alll these mixes are sooooo rad.  but hey what is this funky track now!!!

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)

Gintas K Zoviet France second one

The Long Con

live recording, first performance

Mariel Roberts, cello
Eric Wubbels, piano

St. Peter's Church, Chelsea
New York, NY
December 13th, 2016

gretchen am spinnrade [2016] (live, premiere)

Radio transmissions and sound recordings from Indonesia, Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey, Greece, Syria, Algeria, Niger, Iraq, India, Thailand, and Sumatra. An earlier version of this episode originally broadcast on Resonance 104.4 FM (London, UK) January 3, 2018 nd on  Delgado's Dolphin Radio - WXDR 99.1 FM (New Orleans, Louisiana) September 9, 2018.

RIAFC 002

Asia | Middle East | North Africa (RIAFC 002)

RIAFC 007 - Shortwave Radio Surfing
A mesmerizing mixtape of lo-fi shortwave radio transmissions arrived in our mailbox today from the Italian tape label Artetetra. And it’s a doozy! Produced exclusively for Radio is a Foreign Country, Italian scavengers of obscure exotica, Luigi Monteanni and Matteo Pennesi, explore the surreal world of shortwave radio.
 
“As a mix of functional signals and sounds, incomprehensible codes and intrusive skits, which rely entirely on the technical efficiency and power of the machine as a catalyst, not to mention the capacity and experience of the listener-user to tune into different frequencies, shortwave radio is a continuous adventure into undisclosed territories of sound that literally becomes, at any given moment, an unrevealed foreign country.

Historically, shortwave radios have been used mostly for communication, commercials, propaganda and illegal broadcasting, which is often related to political needs that require evading the normal laws of censorship and intellectual property. Unable to listen uninterrupted, one must hunt continuously for tunes, acrobatically zapping through jungles of white noise and wastelands of abandoned frequencies. Shortwave radio is therefore a kind of shadow box containing part of our sonorous heritage in the form of haunting and recurring uchronia, where different geographies, eras, and technologies fuse in a polymorphic structure of displaced signals and sounds – for example, Guglielmo Marconi and the Cape Verde islands, jungle from the 90s and Latin radio plays from the 70s. If there is anything that illustrates Artetetra's concept of Quinto Mondo, it is without a doubt shortwave radio.” 

But enough bs! Just dive right into this medianic lo-fi mix, carefully crafted by the Italian scavengers of calembouristic sonic paradises.

Shortwave Radio Surfing (RIAFC 007)

chOOn!! is an arts collective that began life as a notoriously wild radio show on Subcity Radio (Glasgow, Scotland), 2012-2019, and is now about to launch as a newly formed reissue label. Radio is a Foreign Country is thrilled to share chOOn!!’s warped take on a bewildering range of retro folk and popular styles spread throughout the Indonesian archipelago. Prepare your earballs for loads of gamelan funk, Javanese electro, discoid degung, queasy quasidah modern, Sumatran devil-synth, hyper footwork jaipong, cosmic calung, plasmic pop-Sunda, and drum-machine dangdut. You can hear the extended version of this mix at https://soundcloud. com/radio-choon.

chOOn!! would like to thank Romain de Ferron for generously sending his wonderfully curated tape of Sumatran gems culled from his journeys throughout Indonesia; VK and his generous gifts from Malaysia; the digging savant Herpi and his expertly curated selections; and to the ever-reliable grotto of Indonesian delights that is Madrotter - thanks Henk!

PLAYLIST
Break Pong Medley, Yayah Ratnasari & Karawang Group
Jalma Dengki, Darso & Detty Kurnia
Wening, Becky Wilson & Nano. S. Kasmaran
Disco Medley Jaipong (Extract), Nus. S.
Tari Pasambahan, Sanggar Syofyani
Pariaman,  Fetty
Asih Can Laas, Detty Kurnia
Kunci 2 Asmara, Ety Yulianty
Tahun 2000, Nasida Ria
Jangan Putus Asa, Orkes Gambus Al Hadid
Imut Nu Ngajalanan, Detty Kurnia
Ginggiapeun, Titin K. Somantri & Odang Sundara
El Sahara, El Sahara Group
Bonus Cinta, Becky Wilson & Nano. S. Kasmaran
Cucu Deui, Darso
Instrumental Jaipong (excerpt), Nus. S.

CALUNGA CHOON (RIAFC 024)

calunga chOOn!! (RIAFC 024)

Thai-Khmer Border Music
A 60-minute mix of kantruem (modern and traditional), bilingual luk thung/molam, pop/rock and sound-truck music put together by Peter Doolan, the man behind the magnificent Monrakplengthai cassette blog. https://monrakplengthai.blogspot.com/

01. lueang borisut - khuen lap fa
02. narongdet chueamueangphan - kantruem kanchan chek
03. namphueng mueangsurin - anre
04. chaloemphon malakham - kantruem ramwong
05. bunrot khitchop - sommanong.. muea
06. samanchai & phimpha - phleng mongkhon
07. thai soi band - padaei khmer prapuan sim
08. darkie & somwang - [untitled]
09. noknoi phetsaraphi - wan don ta
10. achan om & the wari sin isan sound-truck - kaeo ro rin (live in nang rong district, buriram)

Thai-Khmer Border Music (RIAFC 028)

Central Asian Moods: Divas' Laments and Heartbroken Brave Men [RIAFC 030]
Compiled by Julien Thiennot of Afghan Records Gallery, this mixtape features a selection of records, radio, and movies from Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Like the Portuguese saudade heard in the music of Cabo Verde or Brazil, these recordings evoke a deep emotional state or feeling, a kind of mixture of nostalgia, melancholy, and hope, heard across different musical genres and styles of the region. 

1 Introduction: Chant du Nouristan (Afghanistan)
2 Ustad Biltoun: Kabul radio song (Afghanistan, 1960’s)
3 Pamir’s lament (Tajikistan)
4 Leila Sharipova: Caravan Afghan song (Ouzbékistan)
5 Dzurabek Muradov: Rapo (Tajikistan)
6 Interlude #1: Sima Taraneh (from the movie Beegaanah -Afghanistan)
7 Tanbaku et Naim (Afghanistan 1973)
8 Gulandam & Zulaikha: Wedding Song (Afghanistan 1968)
9 Mohamed Qasem: Ghori (Herat piece - Afghanistan 1968)
10 Interlude #2: 2 Dilrubas ( Afghanistan)
11 Chant Pachtoun (Afghanistan 1958)
12 interlude #3: Late-night program on Radio Afghanistan 70’s
13 Zhila: Dour az tu (Afghanistan 60’s)
14 Gulbek Saodatov: Instrumental (Tajikistan)
15 Kamaloddin Rahimov: Bulbul (Uzbekistan 1982)
16 Munajat Yultshieva: Munajat (Uzbekistan 1982)
17 Baba Qeran: Quodlibet (Afghanistan 1968)
18 Khanifa Mavlyanova: May bi May (Tajikistan 50’s)
19 Outro: Nuristani song (Afghanistan)

Central Asian moods: Divas' laments and heartbroken brave men

Central Asian Moods [RIAFC 030]

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)

Obscure cassette of garage rock from Shan State (Burma/Myanmar). The information available to me lists the artist as Sai Ngao Luen (ၸႆၢးငဝ်းလိူၼ်). But some say this sounds like Saing Saing Maw.

SHAN STATE GARAGE ROCK (RIAFC 036)

Shan State Garage Rock (Myanmar/Burma) (RIAFC 036)

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

Shortwave Radio Surfing (RIAFC 007)

RADIO IS A FOREIGN COUNTRY

Recent comments

Tek-Sneek

Related tracks