KAYHAN KALHOR · ERDAL ERZINCAN — Kula Kulluk Yakişir Mı (2013) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

It has been nearly a decade since Kayhan Kalhor and Erdal Erzincan recorded The Wind for ECM. During that long interval, the pair have played together so often, they appear to have perfected a musical language that walks not only between various musical traditions but through them simultaneously, coming through the other side with something timeless. Kalhor is an Iranian master of the kamancheh (spike fiddle). He has a relentlessly mercurial musical mind. It's been displayed not only in his work as a solo artist, with the duo Ghazal, and the ensemble Dastan, but also in Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble. Erzincan is regarded as the greatest living practitioner of the Anatolian baglama tradition (it is also called a saz, a long-necked lute type of instrument), and like his partner here, possesses a wildly adventurous spirit, not only in moving from Turkish folk and Western classical traditions with seamless ease, but also as an improviser. Kula Kulluk Yakisir Mi was recorded live in 2011. Its title is taken from the folk song by the late prolific Turkish folk musician Muhlis Akarsu. It translates loosely as "How unseemly it is to follow anyone slavishly." Other than this duo's glorious version of that song and a thematic reprise of "The Wind," everything here is either built upon -- but never stays chained to -- traditional folk songs or consists of outright improvisations that come from nothing, engage both Persian and Turkish folk traditions, and emerge as a deeply emotional music that is unclassifiable. While everything here feels like it is of a piece -- the performance never seems to stop -- it doesn't necessarily sound like it. There are poignant silences within these arrangements, where the individual or paired instruments resonate as if to underscore meaning, either directly intended by a piece or intuited from it -- check the two-minute mark of the traditional "Alli Turnam," where the theme trails off, is followed by a naturally echoing space, and then turns back on itself to speak of the troublesome historical present even as it addresses a more innocent past. None of the five improvisations here reaches four minutes. The degree of intuitive interplay is so high, it is almost impossible not to regard these as formal works. They are informed by the traditional songs that precede them and foreshadow those that follow, as they shift and transform songs into sounds that are both beguilingly strange and ancient -- familiar in the body's cellular memory and in the heart's present moment. The final nine minutes, entitled "Intertwining Melodies," weave four traditional songs and become an extended improvisation upon them all, even as they are united in one flowing river of sound, history, and mystery. Kula Kulluk Yakisir Mi is outstanding for its depth and truly masterful execution, but more than this, it is revelatory in the way it connects players to one another inside the music, and listeners to both musicians and sound, as it evokes emotions that are far beyond the reach of words. 
-> This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa' <-
Tracklist :
1.    Improvisation I    5:24
2.    Allı Turnam 5:42
 -Traditional
3.    Improvisation II    3:23
4.    Deli Derviş 4:10
 -Traditional
5.    Daldalan Barı 6:18
 -Traditional
6.    Improvisation III    2:59
7.    Kula Kulluk Yakışır Mı 8:57
Composed By – Muhlis Akarsu
8.    Improvisation IV    3:44
9.    Improvisation V    2:14
10.    The Wind 7:31
Composed By – Erdal Erzincan, Kayhan Kalhor
11.    Intertwining Melodies    9:13
11.1    Sivas Halayı
 -Traditional
11.2    Mevlam Birçok Dert Vermiş
 -Traditional
11.3    Erik Dalı Gevrektir
 -Traditional
11.4    Gol Nishan
 -Traditional
Credits :
Arranged By – Erdal Erzincan, Kayhan Kalhor
Baglama – Erdal Erzincan
Kemenche [Kamancheh] – Kayhan Kalhor

STEPHAN MICUS - Implosions (1977) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Tracklist :
1    As I Crossed A Bridge Of Dreams 20'53
Sitar [3 Sitars], Acoustic Guitar, Vocals [Vocal] – Stephan Micus
2    Borkenkind 6'45
Zither [3 Bavarian Zithers], Vocals [Vocal] – Stephan Micus
3    Amarchaj 5'16
Shakuhachi [4 Shakuhachi] – Stephan Micus
4    For The 'Beautiful Changing Child' 3'40
Sho [3 Sho], Flute [Thai Flute] – Stephan Micus
5    For M'schr And Djingis Khan 6'24
Rabab, Vocals [Vocal] – Stephan Micus

Composed By, Performer [Played By] – Stephan Micus

STEPHAN MICUS - Koan (1977-1981) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Tracklist :
1    Part I 2'36
Shakuhachi [Shakuhachi Solo] – Stephan Micus
2    Part II 11'59
Zither, Xylophone [Gender], Shakuhachi – Stephan Micus
3    Part III a 11'22
Sarangi, Shakuhachi, Rabab – Stephan Micus
4    Part III b 5'41
Rabab, Sarangi, Bodhrán [Bodhran], Angklung – Stephan Micus
5    Part IV 4'31
Bells [Kyeezee, Burmese Bells], Vocals [2 Vocal] – Stephan Micus
6    Part V 10'02
Zither, Guitar, Shakuhachi – Stephan Micus

Composed By, Performer [Played By] – Stephan Micus
Text By [Traditional Chinese Koan In Booklet]

STEPHAN MICUS - Nomad Songs (2015) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Tracklist :
1    Part 1 - Everywhere, Nowhere 4'40
Kalimba [Ndingo], Flute [Genbri] – Stephan Micus
2    Part 2 - Leila 5'27
Guitar [Steel-String Guitar], Suling – Stephan Micus
3    Part 3 - The Promise 8'19
Flute [Genbri], Ney [Nay], Lute [Rewab], Rabab – Stephan Micus
4    Part 4 - The Stars 2'47
Twelve-String Guitar [Twelve-String Guitar Solo] – Stephan Micus
5    Part 5 - The Spring 2'54
Kalimba [Ndingo], Flute [Genbri] – Stephan Micus
6    Part 6 - The Blessing 4'30
Voice [Voice Solo] – Stephan Micus
7    Part 7 - The Feast 5'04
Guitar [2 Fourteen-String Guitars], Guitar [Steel-String Guitar], Ney [Nay] – Stephan Micus
8    Part 8 - Laughing At Thunder 4'21
Flute [5 Genbri] – Stephan Micus
9    Part 9 - Sea Of Grass 5'01
Tin Whistle [2 Tin Whistles (One Player)] – Stephan Micus
10    Part 10 - The Dance 6'12
Twelve-String Guitar, Lute [Rewab], Rabab, Flute [Genbri], Guitar [2 Steel-String Guitars] – Stephan Micus
11    Part 11 - Under The Chinar Trees 6'42
Kalimba [3 Ndingo], Shakuhachi, Voice – Stephan Micus
Credits :
Composed By [All Music And Voices Composed By], Performer [All Music And Voices Performed By] – Stephan Micus
Text By [Quote In Booklet] – Khalil Gibran

USTAD MOHAMMAD OMAR - Virtuoso from Afghanistan (2002) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The late Ustad Mohammad Omar was, perhaps, Afghanistan's greatest musician, a virtuoso on the rabab (a plucked lute that's the ancestor of India's sarod) who was largely responsible for making the folk instrument into something classical. This album -- from the only concert he played in the U.S. while teaching at the University of Washington in 1974 -- is a remarkable endeavor. Not only does it showcase his superb playing on a selection of Afghani classical pieces, but it teams him with Indian percussion master Zakir Hussain, the pair playing together with virtually no rehearsal, although it's impossible to tell that much of this was moved by spirit rather than practice (and most will never even notice that Omar breaks a sympathetic string on the rabab during the first track). The five pieces are extended, wonderful meditations that follow a standard formula of improvisation followed by the composition in a fixed melodic mode and rhythmic cycle. It's Omar's improvisations that truly startle, even more than the beauty of the compositions themselves. His fingers are fleet and the complex patterns he makes are entrancing -- to try and follow them becomes an almost impossible task. To be fair, the album's far from easy listening; it demands a great deal of concentration, but rewards it magnificently (and kudos to Hussain, who inserts himself into the music as if born to it). Things do lighten up with the relatively short final cut, "Keliwali," a popular Pashtun folk melody, exquisitely performed. As a reminder that Afghanistan is a country with a proud cultural heritage -- and its own wonderful musicians -- this is vital. by Chris Nickson
Tracklist:
1    Emen / Tintal    21:40
2    Bopali / Jhaptal    10:14
3    Tabla Solo    7:56
4    Pelo / Tintal    16:02
5    Keliwali    6:57
Credits:
Rabab – Ustad Mohammad Omar (tracks: 1, 2, 4, 5)
Tabla – Zakir Hussain

BRIAN KEANE ft. OMAR FARUK TEKBILEK - Süleyman The Magnificent (1988) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

  Suleyman the Magnificent, Keane's imaginative soundtrack to the documentary and traveling art exhibit on the Ottoman Empire, also features Tekbilek and several other Middle Eastern musical experts. by Linda Kohanov
Tracklist:
1    İstanbul'dan Görüntüler (Scenes Of Istanbul) 3:39
Written-By – Brian Keane
2    Göĝün Yedi Katı (Seven Spheres Of Heaven) 1:31
Written-By – Brian Keane, Omar Faruk Tekbilek
3    Egeli Gemici (Aegean Sailor) 2:41
Written-By – Omar Faruk Tekbilek
4    Aya Sofya (Saint Sophia) 3:12
Written-By – Brian Keane
5    Uşşak Semai (Piece In 10/8) 3:27
Arranged By – Brian Keane
Written-By – Traditional
6    Nihâvend Fantazi (Modal Fantasy) 1:30
Written-By – Dinçer Dalkılıç
7    Kuzeydeki Köy (Northern Village) 2:00
Written-By – Omar Faruk Tekbilek
8    Topkapının Bahçesi (Garden At Topkapi) 1:54
Written-By – Brian Keane
9    Rast Medhal (Prelude In Rast Mode) 6:24
Arranged By – Brian Keane
Written-By – Traditional
10    Süleymanın Öyküsü (The Story Of Süleyman) 2:00
Written-By – Brian Keane
11    Teke Zıplaması (Goat Jumper) 3:07
Arranged By – Brian Keane
Written-By – Traditional
12    Mevlânâ (Whirling Dervishes) 3:49
Arranged By – Brian Keane
Written-By – Traditional
13    Segâh Peşrevi (Prelude In Segah Mode) 5:09
Arranged By – Brian Keane
Written-By – Traditional
14    Hicaz Taksim (Improvisation In Hicaz Mode) 1:13
Written-By – Emin Gündüz
15    Hicaz Peşrev (Prelude In Hicaz Mode) 2:14
Arranged By – Brian Keane
Written-By – Traditional
16    Makber (Gates Of Heaven) 3:49
Arranged By – Brian Keane
Written-By – Traditional
17    İstanbul'dan Görüntüler (Scenes Of Istanbul/Reprise) 5:50
Written-By – Brian Keane
Credits:
Kanun – Emin Gündüz
Ney, Kaval, Baglama, Goblet Drum [Darbuka], Drums [Daire, Def], Vocals – Omar Faruk Tekbilek
Producer, Score, Mixed By, Engineer – Brian Keane
Programmed By [Synthesizers] – Brian Keane, Joe Melotti, Nick Bariluk
Rabab, Lute [Tanbur], Ney, Percussion – Dinçer Dalkılıç
Synthesizer, Guitar, Kanun, Lute [Tanbur], Percussion – Brian Keane