After a long hibernation,

I've finally decided to start this blog back up again, though primarily with the goal of sharing (at least what I consider) information about good (and often little-known) music, both vintage and modern. My concerns lately have been flip-flopping between a wide variety of seemingly disparate styles… namely, traditional Jewish/Klezmer/etc bands from Eastern Europe, Balkan Romani music and its derivatives, Mongolian/Siberian throat singing at its best, field recordings of West African beats and Inuit story-songs, Thai longhouse music, and, of course, traditional Appalachian Stringband.

I am also interested in folklore, and the presence of folklore in music and culture, and how these unique facets of a culture interact with and/or are shaped by one another, particularly in modern times.

Loosely joined, I suppose I’m interested in discovering and getting to know mainly acoustic, identity-defining grooves from across the globe, and the way those have metamorphosed (or not) over time.

Here are some biases you ought to know about:

1. The word “acoustic” up there is nothing to be taken too seriously. I adore acoustic music, but as a member of the 21^st century Western world, I am surrounded by the whirring and buzzing of the electrified and digital age. I love that new technology has the ability to take us into experimental realms we’ve never been able to traverse before as far as music goes, and I have my hefty collection of music that can be categorized as strictly “digital.” I’m also very curious as to how the acoustic and digital worlds are beginning to be integrated with one another. More on that later.
   
   Really, though, for the purposes of this blog, acoustic music will probably be the norm.
   
   
   
2. I am a musician. I play the cello, piano, and concertina. I am stumbling through violin/fiddle, and mandolin at present also. I sing. As a result, I'm often drawn to music that includes both voice and the above-mentioned instruments.
   
   
   
3. I am very busy, so I doubt I'll be posting daily, but I promise to post as often as I can.
   
   
   
4. I live in the United States. This isn't really the best location for stumbling upon vintage Balkan Klezmer or likewise dusty African beats, but all the same, there are enough international communities in our cities to where it's not completely impossible. I did, after all, fall in love with Klezmer as a result of buying some old CDs in a thrift store in a Ukranian community outside of Los Angeles.
   
   
   
5. I am (selfishly, perhaps) using this blog as a way to further explore my own roots and sense of heritage. I am of Jewish stock, but have never really gotten to know much of my cultural ancestry. I grew up in two very disparate worlds: urban Alaska (if you can call Anchorage urban) and the coal-dusted heart of Appalachia-- West Virginia, so getting to further know the musical essence of both places (both past and present) is extremely important to me. Also, I feel the urge to really become familiar with cultural aspects of places rarely paid much respect in the West (i.e., Asia, Africa, Russia, etc).
   
   
   So, voila. Maybe I'm a bit crazy for even attemping to pull all of this together, but it should be an interesting adventure, at the very least.
   
   Cheers!