Showing posts with label traditional. Show all posts
Showing posts with label traditional. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

The Modern Folk - American Mountain (2014)

Undoubtedly some of you are familiar with the Modern Folk, as beyond being a folk project it has a blog that has a similar vision to our own Spacerockmountain. It's mission is to promote the music that's out there, particularly the new (and sometimes old), interesting and freely heard songs of this era of technological revolution. They're going for the indie beyond the indie, those without even these than major label support, over at the Modern Folk blog, which to be honest is what we get here most of the time and it is most excellent to get to hear it. So if you're down with what we've been doing, you'll sure and shit be down with that site, so check it out. You can follow 'em on twitter while you're at it.

Wait up, remember when I said there was a folk project? I did, but I'll give you time to double check... Okay, so that folk project bears the very same name as the website I was just yammering about, the Modern Folk. And unlike much of the music that you'll find on the website, it is a more traditional meaning of folk in regards to music. You know banjos, mandolins, Appalachian tunes and all that wonderful stuff. Of course it isn't strictly sticking to any formula, as there's some electric guitar noodling and some rather pop-like rhythms to be heard (see that final track, "Nightmares"). In fact three of the eight tracks are original, yet that leaves the majority of the songs as creative interpretations of traditional songs that you've surely heard if you're a listener of folksy music. What they sound like are some lo-fi, psychedelic-tinged pastiches of folk that is so agreeably executed it is easy convinced on the valid of the artistry in repurposing folk music. I cannot help be be charmed by as finely done lo-fi version of Bascom Lamar Lunsford's "I Wish I Was a Mole In the Ground."

To be had here:
The Modern Folk - American Mountain

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Various Artists - Music of Japanese Festivals

We're freshly moved into our new adobe, but the huge huge downside is that my landlord is sitting on his hands about getting my internet going. Thus the blogging has taken a far back seat when I have access to the internet, as I normally need it more for homework. However, there is only so much I can stand of my job and college. Today as I'm unsure how this post will actually get on to the blog, I've decided to give you something I never actually thought I'd listen to repeatedly. This is a collection of Japanese traditional music performed for festivals. It is astoundingly similar to what many modern psych-folk-drone groups do, but these musicians have the natural advantage of being raised in this atmosphere of rhythmic yet sparse pounding, chants and seemingly strange instrumentation all around. Of course Japanese traditional music has complexities (Nagauta, Jyoruri, etc) that as just an amateur music enthusiast I can't possibly hope to enlighten you about, but perhaps that same mystery about it is part of the appeal.

To be had here:
Music of Japanese Festivals