Sonans - "Live '77" {Russia} [1977] (chamber prog)

This is quite an obscure piece of music from the 70s. Sonans emerged in 1976 as a semi-formal student music studio at Sverdlov University of Architecture. The purpose of the formation was finding - through experimentation - the 'right' musical formula which would bring together the contemporary developments in instrumental rock music with the heritage of the classical composition. Material performed by the band at that time accurately reflected the group's ideology, and could be described as predominantly instrumental chamber progressive. This rather poor quality bootleg recording of a '77 live performance by Sonans seems to be the only account of the band's early efforts. The core of the record are three long and quite elaborated chamber prog pieces similar to what Gatto Marte have been doing recently. In addition, there are two short songs in a rather commonplace acoustic songwriting style which appear to be manifestedly out of place in the generally neoclassic framework. Apparently, that was indicative of the band's further development. By the end of 70s, Sonans eventually drifted towards a simpler, more song-oriented format and by 1981 effectively disbanded becasue of growing tension between the band members.

This bootleg appears @PNF thanks to the people behind the currently non-working goldenunder.sakhaworld.org website.

Line-up (to the best of my knowledge):

Alexander Pantykin - keyboards
Igor Skripkar - bass, vocals
Michael Perov - guitar
Andrey Balashov - violin
Ivan Savitsky - drums

Track list:

1. Part I
2. Part II
3. The Name
4. Cats' Newspaper
5. Part IV

Link in comments.

Anatoliy Vapirov - "Leningrad Jazz Ensemble" {Russia} [1976] (jazz/fusion)

The debut album by one of the leading jazz soloist, improvisers, and band-leaders of the USSR in the 1970s who's known to have played with Louis Sclavis, Sophia Domancich, Jan Garbarek, Tomash Stanko and many others. As opposed to "Mysteria", the other Vapirov's early work which I posted a couple of weeks ago, this album is quite diverse. It contains pieces ranging from jazz-rock sometimes evokative of Zao to chamber folk-fusion to rather mainstream jazz. Overall, it is a solid effort which by no means would be out time and place in the European progressive jazz scene of mid-70s. My vinyl came without original cover (which may have something to do with the fact that Vapirov's music was banned in the USSR for some time), so I don't have any factual info about the album.

Enjoy!

The second album by Anatoliy Vapirov can be found here.

The download link is to be found in the comments.

The Ashqelon Quilt - "The Event" {Israel} [2001] (Prog Rock - Art Rock) (VBR)

The ASHQELON QUILT are a young Israeli trio who seem to have absorbed the best of late 60's and early 70's progressive elements. Their material ranges from English, Celtic and Middle Eastern folk to the BEATLES, GENTLE GIANT, PINK FLOYD and early GENESIS (circa "Trespass"). The band consists of brothers Orj Hendel (guitars) and Shachar Hendel (keyboards, bass and MIDI programming), and Sharon Rinat (recorder); all three alternately share vocal duties. A number of guests also contributed some vocals, flute and violin on their 2001 release "The Event", including the Hendel brothers' own dad, Benny Hendel.

The album combines the rustic qualities of folk and the deep, lushness of pure symphonic prog, most obvious on the epic closing track. The soft, breathy vocals of the Hendel brothers will remind you of the ZOMBIES, whereas Sharon Rinat's voice is slightly reminiscent of Sally Oldfield's. Unfortunately, all vocals are accented and a little shaky (especially Rinat's). But it is the band's knack for successfully integrating a multitude of musical ideas that makes their material interesting: bits of HACKETT-like guitar here, some Clive Nolan-like keyboards there, Floydian guitar solos, RIVERDANCE-like drum beats, frequent BEATLEsque inflexions (both musically and vocally), echoes of GENTLE GIANT as well as PORCUPINE TREE soundscapes cropping up everywhere: everything here gels perfectly to create a unique, mellow symphonic sound carefully spiced up with some Middle Eastern accents. Very good production overall.

Highly recommended if you appreciate moderately complex, mellow prog and don't mind a slight folk twist. http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=988

01 - One by One (3:26)
02 - Crown (6:33)
03 - The Coin (8:38)
04 - Twilights (3:26)
05 - Introduction to the Event (2:11)
06 - The Event (4:20)
07 - Tel-Aviv Stress (3:18)
08 - Substitute (3:46)
09 - The Well (11:25)

Line-up/Musicians
- Shachar Hendel / lead vocals, analog & digital keyboards, grand piano, drum-programming
- Orj Hendel / electric & acoustic guitars, mandolin, charango, darbuka drums, backing vocals
- Sharon Rinat / recorders, vocals & vocalizes

Guest musicians:
- Corrine Schlomovitch / violin (on 1)
- Hagar Dagan / flute (on 9)
- Nohar Rosenthal / backing vocals (on 9)
- Merav Ben-David / vocals (on 7)
- Benny Hendel / vocals (on 5)

03 - The Coin ...
06 - The Event ......
07 - Tel-Aviv Stress ...

Link for download "The Ashqelon Quilt - The Event" in comments ...

Witold Szczurek - "Basspace" {Poland} [1984] (chamber fusion)

A beautiful piece of music from a Polish double bass player who is known for his work with Tomasz Stanko, Grazyna Auguscik, and Sun Ship. 'Basspace' is a relatively low-key album which will appeal to those who enjoy chamber jazz-fusion of compositional rather than improvisational nature. Fans of zeuhl may also find something worth their attention here. Available for downloading is a Poljazz vinyl transfer carefully done by Ilya Prutov, Russia.




Tracklist:

1. White song
2. Hey, Hullo
3. Tomo
4. The Second Break
5. Fifteen Questions
6. My Harp

Line-Up:

Witold Szczurek - bass
Ryszard Styła - guitar
Jerzy Węglewski - percussion
Jorgos Skolias - vocals
Katarzyna Katlewicz - harp

Link in comments.

Kazma Kazma - "Dances of Troubadours" {Ukraine} [1991] (post-punk/medieval)

One of the important recent discoveries for me, an astonishing gloomy underground record from Ukraine that features a weird combination of minimalistic post-modern song structures with medieval themes arranged for a brass section. Composed and recorded in 1991 by an outfit of seven adventurous students of a boarding school of music who at that time were still largely in their teens. This album was circulated in early 1990s on tape only, and to the best of my knowledge has never been re-released. Available are tape transfers for which we are thankful to people behind tape.hallucinations.ru. I don't have any cover art for Kazma Kazma, the photo to the left depicts Khodosh and Kurovsky, the two leaders of the band.

Tracklist:

1. Oratorio - Peter
2. Ballad - Wilgelm
3. Symphony #1 - Old Age
4. Folk-tune - Pike
5. Symphony #2 - Lilac
6. Swallow Rooster

Line-up:

Eugene Khodosh - guitar, vocals
Dmitry Kurovsky - flute
Eugene Nikolayevsky - drums
Alexander Negoduyko - grand piano
Valery Kharkovsky - French horn
Vitaliy Shevchuk - trumpet
Eugene Baryshnikov - bassoon

Link in comments.

Emeraude - "Geoffroy" {France} [1981] (folk/psych prog)

As requested by one of the blog's visitors, reposted here is an obscure French effort offering melancholic folk progressive music which features alternating acoustical and electric themes based on guitar arpeggios and layered keyboards. Originally a private release, reissued in Italy by Mellow Records.








Tracklist:

1. Boule de Plume (Simonet/Baud/Ansart) 4:02
2. Pluie (Baud/Flachon) 1:24
3. Viking (Baud) 12:00
4. Geoffroy (Flachon/Ansart) 16:28
5. Duo (Baud/Flachon) 1:22

Line-up:

Bernadette Simonet - piano
Gilles Baud - guitar, bass, vocals
Jean Paul Ansart - synthesizers
Dom - guitar
Gilles E. - guitar
Didier - drums

In Spe - "In Spe" {Estonia} [1982] (symphonic progressive)

As requested by one of the visitors. The following is an excellent review of the album by Greg Northrup, originally published at Giant Progweed (progweed.net).

"In Spe's debut is widely known as one of the best albums to come out from behind the Iron Curtain in the 1980s, and like many other bands with similar geopolitical limitations (Solaris, Horizont, Karseke), they have just recently come to the attention of a wider Western audience thanks to recent CD reissues. In Spe is certainly an impressive release, if one that takes some time to sink in. The group plays a fairly unique style of symphonic progressive rock; generally slow and morose, with a heavily composed, classical feel. The instrumentation is fairly interesting, as the band makes heavy use of the recorder (remember middle school?) as a primary melodic device. Though that may sound strange, and it does at first, it is tastefully applied and well played. When juxtaposed against the fantastic array of flute, moog, guitars and organs, it only aids in creating an overwhelmingly rich melodic tapestry, and a distinctly idiosyncratic feel {continuation here, more info here}".

Tracklist:

1. Symphony for Seven Performers/ Sümfoonia Seitsmele Esitajale:

a) Ostium - 4:25
b) Illuminatio - 6:50
c) Mare Vitreum - 8:16
2. Antidolorosum - 1:55

3. Päikesevene / The Sunboat - 8:59
4. Sfääride Võitlus / The Fight of the Spheres - 7:19

Line-up:
Peeter Brambat - Flute, Tenor Recorder
Toivo Kopli - Bass Guitar
Priit Kuulberg - Digital Normalizer, Roland Vocoder
Mart Metsala - Prophet 5, Roland Jupiter 8, Hammond, VLM
Riho Sibul - Guitars
Anne Tüür - Fender Rhodes, Yamaha Electric Grand
Erkki-Sven Tüür - Minimoog, Prophet 5, Roland Jupiter 8, Flute, Soprano Recorder, Vocal
Arvo Urb - Drums

Link in comments.

Continuum - "Continuum & Autumn Grass" [1970-71] (classical/avant..)

my own review: well its not a review but i would like to tell some, years before i was working as a dj in my university's radio. I had tons of US/UK psych prog, some krautrock, and some music from my country(=Turkey). One day by coincidence i found some songs of Swedish band Kebnekaise, i suprised a lot for the quality of the work, a few days later Arbete & Fritid..a few days later Mikeal Ramel.....they were all special because they light a fire on me to listen other countries music..On those days people were not lucky; if they had passions to listen other countries music (glad we have internet to listen and find almost whatever we want to..). With the raise of personal pages on Geocities(Yahoo), some vinyl traders made personal pages to swap vinyl rips. I was writting them for album requests, and as a return i was sending psych/prog/folky things from my country. One day i got some music from my one of trader friend; it was continuum. honestly i listened once and put it to my collection, it was not my cuppa. On recent days i found Autumn Grass album from my friend Cassandra. i listened the album and i like it a lot. its something folky/classical/avant something. and if you are in the right mood its one of the best in its type. that reminds me the first continuum album, and i listened it once more. it was great for me also. so i wanted to share these 2 albums today with you. hope you enjoy them too.

Yann found some more info for the band (thanks Yann :) ); here is some more info:

The real conceiver of this band is Hungarian instrumentalist Yoel Schwarcz who went to Amsterdam and mainly London, meeting other musicians.
Continuum can be seen as a multi-national UK based band.

Musicians :
First album :
- Yoel Schwarcz / classical guitar, flute, recorder, harmonica
- John Warren / classical guitar
- Mike Hart / double bass
- Dick Wildman / drums and percussion
Second album :
- Yoel Schwarcz / classcial guitar, flute, harmonica, recorder, saxophone
- Tim Rice / organ, piano
- Peter Billam / bass guitar, electric guitar
- Harvey Troupe / drums

Autumn Grass..

thanks to Cassandra Witch :)

Nebulosa - "Nebulosa" - {Sweden} [1977] (prog rock)

i couldnt find an english review for the band. here is the swedish one. to enjoy the album more, you should listen from beginning to end. One of my favorite..

"Nebulosa såg dagens ljus 1977 och dess medlemmar var då förrutom Bengt Skarin, Lennart Usterud och Thomas Franzén (tidigare i gruppen Yama) även Roger Johansson (Pontare) samt Thomas Kacso. Skivan innehåller långa låtar bestående av symfonisk, delvis instrumental, rock. Bara 1000 ex av plattan gjordes. Medverkande Thomas Kacso kom från Ungern och skivan beskrev situationen i hans hemsland. När bandet splittrades 1979 anslöt sig Lennart till religionen "mormon", Fransén blev boss på JVC, Kasco flyttade tillbaks till Ungern, Skarin blev musiklärare och för Roger följde en framgångsrik solokarriär under namnet Roger Pontare." review taken from here

Our thanks goes to mountainhigh ;)

Black Velvet - "Black Velvet" {Israel} [198X] (folk/world)

"Black Velvet has been playing Irish music since 1981.Over the years, it went through many peronnel changes. Its repertoire also changed to include a considerable number of tunes written by band members. These draw their influences from various sources - Irish, Breton, Galician, Balkan and Israeli. This combination is well represented here, on the band's first album.

Guest artists:
Jerry O'Saullivan - Uilliann pipes
Emer Mayock - Flute & whistle"

more information and those who would like to buy the album; info here

Middle Eastern Polkas..

thanks to progdog :)

Sapo - "Sapo" {USA} [1974] (funk rock)

Well i couldnt find a good information for the band, i have reasons to love the coverart :)) friends who like santana may like sapo more. enjoy!

Get It On..


Ritmo Del Corazon..

Kandahar - "Long Live The Sliced Ham & In The Court Of Catherina Squeezer" {Belgium} [1974-75] (prog rock)

"This group, hailing from Ghent (in Western part of Belgium), played some rather adventurous rock music and formed in 73, and were a cross of jazz-rock with Canterbury influences and sometimes a touch of Zeuhl. They released on their own private label Dwarf two albums, which were quite in the avant-garde progressive rock of the time (sounding a bit like a cross of Placebo, Pazop and Cos), before going broke.

In their heydays, Kandahar was often favourably compared with Supersister, but once they folded due to lack of finances again, leader Karel Bogaert, an engineer, returned to his professional acrtivities in the Far-East, but released a few solo albums. This left Jeff Devisscher at the helm of Kandahar, and they will take time to re-group. After a few years, they managed to release an Ep, than another album, but clearly their moment had gone. None of their albums have ever been re-issued on vinyl or on Cd format, making Kandahar records very sought-after.

In the late 80’s the group reformed for one album that will fail to bring back the feel of their early days brilliance. Only this album is available." (taken from progarchives)

The Day I Came To Life..
Down at the Finckle's..

thanks to Seebaer :)

Packie Byrne & Bonnie Shaljean - "The Half Door" {Ireland} [1977] (celtic folk)

"Packie Manus Byrne is a traditional singer and musician from Donegal. He was born in 1917 into a small crofting community in Corkermore, near the port of Killybegs. Packie is not only a goldmine of traditional song, music and folklore, but also a very affable man and a superb storyteller.
Bonnie, was born in 1949 in Stockton, California USA and began piano at age 4. She is an accomplished musician (piano, all forms of harps, voice, composition) and lives in Cork, Ireland where she teaches and performs."

Captain Taylor's Air And March..

Ocean - "Melody" {Germany} [1971] (prog rock)

Well i am sorry, i couldnt find a review..when a band have a common name, its hard to find a review; i am no good on googling. infos welcome. enjoy!

[Edit] Friends i updated the album files, previous one has one missing track, now ok. Sorry for that.


Katrin..

Sergei Kuryokhin - "Iblivyi Opossum. Live in France" {Russia} [1991] (avant fusion)

"Iblivy Opossum" is the account of live performance by Sergei Kuryokhin and his Pop-Mechanika Orchestra at Nantes, France on October 22, 1991. In my view, it is one of the most powerful and significant albums by Kuryokhin on the jazz side, featuring intense upbeat avant-fusion full of adventurous yet structured and coherent improvisations. The music combines thoughtfulness and wild epatage in just the right proportion and is indeed performed with a stroke of genius.


Line-up:

Sergei Kuriokhin - keyboards
Aleksandr Lyapin - guitar
Mikhail Kostyushkin - sax
Aleksandr Titov - bass
Sergei Letov - bass clarinet, tenor sax
Andrey Romanov - acoustic guitar
Sergey Schurakov - accordion
Boris Shaveynikov - drums
Aleksandr Kondrashkin - percussion
plus 13 guest artists

The following short bio of Sergei Kuryokhin is compiled from various sources, major ones being www.discogs.com and www.raig.ru: "Sergei Kuryokhin was a pianist, composer, band leader, actor, director and a prominent figure in the USSR. He first attracted public attention in late 1970s as a jazz pianist, playing solo as well as with Vladimir Chekasin, Anatoliy Vapirov and others. In the early 1980s, before he was allowed to travel outside the Soviet Union, some of his works published by Leo Records in the UK, as well as a number of TV programs made him one of the cult figures of the burgeoning Russian underground. In 1984, developing the concept of melting various art-elements, aesthetics, traditions, and cliches to form the new kind of art, he founded his own project known as Pop-Mechanika Orchestra. The band, which could be anything from a modest trio to a full blown multimedia extravaganza featuring a symphonic orchestra, a brass band, a rock group, a circus, a zoo, a gypsy singer, and whatever else his fantasy could bring up at the moment, subsequently toured most of the world. His music could be best described as a sort of spontaneous improvisation with strong elements of avant-garde jazz and rock, though there are quite many works which could easily satisfy tastes of admires of solo-instrumental, chamber, minimalist, or post-industrial music. He also scored for a number of popular movies, theatre spectacles, and documentaries. Sergei Kuryokhin's discography comprises over 40 LPs and CDs, but his importance stretches beyond his documented legacy. He was known and valued as a tireless catalyst of artistic life, as a creative force which united and formed the artistic community, as one of the strongest and most vital voices of a revolutionary era, the era which transformed the stagnant Soviet Union into new, yet unknown, but vibrant Russia".

Link in comments.

Linus - "Linus" {Korea} [1980] (hard prog)

Unfortunately i couldnt find informations/reviews about the band; friends especially who like Uriah Heep,Deep Purple like bands may enjoy Linus more.

thanks to zeme :)

Disparition - "Transmutations" {USA} [2007] (electronica)

This is one of my friend's work, As a listener i love the album, and i wanted to share with all PNF family :)
Hope you like the album as much as i do; here is some copy/paste:

"...It’s got a fairly wide range of styles, and was influenced by music from a number of different genres which I tried to combine in what I hope are interesting ways. The album art is by Sumudu Welaratna, and its based on the imagery of Splendor Solis, an alchemical manuscript from the 16th century attributed to Salomon Trismosin. The music on this album was influenced by this and other visual art by medieval and early modern alchemists, as is evident in some of the track names. Other conceptual influences included meteorological and geological phenomena, Balkan history and culture, current events, and nationalism. The musical influences range from contemporary electronic acts like Boards of Canada, Freescha, and the Boats to veterens like Brian Eno and progressive rock bands like King Crimson and Genesis, composers such as Bela Bartok and Frederic Chopin, and the central and eastern European folk music that influenced them...." more reviews & info here



You can find some more works and infos of Jon Bernstein at http://disparition.net/


Enjoy!

Marimba de Concierto de Bellas Artes - "Armonia Universal" {Guatemala/Japan} [1995]

“Universal Harmony, Beyond Time and Space” was created during visit that Marimba de Concierto to Japan, back in 1995. The piece is built with a combination of Guatemalan and Japanese sonorities, and also with original variations and melodies composed for marimba and koto, This event was a landmark in the development of the Guatemalan marimba since, for the first time this difficult task was attempted. And the attempt ended successfully because the Marimba de Concierto was able tu surpass all the technical limitations with new musical themes.

It stems from a very hard effort to broaden the marimba’s beauty to other audiences all over the world. And it is rewarding to hear the exotic sound of Koto, to imagine that one is wandering in a rain forest or in a small beautiful village, be it a Guatemalan or a Japanese one. Or, Simply, feel with this music joys of sunrise watching and birds singing.

Highly recommended to every world music lover

Thanks to Musashi :)

Links in comments

Anatoliy Vapirov - "Mysteria" {Russia} [1977] (jazz/fusion)

Anatoliy Vapirov was one of the most prominent jazz artists in the Soviet Union in the mid and late 70s. He taught saxophone and jazz improvisation classes in Leningrad Conservatorium of Music, and in parallel worked with jazz bands, openly displaying his affiliation with underground rock movement and keen interest in contemporarty avant-garde. In 1976 and 1977 respectively, Anatoliy somehow managed to release two LPs in the USSR with music more than somewhat different from what the state-owned Melodia label was known for. More challenging and 'deviant' works in avant-jazz direction followed in late 70s and early 80s, and made their way to the West (via Leo Records, an independent British label) remaining unreleased in the Soviet Union. By that time, Vapirov's intellectual independency and non-conformism got him into the conflict with Soviet authorities which resulted in a framed-up court action against the artist and in his incarceration. After being discharged in mid-80s, Vapirov emigrated to Bulgaria. He is still quite active in the East European scene, running an annual jazz festival in Varna and participating in local and international music projects.

"Mysteria" is the second of the two early, 'Soviet' releases by Anatoliy Vapirov. It features an exquisite and well-crafted mix of chamber fusion and free jazz with light touches of Slavic spiritual music. This is a vinyl rip, the cover is not available. My hearty thanks go to Mr. Medvedev, Russia, for kindly sharing the original record from his collection.

Line-up:

Anatoliy Vapirov - tenor & soprano saxophone
Boris Lebedinsky - guitar
V. Dunayevsky - bass
Daniel Martin - drums

Tracklist:

1. Mysteria (beginning)
2. Mysteria (ending)

Link in comments.

Lougarou - "Lougarou" {Canada} [1976] (prog folk/rock)

Garolou (or Lougarou, as they were initially called) developed around the nucleus of the Lalonde brothers, Marc and Michel. Native Ontarians, the nomads reunited in 1974, as part of a theater troupe in Prince Edward Island. They soon found themselves in contact with first-rate musicians from the East Coast, notably guitarist George Antoniak and keyboardist Steven Naylor. With the addition of drummer Michel "Stan" Deguire, the first line-up moved to the Laurentians, and quickly set to the task of building up a repertoire of valid rock music with progressive overtones. They found their repertoire from an unlikely source: archives of French-Canadian traditional folk music from noted musicologists such as Father Anselme Chiasson. ..Although crowds were receptive to their brand of traditional rock music, record company executives were not forthcoming. In a gesture of faith, Le Studio in Morin Heights, Quebec, opened their doors to the group during off-hours, with the group owing nothing until they secured a recording contract with the finished masters.

Antoniak and Naylor would leave the group soon after their first album, to be replaced with guitarist Gilles Beaudoin and keyboardist Réginald Guay. (Beaudoin would leave before the third album, in turn replaced by Gaston Gagnon.) Although lineup changes are common, name changes are less so: faced with a... read more here

Parno Graszt - "Járom az utam" {Hungary} [2004] (gypsy)

"A few months ago I saw a delightful documentary on BBC4 about a Hungarian Gypsy village band called, on the film, Parno Grass. The next time I saw my friend Ian Anderson, I asked him if he'd seen it; he said he had - and also had their CD. Then, a few weeks ago, that generous man sent me a spare copy he'd unearthed from what must be one of the largest collections of records in the country - so here it is, up for review.
But first I'd like to return to the film for a moment; I called it delightful - and it is, in so many ways. It begins, on May Day morning, 2002, with the band's leader, József Oláh, leaving his house on foot to meet up with the other members, preparatory to the day's musical activities. The 'other members of the band' being, in this instance, practically the whole of the village of Paszab - for this is a real village band, numbering from the core 7 members, up to 20 or so, depending on who's around. The local touring version is 17-strong, including ten dancers of three generations - from 10 to 71 years old! In the course of the morning we climb on board a wagon pulled by the parno graszt, the White Horse of the CD's title, and meet the band's great-grandmother - yes, all 17 share the same great-grandmother!

We learn about life in the village, how they earn a living, how the band has made them more prosperous and more self-assured, and about their recent trip to a festival in Holland where "They treated us like Princes!" - and we realise that this means that their hosts treated them just like any of the other guests ... not something they are used to. A visiting local politician is told of the "only slight" racialism of their Hungarian neighbours; "They still hate us, but they don't burn our houses."

We also discover that, back in the late-1950s, a far-sighted village elder decided that their music and dance culture was both valuable and important, and in danger of being swamped by new influences from outside - and set about encouraging the participation of the youth of the community. Today's vibrant village culture, and Parno Graszt, is the result of his labours. In the film we see young dancers huddled round a TV watching, with great enthusiasm, films from half a century ago of their now elderly relatives dancing and playing - with some of these same relatives in attendance to instruct them in the subtleties of their art.

But the most delightful, and surprising, thing of all is the music. We are used to the stereotypical images of the Hungarian Gypsies; the café violinist, the cymbalom orchestra ... but this is only how some of them earn a living in a country where little else is open to them. Here in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg, the most underdeveloped, and"...read more here

Namgar - "Hatar" {Russia-Mongolia} [2003] (folk)

Buryat vocalist Namgar Lkhasaranova leads the ensemble that takes her name, accompanied on traditional instruments from Buryat and Mongolian tradition. Here is an earthy sound from an expert ensemble of musicians from Russia and Mongolia.
The ensemble says of itself:
Buryats live in Russia, where it borders with Mongolia and Manchuria. Buddhism, Shamanism, and the natural beauty of South Siberia contributed to their tradition. They share a lot of musical themes with their relatives Mongolians, with a special attention to dance tunes that became extinct in Mongolia. Namgar is a group of versatile musicians that create the sound both authentic and easily accessible. The group made their first appearance on the international stage at Riddu Riddu Festival in Norway in 2002, along with Mari Boine and a bunch of other World Music celebrities. The repertoire of Namgar consists of the songs and melodies shared by Buryats and Mongolians, embracing the world of sounds as big as from the Lake Baikal in the East of Russia to the Great Wall in China, from the songs of shamanist gatherings of Siberia to celebration songs you might hear at a midsummer fest in Mongolia to exquisite melodies from Inner Mongolia. Looking like characters from the ancient legends of Asia on stage, the group delivers the music that is both exotic and easily accessible.

Four musicians were drawn together by this ancient music little known to the world in January 2001, in Moscow, Russia Namgar Lhasaranova and Jipo from Ulan-Ude, Buryatia (South Siberia), Altay and Urna from Mongolia. Their collaboration sprung from the songs and music of the Hori Buryats, as well as from Mongolian compositions, as Buryats and Mongolians share many common musical traditions.

The heart of this project, Namgar (Namgar Ayushievna Lhasaranova) whose name was used to call the entire group, grew up in a Buryat family in a tiny village of Kunkur near the border crossing of Russia, Mongolia, and China. Hori Buryat tribes to which Namgar belongs, historically were supporters of Chingis Khan and important commanders of the Mongol Invasion. Their songs and dances date back to the glorious times of the Mongolian Empire, preserving many genres and..read more here