[hat and beard]

 

“Harmika Yab Yum” is a divine blend of Radio excerpts and field recordings from Nepal compiled by Robert Millis. This exciting mosaic snares among other oddities, a “King Cobra” snake charmer, the sounds of slaughtering buffaloes and guns firing amidst a Durga Puja festival, dreamy folk music, Sarangi and Harmonium players seeping in from unknown radio signals, pounding drums, praying monks, child choruses, street sermons, loudspeaker promotionals, and quiet footsteps at the top of the world. Millis has produced many curious audio works as a member of the group“Climax Golden Twins” and this collection of Himalayan ephemera captures the timeless beauty of the world’s highest Kingdom, land of the rhododendron, the Kumari (a “living goddess”), and the legendary “Yeti”. (Recorded in Kathmandu, Pokhara, Gorkha, and other undisclosed locales in 1996)

 

For the first time, here is a recording that documents the ceremonial animist music from the mysterious tribal villages of Northeast Cambodia. The Tampoans, Krungs, kavets, Braos, and Jaraîs of Ratanakiri Province and the Phnongs in Mondolkiri Province have been living amidst each other in this region for centuries preserving and expanding their unique cultural heritage, sometimes at peace and other times in conflict with one another or with foreign invaders. The music includes hypnotic gong ensembles, guitar ballads, bamboo flute, and unique local instrumentation such as the “Gungteng” and the “Mum”. The superb singing styles and vocals present throughout are absolutely mesmerizing. These tracks sound like nothing you’ve heard before, all magnificently documented transporting the listener into the heart of each performance. Recorded on location by Laurent Jeanneau over a 2-year period from 2003-2005 with his revealing liner notes and a detailed tracklist included within.

oh, how i love sublime frequencies