohen, Etta James, The Shins y diamantes como 'bridges and balloons' de Joanna Newsom y 'oh mama' de nuestra admirada Alela Diane. glamour lo llaman. listen!

o fillo pausado - unidades (Producciones Atropopcéntricas)

i j p s

x t d 5

b 6 u ñ

a b

ccc

[a veces]

el oso goloso - la cabaña del oso goloso (self release)

El Oso Goloso es Apenino y Apenino es Marco y por culpa de eso precisamente, 'la cabaña del oso goloso' no traspasa todas las fronteras que debiera. estoy tan convencido de que si estas canciones las publicase Paw Tracks como parte de algún split experimental entre Animal Collective y Colleen otro gallo cantaría. ¿Robert Johnson meets Panda Bear meets Gloria Fuertes? gracias a Marco sí.

la jr - dos casas (acuarela)

"Ser dadaísta está al alcance de todos. El dadaísmo no se limita a una sola forma de arte. El dadaísta es el camarero del Bar Manhatttan que sirve el curaçao con una mano y se rasca la gonorrea con la otra. El dadaísta es el señor de la gabardina que emprende por séptima vez la vuelta al mundo. Debería ser dadaísta quién comprende, de una vez por todas, que uno tiene derecho a tener ideas sólo cuando se aplican en la vida; dadaísta es la persona totalmente activa que vive sólo de la acción, su único medio de conocimiento." - Richard Huelsenbeck

the solo joint - s/t (foxglove)

"following on the heels of the cd-r from raro & apenino comes another talented spaniard by the name of toni ruiz aka the solo joint. ruiz crafts bare-bones folk songs using an arsenal of acoustic guitar, various flutes, some meandering vocals, piano, and minimal, ramshackle percussion. these sketches are a canvas dipped in wax, where all the colors chase each other around until finally falling off the page in a glorious suicide plunge. the solo joint's songs float on a magical carpet on an express route to the third eye. viva españa." Brad Rose.

de Toni Ruíz ya hablaremos con calma, de momento, Viva!

jack rose - s/t (archive)

está claro que puede gustarte más un gladiolo, una orquídea, una magnolia, un cactus o un tojo, pero creo sinceramente que no hay nada más bonito que una rosa si ésta es de verdad (tienes que pincharte y anestesiarte con el olor, roja, amarilla o blanca da igual). y mucho me temo que en este disco jack huele, sabe, siente y respira más a rosa que nunca. ya saben aquello de los vellos y las escarpias...¿no? mmmmm, pues 'dark was the night', 'st. Louis blues' por no decir 'spirits in the house'. autentiquisisisisisimo!

some songs are better than others

01. dead sue * wooden wand and the sky high band
02. what we stole from the fire * valerie webb & paul labrecque
03. back to the monastery - grails
04. i walk alone * valerio cosi
05. bolan muppets * glissandro 70
06. floating down the mississippi * corsican paintbrush
07. take care o pilgrim! * inch-time
08. bird of cuzco * nina nastasia
09. sawdust & diamonds * joanna newsom
10. panxoliña para nuna * raro & apenino

11. dans un camion * dominique a
12. field on water * bird show
13. jitter and hit * the zoo wheel
14. spring * charalambides
15. you may be blue * vetiver
16. spike fiddle song - spires that in the sunset rise
17. winter's temper * voice of the seven woods
18. the last tree * larkin grimm
19. soundslike * shoreline
20. spiralling skeleton memorial * james blackshaw

21. crazy * gnarls barkley
22. the pirate's gospel * alela diane
23. circles * sandro perri
24. i'd like to be - faun fables
25. sahkosatula - markku peltola
26. worn * boots, c.c., snake & remus
27. hoboland * valerio cosi
28. hold on, hold on * neko case
29. lloyd, are you ready to be heartbroken? * camera obscura
30. crush in the guetto * jolie holland

31. sin city * the essex green
32. conductor 71 * fujiya & miyagi
33. centipede * contriva
34. bird in paradise * edison woods
35. blessing force * akron/family
36. technology * gareth dickson
37. zuriel * the cracow klezmer band
38. god bless the otoman empire * a hawk and a hacksaw
39. az vey dem tatn * black ox orchestar
40. blue werewolf with rainbow eyes * the golden oaks

41. sea of love * tom waits
42. following the fox * dana hilliot
43. gibraltar, my fall - flying canyon
44. heavenfallen * goldmund
45. katie cruel * bert jansch (con beth orton)
46. the swell season * glen hansard and marketa irglova
47. all of the little forest animals... * novemthree
48. kapsburger * clogs
49. little alili * auto da fe
50. heji * the hidden cameras

51. birth of the ghoul * dream/aktion unit
52. river and rapids * arborea
53. pale dog * metallic falcons (con jana hunter)
54. guilty prayers, pointless ends * david kitt
55. empty shell * cat power
56. one spring morning * akron/family
57. reforestation * svalastog
58. lightness * peter and the wolf
59. dragon fly across an ancient sky * helios
60. twin lakes * sodastream

61. crickets and sparkles * cursillistas
62. hours * eastern fox squirrels (feat. christina carter)
63. down to summer * flying canyon
64. lightning bolt of compassion * akron/family
65. making love in lhasa * valerio cosi
66. taken in * red favorite
67. dormant love * charalambides
68. bride of bad attitude * triple burner
69. leaving a mark * the singleman affair
70. firewater * alasdair roberts

71. bongo song * zongamin
72. the wood metal friction * svalastog
73. a-full clip * martin buttrich
74. headlights * triosk
75. drive by shooting * botox
76. at les * trickski
77. apt. living * excepter
78. the green blossoms * the green blossoms
79. over and over - hot chip
80. chinese translation * m. ward

81. a lean and tortured heart * paul flaherty & chris corsano
82. dim * the zoo wheel
83. kokoro * mia doi todd
84. house carpenter * faun fables
85. love will tear us apart * jose gonzalez
86. b.f.f . * circle
87. come back margaret * camera obscura
88. 1 2 1 * sol seppy
89. gone beyond * akron/family
90. apostacy * vapour theories

and you?

reediciones favoritas del 2006

1. john fahey - sea changes & coelacanths, a young person's guide to john fahey (table of the elements)

"Whether you’re young or old, this is a perfect John Fahey comp, chronicling his final, fruitful years. Playing with versatility and a fierce imagination, Fahey expanded the boundaries of the guitar, and his contribution to American music is immense. Here is his trademark American Primitive sound at its most harrowing and resolute. Featuring Skip James-influenced vignettes, deep-sea string bendings, sonic collages, oaken reverberations, and lengthy, impressionistic suites, these recordings, made between 1996 and 1998, comprise a major portion of Fahey’s canon. Undiluted, uncompromised, starkly honest, pure of vision and innovative. The 2XCD and 4XLP sets include over two hours of music, a 64-page book (CD), 12-page libretto (LP), new essays by Byron Coley, David Fricke, and David Grubbs, an interview with and original text by Fahey, plus previously unreleased photos"

dos inquietudes que son dos regalos: revisar o descubrir los discos de john fahey y aguardar impaciente el próximo tip of the tongue de volcanic tongue

2. karen dalton - in my own time (ligh in the attic)

"The late Karen Dalton has been the muse for countless folk rock geniuses, from Bob Dylan to Devendra Banhart, from Lucinda Williams to Joanna Newsom. Legendary singer Lacy J. Dalton actually adopted her hero's surname as her own when she started her career in country music. Karen Dalton had that affect on people - her timeless, aching, blues-soaked, Native American spirit inspired both Dylan & The Band's "Katie's Been Gone" (on 'The Basement Tapes') and Nick Cave's "When I First Came To Town" (from 'Henry's Dream').

Recorded over a six month period in 1970/71 at Bearsville, 'In My Own Time' was Dalton's only fully planned and realized studio album. The material was carefully selected and crafted for her by producer/musician Harvey Brooks, the Renaissance man of rock-jazz who played bass on Dylan's "Highway 61 Revisited" and Miles' "Bitches Brew". It features ten songs that reflected Dalton's incredible ability to break just about anybody's heart - from her spectral evocation of Joe Tate's "One Night of Love," to the dark tragedy of the traditional "Katie Cruel." Known as a great interpreter of choice material, Dalton could master both country and soul genres with hauntingly pining covers of George Jones' "Take Me" and Holland-Dozier-Holland's "How Sweet It Is."

si el folk tuviera otro nombre, ése sería el de Karen Dalton. grande, grande

In My Own Dream (mp3)

3. sandy bull - still valentine's day 1969 (water)

‘Still Valentine’s Day 1969’ is the highly anticipated live recording which was recorded at the same night as John Fahey’s seminal release ‘The Great Santa Barbara Oil Slick’ by influential solo guitarist Sandy Bull. Bull took elements of so many different kinds of music (Arabic, folk, jazz and Indian just for starters) and combined them to forge his characteristic style which would see him garner rabid fans with only a handful of releases. This particular recording was taken from a live show at The Matric in San Francisco and sees the musician experiment with guitar and electronics to create some of the most endearing solo guitar music you’re likely to come across. Strangely emotional and personal in the same way as Fahey’s best - this is a crucial release for fans of Takoma and of course the great Fahey himself.'

4. susan christie - paint a lady (finders keepers)

"Another killer release from the Finders Keepers camp, this was never before properly released – apparently the label thought Susan Christie was a liability, too experimental for their mainstream sensibilities, and only three privately pressed vinyls ended up leaking out into the world. One of those ended up being the ‘mother’ from which this release was procured, and listening to it today it’s easy to see why the label became so worried when they heard it. The cover has a nice quote from Stones Throw man Egon who says it sounds like a dusty old folk LP as produced by Madlib, and he’s not wrong – there’s something deep and totally smoked out about the record which sets it apart from other folk records at the time. Delving into the murky world of psychedelia we find Christie in a drugs haze on the nine-minute ‘Yesterday, Where’s my Mind?’ or lazy hotwired funk on ‘Ghost Riders of the Sky’ – it’s quite simply breathtaking the foresight of the woman as she crafted a record which seems so intrinsically connected with the sounds the hip hop/crate digging world fetishises so much now. Not only this though, but the album is frankly a darn fine listen – with enough narrative to hold your enjoyment for the entire ride. Really it shocks me that with all the current psych/folk music coming out we very rarely have anything that reaches such dizzy heights as this, we very rarely have albums that just seem to, well, get it right – here Susan Christie does exactly that, and all we have to do is lie back and take it in slowly. Beautiful!"

Ghost Riders In The Sky (mp3)

Paint a Lady (mp3)

5. emmanuelle parrenin - maison rose (lion productions)

"We begin by saying that this is an album unlike any other. A bold statement, perhaps. Yet look in the Scented Gardens of the Mind book and you will see this description: 'a revelation of a folk album, with songs of incredible beauty and innovative arrangements. It features traditional instruments you've hardly ever heard before and touches of the avant-garde. Play this album directly after that of another randomly chosen female folk album, and you will notice the difference! This is one of the best!' Parrenin had been part of a traditional 'antique folk' movement in France in the late 1960s (she was in many ways a French equivalent to Sandy Denny or Mandy Morton); indeed, she had recorded eight albums with musicians from this scene before Maison Rose -- her best, and last album, recorded in 1976 and released the following year. The record seems to alternate between a cosmic take on an ancient Breton sound, and delicate, multi-tracked ballads -- ranging from sounds that would not be out of place on an Ash Ra Tempel album to elements of traditional French folk music (including home-made instruments) that are just as exotic. Certainly, the avant-garde edge lurking beneath the simple folkiness of Maison Rose puts in mind the explorations of Brigitte Fontaine with her sometime musical voyager Areski; there are also suggestions of the pastoral aesthetic of Vashti Bunyan, as well as the multi-track sensuality of Linda Perhacs (to name two much-touted singers who seem to have a similar ability to enchant). But Parrenin has her own style, her music has its own deeply ethereal quality, and the album itself has its own magic spell to cast that renders comparison with other albums unimportant in the end. Magnificent... we say."

6. robbie basho - venus in cancer (tompkins square)

"Robbie Basho released Venus in Cancer in 1969 on the Blue Thumb label. After five albums for the Takoma label in the 60's, Basho had cemented his reputation alongside John Fahey and Leo Kottke as one of the most brilliant guitarists of his generation. His wide range of musical influences from around the globe set him apart from other blues-based players, incorporat- ing Arabic, Himalayan and Indian themes; Japanese and Chinese scales, and classical and European folk music. All are on magnificent display on this sprawling, spiritually-charged album.
Released on CD for the very first time, the album has been remastered from the original tapes. The package includes original album artwork and new appreciations from Windham Hill label founder Will Ackerman, Basho college friend and fellow Takoma recording artist Max Ochs and german guitarist Steffen Basho-Junghans"

7. william eaton - music by william eaton (em)

"Originally released in 1978, this was a private-press album from an experimental stringed instrument builder (the photos of said instruments in this booket are mindblowing). First time re-issue on CD."

8. sibylle baier - colour green (orange twin)

"Here is a beautiful fairytale. Sibylle Baier is a German singer-songwriter who just turned sixty and lives in a little town somewhere in Massachusetts. Her first record Colour Green was just released this year in February. But where the story is beautiful is that the fourteen songs included in Colour Green were recorded in Germany in the early 70’s before Sibylle moved to the States. At that time Sibylle Baier kept the tapes with her and preferred to take care of her family and her friends instead of looking for fame. Only in 2004, her son Robbie transferred those old songs in a cd that slowly arrived to a producer.Colour Green is devastatingly-beautiful folk recordings, a real gem. Sibylle Baier's soft vocals, foreboding lyrics, and cozy guitar picking create an intimate atmosphere. But, why those gorgeous songs are so dark? What happened to that young German girl? And also, why her writing is so alive 30 years later?"

colour green (mp3)

9. hush arbors - since we have fallen (harvest)

"Quite possibly one of the nicest lp packages we have seen. Definitely top 10. Hard to even know how to describe it. You sort of have to hold int and unfold it and feel the texture and the heft. Wow. Thick textured cardstock, fastened all over with black rivets, the whole thing embossed and letterpressed with black ink, abstract designs and very classy looking calligraphy, the back is die cut about half way down, so it opens like a barn door, split down the middle, held shut by black string, once opened, it reveals the 180 gram lp nestled inside as well as still more embossed design and text. So gorgeous. And the music is definitely deserving of such over the top extra attention. A reissue of a long out of print cd-r, Hush Arbors explore a dark murky side of their soul, a drifting cloudy otherworld of soft freefolk bliss, flecked with all manner of detuned guitars, warped melodies, creaking percussive clatter, shimmery effervescence, but with a definite ominous edge, a lo-fi Third eye Foundation recording for Siltbreeze maybe? But with more twang, and more shuffle, and more delicate dreaminess. So nice. An essential dreamfolk / free folk / folknoise / dronetwang artifact beautifully preserved and offered up again for a very limited time."

since we have fallen (mp3)

the mountains still remain (mp3)

10. john jacob niles - my precarious life in the public domain (rev-ola)

"The first time ever on CD for the works of this almost too-legendary American folk singer, arhcivist and writer (1892-1980) whose career began so early on that he could even have been said to have influenced Woody Guthrie!! Dark, brooding, mysterious, steeped in the folklore of his native region (the Appalachians), and hammering away on a series of homespun dulcimers and lutes, Niles first came to the attention of the public in the first of Scorsese's documentaries on Dylan back in the Seventies; this bought him a new audience that he was grateful for in the last years of his life, as everyone asked who the strange man with the disembodied otherworldly voice was. If truth be known, he was one of the true characters of American folk, and American life- he served in the US Air Force in WW1, befriened Gertrude Stein, studied music in Paris and Lyon, travelled the mountain regions of the States collecting and publishing their folksongs, some of which are included here alongside some of his own, slightly disturbing compositions. Sumptuously packaged with sleevenotes by Guardian critic David Pescheck- thisis a truly unmissable release. Jandek? Who he?"

11. ruthann friedman - constant companion (water)

"Water Records continues to display pysch-folk’s enormous influence on the modern music scene by reissuing this almost forgotten treasure from 1969. Most well know for her song “Windy,” which became a hit in 1967 when performed by The Association, Ruthann Friedman struck real gold with her single solo album “Constant Companion.” Companion veers between the gentle folk melodies and fairy tales of Vashti Bunyan and the dark ruminations of Bill Fay, creating a singular album peopled with pipers and magic men. Friedman’s songs, some written when she was very young, reflect a child’s world seen through adult eyes; its magic dampened by a slowly growing realization of time and endless change. "

12. the tree people - s/t (tiliqua)

"Tiliqua Records is psyched about being able to present a whole new audience and generation with the lysergic beauty of the Tree People's sole recorded artifact, a privately released acid folk gem out of 1979. In times when people are all getting excited about media-created scenes like “New Weird America” and “Freak Folk”, they seem to overlook the fact that such music was already being created decades ago. The Tree People is evidence of such a splash of creativity that sadly enough was doomed to disappear within the cracks of obscurity. Until now. Tiliqua was granted the opportunity to restore this gem and with the kind collaboration of Mr. Cohen of the Tree People, who provided me with the master tapes and a seemingly unlimited support, Tiliqua was able to prepare this reissue. To me, this album is one of the singular most beautiful gems to have crossed my path and words always fall short in an attempt to describe the aural sensation it unleashes..."

discos favoritos del 2006

1. valerie webb & paul labrecque "trees, chants and hollers" (eclipse)...mi número uno indiscutible, una reedición en realidad. Valerie y Paul navegan río arriba, río abajo, escuchando fantasmas del pasado, y en 'what we stole from the fire' alcanzan tanta belleza que surge la duda: ¿"Trees, chants and hollers" es sueño o realidad? un disco que no se podría describir jamás

2. wooden wand & the sky high band - second attention (kill rock stars)...podrían estar los primeros, los segundos, da igual. con the sky high band se reducen las estructuras a lo más esencial, ¿country folk?. también da igual. las aristas se han pulido pero crujen más que nunca. y el olfato melódico de james toth va directo a la esencia sin importarle abandonar el camino hasta ahora recorrido con the vanishing voice. cocoliso no deja de tararear Dead Sue y eso para mí siempre es una muy buena señal

3. valerio cosi - immortal attitudes (foxglove)...actitudes inmortales surgidas de lo más profundo del free jazz. 'i walk alone', 'insterstellar trane' y 'making love in lhasa' como platos fuertes. aunque para fuerte, el apabullante dominio de valerio con el saxo, su infinita creatividad a la altura, por qué no, de su admirado Albert Ayler... y sus tiernos 22 años. me encantan las instantáneas de Ben-Cho-Shey, Jazzsmoke, Toni de The Solo Joint, LuismO y Rafa: "este negro teñido de italiano bebe del mismo maniantal que Hi Fly". "El saxo de este tío suena etéreo y feroz a la vez". "lo de valerio creo que es un hito en la historia. más allá del guiness". "Valerio Cosi es en realidad Jamie Madox, el increible hombre múltible. Bueno, no sé si es múltiple... o si es un hombre. Lo que sí sé es que es increible." "el bueno de valerio es un crack de la pé a la pá". ¿estamos en definitiva ante un genio?

4. boots, c.c., snake & remus (hp cycle) todavía no sé qué es esta cajita ¿quiénes son? ¿cómo, cuándo y porqué?. un disco misterioso, sin edad, sin fisonomías, sin luz diurna. sin aliento. muchos minutos de fe ciega, unos aplausos aislados en un concierto de snake & remus y la sensación privada de encontrarme ante una impensable y clandestina obra de culto. en su interior, una información crucial: it's just a box, man.

5. the zoo wheel - first born grand days (lucky kitchen) The Zoo Wheel es el otro grupo de Liz Payne (Town & Country), pero no se trata de una versión a pequeña escala. todo lo contrario. 'Dim' y la antes conocida como 'Isa's Ball', 'Jitter and Hit' son demasiado espectaculares. directas al grano, a la intensidad, a la raíz de las mejores canciones de Bird Show y Town & Country.

6. flying canyon - s/t (soft abuse) sigo enamorada platónicamente de este disco, un collage de amor, verano y desierto de la mano de cuatro hombretones barbudos. Cayce Lindner, Shayde Sartin, Glenn Donaldson y Donovan Quinn. ni más ni menos.

7. joanna newsom - ys (drag city) crecer en Nevada es lo que tiene. inviernos muy largos y fríos pero una infancia de cosas bonitas. cinco delicatessen para paladear con los cinco sentidos. cada canción, con sus arreglos, sus cambios, sus historias, son un mito en sí mismas, pero cuando Joanna dice 'and the moment I slept I was swept up in a terrible tremor. though no longer beref, how I shook! and I couldn't remember..' me entran ganas de gritar, de llorar, de reir, de saltar, de darle las gracias.

8. sala-arhimo - s/t (last visible dog)...inclasificable, memorable desde que empieza hasta que acaba. Jukka Raisanen, alma de Sala-Arhimo, suele acompañar a Islaja en sus conciertos (en Vigo lo vimos con nuestros propios ojos) y sin previo aviso entrega dos de los discos más hermosos del 2006. pero hermosos de verdad. es casi imposible meter una sola canción de Sala-Arhimo en un recopilatorio sin que desentone. viven en su mundo, se mueven a su propio ritmo. canciones como'Turilas Ruusussa' hacen que te preguntes en qué escuela de Finlandia enseñan a acercarse tanto a la emoción sin perder la frialdad. transportada a sus bosques y a sus lagos, sonrío, sonrío y sonrío

9. charalambides - a vintage burden (kranky)...love is the air, let it shine. pufff...christina carter que estás en los cielos. 'inquietantes y etéreos, dicen que Charalambides es 'Repulsión' de Roman Polanski devuelta a la vida'. algo así. que sigan haciendo hasta que yo lo vea canciones tan hermosas como 'Dormant Love' y 'Spring'. no pido más

10. six organs of admittance - the sun awakens. (drag city) dogma de fe: es complicado, casi imposible, que Ben Chasny haga un mal disco. los cantos de River of Transfiguration me ponen los pelos de punta, pero sólo las palabras de Rafa podrían hacer justicia al rey sol.

11. chris corsano & ben chasny/paul metzger - split (roaratorio)... como decía, es casi imposible que Ben Chasny entregue un mal disco. y si le acompaña Chris Corsano, y en la cara b suenan las cuerdas tensísimas de Paul Metzger, y la presentación es tan bonita como parece que es...entonces hablamos de otra pequeña obra maestra.

12. zukanican - horse republic. (pickled egg) Can, Coltrane, Sun Ra, the Soft Machine, Rauhan Orkesteri, ...Zukanican resucitan el kraut y el jazz a lo grande y lo mezclan con No Neck Blues Band y Davenport. como si nada. ahí están Ringa Ronga (una de esas líneas de bajo aparentemente simples que no deberían acabar nunca), Where are the casualties? o Trawling for Horses para poner el corazón a mil, para que cierres los ojos y muevas la cabeza, los pies, lo que sea!. acelerados, mántricos, profundos, universales. el frenesí rítmico Zukanican

13. larkin grimm - the last tree. (secret eye) una gran dama del folk pidiéndonos que cerremos los ojos y que la sigamos hacia el oscuro y atractivo mar, que aunque las olas nos cubran, con ella estaremos a salvo. entre los bosques, bajo los árboles, las penas vienen y van. un dos tres..y ahí estamos, abrazados a ella, presos de una bruma densa que sólo se despeja con su gemido y ese silbido plácido que aún estremece más que todos los instrumentos y sonidos de 'Into the Grey Forest, breathing Love'. Josephine Foster en el corazón, fruta extraña en la memoria. en su bosque gris todos respiramos amor.

14. silvester anfang - satanische vrede. (k-raa-k) siguiendo la línea y la estética del monumental Free Country de Davenport, Satanische Vrede de los pirados de las capuchas es otro diamante en bruto del psych folk. tan buenos que hasta se merecen este comentario de Valerio Cosi: "silvester anfang is probably the finest flemish act i've heard in these late years! and satanische vrede proves it". yo me rindo ante las campanillas, la flauta, las percusiones aplastantes y el sobrecogedor graznido de los cuervos de la canción que abre 'tamaña barbaridad'. me gustaría decir que no mola, pero estaría mintiendo. buen feng shui;-)

15. mv & ee with the bummer road - mother of thousands (time-lag) contén el aliento y escóndete detrás de un árbol, flota, déjate llevar por el sonido de la tambura, piérdete en las montañas de Vermont, donde la noche dura lo que una vida y sólo a las doce en punto podrás verles la cara a los hombres-seta. sunshine girl, estamos flotando en el espacio rural...para lo que suelen ser, estamos ante su disco más terrenal, un paso por delante del sorprendente Green Blues y al mismo nivel que Rural Dimensions.

16. corsican paintbrush - diamonds (rural faune) Brad Rose y su mujer Eden Hemming Rose, la intimidad...de cuando hay cosas que sólo se hacen a solas en la habitación. pero un día sucede el milagro y salen a la luz secretos como éste. seis millones de tiburones y una de las canciones más bonitas del mundo: Floating down to Mississippi.

17. the golden oaks - paradise (barl fire) Brad Rose y Keith Wood de Hush Arbors, un bosque de robles dorados...de cuando la química alcanza una belleza indescriptible, la melodía acompaña y salen a la luz canciones tan bonitas como 'blue werewolf with rainbow eyes'.

18. the north sea - summer decays through autumn's alchemy (foxglove) brad rose siente la necesidad de editar su música en su propio sello, Foxglove. hablaba del sonido de un amanecer bengalí, con sus rituales tribales y sus espíritus de sabios antiguos. también decía que ya no quedaba más que conjurar...pero escuchando su siguiente disco, Baby Blue Bones, tengo la sensación de que con él nunca está todo dicho. 'awesome Brad, your best disk', que diría davide.

19. james blackshaw - o true believers (important) el alumno más aventajado, y más joven, de John Fahey habla de intervenciones divinas y suena como si lo dijera en serio. cada vez que aparece su guitarra cristalina y envolvente, se multiplican las sensaciones, me acuerdo de Voice of the Seven Woods, pienso en cascadas de agua, en un césped mullido como el de la portada y, claro, en aquel día soleado bajando del monte de San Miguel de Oia.

20. raro & apenino - s/t (foxglove) con la elegancia y buen hacer propios del sello, foxglove edita un cuento de navidad con sabor a mar, a tierra, a rosca Copena, a cafés en la Plaza de Compostela...un disco entrañable, fácil de escuchar, que te obliga a implicarte. si entras en la página de Foxglove puedes leer: 'raro y apenino encuentran la forma de cantar nanas sin necesidad de abrir la boca. la verdadera magia española'. ainhoa decía que éstas eran el tipo de cosas que te hacían sentir bien de espíritu. como cuando los sueños se hacen realidad.

21. alasdair roberts - the amber gatherers (drag city) curioso, pero últimamente han sido varias las veces que he tenido que responder a la pregunta de rafa de con quién me quedo, sin con Alasdair Roberts o Bill Callahan (aunque no se pueden comparar:)). siempre acabo respondiendo que Bill, pero reconozco que sí, que efectivamente Ali se acerca más, pero por muy poquito, a lo que escuchamos ahora. si su anterior disco (a redescubrir) lo convertía en clásico (si es que no lo era ya), the amber gatherers va más allá y lo convierte definitivamente en inmortal.

22. svalastog - woodwork (runne grammofon) “I found an old Norwegian zither laying around my grandfather´s barn in the mountains. It appeared that he had been a fiddler before he lost all his fingers at the sawmill and convertet to become a hardcore pietist setting down a prohibition against music, dancing, card-playing and television. That made me want to convert as well, from digital medias to real playing. From electronica to folk music. Back to the sources. Heritage and environment.”-Per Henrik Svalastog. maravilloso

23. grails - black tar prophecies vol's 1,2, & 3 (important)

24. ov - the moon is down (jewelled antler)

25. spires that in the sunset rise - this is fire (secret eye)

26. scatter - the mountain announces (blank tapes)

27. nalle - by chance upon waking (pickled egg)

28. faun fables - the transit rider (drag city)

29. cursillistas - thrush chimes in the field haunt (time-lag)

30. auto da fe - the spectre (secret eye)

31. kathleen baird - lullaby for strangers (secret eye)

32. black forest/black sea - s/t (music fellowship)

33. steven r. smith - the anchorite (important)

34. wooden wand & the vanishing voice - gipsy freedom (5 rue christine)

35. ornette coleman - sound grammar (sound grammar)

36. red favorite - s/t (spirit of orr)

37. akron family - meek warrior (young god)

38. circle - miljard (ektro)

39. daniel higgs - ancestral songs (holy mountain)

40. keenan lawler - music for the bluegrass states (xeric)

41. valerio cosi + enzo franchini - conference of the aquarians (palustre)

42. neko case - the fox confessors brings the flood (anti)

43. camera obscura - let's get out of this country (merge)

44. donna parker - debutante (twisted village)

45. shoreline - from eden, home and in between (yesternow)

46. sandro perri - plays polmo polmo (constellation)

47. a hawk and a hacksaw - the way the wind blows (leaf)

48. ray off - ghost wolf of thunder mountain (united fairy moons)

49. zelienople - stone academy (digitalis)

50. the juniper meadows - jacaranda twilight (deserted village)

51. donald mcpherson & tetuzi akiyama - vinegar & ram (Bo’ Weavil)

52. eastern fox squirrels - s/t (last visible dog)

53. the reggaee - Your Huddled Masses Yearning to Breathe Free (rural faune)

54. bonnie prince billy - the letting go (drag city)

55. lauhkeat lampaat - the most pollò (qbico)

56. andrew douglas rothbard - abandoned meander (smooch)

57. alela diane - the pirate's gospel (holocene)

58. town & country - up above (thrill jockey)

59. bird show - lightning ghost (kranky)

60. hush arbors - landscape of bone (three lobed)

61. keiji haino + sitaar tah! - animamima (archive/important)

62. hala strana - white sleep (soft abuse)

63. nick castro & the young elders - come into our house (strange attractors)

64. markku peltola - buster keatonin ratsutilalla (ektro)

65. glissandro 70 - s/t (constellation)

66. espers - espers II (drag city)

67. black ox orkestar - nisht azoy (constellation)

68. triple burner - s/t (madrona)

69. the plants - the mind is a bird in the hand (audio dregs)

70. metallic falcons - desert doughnuts (voodoo-eros)

71. peter wright - pariahs sing om (last visible dog)

72. sir richard bishop - fingering the devil (southern)

73. avarus - vesikansi (secret eye)

74. roscoe mitchell trio - no side effects (rogueart)

75. 1 speed fukin' bike - a swimmer in the ocean (bully)

76. bert jansch - the black swan (sanctuary)

77. dream/aktion unit - blood shadow rampage (volcanic tongue)

...y nina nastasia - on leaving. como los regalos, los regresos se disfrutan más cuando son inesperados. Nina….nina es un sueño de mujer, con mayúsculas, la mujer más sexy sobre un escenario sin necesidad de levantarse de la silla. la mujer de negro que habla de ideas más que de sentimientos, suave, inocente, segura, socarrona.. oh bird resume lo que ha sido para mí el 2006.

fin! (de momento) todavía faltan las reediciones, las canciones, los cómics, las pelis...y las listas de ainhóula y rafa