(no subject)
My dear woquinoncoin mailed me a package full of goodies from Taiwan (in addition to the wonderful stuff from Lexue), and one of the funnest bits was an EP from a Taiwanese band called The Countrymen [阮對庄腳來] - it's really wonderful and I'm just in love. It came in lovely packaging (you can see it here, including the making of!) - a wee, CD-sized burlap sack with some silkscreening on it (the hanzi for their name & a nice plant on the back) & a handful of hay inside. The glue used to seal the burlap up was quite strong, so I wound up (after some exuberant effort in opening it) with a face full of chopped hay that I quickly had to shoo the dog from.
In her roundup on her summer acquisitions, woquinoncoin had this to say:
Now this is a proper debut, even if the 3-song EP is tantalizingly short.
Their sound is very warm, very organic -- not a surprise that they're trying to promote respect for local roots and agricultural laborers with their music.
It's just really a tremendous little album, but oh so short!
I realized that I have pretty varied taste, but I'm bad at finding "new" music (or new to me) - I know how to hunt down the best field recordings of wacky folk music, can come up with a billion recommendations for Renaissance court music and so on - but like to stick close to home. Lucky for me, I have some audiophile friends who are more than happy to share their treasures with me - maybe I'll go on the hunt next time I'm in Taiwan! Though I'd probably just bring home some dreadful - if prettily packaged - things.
In any case, if you're up for some Taiwan folk-rock, this is a fabulous album. It tickles my musical palate in a delightful way & is - dare I say it? - quite catchy and addictive. I found myself singing 'along' (bumbling trying to mimic the sounds) this morning in the car, or at least humming.
For anyone in listening distance, I am of course more than happy to give you a taste. :)
In her roundup on her summer acquisitions, woquinoncoin had this to say:
Now this is a proper debut, even if the 3-song EP is tantalizingly short.
Their sound is very warm, very organic -- not a surprise that they're trying to promote respect for local roots and agricultural laborers with their music.
It's just really a tremendous little album, but oh so short!
I realized that I have pretty varied taste, but I'm bad at finding "new" music (or new to me) - I know how to hunt down the best field recordings of wacky folk music, can come up with a billion recommendations for Renaissance court music and so on - but like to stick close to home. Lucky for me, I have some audiophile friends who are more than happy to share their treasures with me - maybe I'll go on the hunt next time I'm in Taiwan! Though I'd probably just bring home some dreadful - if prettily packaged - things.
In any case, if you're up for some Taiwan folk-rock, this is a fabulous album. It tickles my musical palate in a delightful way & is - dare I say it? - quite catchy and addictive. I found myself singing 'along' (bumbling trying to mimic the sounds) this morning in the car, or at least humming.
For anyone in listening distance, I am of course more than happy to give you a taste. :)