This diverse collection of tracks is a great way to get to know China’s most musical province
WORLD CHOICE
Manhu appear on ‘Banquet Dance’
The Rough Guide To The Music Of Yunnan
Various Artists
World Music Network RGNET1421CD
Sometimes the opening cut from a classic album announces its importance like a light being switched on. So it is with that from The Rough Guide To The Music Of Yunnan as Gen Dequan’s ‘Ancient Melody of the Dai gourd pipe’ kicks in, launching this overview of what might just be China’s most musical province. Despite occupying only 4.1 per cent of its total land mass, this geographically and culturally diverse province in China’s far southwest punches above its weight, for which it has long been revered by musicologists. Any readers who enjoyed the music of the group Manhu, whose international debut featured in the July 2020 issue, will soon recognise the gleeful folkloric tone of some of these artists. In fact, Manhu can even be heard collaborating with Jenny and the Hog Drovers on ‘Banquet Dance’. Although much of Yunnan’s folkloric wealth is ‘frozen in time’, there’s an obvious readiness to embrace foreign or western sounds like rock and reggae, which gives this collection an accessibility that those new to Chinese folklore will probably find appealing, while a canny track sequence adds listenability. ★★★★★
November round-up
We last met Melbourne’s experimental group Bush Gothic in November 2016, and now their third album Beyond The Pale finds them moving outside their early inspiration of traditional bush ballads into more contemporary poems. These address post-penal Australian matters such as industrial relations; ‘When they jail a man for striking it’s a rich man’s country yet’ sings pianist and double-bass player Dan Witton on ‘The Ballad of 1891’, giving singer/multi-instrumentalist Jenny M. Thomas her break. The trio are accompanied by The Lonely String Quartet and furnished – as ever – with abundant ear worms.
(Fydle Records Fyd005) ★★★★★
Since two of these three Australasians claim Welsh ancestry, they would probably appreciate the new disc by Welsh harpist Catrin Finch and kora player/Senegalese singer Seckou Keita. They too are onto a third album. Their second disc featured in the July 2018 edition of this round-up, and Echo features an immaculately well integrated string section. ‘Conversation’ might be an alternative title, describing the way these two well-matched players respond to each other’s musical phrases with such rare chemistry.
(Bendigedig BEND19) ★★★★★
Harp lovers will
