It has been more than a decade since the fall of the Soviet Union. Since then, Western music has flooded the nightclubs and airwaves of Moscow and St. Petersburg, but, for a variety of reasons, Russian music has been held up at the border...until now. 'The Rough Guide To The Music Of Russia' is the first international release to feature music from Russia's most beloved artists. The album includes music from Alla Pugacheva, Russia's first lady of song, legendary singer-poet Vladimir Vissotsky, Sergei and Tatiana Nikitina (voices of the soundtrack, Moscow Does Not Believe In Tears), Cossack folk from Jeanna Bichevskaya, Gypsy virtuosos Loyko and much more.
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[02]. The Rough Guide to Hungarian Music
With a population less than the size of greater New York, Hungary has produced a remarkably wide variety of music. While Marta Sebestyen and Muzikas (represented here) are probably the country's best-known musical export, there's plenty more worth hearing, not just the remarkable traditional tanchaz dance music of the Ökrös Ensemble, but gypsy and regional traditions, which remain very potent, with Zoltán Juhãsz and Mihály Halmágyi prime examples, the latter with some wonderful dance music. But there's plenty of room for the modernists, too. Romano Drom offer the contemporary end of the Rom Gypsy tradition, and they're remixed to great effect by Emil on their track. The Transylvanians seem to be very ethno-punk, with "Akasztós" sounding as if "Anarchy in the UK" had traveled to the Balkans. Kalyi Jag would seem to be strongly influenced by Dylan and Springsteen, while keeping their central European roots intact, while Fekete Vonant offer a sort of Gypsy rap that's not quite rap at all, but co-exists in the same neighborhood. Overall, incredible music and playing, and a chance to explore the many tangled strands of music that make up Hungary. ~ Chris Nickson, All Music Guide
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[03]. The Rough Guide To The Music Of Turkey
There's been very little exploration of Turkish music in the West, and on the basis of this you have to hope there'll be a lot more in the future. This disc covers the waterfront, from the pop sounds of Sezen Aksu and Ebru Gündes to the tortuous (yet playful) time signatures of Laco Tayfa & Hüsnü Senlendirici and the brooding sound of the Barbaros Erköse Ensemble, with Erköse, one of the country's leading musicians and a stunning clarinetist, at the helm. It's a carefully sequenced disc, moving slowly from straightforward Turkish pop -- which is no copy of Western sounds -- through gypsy music to Sufi sounds. The pivotal point is the very political Grup Yorum, whose "Haydi Kolkola" is ready accessible, but has a distinct roots edge. And from there, it moves to a rawer sound, such as Kemani Cemal Cinarli's "Mavisim," with its remarkable solos on hammered dulcimer and violin. Truth to tell, there's not a bad track on here, and compiler Dan Rosenberg has done an excellent job of illustrating how the different styles of music in Turkey have influenced and bled into each other, and the way both the Middle East and Europe have shaped it. A fascinating journey through an underexposed culture. ~ Chris Nickson, All Music Guide
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[04]. The Rough Guide To The Music Of Eastern Europe
A nice mix of some familiar faces (Marta Sebestyn, the Trio Bulgarka, Ivo Papasov) with some less familiar entries from the various expanding worlds of Eastern European music -- which saw a traditional revival in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and then a kind of fusion insurgency that produced some particularly quirky blends. This compilation actually avoids the contemporary fusion element until the very last cut, "Anonym" by Nikola Parov, and even there the traditional elements are strong (though not quite in the sense of, say, Macedonian dance music, which will keep you very alert; all those odd little rhythm shifts...). While this is quite a good album, it's curiously unsatisfying, perhaps because there is so much more waiting to be explored on a country by country basis. Consider it, then, a nice introduction. ~ Steven E. McDonald, All Music Guide
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OR MP3 320 Kbps [165 MB]
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