Various Artists - Gypsy Caravan
I do not feature many play-lists on this blog because it is difficult to know if the music is legally free either by permission of the artist or through creative common licensing. A nice thing about the play-lists on WFMU’s Free Music Archive is all the music is legally free. One of the better lists is Katya Oddio’s sampling of Eastern European traditional music titled Gypsy Caravan. Most of the music is from the 2009 Golden Festival in New York City. Other tracks are from old and rare 78rpm recordings. Of the new live performances I especially like the Zlatne Uste Balkan Brass Band and Zikrayat. Yet the old forgotten 78rpms are the real treasure. “Arnautka” by Steva Nikolič reeks of melancholy beauty while Kostas Gus Gadinis’s Greek foot stomper “Aebali” sounds amazingly Cajun to me. Katya has put together a rousing mix of world sounds that should not be missed.
