Raga Guitar

Shivkumar Sharma, Hariprasad Chaurasia & Brij Bhushan Kabra - Call Of The Valley (1967) {Saregama CDNF 150008}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 391 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 167 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 51 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1967, 1988 Saregama India | CDNF 150008
World Music / Indian Music / Indian Classical / Raga / Jugalbandi (Duet) / Meditative

Call Of the Valley is a symphony in Indian Classical Music. The genius of three brilliant artistes and a collaboration of their music that is exquisitely sweet and bewitchingly pleasing to the ear. It paints for us a tonal picture of gorgeous valleys, laden with tall green pine and chinar trees and sun-kissed, snow-clad peaks of the mighty Himalayas. The three instruments that come together to present this euphorious drama are The Santoor, The Flute and the Guitar. The Santoor is a folk instrument typical of the Kashmir Valley and is extremely popular with the masses.

Shivkumar Sharma & Hariprasad Chaurasia - The Valley Recalls (1995) {2CD+2DVD5 NTSC Sony Music-Navras}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 729 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 348 Mb
2xDVD5 -> 5.97 Gb | All Regions | NTSC 4:3 | Dolby AC3, 2 ch | ~ 180 min | ISO Images
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 210 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1995, 2004, 2009 Sony Music / Navras Records | 88697 56085 2 / NRDVD 005/6
World Music / Indian Classical / Raga / Santoor & Flute Jugalbandi / Pakhawaj & Tabla Duet

Pandit Shivkumar Sharma and Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia reunite some 30 years later for a follow-up to their beautiful and groundbreaking Call of the Valley. Sharma (santoor) and Chaurasia (flute) were highly regarded on their instruments back then, and are now acknowledged as living masters. Although Brij Bhushan Kabra has been replaced on Indian acoustic slide guitar by Jayanti Shah, the overall mood is just as lovely and contemplative, even though the role of the guitar has been diminished. The Valley Recalls is beautiful, gentle work, and a worthy successor to Call of the Valley.

John Fahey - Days Have Gone By (1967) {Takoma CDTAK 6509}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 133 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 113 Mb
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© 1967, 2001 Takoma / Fantasy | CDTAK 6509
Folk / Contemporary Folk / Finger-Picked Guitar / Folk Jazz / Folk-Blues / Progressive Folk

Sam Graham once referred to Fahey as the "curmudgeon of the acoustic guitar," while producer Samuel Charters noted that Fahey "was the only artist I ever worked with whose sales went down after he made public appearances." This tumultuous spirit, in turn, made tumultuous music on albums like Days Have Gone By, filled with odd harmonics, discord, and rare beauty. The esoteric titles like "Night Train of Valhalla" stand beside more abrasive ones like "The Revolt of the Dyke Brigade."

In April 2019, 22a boss and multi-instrumentalist, Tenderlonious embarked on a trip to Pakistan to work with Lahore based instrumental quartet, Jaubi. Following on from the highly acclaimed, three track limited edition 10” vinyl release of ‘Tender in Lahore’ earlier this year, 22a presents the full suite of improvised ragas from a one day recording session in Lahore, Pakistan. The pure sounds of Indian and Pakistani classical music act as a framework for deep and spiritual improvisations between Tenderlonious on flute & soprano saxophone and Jaubi band members, Kashif Ali Dhani on tabla and vocals, Zohaib Hassan Khan on sarangi and Ali Riaz Baqar on guitar. This cross cultural collaboration also features Polish composer and keys player Marek Pędziwiatr on synth drone.

John Fahey - The Voice of the Turtle (1968) {Takoma CDTAK 1019 rel 1996}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 211 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 93 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 285 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1968, 1996 Fantasy / Takoma Records | CDTAK 1019
Folk / Blues / Contemporary Folk / Finger-Picked Guitar / Folk Jazz / Folk-Blues / Progressive Folk

Like some of John Fahey's other projects in the '60s, this was actually recorded and assembled over a few years, and primarily composed of duets with various other artists (including overdubs with his own pseudonym, "Blind Joe Death"). One of his more obscure early efforts, Voice of the Turtle is both listenable and wildly eclectic, going from scratchy emulations of early blues 78s and country fiddle tunes to haunting guitar-flute combinations and eerie ragas. "A Raga Called Pat, Part III" and "Part IV" is a particularly ambitious piece, its disquieting swooping slide and brief bits of electronic white noise reverb veering into experimental psychedelia. Most of this is pretty traditional and acoustic in tone, however, though it has the undercurrent of dark, uneasy tension that gives much of Fahey's '60s material its intriguing combination of meditation and restlessness.

From the five-hundred-year old musical history of the Sufi Fakirs of Bengal to the virtuoso musicianship of Calcutta’s guitar master Debashsish Bhattacharya and Carnatic violinist Jyotsna Srikanth, this Rough Guide explores India’s spiritual connections with its ancient musical traditions.