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Prog Folk from around the World
´Twas in the heady years of the late ´60s that progressive rockers and folk musicians got together and spawned the sub-genre known as Prog Folk. This fertile union has sired dozens of artists and albums, but strangely, I didn´t find any MB threads specifically devoted to Prog Folk itself. In MB, we have a Prog section and a Folk section, so it looks like the parents have divorced and now live in their separate houses. But what about the poor children? Where are all the artists, whose surname is Prog-Folk – where are they to live?
Well, I propose dividing them up like this: all the English-speaking Prog Folk family can go and live in the Prog forum, where the emphasis might be on their progness. Meanwhile, any Prog Folkers who grew up in other countries can live with their Folk parents here, where perhaps the stress might be on regional folkiness. So I´m opening up twin threads in which people can share recommendations. This one for Prog Folk from around the world, and a parallel one for English-speaking countries:- http://www.musicbanter.com/prog-psyc...ml#post1662993 To kick things off, I´d like to post a track by a band I became a fan of last night, those well-known Basque rockers, Itoiz. This is from their 1980 album, Ezekiel:- |
Chilean band, Los Jaivas have a dozen or so albums under their belts and know how to mix modern and traditional elements with assurance. They also know how to whip up a storm and, in their prime, must´ve been great to see live:-
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Françoise Hardy - Message Personnel
Basically a song most people would consider Pop, but it was released in the Prog era so it soaked up some proggy influence, me thinks. They are proggy and folk elements in this song. The piano plays a turnaround, which common in Folk (and Blues). And a Mellotron makes an appearance at the end the song, how proggy is that? Omega - Remembering 1973 A band that hails from Hungary. They'd been together as long as the Rolling Stones, around fifty years plus. (I think The Dells might hold the record at sixty years together - not sure.) Just like any other band that's been together for a long time, they have gone through different styles of music. Started out sounding somewhat like other bands from England during the 60s. During the 70s their sound gravitated mores towards Prog and Hard Rock. Trio Voronezh - New York Tango They play on traditional instruments but there is somewhat of a Prog elements. Gjallarhorn - Kokkovirsi They are considered playing "World" music mix with Folk from Sweden and Finland. |
Sandy Denny - Who Knows Where The Time Goes
Sandy was in Fairport Convention, Strawbs, and Fotheringay. She also sang duet with Robert Plant on The Battle of Evermore from Led Zeppelin IV. |
Thanks for the clips of those four European artists, nea; each one, for me, more interesting than the previous. I remember Françoise Hardy, who was sexy enough to break into the competitive/insular British pop charts of the sixties. The artist I liked best, though, was the last; thanks for the recommendation.
Here are a couple of other French artists:- Rock band Tarmac ocassionally stray into folky territory. This track from their L´Atelier album has a sinister Tindersticks mood to it:- Machin´s first album is a little-known gem of prog folk, so although I´ve posted this track before, I´m going to give it another plug:- Unfortunately, after this album, they seemed content to do a lot of lightweight, tongue-in-cheek generic stuff. :( But let´s finish on an optimistic note and while we´re in France, a track from Malincorne´s 1976 album, Almanach :- |
I absolutely adore Alan Sorrenti - Aria. The vocal histrionics can take some getting used to, but it's a very rewarding album. This sends shivers down my spine.
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Welcome back, Seltzer! I imagined that you'd gone for good. I really liked Alan Sorrenti' s strange, empassioned singing; sounds like an album that grows on you...
Folk music from Gambia, with deliciously distorted keyboards and guitar - that's what you get with Ifang Bondi. If it ends up sounding like desert blues, should that exclude it from a prog-folk thread? Who knows. Anyway, this is the title track from their 1976 album:- |
The Collage are an Estonian ensemble. The formed in the mid 60s. They have harmonies close to Gjallarhorn which you can hear in the intro. Being from Estonia probably share some Folk . They are described as incorperating Jazz, and Funk among other music styles. The bass to Mets neidude vahel definitely can pass for Prog bass.
You can go through the albums, most pages on discog linked YouTube videos on the album page. discog.com: Collage (8) Collage - Mets neidude vahel |
^ What a beautiful piece of music, neapolitan! Thanks. After being rather sick, yours was the first video clip I played in over a week, so it sounded very special to me. I particularly loved the choral opening, and the flute that comes in later.
I'll investigate them as you suggest and hopefully come up with someone for you to look at in return, ok? |
Here's some Вежливый Отказ (Vezhlivy Otkaz).
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I'm not sure if this is live, within three minutes they play in a room, in a foggy field, take off in a car, then end the song a unlit soundstage.
Hölderlin • Requiem Für Einen Wicht (1972) |
The only Hoelderlin lp that could be considered folkprog is "Hoelderlin's Traum" '70
Here are some German folkprogs: PARZIVAL - LEGENDE (their other lp doesn't fit the cubby) OUGENWEIDE - OHRENSHMAUS '76 (they have many lps. This and maybe the double Live set fit) EMMA MYLDENBERGER -SAME '78 (Gryphon, Third Ear Band moves) Here is a good French one: ASGARD "Tradition et renouveau" (the other lp is straight folk) |
The only ones I know for sure is Pentangle, and Gazpacho (especially in their 2015 album Molok Rising).
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Pentangle is pure folk. Nothing prog there.
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^ Plus, prog or not, Pentangle are covered in the sister thread: http://www.musicbanter.com/prog-psyc...ml#post1662993
Your description of Emma Myldenberger caught my attention, Buffo. Here's the first YouTube clip of theirs that I came across. Good call !! |
You want me to spill more then join my forum, HOUSE OF FOX at :
Log in This forum is full of stupids. I have a feeling these are audiofool (gear) peeps here at "Music Banter" , not them that harbour much by way of actual music appreciation. |
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Yat-Kha are a band from Russia who mix up Tuvan singing - and that sombre stringed instrument that stands in the lap - and er mix it up with a bunch of other styles. The results can be pretty interesting:- ..... |
Thanks. I really like that Holderlin song.
I don't know if this next band fits in with Prog Folk. They definitely know how to blend well Turkish music with Rock. They were active during the Prog years so there might be an influence there somewhere, especially in Sevenler Ağlarmış. The guitar player has a double neck guitar. One is a regular guitar neck and the other looks like a neck taken from a Saz. I find the exciting parts when he plays the latter. 3 HÜREL - CANIM KURBAN - YouTube 3 Hür-El - Sevenler Ağlarmış |
^ Sorry I let that last recommendation pass me by Neapolitan. As you say they do good job of blending modern and traditional, and I've enjoyed both tracks that you posted - especially the second one with the instrumental work-out at the end.
And here, from Chile, is an album called Locomotora that's all instrumental. The first two albums by Los Blops are full of rather traditional-sounding ballads, but with their third and last album they moved into more prog territory. Isn't the internet fabulous? Recorded in just fourteen hours and with an original release of only 500 copies, this is a great album that would've stayed under a lot of radars in the pre-internet era - now it's just a click away on YouTube. To give you a taste of its charms, here is the opening track:- |
I was watching a video about John Peel & his record collection. He held up an album and said "... and the music is really rather good." The album cover has different artwork, but the title mentioned is an English translation of the Turkish album title.
https://s25.postimg.org/pn0w1i1zz/er...uler_kapak.jpg |
I guess we should mention the so-called Andalusian rock or early flamenco-rock. So we go to the 1970's.
* Triana. Abre la puerta ("Open the Door", 1975) and Quiero contarte ("I Want to Tell You", 1979): Una historia ("A Story") and El lago ("The Lake", 1974): * Mezquita. Dame un beso ("Kiss Me", 1979) and Desde que somos dos ("Since We Are Two", 1979): |
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Anyone remember this thread?
I'm bumping it to add a wonderful album which fits right in imo. It's the self-titled instrumental album by Russian band Firyusa, which is by turns busy and beautiful. I'm having some trouble getting the YouTube clip to open, but to guys like grindy, Neapolitan, Frownland and Psy-Fi, I would say that it's well worth checking out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzs4lD47Aa8&t=1113s https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/i...4sqiAlEqvTcQ&s Originally recorded in 1979, it was re-released this year:- Spoiler for album facts from bandcamp:
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Here's a bit of 70's psych/prog-folk/rock from Bogotá, Colombia...
Génesis - Yakta Mama (1975) |
^ Yes, that's pretty good Psy-Fi: some nice songs. Maybe more pop than prog, but who's counting?
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I was so surprised that this thread had no mention about Comus band. Per my understanding, much of the users in here know it quite well, so just to make it right, I put the song below. ;)
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Thanks for looking in, Sir Cactoos - how are you doing?
Yes, Comus are mentioned in various places here - a very innovative band. Strictly speaking, because they sing in English, they turn up (briefly) in a companion thread to this one:- "Prog Folk from the Anglosphere": https://www.musicbanter.com/prog-psy...glosphere.html In this thread we've been putting "foreign language" prog folk, but of course what is foreign all depends on where you are from! __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ___________________ And while I'm here, how about some Altan Urag? |
Hello again, Lisnaholic! Happy to see you again! :)
I believe Comus is well known band within whole Misic Banter comunity, nevertherless I was not able to spot it in this threat, specifically dedicated to them, as it refers to prog folk around world, not only out of English language. Besides, Comus actually IS foreign language band to me. ;) I heard Altan Urag's album once, maybe twice, yet I take them as a way better pioneers of Mongolian folk rock music than, in my opinion, over-hyped "The HU" band (still, I don't say I dislike them). The more Asian prog-folk in here, the better. :) But European one is good, too. Below, self-titled album of Ksi??yc (eng. "The Moon") band from Poland, released in 1996. In some way, it resembles Comus in terms of the atmosphere. |
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And here's an obscure gem of French prog-folk, which you might enjoy. It jumps around a little in style and language, but that doesn't really disrupt the leisurely, relaxed pace of the album: |
Some 70's prog-folk from Brazil...
Quinteto Armorial - Do Romance ao Galope Nordestino (1974) |
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