Royal Court Music of Thailand

1. Sounds of the Surf Ouverture
Pleng Homrong Kleun Kratob Fang
Composed by His Majesty King Prajadhipok, Rama VII
Performed by the Piphat Mai Khaeng Ensemble

2. The Floating Moon
Pleng Bulan Loy Luen
Composed by His Majesty King Phra Buddha Lertla Napalai, Rama II
Performed by the Piphat Mai Nuam Ensemble

3. A Starlit Night
Pleng Ratri Pradab Dao Thao
Composed by His Majesty King Prajadhipok, Rama VII
Performed by the Krueng Sai Ensemble

4. Heart of the Sea
Pleng Ok Thalay Thao
Composed by Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn & Choi Suntharavathin.
Performed by the Mahori Ensemble

Recorded by MR Chakrarot Chitrabongs
Released by Smithsonian Folkways in 1994

link@320 +++ removed by request

Prince Nico Mbarga & Rocafil Jazz - Free Education in Nigeria (1977)

Bravo Juju is very happy to bring you this very nice Highlife record, ripped from vinyl

01. Free Education In Nigeria

02. Onye Ori Obi

03. Simplicity

04. Nature

The son of a Nigerian mother and a Cameroonian father, Mbarga embraced the musical traditions of both cultures. With his soulful vocals set to the light melodies of his acoustic guitar, Mbarga created a unique hybrid of Ibo and Zairean guitar playing and uplifting highlife rhythms. Mbarga's musical approach was inspired by the five years he spent in Cameroon during the Nigerian Civil War of the late '60s.

Sharpening his instrumental skills while playing xylophone, conga, drums, and electric guitar in school bands, he made his professional debut as a member of a hotel band, the Melody Orchestra, in 1970. Returning to Nigeria two years later, he formed his own group, Rocafil Jazz, to perform regularly at the Naza Hotel in the eastern Nigerian city of Onitsa.

Although he later formed the New Rocafil Jazz Band, Mbarga failed to match his early success. Leaving music, he turned his attention to managing the two hotels that he owned, Hotel Calbar and the Sweet Mother Hotel.

link @320 [vinyl rip]

Javanese Court Gamelan (1971)

"This recording was made on January 10, 1971, in the great reception hall, or pendopo, of the Pura Paku Alaman in Jogyakarta, by kind permission of H.H. Paku Alam VIII. The occasion was a radio broadcast in honor of his birthday, celebrated every 35 days according to the Javanese calendar. The gamelan was arranged in two halves, melody instruments, bonangs, and gongs to the left, and soft-playing instruments, drum, and singers to the right. The players sat with their backs toward one of the 3 open sides of the pavillion, facing inward across a spacious tile floor toward the entrance to the inner rooms of the palace. Occasional muffled soundsfrom the busy streets outside the compound and the twittering of flights of sparrows that make their nests in the rafters of the pendopo are a part of the normal sound ambiance". Robert E. Brown, CD liner notes

"A stunning counterpoint to the violence and agitation of the better-known world of Balinese gamelan. Deep, almost meditative, slow-paced and astoningishly beautiful. If, as someone once said, Balinese gamelan is the sonic equivalent of sexual frenzy, then this Javanese gamelan recording could stand as an example of post-orgasmic beatitude". The Quick'n'Ignorant Dallas Review

link @320