Various Artists - Beyond Rembetika: the Music & Dance of the Region of Epiris 4 x CDs (due to weight, this price for the USA only. Outside of the USA, the price will be adjusted as needed) (Mega Blowout Sale)
SKU
23-JSP 77166
“Years of canvassing, collecting and research have gone into this collection exploring early Greek and Balkan folk. The object is to provide a fuller, richer picture of the complex music and the excellent artists that thrived in this region and etched their performances onto 78 discs.
Here are earliest known recordings of village musicians from the northernmost extremities of Greece, Epirus. The isolation of the area produced distinct instrumental styles and unique vocal arrangements that have rarely been heard outside of Greece or Albania. Their sound is simultaneously haunting and intense. Essential for those with an interest in Greek music in particular, or musical traditions in general.”
“The first in a series of multi-disc collections exploring early Greek and Balkan folk music, "Beyond Rembetika" features the earliest known recordings of village musicians from the northernmost hinterlands of Greece, specifically the region of Epirus. Compiled and remastered by Grammy winning 78 collector/ producer Christopher King, this music originated before the rise of rembetika, or music of the Greek working class, and belongs to the category of demotika, or Greek village music.
An unusual amalgam of styles ranging from Albanian, Greek Orthodox, and Central & West Asian influence, the music of Epirus sounds like nothing else found in Greece or the Greek islands, perhaps due to the relative isolation of the region, separated from the Greek mainland by the Pindus Mountains. With a uniquely mixed population comprised of Vlachs (Romanian), Albanians, Chams (Albanian-speaking Greeks), Roma (Gypsies), and Jews, this strange brew of styles began to ferment and distill in the 19th and early 20th centuries, never completely belonging to any one ethnicity, always integrating new sounds while still retaining a purity and cohesiveness lacking in other musical forms of the era.
I should say something about the drones on this collection. This is a seriously super-drone-y set. There's more drone-age (dronitude?) on this collection than on a Stockhausen helicopter symphony (yes, I know you own that on vinyl, so what?). Drone-tastic! We're talking gorgeous sprawling mesmerizing drone-y goodness here. A lot of the drone is attributable to the totally weird and, like, heavy vocal iso-polyphony, an Albanian singing tradition in which two or three vocalists lay down the melodic line while two more bring some gnarly low-octave drones to the party--kickin' it Epirotic style, homies! Don't believe me? Check out "Mia Emofi" or "Beautiful Woman" by the Five Gliniotes. There's more straight-up drone on this track than a Terrastock festival. I guess what I'm saying is that this music is straight-up superb, simple and plain. No other way around it. Any student of great music can see it.” - Ben Bruton