It's Fall for us folks north of the equator. Leaves are falling (banks too) carried off by the winds of the changing season. There is solace in the fact that down south, Spring is here!
Here are some news and happenings in the world of Jaw harps.
Jaw harp punk from Vienna, Austria! Ing. LOOP (pronounce: Engineer LOOP), the alter ego of Robert Koch, is a one-man-no-budget band. Ing. LOOP combines jaw harps, steel pans, marimba, percussion and other music instruments to create new sounds. Check him out!
From Boca Raton, Florida, here comes Professor Cunnigham. No J-harp here but I know some of you are also throat-singing enthusiasts and I think you'll enjoy this clip.
James E. Cunningham Ph.D. is an ethnomusicologist and assistant professor in the Department of Music at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. I know which university I'll be going to next. Check out his MySpace page for an extended version of "The Hamburger Song".
Earthsync is a world music record label committed to nurturing folk, tribal and native music. Musicians and singers from Myanmar, Maldives, Aceh, Indonesia, India and Thailand were brought together to perform for their Laya Live Project. Listen to and watch this magnificent piece played with morsingh, tabla, mridangam, bass guitar, drums and violin.
Dave Ruch has just put out his first record. This new release features venerable old folksongs, ballads, dance tunes and ditties from rural New York State interpreted tastefully with guitar, mandolin, jew's harp, 5-string & tenor banjo, concertina, fiddle, spoons, voice and more. Dave is equal parts historian, entertainer, educator, comedian and folklorist, he finds his song material in dusty archives, obscure songbooks, diaries, old recordings, scholarly journals and more. He’s a member of the New York State Historical Association.
No jaw harp here but similar sonorities from another great band from Congo called Kasai Allstars. Brought to you by one of my favorite record labels, Crammed Discs. This is the third volume in Crammed's Congotronics series.
From Israel by way of New York City comes Drummer Amir Ziv's and his band KOTKOT which includes percussionist Cyro Baptista, guitarist Marc Ribot and electric bassist Shahzad Ismaily. He describes his music as Melodramatic Popular Song / Grindcore / Lounge. I haven’t heard anything that experimental since John Abercrombie and friends or the Sex Pistols back in the 70s. I guess you’ll have to catch them live to hear the Jew's harp opening of "My Dentist in Hawaii." Meanwhile, you can check out Told You So.
Here is a neat project brought to you by Altamira, an association dedicated to exploring the role of culture in the development of societies. This release features the talent of the Lemhadong, a collective of women artists from the Sebu Lake region in the Philippines. I believe this album was recorded and produced by Boris Lelong. Check him out, he does very interesting work of his own. Praise to him for his 74’ long piece Hypnostasis. Here’s a piece from the CD played on a bamboo J-harp.
Reminder. Percussionist, multi-instrumentalist, pioneer in ice instruments, musical director and more, the great Terje Isungset is touring with Trio Mediæval. They will be in the US in November. Don't miss!
I leave you with a piece by Pippo Di Stefano, King of Marranzano. Pippo shares some of his jaw harps and playing techniques. Way to go, Pippo!
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