Explorations into the unknown, welcomed beauty of the Sun City Girls’ interpretations of otherwise unheard masterpieces from the private collection of Dan McMahon.

TRACKLIST
01 - Farid al-Atrash - Helwa Beshkal 
02 – Ahmed Jabor - Kal El Lazi Kad Ham  
03 - Kjarkas - Llorando Se Fue
04 - Quenas de Oro - Ojos Azule 
05 - Artie Barsamian - Sev Acher 
06 - Rahul Dev Burman - Duniya Mein Logon Ko 
07 - Black Czar - Rookoombey 
08 - Les Freres Megri - Leili Twil 
09 - Noklae -Noom Doi Tao (นกแล - หนุ่มดอยเต่า) 
10 -Marios Group - Borungku Si Derita
11 - Success Band - Trad Burmese Song 
12 - Gapura – Sangkala
13 - Kyaw Hein - အင္းေလးမွာရြာတဲ့မိုး - traditional Burmese folk song 
14 - Los Uros del Titicaca - Ojos Azules with vocals
15 - Lambert, Hendricks & Ross - Gimme That Wine 
16 - Paul Giovanni & Magnet - Gently Johnny  
17 - Bloodstone - Natural High 
18 - Brian Wilson - Your Summer Dream
19 - Beatrice Witkin & Gerhard Trede - Wild Wild World of Animals End Theme 
20 - SCG - Helwa Shak - Self Titled LP
21 - SCG - Kal El Lazi Kad Ham - Grotto of Miracles
22 - SCG - The Shining Path - Torch of the Mystics
23 - SCG - Amazon 1 - Multiple Hallucinations of an Assassin-Cloaven Cassettes 16
24 - SCG - Sev Acher - Valentines From Matahari
25 - SCG - Apna Desh - 330,003
26 - SCG - Rookoobay - 330,003
27 - SCG - Cruel & Thin - 330,003
28 - SCG -SOI COWBOY 330,003
29 - SCG- Borungku Si Derita 7''
30 - SCG - My Friend RAIN - CFR Vol 6; Sumatran Electric Chair
31 - SCG – Sangkala Suite from CFR 7 Libyan Dream
32 - SCG – My Friend Rain - Sumatran Electric Chair 
33 – SCG - Amazon 1 Live From Planet Boomerang
34 - SCG – Gimme that Wine - CFR 14 - Static From The Outside Set
35 - SCG – Gentle Johnny - CFR 14 - Static From The Outside Set
36 – SCG – Immortal Gods – Pelican ‘92
37 - SCG – Your Summer Dream - CFR 14 - Static From The Outside Set
38 – SCG - Wild World of Animals End Theme - CFR 7 Libyan Dream

The Originals Of The Aboriginals (RIAFC071-072)

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)

A curiosity cabinet of cumbias, including a mixtape of vintage “arabesque” novelty recordings, “slow” cumbias (i.e., rebajada, meaning a record played at a lower pitch and/or speed), cheesy but irresistible pop songs, and more of our favorite cumbia sounds from Colombia, Peru, and Mexico. RIAFC 005 originally broadcast on Resonance 104.4 FM (London, UK) August 11, 2018 and on Delgado's Dolphin Radio - WXDR 99.1 FM (New Orleans, Louisiana) September 9, 2018.

A Curiosity Cabinet of Cumbias (RIAFC 005)

A great selection of Indian filmi songs & instrumentals, Iraqi choubi, and Thai molam. RIAFC 006 originally broadcast on Resonance 104.4 FM (London, UK) October 1, 2018 and on Delgado's Dolphin Radio - WXDR 99.1 FM (New Orleans, Louisiana) October 7, 2018.

India | Iraq | Thailand (RIAFC 006)

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)

Beautiful old field recordings of xylophone orchestras and electric thumb piano from the Congo; a selection of radio recordings featuring hypnotic thumb piano master Ekuka Moriss Sirikiti from Uganda (courtesy of Nyege Nyege Tapes); and a mixtape of the phenomenal balafon magic of Molobali Keita from Mali.

RIAFC 009
Misengu (Salampasu) recorded by Jos Gansemans (Congo, 1973)
Mutomboko and Luwendo (Luba) recorded by Hugh Tracey (Congo, 1957)
Kutomboka Dance, Mulopwe Ensemble (Lunda) recorded by Jos Gansemans (Congo, 1970)
Unknown, Orchestre “Bana Luya” Niengele Tshibangu recorded by Bernard Treton/Guy Level (Kinshasa/Congo, 1978)
Ekuka Rework, Ekuka Moriss Sirikiti (Uganda, 2018)
Kwon Otino Anyira, Ekuka Moriss Sirikiti (Uganda, 1978-2006)
Omaro Cil Pacu, Ekuka Moriss Sirikiti (Uganda, 1978-2006)
Pwoc Bot Lira Dpi Miyo Pikipiki, Ekuka Moriss Sirikiti (Uganda, 1978-2006)
Molobali Keita Mixtape (Mali, ca. 1990s)

Radio is a Foreign Country

African Xylophone Orchestras & Thumb Piano (RIAFC 009)

Radio transmissions and vinyl records from the Andean highlands (mostly Peruvian huayno music and Ecuadorian sanjuanito), including a 1980s pirate radio broadcast, cows, old Quechua records, radio streams of huaylía (sometimes spelled waylía) recorded off the internet (and associated with the end-of-the-year ritualized fights called takanakuy pictured on the cover), Ecuadorian slide guitar and carnival music, and a casio keyboard track.

Radio Andino (RIAFC 018)

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)

A brilliant cover of "Not Great Men" (Gang of Four) by a Javanese gong ensemble, haunting folk gong magic from the mountains of Vietnam, hypnotic village party gong orchestra recorded by Kink Gong, a vintage gong record from Borneo, obscure international surf, dreamy vintage radio pop from SE Asia.

1. ID/Bumper: Excerpts from A Day in the Sun is Like a Radio to Me [John Thayer/Power Moves Library, 2017] & Asian Radio Environments [Jesse Paul Miller 2014].
2. Not Great Men, Sekar-Melati [Java, 2011].
3. La Danza de Fuego (edit), Los Relampagos [Novola ‎– N-603, Zafiro ‎– N-603, 1966].
4. Blondie In Khmer Camouflage. Radio Phnom Penh [Alan Bishop/Sublime Frequencies, 2005].
5. ID/Bumper: Exploding Briefcases of Cairo, Radio Palestine (Alan Bishop/Sublime Frequencies, 2004) & Fade, Air Tapes (Phong Tran/Power Moves Library, 1996/1997). 
6. Original Music From Golden Dragon VHS Cassette (excerpt), Golden Dragon Band [Cambodian Cassette Archives, Sublimes Frequencies, 2016].
7. Noe Euy Srey Noe (Lady Named Noe), Eueng Nary & Pen Ran [Cambodian Cassette Archives, Sublimes Frequencies, 2016].
8. Gongs & Bamboo Tubes, Kavet Ratanakiri Cambodia [Kink Gong, 2014].
9. Indagine, I Marc 4 [Nelson Records – G.L.P. 1008, 1971].
10. Rubber of High Quality (excerpt), Radio Thailand: Transmissions from the Tropical Kingdom [Alan Bishop & Mark Gergis, Sublime Frequencies, 2006].
11. Unknown, Radio Thailand: Transmissions from the Tropical Kingdom [Alan Bishop & Mark Gergis, Sublime Frequencies, 2006].
12. The Theme From the Black Cat, Scotty McKay [Falcon, 1967].
13. Shortwave Radio, Uyghurs/Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in Northwest China [Fausto Caceres, Shirley & Spinoza Radio].
14. Montagnard Gong Ensemble
15. Hiway Xpress, Lata Ramasar [K.D.R. Records, 1980].
16. Pamanabil [excerpt), Los Nativos [Private Mexican Garage Surf, 1965].
17. Isan Lam Plearn), Angkhanang Khunchai & the Ubon Phatthana Band [EM Records, 2014].
18. Pinakang [Borneo, ca. 1970s]. Recorded by Guy Saint-Clair [Playa Sound], ca. late 1970s/early 1980s].
19. Estroncio 90 (excerpt), Locos del Ritmo [Orfeon, 1961].
20. Classic Rock-Country Oldie, Radio Myanmar (Burma) [Alan Bishop/Sublime Frequencies, 2008].
21. 20 Pop Music (Tin Tin Oo) Radio Myanmar (Burma) [Alan Bishop/Sublime Frequencies, 2008].
22. Unknown Burmese pop son. ဘလခငလနမငသ ပလ

RIAFC 027

Folk Magic Radio (RIAFC 027)

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)

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)

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African Xylophone Orchestras & Thumb Piano (RIAFC 009)

RADIO IS A FOREIGN COUNTRY

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