Author: Kim Simpson

“La Seceriș” (1978) – Mircea Baniciu * Written by Petre Ghelmez and Mircea Baniciu * LP: Folk * Label: Electrecord

Among the pastoral beauties on this 1978 Romanian compilation is one by Mircea Baniciu, called “La Seceriș” (the harvest). The song captures him freshly abandoned by his former bandmates, who one day played with him as national favorites Phoenix, and the next day smuggled themselves out of their increasingly austere homeland. You listen and get the feeling that all Baniciu could do with this new development was to contemplate the fruits of the earth. Romanian music fans, though, would buoy him up and celebrate him to the present day. The lyricist Petre Ghelmez was a prolific Romanian poet and children’s author.

Ani Cordero is a New New York City-based singer-songwriter, but her roots go directly to Puerto Rico. Her song “Voy Caminando,” like all of her music, draws inspiration from the socially-aware nueva canción tradition, but its “I go walking, keep on walking” refrain resonates with a recharged sense of defiance in the wake of Hurricane Maria.

With Julius Caesarin Anatomia (Julius Caesar’s Anatomy), Joose Keskitalo is now eight albums deep in his resolutely Finnish (language and mentality) songwriting career. The title of this highlight with the Kalo (Finnish Roma) vibe translates to “we need to get out of here,” but you listen and wish he’ll stick around in whatever language he wants. Joose’s brother Alex handles the vocals, and the lead instrument is a bandoneon, the type of accordion favored in the tango music so many Finns adore. 

“Mon Chemin” (2017) – Bruce Cockburn * Written by Bruce Cockburn * Produced by Colin Linden * CD: Bone on Bone * Label: True North

His 25th album Bone on Bone really moves, with his chugging acoustic guitar upfront and no dirges. He’s still in self-evaluation mode, having just published an autobiography, but on this outing the ruminations growl. “Mon Chemin” (my road) is one of a handful of songs Bruce Cockburn has delivered in Quebecois over the decades. Radio programmers will need to take care and possibly drop the volume on the phrase putain de détours. That’s Bruce’s nephew John Aaron Cockburn singing harmony.

So arresting were the vocals of the Western Saharan Mariem Hassan that one needed no primer in her Hassaniyyan language to get the emotional message. Before she passed away in 2015, she had recorded this track (under the title “Tonight I Will Be Pretty”) for an album by Ravid Kahalani’s Yemen Blues. The version on her posthumous 2017 La Voz Indomita collection, though, strips away everything but the barest essentials—including her desert bird trills—and it’s a jewel.

No violation of the Baltic post-folk mandate of 13th-century apparel and group-singing occurs here, which is certainly not a problem. This Latvian group’s name is Baļķi, which means “logs” and is pronounced somewhat like “balchy.” They formed in 2000 in the port town of Liepāja, and have since recorded three albums, having maintained a consistent berobed druid look. The songs on their second album Te Man Tiki (2009) (I was here), focus on springtime themes and are presumably all traditional.

“Sault Ste. Marie” (1971) – The Original Caste * Written and arranged by Bruce Innes * Produced by Roger Nichols * 45: “Sault Ste. Marie” / “When Love Is Near” * Charts: Canada #35

“Leisibatxu Zuria Dozu” (1992) – Txomin Artola and Amaia Zubiria * Traditional Arrangement by Txomin Artola and Amaia Zubiria * CD: Folk-Lore-Sorta-2 * Label: Elkar

The preeminent Basque folk singers Txomin Artola and Amaia Zubiria released three volumes of their Folk–Lore–Sorta (folk lore dimensions) series in the early 1990s and are well worth searching out. Many of the songs come from the Basque priest and pioneering linguist Resurreción María Azkue’s folk song collection Cancionero Popular Vasco, published circa 1922. My Basque resources, so far, have yet to provide a confident translation of the word “leisibatxu” in the title, but this enchanting track evidently tells the story of a husband who dresses up as a confessional-cabinet priest to gain insight into his estranged wife’s fidelity.