Mixtape
dfbm #113 - Morning Raga Pt. 25

A new mix of solo acoustic guitar music has been long overdue.

This year has seen the release of some great new music as well as the rediscovery of some older, lesser known recordings that are worth presenting.

For example Gerhard Baum's album "Scrambled Eggs" and Wolfgang Barthel's "Magic Guitar Ride" from 1982 are two very interesting records. Both artists are German, as evidenced by their ridiculous album titles. However, their music is good and all original. Kottkes' fast playing has influenced Baum's style more. While Barthel is all over the place with e-guitar pieces, classic blues, and standards like the Bolero.

Eberhard Struch's "Flußfahrt" is another interesting album, but from the other side of the border that existed until 1989. Struch had one album released under his own name on the state-owned AMIGA label, and was included on the 1984 Kleeblatt Nr. 13 compilation series as a new and notable talent. The question of whether Kottke or Fahey had an impact on East-German musicians has now been answered. The better known Steffen Basho-Junghans (RIP) was a musician in the GDR as well, but his first solo acoustic guitar release was on his own label in 1989. I'm certain Junghans knew other pickers, since he organized a guitar festival in the GDR.

The new Simansk/Niesner album is yet another work of art. The cover is fantastic. It looks like a Czech folkpop album from the 1980s. The music is a bit like an extension of Ryley Walker & Daniel Bachmans collaboration in the beginning of their career, but with the Czech twist. To understand how American music can have Czech influences, watch the documentary Banjo Romantika - American Bluegrass Music and the Czech Imagination, which explores the hidden connections between Czech and American culture.¹ Daniel Bachman recommended it to me and of course he's on this mix as well with his rendition of Elizabeth Cotten's "Till we meet again". As a contemporary musician exploring folk traditions and current disasters (https://www.thewire.co.uk/video/watch-daniel-bachman-s-almanac-behind>), he was and continues to be a huge influence on many of us. Daniel also shared the King Edward Smith recordings, that he found while working on preserving and researching folk music in Virginia.

As always, there is more to say, but it takes forever to write it all down, and it's not particularly interesting.

This time, there is only a download link. Mixcloud changed their business model, and because music fans do not pay for their services, they now charge DJs. My target audience, whoever they are, isn't really on mixcloud; it's a niche service. So I considered turning the mix into a podcast feed so you can subscribe in a podcast player; that might work, but it's a bit tricky with the chapter markers and links to buy the album. Both were absent in my tests and at the end of the day, it's maybe a bit too much work for these 5 listeners. You can always let me know what you prefer, just leave a comment.

Anyway - good old zip below, maybe YouTube.

Enjoy!

TL;DR

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Download

Tracklist

1. Gerhard Baum Journeymans's Years Scrambled Eggs 1981 discogs
2. Pat Conte Snow Ride Gravest Hits 2007 discogs
3. Bile Bear Timofei Bear Bile - Bile Bear 2022 web
4. Ian A. Anderson Goblets & Elms The Time Is Ripe 2014 web
5. Susan James The Bean March Fantastic Voyage: A Double Album 1998 discogs
6. D.C Cross Lithgow Pink Hot-wire the Lay-low (Australian escapist pieces for guitar) 2022 web
7. Larry Sparks And The Lonesome Ramblers Ramblin' Guitar Ramblin' Guitar 1970 discogs
8. Wolfgang Barthel Zur Schönen Gelegenheit Magic Guitar Ride 1982 discogs
9. Daniel Bachman 'Til We Meet Again Lonesome Weary Blues 2022 web
10. Andy McLeod Jesus Will You Come By Here Six String Guitar Vol. 1 2022 web
11. J.R. Bohannon Love in Action Compulsions 2022 web
12. Joseph Allred Before the Lord The Rambles & Rags of Shiloh 2022 web
13. Ali Shah From Below At The End Of The Day 2020 web
14. Šimanský-Niesner Deep Tea Všechno Dobré 2022 web
15. Johnny Young Of Course Of Course 2022 web
16. Robert Bromley Sun Wheel Into the Ether 2022 web
17. William Tyler A Closing Music from First Cow 2020 web
18. Elijah McLaughlin Ensemble Zodiac Rabbit II 2022 web
19. Alexander Moeckl RagMaTec Concert web
20. Woody Simmons Suite For Wings Oregon Mountains 1977 discogs
21. Samuel Gray Edmondson unnamed // transitions // 2021 web
22. Sunset Stranger Dixon's Fussypants Blues Balmer Street Blues 2021 web
23. Dibson T. Hoffweiler Enneagram Study Joshua Tree & Other Desert Cities 2022 web
24. Eberhard Struch Flußfahrt Kleeblatt No. 13 - Gitarren-Workshop 1984 discogs
25. Son of Buzzi Eine Art zu fliegen Die Hand der Riesin 2022 web
26. Kerry Interlude Moth and Rust 2021 web
27. King Edward Smith 10 Homerecordings (Realistic) 2022 web
28. Dan Petrich The Great Destroyer Cycles web
29. Niko Karlsson Servant to a Memory Its Own Phantom web
30. Jeremy Nicholas Paraklesis 2 Paraklesis (EP) 2022 web