Folk & Traditional / All styles

2024 small repress! Recorded in 1995 and 1996, mostly in John Fahey's room at a Salem, Oregon boardinghouse, the performances on Proofs and Refutations prefigure the ornery turn of the page that marked Fahey's final years, drawing another enigmatic rabbit from his seemingly bottomless musical hat. Cloaked in the language of dogma, this is Fahey dancing a jig in the Duchampian gap, jester cap bells a-jingling. Right out of the gate, Fahey re-materializes before us, somewhere between Oracle of Del…

Since 2005, Mariska Baars aka soccer Committee, has quietly carved out a singular space where folk, ambient and experimental music dissolve into one another. Working with little more than her voice, an acoustic guitar and delicate loops, Baars creates songs of a remarkable intimacy. There's nowhere to hide in these arrangements, and that's precisely where their magic lies. For Accidental Meetings, Baars revisits a selection of songs from across her catalogue, gently reshaping and reimagining som…

May this raw and vivid poem by ‘Manfred Tragil’ sketch the absurd picture of our European tour with Liam Grant. As Liam went further down the road, we were invited for a two-day residency with Tashi Dorji at ‘Dropa House’ - the new project of Koen Vandenhoudt & Christel Kumpen. This record contains our opening duo-set for the first night of that residency and was recorded live by Koen Vandenhoudt & Yves Demey. All the sounds contained in this record are 100% improvised - with a little help from …

180g black vinyl with poly-lined black paper sleeve and double-sided insert. There's a lineage of American fingerstyle guitar that runs from the Piedmont porches of Elizabeth Cotten through Robbie Basho's visionary expansions into spiritual territory - and then, somehow, into the waters. With his second full-length album, Brooklyn-based guitarist Ben Van Bonn acknowledges these predecessors while floating wordlessly into terrain they never mapped. Further Than Thought is aquatic music in the tru…

The LP contains studio recordings of the legendary psych-folk band, most of which were previously unreleased on vinyl. The eight-page LP-sized insert contains a long band history in German and English, a detailed discography with all cover and label reproductions as well as many photographs. Langsyne from Barmen (Bergisches Land region) played a subtle kind of psych-folk with a wide range of partly unusual, ex…

Langsyne from Barmen (Bergisches Land region) played a subtle kind of psych-folk with a wide range of partly unusual, exotic and medieval instruments: sitar, psaltery, koto, glockenspiel, flute, etc. Especially remarkable is the instinctive assurance with which the three musicians, who understood each other without words, played their music together. Their only LP was released as a very sm…

With a mix of modern and traditional instruments these fourteen songs go through the progression of an Ethiopian Amhara wedding sung in Amharic. With the trio of singers, Lemma G. Hiwot, Zenebech Tesfaye, and Selamawit G. Selassie, alternating turns at the microphone, and sharing call and response duties, a relentless frenzy of hand clapping incites dancing and smiles. The consumption of tedj (honeywine) and the swirling love of a wedding was captured in the studio with euphoric energy to take a…

Gary Sullivan's Bodega Pop project returns to Dinte with a cassette-only collection of traditional sounds plucked from CDRs found in the night-markets of Savannakhet, Vientiane, and Luang Prabang.

"The Wiregrass Singers' Dewey Williams began learning the shape-note tradition in his childhood. He studied under Judge Jackson, who authored the landmark 1934 hymnbook The Colored Sacred Harp. In 1971, Williams formally organized The Wiregrass Sacred Harp Singers to preserve the music full-time. This unified troupe began touring nationally and leading workshops, which ultimately launched them onto stages at the Smithsonian and Newport folk festivals up until Williams' passing in 1995 when the g…

Death Is Not The End issue 15 heartbreaking archival fado recordings from Ercilia Costa - made in Madrid in 1930, accompanied by seminal guitarist Armandinho. One of the early stars of fado, Ercilia Costa was the first to take the music overseas to emigrant Portgugese communities.

*2026 stock* Khavn and the Kontra Kino Orchestra’s Ang Babaeng Nauulol is one of those albums that totally slips under the radar and delivers a beautiful listen. For fans of Filipino music, this should be a welcome addition in their record collection. When it comes to Khavn dela Cruz, I have learned to expect the unexpected. And that I have to go into every exhibit, every show, and every album with an open mind. Even a ruined heart if I may crib one of his poems and songs. As Khavn is wont to sa…

Most of us can agree that music is not a competition. However, the National Championship for Norwegian Folk Music and Dance (Landskappleiken) has been an important annual event since it´s inception in 1896. In 2025, the jury deemed Helga Myhr to be Norway’s finest Hardanger fiddle player, after performing tunes from her native valley Hallingdal. Since she released her solo debut “Natten veller seg ut” in 2019, Myhr has established herself as a flexible musician; at home in contemporary and impro…

In recent years, many have become aware of the Egyptian oud player and composer Aly Eissa. He has long been a central part of the richly creative music scene in Cairo, but in recent years has really made his mark touring the world, both as a solo artist and with the trio The Handover. Eissa was mentored in formative years by two legendary figures in Egyptian music; composer and multi-instrumentalist Abdo Dagher, and oud master Hazem Shahin. The music we are presented with on “Eggshells” is heavi…

*2026 stock* This new collection of tunes represents the next step in the direction paved out on their first album. With more severe singular tonalities mined from the archives the duo have been looking further into the nuances and details, exposing tissue samples of the modes, forms and progressions of Norwegian folk music, and thus gaining greater control over the format. Naaljos Ljom 2 opens with a statement from Norwegian composer and music-theorist Eivind Groven, taken from a radio program …

Some recordings can foreshadow the future in ways that are hard to grasp in the moment, and Teodros Makonnen With His Organ (Teodros Makonnen ከኦርጋኑ ጋር) is one of them. Known as Teddy Mak, Teodros Makonnen helped define the digital sound of Ethiopian music that emerged from the 1980s onward, not only as a keyboard player but also as a producer, songwriter, performer, and sound designer. Although electronic instruments and digital production are now taken for granted in Ethiopian music, the early …

Magic Tuber Stringband probes the undercurrents of the landscapes around them. Highly skilled players and writers, the trio are leaders within the burgeoning avant composition world utilizing folk instrumentation. Their music appears to weave in and out of the fabric of their surroundings, reflecting their time spent living across the Southeast and studying its regional folk traditions and natural histories. The ensemble continues to stretch the parameters of acoustic instrumental expression wit…

Studio album from Bamako-based Tuareg band Amanar de Kidal. "Kel Tamasheq” is years in the making, a self produced DIY album, recorded in the small studios of the Malian capital over the past few years. Carrying on in the tradition of assouf, the Northern Malian style of Tuareg guitar popularized by artists like Tinariwen, Amanar pushes the sound forward into tight upbeat groove and kinetic rhythms, reflecting the rich diversity of Mali and the energy of the capital. The band takes its name from…

Will DeLee got started with fingerpicking guitar almost a decade ago, following the usual path of Fahey, Basho, etc. before veering off hard in his own unique directions on both the 6- and 12-string guitar as well as the ronroco and charango, the latter a South American stringed instrument originally made from armadillo shells. Similar to Eric Arn and other folks in the guitar realm, William DeLee leans at times to the more neo-classical and cleaner side of acoustic guitar playing. But like Arn,…

“Stone Angel” is the self-titled album by the English folk group Stone Angel, released in 1971 on Seashell record. The group hailed from the rural counties of Suffolk and Norfolk, and the album deeply reflects that setting: deeply rooted traditional English folk, but with a psychedelic touch typical of the era. Simple acoustic arrangements (guitar, dulcimer, female vocals),intimate and pastoral atmospheres, featuring ballads and ancient melodies, a slight ‘acid folk’ vein, similar to bands such …

Lucas Gunn is a Portland Oregon based guitarist, previously playing in bands Rock ‘n’ Roll Soldiers, The Blimp from Eugene, OR and the Lavender Flu with his brother Chris Gunn. You Should’nt try to barrow other People’s skin. [sic] was recorded professionally with quality vintage microphones, while a few tracks were self-recorded. Each song was recorded live in the studio - no overdubs, no edits - giving the album a raw, authentic edge.  All songs were recorded analog to 2-Track tape or 4-Track …

Copenhagen-based multi-instrumentalists Jason Dungan and Johan Carøe didn’t set out to make an album. Instead, as the title ‘Routine’ suggests, they found their way there through a process of habitual making and listening, developing an intuitive musical language to reflect the dreamlike meanderings and creative play of life's quiet moments. ‘Routine’ blends pop orientated sounds, Avant-garde minimalism, folk and new age with the emotive depth of film-score. Their meeting was not entirely coinci…

Tip! *In process of stocking* Less than a hundred miles inland from the capital city of Lima lies the great Peruvian jungle, an untamed land of impenetrable forests and endless winding rivers. In its isolated cities, cut off from the fashions of the capital, a unique style of music began to develop, inspired equally by the sounds of the surrounding forests, the roll of the mighty Amazon and Ucayali Rivers, and the rhythms of cumbia picked up from distant stations on transistor radios. With the a…

“If stained glass windows could sing they would sound like Josephine Foster, and her interpretations of the songs of Víctor Herrero are as artful and finely detailed as motes of dust falling through shafts of light in the libraries of your childhood, engrossing in their restraint. Josephine's naked voice an echoing truth in repose against the existential question mark of Víctor’s guitar. In a world that can feel bewildering and relentless, this music is shelter. Adormidera is the sound of a hypn…

Rare field recordings by Laurent Jeanneau among minority communities in southern China: mouth organs of every size, the Gelao gupiaoqin and elders' canon singing. Recorded with honesty about ethnic tourism, seeking music that is lived rather than staged. A precious snapshot of traditions under pressure

Makoto Moroi (1930-2013), his name is well-known early electronic works at NHK electronic music studio, composed numerous works for Japanese traditional instruments during the 1960s and 1970s. His most notable works include "Chikurai Gosho" (1964) and "Uitenpen" (1973), with "Symphonia for S.M. ― Shin" (1972) considered his crowning achievement. On the other hand, this piece, "Kaikou,” had not been revisited since it was broadcast on NHK FM's "Contemporary Music" program on November 2, 1975. As …

On Ethio Rock'n'Roll, DJ Mitmitta stitches together police and army bands, street‑level orchestras and fuzz‑drenched combos from 70s and 80s Ethiopia and Eritrea, tracing a raw, ecstatic lineage where brass, krar and wah‑wah guitar collide.

An unceremonious release of some old songs strewn across the past few years, played and recorded into a lounge room in Annandale, Gadigal land. Marking a time of playing around lots with jasper (when time was easier to wrangle) and hopefully making room for new songs to come visit! we are singing forever. Sounds from budapest train, typewriter, guitars, an old fan favourite, kata, jasper, laughter.

Tip! First reissue of these cult 1974 recordings of a Mayan brass band playing funeral dirges and popular songs in its distinctive extended harmonic and rhythmic style. The members of the San Lucas Band lived in the mountain village of San Lucas Tolimán, Guatemala, playing local events of both religious and social nature. The pride of their town since 1922, the band represented a fast disappearing musical tradition when these recordings were originally released in 1975. Their unique sound deriv…

Shrouded in mystery just like their magical compositions Torino’s collective Heart Of Snake are joined by Mira for their first release in six years, the enchanted ragged vibration of ‘Chamareops’, a 40 minute opus that just like the cold-hardy palm that lends its name to the album, blends classical guitar, desert folk, meditative exotica and distant island lullabies that withstand the test of time.  Originally led by Vincenzo Marando (Movie Star Junkies, Krano, Similou), Alberto Danzi (I Residen…

Originally released in 1973, Fuente y Caudal is widely regarded as one of the most important recordings in the history of flamenco guitar. The album captures Paco de Lucía at the height of his early creative period, combining traditional flamenco forms with his own modern harmonic ideas and dazzling virtuosity. The album includes the legendary rumba “Entre Dos Aguas,” a groundbreaking instrumental that became Paco de Lucía’s signature piece and helped introduce flamenco guitar to a global audien…

Images of Life is the career-spanning, 3xLP retrospective boxset illuminating the staggering breadth and depth of Detroit's unheralded songwriting genius, Ted Lucas. Disc one "Strange Mysterious Sounds (1965-1970)" highlights Ted's flirtation with psychedelic major label clout via his bands the Spike Drivers, the Misty Wizards and the Horny Toads. "Rainy Days (1970-1974)" will be the solo acoustic warmth and charm most familiar to folks already aware of Ted's self- titled "OM" album from 1975. "…

Death Is Not The End present a further volume of Arja Kastinen's eerie amalgamations of 110 year old wax cylinders with her own meticulously transcribed takes, this time focussing in on Armas Otto Väisänen's field recordings of kantele player Iivana Mišukka (b. 1861 d.1919).

The begena is a ten-stringed lyre central to Ethiopia’s Amharic heritage and Orthodox Tewahido Church. Reserved for spiritual music, it is revered for its mythical origins and unique buzzing sound. Symbolically crafted, the begena is believed to ward off evil and connect players to the divine.

Kit darlings Love Is Yes (Dax Niesten and Sander van der Toorn) return with a particle scattering follow-up to their celebrated, self-titled debut. While the Dutch duo's serenely motorik guitar, levitational synths and airy vocals are still present, 'Ghost and More Ghosts' sees the pair take a sideways step into the nether realm - tugging gamelan metallophones, organs and vocoders with them through the fermented portal as they disintegrate completely. A melancholy magic trick occurs when these a…

A collection of spellbinding, melismatic vocal improvisations taken from 78s cut between the mid 1920s to mid '30s - a period defined by the aftermath of the Ottoman Empire’s partition, the Greco-Turkish War and the compulsory population exchange that followed. This same period also represented a time of intense efforts, following the establishment of the Republic, to westernise the new nation's music - coupled with a ban on traditional music education in schools, and later a complete ban on bro…

On Minimalistic ethio 80’s and 90’s from audiotapes የሐር ሽረሪት, DJ Mitmitta threads together lo‑fi synth jams and cassette‑era instrumentals from unsung Ethiopian bands, where battered Casios and drum machines sketch hypnotic, pastel‑toned echoes of wedding halls and roadside bars.

"Blood Blood Song continues East of the Valley Blues’ streak of sublime, future-forward acoustic fantasias. For years, the Toronto-based duo, comprised of brothers Kevin and Patrick Cahill, has excelled at an earthy and pensive brand of instrumental music inspired by notions of folk music as a global, rather than regional, idiom.While the duo’s elegant and unassuming virtuosity easily distinguishes East of the Valley Blues from its contemporaries of would-be Bashos and fledgling Faheys, it is th…

Death Is Not The End issue a 14-track tape of vintage and archival Cajun ft. tracks from Segura Brothers, Amede Ardoin, Blind Uncle Gaspard, Sydney Landry & more.

A 14-track tape pulling together rural Greek demotika recordings from the late 1930s to the mid-1950s. Soaring pentatonic improvisations, odd-metered rhythms, and vocal performances oscillate between heartbreaking laments and ecstatic celebrations.

Folk songs from Ukraine's Mykolaiv region, collected over the last decade by a young ethnographer: women's polyphonic songs of winter, weddings, war and work, passed between villages on cassette and never further.