For those like me who are tired of the same old holiday songs, here’s a couple playlists celebrating musical diversity while still being festive.
African, Latin American, Indian, Pandemic-themed and more Christmas non-classics:
Winter Solstice-themed music to get you through the darkest days and into the light:
2018 was a year. There was more humanity in the world than ever before. It was wild. But the people made some brilliant sonic documents that just might outlive their creators. Here is a supremely subjective best-of-2018 music mix, blatantly ignoring all other best-of list. Mostly obscure music from far away that I think is exciting. Hope you hear something fresh (PLAYLIST HERE). Bless the creators out there!
And look here, an uncut dance mix!
The sparkling city of Ashgabat
Welcome to Turkmenistan, the oddest and most mysterious of the Stans. East of the Caspian Sea, Turkmenistan is a strangely modern and strangely administered nation. Hear some of the classic folks sounds (thanks dutar.com), some freaky prog jazz, hip hop, and more:
The door to hell is inconveniently located in the middle of the Karakum Desert
Who built the nuraghes? Probably ancient humans using anti-gravity. Or dinosaurs.
The mystical Mediterranean island of Sardinia is covered with over 7000 megalithic rock sites that date back at least 3000 years. If the magical people who made these structures had electric guitars and distortion pedals, I bet this is the kind of slow and heavy music they would have played in those temples…
It’s a metal stereotype to be associated with pre-Christian paganism, but somehow it just feels right. Like a protest against the single-minded pursuit of forward progress, time dissolves in a musical trance. May the earth-shaking riffs wake the ancient wizards!
Hear Sardinian rock amidst many other local and global sounds as we visit the secret music scene of a singular giant isle:
Aqnazar Alovatov of the Badakhshan Ensemble
Come and explore music you’ve never even dreamed of. Badakhshan beckons only the most intrepid of sonic mountaineers!
WANDERING RHYTHMS RADIO 