Mekong Shellac is an extremely rare collection of classical and popular styles of Khmer music from the 1930s to the 1950s. Restored from the few original remaining copies, this compilation reveals a remarkable world of early 20th-century Cambodian folk music previously lost in time through war, cultural shifts, and modernization. These recordings were selected for their distinctive musical qualities, the physical condition of the 78 rpm records from which they were sourced, and the circumstances of their survival.
The selections span a range of Khmer musical forms, including Chapey, Romvong, Lakon Basak, Pleng Khmer, Ayai, and Ayai Reung, as well as classical and court-derived traditions such as Pinpeat and Mahori, alongside popular…
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This is raw, unfiltered ceremonial gong ensemble music recorded on location by Laurent Jeanneau in Ratanakiri, Cambodia’s northeastern province, bordering Laos and Vietnam. Along with Mondolkiri to the south, it was once home to many of the country’s ethnic minority communities. During the colonial period, the French failed to establish full control over the region. After independence, the Khmer state also struggled to govern it, while Khmer Rouge rebels hid in its forests in the 1960s amid the wider conflict between communist Vietnam and the United States. The Khmer Rouge takeover in 1975 and the subsequent Vietnamese occupation, which lasted until 1991, could have devastated the traditions of northeastern Cambodia’s ethnic minorities.
Pop historian 
Filmmaker, author, musician and Indian classical music industry academic Robert Millis presents a sequel to his 2018 book/2CD compilation Indian Talking Machine with this incredible double LP haul of instrumental Hindustani, Carnatic and folk 78rpm records from the subcontinent featuring over 25 artists recorded between 1904 and 1959 playing a panoply of instruments: jalatarang, dilruba, sarod, clarionet, pakhawaj, violin, been, kazoo, shehnai, tabla, sarangi, vina and more. 
The 1970s was a truly glorious decade of reggae. While the likes of Bob Marley, Burning Spear and Culture powerfully highlighted political and social inequalities, and the message of Rasta, other artists, both in Jamaica and the UK, drew inspiration from the joys and pains of romantic love. The widespread popularity of love-themed reggae during this golden period is highlighted on this essential 2CD collection which brings together 46 of the most popular romantic reggae recordings ever to have seen issue.
…Across western Algeria, the gasba, a reed flute central to Bedouin folk traditions and ceremonial music, continues to appear in new forms. Once associated primarily with saint festivals and trance rituals, its distinctive hypnotic sound now sits alongside the drum machines, synths and electronic textures of contemporary raï.
Since Chapter Music’s inauspicious start as the musical spinoff of a Syd Barrett fanzine, the Australian label has had a knack for curating quirky, eclectic compilations. Their 
The dawn of the British folk revival broke in 1965 when Bert Jansch’s “folk-baroque” finger style revolutionised tradition, providing the early morning light for a burgeoning psychedelic scene which, by 1972 had traveled from folk clubs to the high-concept landscapes of progressive rock, exemplified by the Eastern-tinged sitar-guitar on Yes’s ‘Siberian Khatru’.
In the decades leading up to its release there had been loads and more loads of excellent collections of girl group and related music that originated in the U.K., but Strawberry Records’ 2026 collection 
Cherry Red previously anthologized shoegaze and dream pop with the expansive multi-disc sets 
4CD sequel to 
Continuing Doctor Bird’s comprehensive anthology series of Lee “Scratch” Perry-produced singles, 
1973 was a pivotal time for Lee “Scratch” Perry, as it was the year he built his fabled Black Ark studio, where he created much of his most celebrated work, and he released Upsetters 14 Dub Blackboard Jungle, often noted as the first full-length dub album. Up until then, he worked as a freelance producer, often recording at King Tubby’s studio. 
There is no questioning actor Morgan Freeman’s lifelong dedication and connection to deep, organic blues. Even before co-founding the now iconic Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, Mississippi in 2001, Freeman has been an outspoken proponent of the music. The club is also home to the Ground Zero Arts Foundation, which helps local blues artists with healthcare and other economic support. Freeman spearheaded this effort combining the rugged, raw blues he promotes, with full orchestrated accompaniment. Even though there doesn’t appear to be much common ground between the classical orchestra’s strict adherence to printed music and the blues’ more earthy freeform tendencies, the concept is unique and challenging. Some may remember…
Omnivore Recordings and The International Pop Overthrow Music Festival present International Pop Overthrow: Volume 27, a three-disc compilation featuring 68 tracks by artists from all over the world who have played the International Pop Overthrow (IPO) festival, along with some who haven’t — at least, not yet! The IPO compilations go back as far as the festival, to 1998 when Volume 1 was a single disc. Since then, the collection expanded to two discs the following year, and then three discs in 2002 for Volume 5, and it has remained a three-disc set since. International Pop Overthrow: Volume 27 showcases artists from across the globe, doing just about every sub-genre of pop music, including power pop, pop/rock, folk/pop, psychedelic pop, garage,…