V.A. Folk & Pop Sounds Of Sumatra Volume 1

Limited edition full-color gatefold LP version of the first Sublime Frequencies CD release from 2003. The equator runs through only ten countries on earth and I bet that you cannot name them all without consulting a map. Indonesia is one of them and the only nation in Asia with the equatorial stripe impaling it. There are so many different cultures spread out on this chain of islands that it would take several lifetimes to experience them all properly. Within this umbrella of diversity is one of the world's richest and most dazzling sound museums. Sumatra is the northwestern entry point to the great archipelago. Approximately the size of California, Indonesia's largest island has a wide variety of natural wonders: dense jungles, picturesque mountain peaks, gargantuan lakes, lowland swamps, active volcanoes, and highly frequent seismic activity. Populating this gorgeous setting are orangutans, tigers, durian trees, the largest flower on earth, dozens of cultures and languages, myths and folklore, and much more music than you've ever been allowed to discover. The style selections on this LP include forms of droning beat pop, early Orkes Melayu songs, Batak Tapanuli, traditional Minang music, and folk drama soundtracks heard by only a handful of outsiders. The recordings are from old cassette tapes; decaying documents of various sound qualities containing some of the most eccentric artifacts ever uncovered from this fascinating island. Assembled and compiled by Alan Bishop (Sun City Girls) in July of 1989.