Mexican folk music from Chiapas. Lo-Fi and rough—no hat dances. These field recording made by David Anderson in 1969. He says: “At first I think I found the music of Chiapas as strange and difficult as everyone else did.” His point is that these guys have a genuinely different aesthetic than you’re likely used too. Even if you don’t find the recordings stereotypically pretty, they’re fascinating from an ethnographic point of view. Recommend 1-3, 7, 13, 16, 19, 20, 21, 23. 7 is mind blowing. 21 is very ancient sounding. 20, 23 are pretty.

1-3: Chirstmas eve ceremony recorded in Chiapas.
1) 100 bpm. Multiple bright string instruments, distant male chanting.
2) continues above, slightly slower
3) sickly trumpet, explosions, laughter.
4) 70 bpm. Thickly strummed guitar, and weeping, chanting woman mourning the dead. Artificially combined by Alderson.
5) Chanting, drumming, sickly trumpets. Chaotic celebration.
6) 100 bpm. Violin, guitar, rattle.
7) Professional pray-ers. Two old men chanting, in countpoint, one in each channel. Amazing.
8) 110 bpm. Flute, drums, Also fireworks.
9) continuation of 8) but with bizarre sounding “slide trumpets” sounds
10) 80 bpm. Decrepit-sounding violin, guitar, harp. It makes me a bad person, but I find it sort of amusing.
11) 90 bpm. Guitar, violin, bird-like vocals. Quite long.
12) 110 bpm. Bouncy violin and guitar. Naturally minimalist. Crying baby in background.
13-15) 144 bpm. Great stuff. Violin, some sort of guitar variant. Lively, with a limping rhythm.
16) 120 bpm. Drums and flute. Strongly pre-Cortzian.
17) 90 bpm. Same melody as (13). Guitar, violin, male vocals.
18) 110 bpm. Dance recorded at sunrise. Pretty violin and guitar.
19) 80 bpm. Guitars and violin. Recording of music by the Ch’ol. Based on 15th century (!) Spanish song forms. Pretty and simple.
20) Similar to 19, but with a jerking rhythm. Also very cool.
21) Flute and drum. Recorded as part of a catholic mass, but the subject is a jaguar stalking its prey.
22) 120 bpm. Lively tune, w/ flute and drums. Sounds like an Irish jig.
23) 124 bpm. Complex drum polyrhythms, high flute. Great.
24) Mandolin, guitar, flute. Borrowed northern Mexican musical style. Much more polished sounding. At first easier on the ears, but a bit bland after listening to all the wild stuff that precedes it.

Alex D.