Happy Birthday, Nonesuch Records

A bit late to blow out the candles, but recently there have been a spate of articles (yes, a spate!) about Nonesuch Records' 50th birthday. Capsule bio: Nonesuch featured new classical and electronic music, and most importantly, repackaged recordings of far-flung music from around the globe, budget-priced them in their Explorer series-- and then slowly conquered the music world. Okay, "conquered" is too strong a word, but Nonesuch managed to get this type of music into the conversation. Eventually, pop and rock musicians were sharing their stories about how they first heard the music of Vietnam or Haiti or the Bahamas -- all courtesy of Nonesuch.

 Maybe the prime example is "Le Mystere Des Voix Bulgares", (or the less prosaic "Bulgarian State Radio and Television Female Vocal Choir"). Released in the mid-80s, musicians like Robert Plant and David Byrne (Talking Heads) sang its praises. Byrne even adapted one piece for Robert Wilson's opera production of "CIVILwarS" , found on the album "The Knee Plays". Wow, I'm getting all Comic Book Guy here. Gotta pull back.

The Bulgarian Choir features some very different harmonies, and I was especially struck by Volume Two -- amazing, unearthly (to our Western ears, yet actually grounded in tones from another part of the globe --)

"Bali: Music from the Morning of the World" was also a favorite of musicians, and this album featured the famous "Monkey Chant" -- which has to be heard to be believed. A variant title is "Kejak", and that sounds like what they're chanting. Imagine "Row Row Row Your Boat", but with only the word "kejak" sung faster and faster. That's a lame description but hopefully you get the idea.

Nonesuch is now probably more well known for acts like Buena Vista Social Club, and rock bands like Wilco, but Explorer is where they firs made their name. Glad to see they're still plugging along!