colleen

non-western music

america

macumba au bresil (visages du monde – collection maurice bitter)
the music of arab americans – a retrospective collection (rounder)

classicos açorianos – carlos alberto moniz (buda musique)

asia

instrumental music of north-east thailand (world music library – king record)
mo lam singing of north-east thailand (world music library – king record)
laos – traditional music of the south (unesco)
vietnam – musique des montagnards (le chant du monde)
birmanie – musique d’art (ocora)
philippines – musique des hautes-terres palawan (le chant du monde)
japon – splendeur du koto (playa sound)

indonesia

java – pays sounda – musique et chants traditionnels – recorded by merry ottin (alvarès) – this is one of the most beautiful musics in the world
java – palais royal de yogyakarta – 1. les danses de cour (ocora)
java – pays sunda – musiques savantes – 2. l’art du gamelan degung (ocora)
bali – hommage à lotring (ocora)
bali anthology (collection musique du monde – buda musique)
bali – gamelan and kecak (nonesuch explorer series)
barong – drame musical balinais (collection musée de l’homme – vogue)

africa

ethiopiques – every single volume of this amazing collection of ethiopian music from the late 60s – early70s is worth hearing –volume 4 is particularly astounding (buda musique)
oum kalthoum – buda musique anthology with recordings starting from 1926
the musicians of the nile (realworld)
kalimba and kalumbu songs – northern rhodesia – 1952 and 1957 (international library of african music)

europe

amalia rodrigues – unnamed 1945 recording (pharaon)

anthologies

les voix du monde – une anthologie des expressions vocales (C.N.R.S./Musée de l’Homme, Le Chant du Monde) –   incredible boxset which will make you think and feel differently about the human voice

western music from early music to now

monteverdi – l’orfeo
marin marais / sainte-colombe – any recording of these two composers by viola da gamba player jordi savall is bound to be great
bach  – virtually everything, but especially the cello suites and the organ works
prokofiev – romeo and juliet
tchaikovsky – the nutcracker – swan lake
debussy – prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune – nocturnes – la mer
satie  – trois gymnopedies and trois gnossiennes
stravinski, the rite of spring – the firebird – petrushka
shostakovitch, string quartets, especially string quartet 15
elgar – sospiri op.70
ravel – trio for violin, cello and piano in A minor
bartok – rumanian folk dance
lou harrison – gamelan music –  double concerto for violin, cello and javanese gamelan – molto adagio (from a portrait )
olivier messiaen – œuvres pour orgue
john cage – sonatas and interludes – works for piano and prepared piano
bernard et francois baschet  – les structures sonores
delia derbyshire – bbc radiophonic music and everything else
raymond scott – manhattan research
don buchla – in the beginning : etude II
steve reich – come out
terry riley – poppy nogood and the phantom band
ingram marshall – fog tropes – gradual requiem
philip glass – string quartets
ohm – the early gurus of  electronic music – boxset
gravikords, whirlies and pyrophones – experimental music instruments
moondog – a new sound of an old instrument – h’art songs – in europe
pauline oliveros – crone music
ellen fullman – change of direction
mamoru fujieda – patterns of plants

20th century popular (and not so popular) music

1940s

billie holiday – too hard to choose particular tracks, but “my man” of course

1950s

django reinhardt – “minor swing”
duke ellington – “fleurs africaines”
frank sinatra – “what is this thing called love ?”
peggy lee – “my thrill”

1960s

art ensemble of chicago – les stances à sophie
beatles – right, where do i start ? i can’t start , i’ll just mention one song: “a day in the life”, which started my vocation as a musician
brenda holloway – “when i’m gone”
brigitte fontaine with art ensemble of chicago – comme à la radio
chet baker – “my funny valentine” “the thrill is gone”
getz / gilberto – “corcovado”
jeanne lee and ran blake – the newest sound around
joe meek – i hear a new world
john coltrane – love supreme – africa brass sessions
kinks – “fancy”
leonard cohen – “the stranger song”
love – forever changes
martha and the vandellas – “(love is like a ) heat wave ”
moody blues – “nights in white satin”
nico – chelsea girl – the marble index
nina simone – “wild is the wind”, “i put a spell on you”
rolling stones – “lady jane”, “under my thumb”
shangri las – ” the leader of the pack” , ” remember (walking in the sand )” , ” i can never go home”
sun ra – the singles
supremes – “baby love” “my world is empty without you”
vashti bunyan – just another diamond day
velvet underground – everything and in particular “candy says” “who loves the sun” “sunday morning”
white noise – an electric storm

1970s

blondie – parallel lines
buzzcocks – “ever fallen in love”
can – ege bamyasi
clangers – music for the tv series by vernon elliott
cure – “boys don’t cry”
david bowie, almost everything from that time
gainsbourg – melody nelson
holger czukai – “man woman boat song”
joy division – unknown pleasures
karen dalton – “katie cruel”
kraftwerk – everything from that time
moody blues – “melancholy man”
lee perry – everything from the good period
madrigal – 1971 album
mars – live nyc 1977-78
nico – desert shore
rocket from the tombs – the day the earth met the …
suicide – “cheree”
this heat – this heat – this album made me stop making  music for two years
wire – pink flag – chairs missing particularly  “outdoor miner”

1980s

big black – “kerosene”
cocteau twins – garlands
daniel johnston – continued story – high how are you
felt – “sunlight bathed the golden glow”
kate bush –  “running up that hill”
my bloody valentine –isn’t anything particularly “no more sorry” and “soft as snow”
penguin cafe orchestra – “cutting branches for a temporary shelter”
pixies, everything
sonic youth, everything up to dirty and particularly evol
supreme dicks – working man’s dick
video-aventures – musiques pour garçons et filles

1990s

add n to x – “oh yeah oh no”
antipop consortium – tragic epilogue
aphex twin – “nannou”
autechre – chiastic slide – lp 5
boo radleys – giant steps – eps
coil – worship the glitch
company flow – “eight steps to perfection”
dominique a – la fossette – particularly “nous marchons sous la neige”
east flatbush project – “tried by twelve”
genius /gza – liquid swords
krs one – i got next
low –  i could live in hope
maeror tri – compilation from the early 1990s – not sure if it’s got a name
method man – tical
my bloody valentine – loveless
nirvana – nevermind
palace brothers – palace brothers (days in the wake)
pavement – slanted and enchanted – wowee zowee
pole – 1 – 2 – 3
stina nordenstam – people are strange – particularly “purple rain”
supreme dicks – the unexamined life
tindersticks – “marbles”
wu tang clan – wu tang forever especially “the city” and “bells of war”

2000s

anne laplantine – hambourg – three 7’’ boxset on tomlab
asa-chang and junray – jun ray song chang
caretaker – “a stairway to the stars”
christian fennesz – endless summer
half-asleep –demo
kim hiorthoy – “tak”
leila – courtesy of choice
novisad – seleya
oval – process – commers
tim hecker – radio amor, especially ” hello detroit”
wu tang clan – the  w