A wild and unruly assortment of segments from the archives of Shirley & Spinoza Radio – helicopters; Iranian flute music and drum machines; confused tourists and Japanese folk; a warbled cassette from a dusty Kashgar bazaar; a clip from the 1970s television series Kung Fu; Thai molam; cicadas; Uyghur pop; shortwave radio; wolves; a beggar lady’s song recorded in an oasis town; Chinese radio commercials and urban soundscapes; carrier pigeons equipped with droning whistles; Mongolian throat singing; and more. Many thanks to Fausto Caceres for his fearless and inspiring exploration of both forgotten and new ways of making radio.

Fausto is busy cleaning his mother-in-law’s rain gutters but he did take a brief respite to offer some reflections: “Many of the clips you chose send me right back into the time and space I was in when recording them. Listening to clips of Uyghur language radio transport me to all those winter nights spent in my Urumqi apartment, surrounded by a dirty-ice world & the smell of coal burning smokestacks in the air. They conjure the surrounding streets with large hanging hunks of mutton and fur hats for sale all over the place; my frozen mustache; the sounds of my neighbors walking up the stairwell every day making their unique, individual ‘hooting’ calls to activate the sound-triggered lights at each level; fully kitted PLA soldiers marching in the street; calls to prayer; and the dense, addictive collection of music shops and stands selling local cds. Re: the beggar lady singing 'Rosilem' in an oasis town called Artux, I recorded about half hour with her in a quiet, dusty courtyard off the street. Several local kids quietly appeared on the surrounding rooftops to quietly watch.

There’s a clip in there in Uyghur (a radio commercial for some local store) that starts “Aiygul ma! Nime'sh te!” (basically, just ‘what’s up Aigul!’ I used to just say that often to my local Uyghur friends in that same voice to their amusement as some sort of inside joke about my radio operating “pastime”.  My first year, I lived in a compound with all the local artists / musicians that were employed by the government, so I'd bump into the 'radio voices' and musicians I’d become familiar with at the local market all the time. Also within, you hear the annual September 18th air raid sirens commemorating the invasion by the Japanese; the megaphones at the Uyghur bazaar shouting prices; the pigeons (with attached drone whistle) circling my 6th floor apartment…  some fragments of Yunnan radio from later years. 

The earlier era clips you selected from the Oakland studio years seem to imagine some fantasy Sci-Lo-Fi version of what the coming years living in the PRC might bring.  I guess they weren’t so far off!

It’s always felt totally organic and personal to weave all these sounds and recordings spanning so many years into s&S Radio and particularly cool to hear these bits again assembled this way through your ears. I hope your fans enjoy! – Fausto Caceres (06/09/2021)

The cover image is taken from an art installation titled “Babel” by Cildo Meireles (2001), a large circular tower made from hundreds of second-hand transistor radios stacked on top of one another.  

http://compound-eye.org/

 SHIRLEY & SPINOZA RADIO (RIAFC 053)

Shirley & Spinoza Radio [RIAFC 053]

Thailand is full of colors. And full of sounds. And full of colorful sounds. Included in this hour-long, Thai-oriented (albeit not necessarily Thai-Thai) mix are: Lao-Isan molam; Khmer-Isan kantrum; Lanna folk; Malay dikir; Arabic pop; Chinese pop; Electone instrumentals; hill tribe tunes; a Tai Yai/Shan PSA; a herbal medicine commercial; Islamic adhan; Buddhist prayers; Lao, Khmer and Chinese radio wave snippets; rain and frog ambient; and more. They were discovered through a variety of media, i.e., AM/FM radio, field recording, and cassette tapes, in a variety of cities of Mae Hong Son, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, and Isan, as well as the Deep South, as well as downtown and greater Bangkok, over the last one year plus. Overall, a reminder of how deep and wide a sonic landscape exists in Thailand. 
1. Unknown Artist - โห่/ลาวกระทบไม้***
2. Isan Comedy Skit*
3. Unknown Artist - Khene Instrumental*
4. Unknown Artist - Unknown Track*
5. Tuning Noise*
6. Pattani Central Mosque**
7. Unknown Artist - Unknown Track***
8. Marof - บูแกเน๊าะจูมูรู (Bukae Nok Curumu)***
9. Tuning Noise*
10. Unknown Artist - Unknown Track*
11. Tuning Noise*; Unknown Artist - เลี้ยว***; Songkhla Morning Market**
12. Lisu Man Playing Fulu** 
13. Unknown Artist - อเอ็นบดาย***
14. Unknown Artist - สาวอีสานรอรัก***
15. Unknown Artist - สาวลาวบ่าวจีน (阿里山的姑娘)***
16. Baby Arabia - บานาอิสกัรดารอาชากร (يا بنات اسكندريّة)***
17. Unknown Artist - โห่***
18. 000+1 - The Busy World***
20. Unknown Artist - กาโระ (Karok)***
21. Khmer Afternoon Show*
22. Namphueng Mueangsurin - เมืองสุรินทร์***
23. Commercial: ต้นกำลังเสือโคร่ง*
24. Munirah - บอดอเตาะเละห้อาญา (Bodo Takleh Hajar)***
25. PSA: MAP Foundation on Myanmar-Thailand Child Trafficking***
26. Tuning Noise*
27. Bumper: CM77 (Witthayu Lanna Chiang Mai)*
28. Bumper: CRI (China Radio International)*
29. Tuning Noise*; Rainfall**
30. Wall of Frog Sounds**; Wat Jet Lin**; Wat Arun**; Unknown Artist - Unknown Track*
31. Death Agony of a Longhorn Beetle**
32. Unknown Artist - Unknown Track*
33. Tuning Noise*; Northern Man Singing in Lanna**; Unknown Artist - Unknown Track**; Unknown Artist - ให้เคอรี่มาส่งได้บ่**; School Sports Day*; ZuZu - อับดุลเลาะห์***; Klong Sabadchai Performance**
34. Waipod Phetsuphan - โห่***

*Radio recording **Field recording ***Cassette tape

Thaisferics - Korean Magpie Tapes [RIAFC 055]

Radio Síquica returns to the airwaves at Radio is a Foreign Country with EP081. Produced by Dr. Kokote Multiversal & Los Siquicos Litoraleños. Artwork: Elizabeta de los Montes

1. Intro 0:00 
2. Que linda está la mañana-Mandril 2:01 
3. Separadores varios- Radio Siquica 4:41 
4. Esta Canción va dedicada -Dr. Multiversal feat Chavela & Bichito Mamani 6:28 
5. Laraila -Rabito & Dj Surubi8:07 
6. Los Peces-Oso el Roto 9:17 
7. El cielo está nublado-Marina Torrico 12:39 
8. La Muerte del Payaso -Omar Shane/Kinks/Radio Siquica-15:34 
9. Soñar, Soñar -Dr Multiversal-17:08 
10. Ovni -Los Ovnis de Huanuni 19:40 
11. Tanda no comercial #324 Dj Surubi + Zizi + Radio Siquica 21:52 
12. El ramo tan espinoso 23:38 
13. Mate en Ganimedes- Los Siquicos Litoraleños 25:14 
14. Oscureli -Pipo el Sucio- 27:26 
15. Falta Radio -Radio Siquica-30:23 
16. Alpha Litoralis pt2 31:18 : Gerardito habla-31:43 Ramonita Vera- ?? (Kokote edit)32:30 Si no tengo tus besos 34:36 "El momento que mas me gusta" Dj Surubí- Feat. Francisco Madariaga 36:06 
17. Eh que agitás (Velvet Undergroud Cover) Lo Pibe 38:7 
18. Tanda no comercial #325 (Radio Siquica) 41:55 
19. Mi Lunarejito -Marta Soto 46:08 
20. Mucho mas grande del mundo (excerpt) Dr. Multiversal 50:05 
21. No puedo- Sumaj Runas 
22. Despedida 53:45 
23. Ramonita Vera -Tema no identificado-Radio Siquica mix) 55:25 
24. Cosas Extrañas -Bernardo el Trovador- 56:20 
25. Everybody is free- Dr Multiversal (From a sample of los Ovnis de huanuni) 58:03

Radio Siquica EP081 (RIAFC059)

Musical Rhythms from the Souss Region, Southern Morocco, compiled by Aqdim of Records Zaman (Agadir, Morocco). Make sure to check out our 24/7 radio platform here: https://www.radioisaforeigncountry.org.

Musical Rhythms from the Souss Region, Southern Morocco (RIAFC060)

Echo-heavy Javanese ronggeng dance music culled from cassettes by  Faldi at Dunia Dalam Analog (Surabaya, Indonesia). Make sure to check out our 24/7 radio platform here: https://www.radioisaforeigncountry.org.

Ronggeng Dance Mixtape (RIAFC061)

Great folk & funk cassettes from the collection of Berlin-based, Tunisian collector & dj Eshkoun Jay. You'll hear cassette music from Tunisia, Mauritania, Libya, Sudan, Iraq, Turkey & Albania.

Cassette Music - Eshkoun Jay (RIAFC070)

Immersive & hypnotic, this mixtape features (mostly) manipulated field recordings of obscure sounds & music from Tanzania to Borneo.

Photo credit: Andreas Mass

Exploding Suitcases from Radio Palestine: Sounds of The Eastern Mediterranean (Sublime Frequencies) 
Fade from Air Tapes – Excavation Series (Power Moves Library) 
Izeze (Iwawa) from Echoes of the Unquantized World 01 (Duckfood) 
Chibeu (Mae Hong Son, Thailand) – Lisu Mix – Kink Gong (Discrepant) 
Laos 2000 from Early-Century Sound Recordings – Mark Gergis (Discrepant) 
Dhvāni – Budhaditya Chattopadhyay from Anthology of Exploratory Music from India (Unexplained Sounds Group) 
Excerpt from Cho Oyu 8201m (Field Recordings From Tibet) – Geir Jenssen (Ash International) 
Raft 29 - Honey Hunters – Mike Cooper (Room40) 
A Fistful of Stardust from Archeophony – Raed Yassin (Akuphone) 
Syria 1998 from from Early-Century Sound Recordings – Mark Gergis (Discrepant) 
Excerpt from Volume One – Naujawanan Baidar (Radio Khiyaban) 
Excerpts from Orange Twin Field Works - Volume I – Jeff Mangum (Orange Twin Records) 
Excerpts from Sounds of Urumqi and Under a Dim Crescent Moon, Shirley & Spinoza Radio 
Excerpt from Suling Pereret cassette (Bali 886, Year Unknown) 
Balia – Saprin Ojo Lalove Ensemble (Gugus Gema, 2020) 
Excerpts from Asian Radio Environments, Jesse Paul Miller 
Nadaswaram Tannoy (Amba Vilas Palace, Mysore, India) from A Distant Invitation - Jesse Paul Miller (Sublime Frequencies) 
Titi Mati & Nocturnal Soundscape from Kwangka: Funerary Music of the Dayak Benuaq of Borneo – Vincenzo della Ratta (Sublime Frequencies)

Gonzo Ethnomusicology (RIAFC073)

Madrotter is a Dutch expat who has been living in Indonesia for the past 25 years. As anyone who follows his blog knows, he is an avid music lover and a relentless crate and tape digger. For the first installment of what we hope will become a regular thing here at RIAFC, Madrotter dug deep into his collection and put together a deep and beautiful selection of hard-to-find tapes documenting an obscure Sundanese genre called kliningan dangdut.

Listen 24/7 at https://www.radioisaforeigncountry.org

TRACKLIST
01 Etty Herawatie & Mekar Jaya Group - Waktu Keur Ngora
02 Euis Maryati - Beuger Munggaran
03 Min Herlina, Titin Hasanah & Orkes Melayu Assalam - Do'a Ibu
04 Otih & Bintang Terang Group - Endenk2an
05 Riza Umami - Sabab Tina Pangalaman
06 Yati Suryani - Leungiteun
07 Yayah Ratnasarih & Bhinekka Group - Bau Tapi Ngeunah
08 Euis Maryati & Orkes Melayu Seroja - Jariah
09 Husain Aziz - Kadongdora
10 Etty Herawatie & Karawang Group - Urang Ngibing 
11 Arum Sari, Cecep S. & Kembang Rose Group - Kopi Susu
12 Enen Sunengsih & Mekar Sari Group - Kiamat

Unknown album (16/07/2021 18:07:40)

Madrotter Kliningan Dangdut Mix #1 (RIAF077)

Retro Minangkabau folk & electronic pop music, Sundanese psychedelic pop & beat music, Malay pop & dangdut classics, and more! 

Special thanks to Luigi Monteanni (Artetetra) for contributing a killer electronic kalason/Pop Minang cassette, Uda Sjam (aka Samsom Pho) for first treating my ears to that Lies Embarsari record, superhuman digger Henk dem Toon (Madrotter), Laurent Jeanneau (Kink Gong) for sharing that beautiful saluang cassette, Palmer Keen (Aural Archipelago) for the great instrumental dangdut recorded off Radio Jawa just for us, chOOn!! for the mixtape (more on that to come), Alan Bishop/Sublime Frequencies and Sham Palace for the amazing radio recordings and compilations. 

“To the People Far Away, So They Will Come Home Soon” is from the Minang song “Rabad.”

PLAYLIST
Bumper: Maulid el Rasul, Og al Wathan LOOP
Allah's Hit Explosion (excerpt), (Alan Bishop/Sublime Frequencies)
Arok Dek Pinang Sabatang, Asben featuring Melati
Borondong Garing, Bimbo (Sham Palace)
Rarakitan, Yanti Bersaudara (Polydor, 1971)
Gumbira, Yanti Bersaudara (Polydor, 1971)
Ngajuh Hudjan, Lies Embarsari Bersama Zaenal Combo (Irama)
All Hit Music (excerpt), (Alan Bishop/Sublime Frequencies)
Ginyang Gynang, Group Yunita (chOOn!!/Subcity Radio)
Lasuah Loo Yee, Melati & Asben (chOOn!!/Subcity Radio)
Baralek Gadang (excerpt), Tambo Group Jo Ernie Djohan
Banda Aceh Sumatra: Before The Tsunami (excerpt)
Mak Inang, Adjis Sutan Sati (Popsound)
MINANG KABAU saLuang songs (Kink Gong, 1994)
Indang Pariaman, Samsimar (Sublime Frequencies)
Pariaman, Fetty (Sublime Frequencies)
Radio Jawa (radio recording by Palmer Keen/Aural Archipelago for RIAFC)
Termenung, Elly Agus (aka Ellya Khadam) & Orkes Kelana Ria
Djangan Tjemburu,  Orkes Melaju Sinar Kemala (VoIda Layla)
Pudjaanku, Djuhana Sattar with Orkes Kelana Ria
Datang Untuk Pergi, Elvi Sukaesih
Endenk2an, Otih & Kliningan Bintang Terang

RIAFC 024

To the People Far Away, So They Will Come Home Soon (RIAFC 023)

Hypnotic (and historic) gong records from the mountains of Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Kalimantan, and the Philippines. You'll hear amazing gong orchestras among a number of ethnic minorities, including the Jorai and other Montagnards, Kenyah, Modang, and Badjao recorded in the field by Georges Condominas, Jacques Dournes, Jose Maceda, Patrick Kersale, David Blair Stiffler, and Laurent Jeanneau. Many thanks to Vincenzo Della Ratta, Laurent Jeanneau, Yasuhiro Morinaga, and Cutri Giuseppe.  Cover images is taken from Patrick Kersale’s “Gongs Vietnam-Laos” (CD - Playasound #PS 65256).

PLAYLIST
Ensemble de Gongs Cing Arap, Georges Condominas (1982)
Gongs of Every Power (exceprt), Patrick Kersale (2004)
Montagnard Gong Ensemble (VHS tape posted to Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtXVCdA0Kqs
Gongs of Every Power (exceprt), Patrick Kersale (2004)
Jeu de Six Gongs Plats "cing ting" – Village de Hang Kroc, Georges Condominas (1965-1966)
Gongs of Every Power (exceprt), Patrick Kersale (2004)
Ensemble de gongs musique pour le sacrifice aux génies de la maison commune (1-2 #4). Recorded by Patrick Kersale (VDE-Gallo, 2001)
Gongs of Every Power (exceprt), Patrick Kersale (2004)
Ensemble de gongs musique de funérailles (4-7). Recorded by Patrick Kersale (VDE-Gallo, 2001)
Gongs of Every Power (exceprt), Patrick Kersale (2004)
Ensemble de gongs musique de réjouissances. Recorded by Patrick Kersale (VDE-Gallo, 2001)
Gongs of Every Power (exceprt), Patrick Kersale (2004)
Jeu de Gongs, Music of the Kenyah and Modang in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Recorded by Jose Maceda (1977).
GongASide (excerpt), Kink Gong. Recorded by Laurent Jeanneau (Discrepant, 2014)
Brao Kavet 1 Village Party, Gongs Ratanakiri. Laurent Jeanneau (Kink Gong 2004)
Kulintang - Badjao or Yakan Gong. Recorded by David Blair Stiffler (Numerophon, 1988)

GONGS OF EVERY POWER (MIXTAPE) (RIAFC 032)

Gongs of Every Power (Mixtape) (RIAFC 032)

A selection of folk and pop music from Sumatra.

TRACKLIST
1. As-salamu alaykum, Emsi Radio 90.8 FM (Jambi, Sumatra)
2. Traditional saluang, Emsi Radio 90.8 FM (Jambi, Sumatra)
3. RIAFC radio bumper
4. Laku Siginyangnyo, Fetty
5. Unknown track, Asben & Melati
6. Uknown track, Asben & Melati
7. Ratok Dirantau
8. Tak Mau Dimadu, Tanamo’s Group
9. Comedy with Moog, Emsi Radio 90.8 FM (Jambi, Sumatra)
10. Sorry Puss, Emsi Radio 90.8 FM (Jambi, Sumatra)
11. Radio Bumper, Emsi Radio 90.8 FM (Jambi, Sumatra)
12. Milfy-Padi Ampo
13. RIAFC radio bumper. Field recording of traffic. Backing track: Jangga-Wareng, Harry Roesli
14. Lagu Kerinci Lamo, Kasih Gilo
15. Ki Ardasim, Detty Kurnia
16. Kumis, Dewi Ellyana & Angga Prawira
17. Agiah Bana (excerpt), Tiar Ramon feat Fetty
18. Si Jantung Hati, Ade Putra & Ira Maya Sopha (1986)
19. Sarua Jeung Bohong (excerpt), Darso
20. Patam Patam Kulcapi, Bathoe Tarigan (or maybe Yarigan) & Ardi Brena Gurusinga
21. Patam Sarune Feat Kulcapi & Keyboard
22. Gendang pertang - tang ose, sarune feat keyboard

SUMATRA (RIAFC 046)

Radio Sumatra (RIAFC 046)

We no longer publish here. For the latest, tune in here:
https://www.radioisaforeigncountry.org/
​

Madrotter Kliningan Dangdut Mix #1 (RIAF077)

RADIO IS A FOREIGN COUNTRY

Recent comments

natural

Theo Gramal

Limbo Tapes

Related tracks