The Country, Folk & World Recommendation Thread

[Safar]

Multi-instrumentalist Rəhman Məmmədli made a name for himself in the 1970s as one of Azerbaijan’s foremost innovators on the electric guitar. Wielding a Czechoslovakian Jolana, he found then-unheard-of ways to fold and twist fuzz and reverb into lithe new shapes, bringing raw electricity practically to life and earning him an epithet translating to “the one with the singing fingers”.

Rəhman Məmmədli - Dervish (Azerbaijan)

Inspired by spiritual traditions, urban music, and pop culture, Canadian virtuoso Jowee Omicil, aka Mr. BasH!, has developed a boundless approach to music that sounds incredibly vibrant and authentic. Whether it’s the saxophone, clarinet, trumpet, Fender Rhodes, piano, or flute—the multi-instrumentalist masterfully commands every instrument.

Jowee Omicil ft Mawuena Kodjovi - Trip To GHanA (Canada)

Just in time for the 250th anniversary of the United States, *The Fiddle and the Drum* draws from the deep well of America’s musical heritage. Spanning mountain songs, haunting ballads, and folk tunes, the album blends Fleming’s expressive voice with Fleck’s banjo. Leading voices from the bluegrass and country worlds join in to celebrate the traditions of Appalachian music.

Renée Fleming · Béla Fleck · Dolly Parton - In The Pines (USA)

[Safar]

Évelyne Girardon, born in 1954 in Lyon to a mother of Russian-Ukrainian descent and a French father, is a singer, arranger, and hurdy-gurdy player.
Over the years, she has focused on the repertoire of French oral tradition, inventing a cappella polyphonic arrangements suited to its fundamentally modal character, in a loving relationship with the melodic sources, the semantic content, and the pleasure of voices intertwining with one another.

Evelyne Girardon - La palombe (France)

[Safar]

The Indian singer Asha Bhosle, whose voice defined Bollywood cinema and whose career spanned almost eight decades, has died in Mumbai at the age of 92.
One of Bhosle’s most popular performances, Aao Huzoor Tumko became a chart-topping smash following the release of romantic thriller Kismat in 1968. Opening with a remarkable series of solo vocal runs over a finger-picked flamenco guitar, the song develops into a perfect showcase for Bhosle’s range and dexterity, reaching a lower register on the chorus that breaks away from the typically shrill sound of a female Bollywood playback performance.

Asha Bhosle - Aao Huzoor Tumko Revival (India)

[Safar]

On Easy Come, Easy Go, the Burnett Sisters Band introduces itself with charming music rooted in Appalachian tradition. Their music is deeply grounded in bluegrass, American folk, and old-time music, although they refuse to be boxed in by category. The Burnett Sisters Band grew up in the cool mountain town of Boone, North Carolina.

The Burnett Sisters Band - Easy Come, Easy Go (USA)

Spoiler for The Burnett Sisters Band - The Song Of The Mountains:

[Drjohnrock]

Originally Posted by Safar

The Burnett Sisters Band - Easy Come, Easy Go (USA)

Spoiler for The Burnett Sisters Band - The Song Of The Mountains:

I worked with a woman from Boone, North Carolina. She epitomized the cool character of that town.

[Safar]

@Drjohnrock. It`s good, that for me, the word "cool" leaves the character shrouded in mystery.

The Secret Trio is made up of three astounding musicians. Macedonian clarinetist Ismail Lumanovski, Armenian oud player Ara Dinkjian, and Turkish kanun player Tamer Pınarbaşı exude pure joy when performing together, resulting in music which is at once deeply rooted in their respective traditions, and yet startlingly innovative.

The Secret Trio - Ağladıkça (Picture) (Macedonia/Armenia/Türkiye)

Trey Hensley is a GRAMMY®-nominated musician and singer/songwriter who was voted the 2023 Guitar Player of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Association.

Trey Hensley - Can’t Outrun the Blues (USA)

Element of Crime, (the band's name is taken from the 1984 film of the same name by Lars von Trier), has always been around; even before the band formed decades ago, you could probably already hear this music inside you. Coolness with heart, rocking with attitude, effortless to the extreme, but never sloppy. All of this is complemented by diverse and surprising music. Regener’s intelligent lyrics pay homage to love and life in all its facets.

Element of Crime - The Storms Are On the Ocean (Germany)


Mike & Marty have a nice version of this old Carter Family song on youtube.

[Safar]

Representing the new blood from Cuba, Havana Negra are highly talented jazz musicians (most band members being winners of the “JoJazz Award” for the country’s most talented Young Jazz musician) who, with singers from a Rumba and Son background, play the Cuban music of today. Their music has a cinematic sound, ...

Havana Negra - GUAJIRA PSICODÉLICA (Cuba)

[Safar]

Antonio Amato: A well-known Italian musician from Salento, best known as one of the most distinctive voices of the Antonio Amato Ensemble and the “La Notte della Taranta” festival. He performs traditional southern Italian folk music such as the pizzica. Notte della Taranta ('Taranta Night') is a music festival in Salento, Italy.
Damme nu ricciu’ is one of the most intense love lyrics in the Salento tradition, a song that straddles intimacy and ritual, memory and reinvention, the southern Mediterranean and global musical language.

Antonio Amato - Damme nu ricciu (Damme la manu) (Italy)

[Safar]

Renée Fleming · Béla Fleck - My Epitaph (USA)

Spoiler for Renée Fleming · Béla Fleck - My Epitaph:

Songwriter, composer, keyboardist, guitarist, and producer, Sum
Alvarinho rose to prominence with the song “Cacau” in 1994. He is a member
of the rock band Forlorn. He contributed to Cesaria Evora’s album *Cafe Atlantico*. He is revitalizing the cultural heritage of São Tomé, such as socopé.

Sum Alvarinho · Paulino Vieira - Cacau (Sao Tomé & Principe)

Neutral Milk Hotel was an American indie rock band from Ruston, Louisiana. They were known for their eclectic blend of Eastern European folklore, sound collages, and free jazz. Singer-songwriter Jeff Mangum once described the band’s style as “fuzz-folk.”

Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (USA)

[Safar]

Mariana Katsimicha is a Greek singer-songwriter whose music blends the thoughtful lyricism of Entehno with the traditional folk elements of Laïko.

Mariana Katsimicha - To Vals Ton Oneiron (The Waltz of the Dream) (Greece)

A Greek folk dance called kalamatianos (sirtos), which is danced all over Greece and especially at the regions of Pelopponisos and Central Greece. This particular song is probably the most famous at all over Greece. The singer's name is Theodosia Stinga.

Theodosia Stinga - He Ordered Me the Nightingale (ΜΟΥ ΠΑΡΗΓΓΕΙΛΕ Τ' ΑΗΔΟΝΙ) (Greece)

A Latin music duo from Chile, Camila y Silvio is renowned for their original fusion of cumbia, bolero, and other Latin music subgenres. The passionate and emotional vocals of Camila, combined with Silvio's accomplished guitar playing, give their music a distinctive flavor. Their sound is both timeless and contemporary because it draws heavily on Latin American traditional music while also including modern elements.

Camila y Silvio - Neblina (Chile)

Katherine Priddy is a highly acclaimed British folk singer-songwriter praised for her remarkable, warm voice, intricate fingerpicking, and poetic lyrics.

Katherine Priddy - Letters from a Travelling Man (England)