Folk /
Laylat Hob
The rich and lengthy instrumental intro is just a precursor of the emotion present in this song. The talent of the composer is underlined by how he utilises the traditional style of singing poetry in a more open and creative way. Abdel Wahab’s infusing of long and groovy interludes with varied tonality, rhythmical patterns and an overall unique approach, carries Om Kalsoum’s powerful voice and brings the song to an incredible climax. In this way, he gives more colour and depth to the music and t…
Enta Omri
“Enta Omri” is Om Kalsoum’s most famous song, composed by Mohamed Abdel Wahab, who is still rightly regarded as a prominent musician and composer in Egypt. The creation of this song was the first long expected collaboration of two musical giants, which came at the repeated urging of Egyptian President Gamal Abdul Nasser. There was talk in Egypt on the streets and in the media about what was believed to be a cold relationship between the two legends. Finally, after years of estrangement, Mohamed …
El Hob Kollo
Om Kalsoum! They call her ’The Rose of the Nile’, ‘The Queen of the Nile’, ‘The Daughter of the Nile’ or even ‘The 4th Pyramid of Egypt’ since she’s known as the greatest Egyptian singer of all times. Om Kalsoum’s mythical life story of a poor peasant girl who grew up to become the face of Egypt is a 20th-century fairytale. Almost half a decade after her death the power of her music and singing is still moving the hearts of millions of people worldwide.
At the end of her overwhelming career she …
Alf Leila Wa Leila
Om Kalsoum! They call her ’The Rose of the Nile’, ‘The Queen of the Nile’, ‘The Daughter of the Nile’ or even ‘The 4th Pyramid of Egypt’ since she’s known as the greatest Egyptian singer of all times. Om Kalsoum’s mythical life story of a poor peasant girl who grew up to become the face of Egypt is a 20th-century fairytale. Almost half a decade after her death the power of her music and singing is still moving the hearts of millions of people worldwide.
At the end of her overwhelming career sh…
Istikhbars and Improvisations
On Istikhbars And Improvisations, Mustapha Skandrani turns solo piano into a bridge across the Mediterranean, translating Arabo‑Andalusian vocal modes into crystalline keyboard meditations that move like a modal Goldberg from Algiers to Paris and back.
Music For A Revolution Vol. 2 - Guinea's Syliphone Recording Label (1968-1980)
On October 2 1958, after over 60 years of colonial rule, Guineans voted overwhelmingly for their independence, and Guinea was declared a Republic with Sékou Touré as President. Guinea was the first of West Africa’s Francophone colonies to gain independence. To free Guinea from its colonial legacy, president Touré sought to restore dignity to his nation and give cause for Guineans to take pride in their culture, history and newfound freedom. To achieve this, he instructed his government to implem…
The Blues of the Indian Ocean
The islands of the Indian Ocean witnessed a rapid and chaotic mixing of cultures: Africans kidnapped from different regions of the continent, the indentured labourers from Africa and India and settlers from the Middle East and China. The infinite creativity of humans confronted with the hardship of colonial capitalist reality gave rise to a new form of music that – just like creole language – had not existed before. New instruments were created: the ravann – a form of frame drum, and the maravan…
Rwanda Sings With Strings
The celebrated Rwandan folk duo returns with a resonant fifth album, Rwanda Sings with Strings. The record combines their signature earthy vocals and acoustic instrumentation (guitar and hand percussion) with atmospheric cello and violin arrangements, creating a soundscape that vividly brings to life their powerful stories of resilience, memory, and longing.
Recorded 100% live without overdubs in a hotel room by Grammy-winning producer Ian Brennan (Tinariwen, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Parchman Pris…
Rai Sidi Bel Abbes - Volume 2
A captivating compilation of eight tracks by Drissi El-Abbassi, Rai Sidi Bel Abbes – Volume 2 explores the fusion of traditional Raï music with modern electronic elements, highlighting El-Abbassi's soft vocal style and innovative approach to the genre's evolution
Music For a Revolution Vol 1
On October 2 1958, after over 60 years of colonial rule, Guineans voted overwhelmingly for their independence, and Guinea was declared a Republic with Sékou Touré as President. Guinea was the first of West Africa’s Francophone colonies to gain independence. To free Guinea from its colonial legacy, president Touré sought to restore dignity to his nation and give cause for Guineans to take pride in their culture, history and newfound freedom. To achieve this, he instructed his government to implem…
Remembered in Exile: Songs and Ballads from Nova Scotia
Màiri Morrison and Alasdair Roberts collaborate with Canadian bassist/musical arranger Pete Johnston on a set of traditional songs with Scottish roots collected in Maritime Canada by folklorist Helen Creighton (1899-1989). Recording in Nova Scotia with Pete and a group of Canadian players, Màiri and Alasdair sing these far-travelled Scots ballads and Gaelic lyrical songs with poignancy yet playfulness, the gravity of exile ever alive in their hearts.
Wounds Of Love: Khmer Oldies, Vol. 2
2025 stock A second volume of late 50s and early 60s Cambodian slow rock, pop and R&B tracks - following the first volume's featuring as compilation of the week on Lauren Laverne's BBC 6Music show. From the late 1950s onwards a music scene developed around Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh, inspired by the prevalence of imported rock & pop records arriving in the country from US & UK and also chanson and bolero records from France & Latin America. This collection documents some of these early home-g…
Wounds Of Love: Khmer Oldies, Vol. 1
2025 stock From the late 1950s onwards a music scene developed around Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh, inspired by the prevalence of imported early rock & pop records arriving in the country from US & UK and also chanson and bolero records from France & Latin America. This collection documents some of these early home-grown slow rock, pop & rnb 45 recordings from the early 60s, prior to the further embrace of US psych & garage rock-orientated sounds in the mid 60s and into the Vietnam war era.
The Middle East
*2025 repress* The second and last chapter of Dr Miller's journey between cultures and its uses, which began with "The Far East", dissected and looked into the root of the sound of distant Asia, continues with this new chapter dedicated instead to the countries bathed by the Mediterranean and contiguous to Central European history. From Spain to Arabic sounds, a new compendium that takes us back to other places and times, Dr Miller is once again able to dissect andencapsulate sounds and spices f…
Urstan
Gaelic and Scottish tales told once upon a time and told today as well, but not just bards and storytellers, but by people - Gaelic-speaking citizens of the world in general and Scotland specifically. Speaking and singing for them here are Isle of Lewis native Mairi Morrison and lowland favorite Alasdair Roberts, aided by a slew of Glasgow luminaries, two original tunes from Roberts and Morrison, and the devotion of Ceol's Craic. Understand? Urstan!
Zayna Jumma
Group Doueh's latest record is here and the plot continues to thicken! From the gorgeously cracked yet all-embracing opening drum roll of Zayna Jumma (the title track), it's evident this band is hell bent on redefining the sound of its influences and in turn, shape the future sound of its surroundings. It's musical alchemy in its purest, most remarkable form, pushing at the boundaries of geographical divergence while simultaneously speaking to the shared resonances between Western rock rhythms a…
Thunder
Stephan Micus is a unique musician and composer. He collects and studies instruments from all around the world and creates his own musical journeys with them. This is his 25th solo album for ECM and its sound is dominated by the four-metre long Tibetan dung chen trumpet, an instrument he has recently learned and is using for the first time. It was the thunderous sound of this instrument that led to the album’s name and its nine tracks celebrating deities around the world. “I dedicate this music …
Agua Larga: Traditional & Imaginary Cimarron Music
Agua Larga offers an immersion into the Afro-Ecuadorian culture of the province of Esmeraldas. The authors have captured how music is part of the daily life of the inhabitants, and how it interacts with the other sound elements that surround it. The musical material is thus accompanied by stories, poems and scenes of everyday life captured on the spot, far from aseptic studios, in public spaces, on river banks or by the sea. The guiding theme is water ("agua" in Spanish), in all its forms. It wa…
Kafilah Nights: Malay-Arabic Variations From 1960s Indonesia
In the early 1960s, two of the best talents in the Indonesian music scene, songwriter and band leader Adi Karso, known for his hits "Papaya Cha-Cha-Cha" and "Balonku" and Gambus musician Munif Bahasuan teamed up to form Orkes Melayu (Malay Orchestra) Kelana Ria. Between 1961 and 1964, Kelana Ria recorded 48 songs that were spread over four records, Kafilah, Yam El Shamah, Ya Mahmud, and Ya Hamidah, which become the primary sources for this compilation. These four albums changed the trajectory of…
Playing Guitar - The Easy Way
*Limited edition of 500 copies.* Here's Lantern Heights' personal tribute to the one and only Michael Chapman, a hero in his own right, a 'Fully Qualified Survivor' (just to mention one of his most successful creations). An unreleased live album on vinyl in the form of an astonishing trio." A live set recorded at Nottingham's Playhouse Theatre on July 23rd 1977 by Chapman and a power house rhythm section in Lindisfarne bassist Rod Clements and former John Mayall drummer Keef Hartley. Some of his…