‘Wild songs’ (without words), sophisticated choral singing, improvisations, pastorals and newer song forms.

Erik Marchand singing, with his accompanist Thierry Robin finding the ud better suited than guitar or mandolin to the intervalic arrangements of quarter tones peculiar to this repertoire.

Various songs — and valiha zither, made from a bamboo trunk, the sodina flute, the angorodao accordion, the kabosy lute, and the amponga tany, a ground zither made of plant rope, wood, and shit.

Fine singing and oud-playing, with zither and violin, and the percussion which characterises the hejaz style — nasgar and naqrazan, darbuka and tar, both held at the same time in the left hand, struck by the right.

Chimelougali is yodelling; luchenze is hooting whilst darting the tongue from side to side; kuama are trembling sounds, and rhythmic interjections. Including polyphonies, and a few with instruments.

The Theodore Vassilikos Ensemble powerfully performing Petros Bereketis — extended variations on eight modes —  the most important composer of the golden age of Byzantine music, an eastward Bach.

Stirring, beautiful historical recordings of paralogues — deep, traditional melodies — drawn from folklore, everyday life and classical mythology: solo voice, or choral, or with clarinet, ud, lyre, violins.

Wonderful, previously-unheard recordings by the legendary Bahamian guitarist, at his peak in 1965, made at his only New York concert, at home in Nassau, and in a Manhattan apartment. Gripping, one-off playing, continuously stepping out of line, or surprising you with accents, like Monk; rough, enraptured singing in the age-old tradition of local sponge fishermen, with startling irruptions of humming, babble and scat.

The second son of King Jammy, Trevor James aka Baby G is at the cutting edge of the new wave of dancehall producers. Jammy’s stalwarts Ward 21 and newcomers Rasta Youth on the mic.

A cor-blimey line-up, and a masterpiece, recorded on the first day of spring in 1964. Dorham, Dolphy, Joe Henderson, Richard Davis, Tony Williams.
‘Classic Vinyl Series.’

Booker Ervin! Mira!

Rugged songs with gurumi lute accompaniment to celebrate the opening of the bush, summon genies, honour animals and praise huntsmen.

The dignified, expressive music of Andean Indians — the huayno, the slower tonado, the syncopated pascua — sung and played on charangos and guitarrillas by the Alvis Family, including Barbara, aged eighty-six.

Masterful performances of two ragas. Liquid, luminous, swinging.

Kushal Das is a master of the surbahar, a kind of bass sitar, with long sustain, ideally suited to this profound and elevated, tricky and subtle, darkest-night raga, recorded in concert at the Radio France Auditorium in Paris.