Best of 2012
31. 12. 2012 | Rubriky: Articles,Best of Year,Feature
[by Ken Hunt, London] Another fine year for music. The evidence of this list to the contrary, much of 2012 flashed by in a blur owing to illness in the family that wiped out most of the year’s listening hours. As to recorded music, the pile of unlistened to music grew, thanks to having to prioritise paid reviewing work. Yes, strange though it may seem, if one’s livelihood depends on paid writing, it is astonishing how a paying commission focuses the mind.
New releases
Al Andaluz Project / Live In München 2011 / Galileo
Carolina Chocolate Drops / Leaving Eden / Nonesuch
Eva Quartet & Hector Zazou / The Arch / Elen Music
Getatchew Mekuria & The Ex & Friends / Y’Anbessaw Tezeta / Terp Records
Maria Doyle Kennedy / Sing / Mermaid Productions
Sam Lee / Ground of its Own / The Nest Collective
Little Feat / Rooster Rag / Rounder
The Owl Service / Garland Sessions / Stone Tape Recordings
Tom Paley’s Old-Time Moonshine Revue / Roll On, Roll On / Hornbeam Recordings
Emily Portman / Hatchling / Furrow Records
Abdulkarim Raas & Kuljit Bhamra / Somali Party Southall / Keda Records
Kala Ramnath / Aavartan: A Musical Odyssey – 1 Dawn to Dusk / Kalashree
Kala Ramnath / Aavartan: A Musical Odyssey – 2 Dusk to Dawn / Kalashree
Ravi Shankar / Living Room Sessions Part 1 / East Meets West Music Inc
Jenny M Thomas And The System / Bush Gothic / Fydle Records
Wu Man and Master Musicians from the Silk Route / Borderlands / Smithsonian Folkways
Neil Young With Crazy Horse / Psychedelic Pill / Reprise
Historic releases, reissues and anthologies
Peter Bellamy / Barrack-Room Ballads of Rudyard Kipling / Fellside Recordings
Dorota Barová / feat. Dorota Barová / Indies
Sandy Denny / The Notes And The Words – A Collection of Demos And Rarities / Island Records
Grateful Dead / Dave’s Picks Volume Three – Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, IL 10/22/71 / Grateful Dead Productions
A L Lloyd / Bramble Briars and Beams o the Sun / Fellside Recordings
Sarah Makem / As I Roved Out / Musical Traditions
Sarah Makem / The Heart Is True / Topic
Gil Scott-Heron / The Revolution Begins – The Flying Dutchman Masters / Ace
Various Artists / Antologie moravské lidové hudby/Traditional Folk Music in Moravia – Dolňácko II / Indies
Various Artists / Antologie moravské lidové hudby/Traditional Folk Music in Moravia – Valašsko, Lašsko / Indies
Various Artists / Celebrating Subversion – The Anti-Capitalist Roadshow / Fuse Records
Various Artists / Copendium – An Expedition into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Underworld / Ace Records
Various Artists / I’m A Romany Rai – Songs by Southern English Gypsy Traditional Singers / Topic
Various Artists / Jail House Bound / WVU Press Sound Archive
Various Artists / Make it your sound, make it your scene – Vanguard Records & the 1960s musical revolution / Vanguard/Ace
Various Artists / You Never Heard So Sweet – Songs by Southern English Traditional Singers / Topic
Hedy West / Hedy West/Volume 2 / Vanguard/Ace
Dominique Vellard – Ken Zuckerman / Indian Ragas & Medieval Song / Glossa
Events of 2012
Iva Bittová and the Nederlands Blazers Ensemble / Groete Zaal, Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ, Amsterdam / 25 January 2012
Aruna Sayeeram/Aruna Sairam / Théâtre de la Ville, Paris / 12 April 2012
Brass Monkey / The Goose Is Out, East Dulwich, London / 27 April 2012
Andy Irvine / The Ram Club, Thames Ditton, Surrey / 4 May 2012
Little Feat / Islington Assembly Hall, London / 2 July 2012
Oumou Sangare & Béla Fleck / Tanz&FolkFest Rudolstadt, Heinepark / 6 July 2012
Hannes Wader / Tanz&FolkFest Rudolstadt, RUTH-Verleihung, Heidecksburg / 7 July 2012
Alistair Anderson / Tanz&FolkFest Rudolstadt, Stadtkirche / 8 July 2012
Chumbawamba / Tanz&FolkFest Rudolstadt, Heinepark / 8 July 2012
Jyotsna Srikanth Project / London International Arts Festival, Redbridge Town Hall, Ilford / 11 August 2012
Dr M. Balamuralikrishna / London International Arts Festival, Redbridge Town Hall, Ilford / 11 August 2012
Chitraveena Ravikiran / Darbar Festival, Purcell Room, London / 29 September 2012
Shujaat Khan & Swapan Chaudhuri / Darbar Festival, Purcell Room, London / 30 September 2012
Carolina Chocolate Drops / O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire / 9 October 2012
Dick Gaughan / Twickfolk, Twickers, Middlesex / 25 November 2012
One additional live act sounded more than promising from catching them doing a support spot at The Goose Is Out and that was Kit & Cutter. The close-of-festival cameo performance by Strom & Wasser featuring The Refugees at TFF Rudolstadt was also really impressive.
Images: Iva Bittová botanising with an improvised palm tree hat (from bark donated by staff) at De Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam – Amsterdam’s Botanical Gardens – taken 25 January 2012 © Ken Hunt/Swing 51 Archives. Otherwise the images are © their image-makers, photographers and designers.