Folksongs of Another America-Dust to Digital

Subject: New Goodies From Dust to Digital
From: GUEST,Fred McCormick
Date: 07 Jul 15 - 01:01 PM

Anyone who still has any money (after we've been skinned alive in tomorrow's UK budget that is) will doubtless be interested in a pair of new releases from Dust to Digital. The blurbs for both are below and I shall say no more, except to point out that the ethnic minorities of the Upper Mid-West have never been very well represented on disc. That in my view makes this first set all the more invaluable.

FOLKSONGS OF ANOTHER AMERICA FIELD RECORDINGS FROM THE UPPER MIDWEST, 1937-1946 HARDCOVER, 456-PAGE BOOK WITH 5 CDS + DVD TO BE RELEASED ON AUGUST 7
Armed with bulky microphones, blank disks, spare needles, and cumbersome disk-cutting machines, several folklorists had the foresight to document and preserve a significant but overlooked part of the nation's musical heritage, made by immigrant, Native American, rural and working-class performers. Almost all of these dance tunes, ballads, lyric songs, hymns, laments, versified taunts, political anthems, street cries, and recitations are being issued for the very first time.

This 5-CD set is teeming with African-American, Austrian, Belgian, Cornish, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French Canadian, German, Ho-Chunk, Icelandic, Lithuanian, Irish, Italian, Luxemburger, Norwegian, Ojibwe, Oneida, Polish, Scots Gaelic, Serbian, Swedish, Swiss, and Welsh performers.

Bonus DVD includes the new documentary film The Most Fertile Source: Alan Lomax Goes North with never-before-seen footage shot in Michigan in 1938. The accompanying book includes extensive liner notes, lyric transcriptions and translations by James P. Leary, co-founder of the Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Listen to Audio from the set on our Soundcloud page
Pre-Order Folksongs of Another America for $60 (ships late July)
Pre-Order Folksongs of Another America and Ola Belle Reed set for $80


OLA BELLE REED + FRIENDS. SOUTHERN MOUNTAIN MUSIC ON THE MASON-DIXON LINE CLOTHBOUND, 256-PAGE BOOK WITH 2 CDS. TO BE RELEASED AUGUST 21
"What do you do when different musical forms come into a kind of fusion of what today is called old-time music, country music, and the folk song revival? I think that story is in Ola Belle." – Henry Glassie

Dust-to-Digital is excited to present the first in-depth look at the life of Ola Belle Reed, a groundbreaking artist who is one of the all-time greatest performers of authentic, old-time music. Ola Belle Reed's 1960s recordings, some of the earliest she ever made and available here for the very first time, are counter-balanced by a disc of modern-day field recordings of her descendants and those within her Appalachian community that she inspired. This deluxe edition highlights Ola Belle's deep repertoire – folk ballads, minstrel songs, country standards, and originals – and traces the impact her music made and is still making today with 58 newly-remastered recordings and texts by Henry Glassie and Cliff Murphy.

Subject: Folksongs of Another America
From: Thomas Stern
Date: 07 Jul 15 - 07:07 PM

coming from Dust to Digital in August:
Folksongs of Another America

Folksongs of Another America
Field Recordings from the Upper Midwest, 1937-1946
Hardcover, 456-page book with 5 CDs + DVD to be released on August 7
Armed with bulky microphones, blank disks, spare needles, and cumbersome disk-cutting machines, several folklorists had the foresight to document and preserve a significant but overlooked part of the nation's musical heritage, made by immigrant, Native American, rural and working-class performers. Almost all of these dance tunes, ballads, lyric songs, hymns, laments, versified taunts, political anthems, street cries, and recitations are being issued for the very first time.

This 5-CD set is teeming with African-American, Austrian, Belgian, Cornish, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French Canadian, German, Ho-Chunk, Icelandic, Lithuanian, Irish, Italian, Luxemburger, Norwegian, Ojibwe, Oneida, Polish, Scots Gaelic, Serbian, Swedish, Swiss, and Welsh performers.

Bonus DVD includes the new documentary film The Most Fertile Source: Alan Lomax Goes North with never-before-seen footage shot in Michigan in 1938. The accompanying book includes extensive liner notes, lyric transcriptions and translations by James P. Leary, co-founder of the Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Best wishes, Thomas.

Subject: RE: Folksongs of Another America
From: Dave Ruch
Date: 07 Jul 15 - 08:52 PM

This is a fascinating (to me) release, and a remarkably comprehensive one at that. I can't imagine the amount of work and coordination that went into it. Very exciting.

Subject: RE: Folksongs of Another America
From: meself
Date: 07 Jul 15 - 11:06 PM

Sounds wonderful.

Subject: RE: Folksongs of Another America
From: Joe Offer
Date: 08 Jul 15 - 01:52 AM

The price on Amazon is just over $40. I got two of the author's previous collections of Wisconsin music, and I really enjoyed them. They took me back to where I'm from, dontchaknow.
-Joe-

Subject: RE: Folksongs of Another America
From: Thomas Stern
Date: 08 Jul 15 - 08:14 AM

Check the DtD website for pre-publication specials.
Sometimes they have good prices, sometimes less expensive elsewhere.

A comment about ethnic music in America, which is seems not a high priority among mudcater or the folk community in general.
An Lp issued in 1965 seems to have had little notice - issued by the University of Iowa press presented an overview of the recordings made by Dr. Harry Oster of these subcultures (Folk Voices of Iowa).
[Harry Oster is well known for the series of LPs issued under the Louisiana Folklore Society and Folk-Lyric logos. Many of those albums reissued by Arhoolie Records.]
There are many recordings available of World Music - well represented in the Ethic Folkways catalog, Arhoolie reissued 78's of central-European groups, and Yahoo's Secret Museum of Mankind, but
I'm not aware of much documentation of these groups traditions in America.
I'd be interested in what other LP/CDs document these musics in America.
Best wishes, Thomas.

Subject: RE: Folksongs of Another America
From: GUEST,Fred McCormick
Date: 08 Jul 15 - 10:28 AM

Hang on folks. We now have three threads running on this subject, including the one I started. Can some obliging Mudelf combine them? Thanks.

---

I combined two, Fred, but I'm going to leave the Ola Belle Reed thread on its own. -Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Folksongs of Another America
From: GUEST,Fred McCormick
Date: 08 Jul 15 - 11:04 AM

Re., Thomas Stern's query about US made recordings of ethnic music.

Thomas, there was actually quite a lot issued, especially during the LP era. Here's a few which come to mind. If I can think of anymore I'll post them.

Old Country Music in a New Land-Folk Music of Immigrants from Europe and the Near East. New World. NW 264
Song of the Shepherd: Songs of the Slavic Americans. LP. New World. NW 283.
You Can Tell the World About This-Classic Ethnic Recordings From the 1920s. Morning Star. 45006.
Across the Fields-Norwegian-American music from Wisconsin. LP. Folklore Village Farm. FVF 201
Leonard Finseth. Scandinavian Old Time Fiddler from Wisconsin. LP. Banjar
Edwin Johnnson-Bruce Johnson-Paul Dahlin. American Swedish Spelmans trio, The: Old Country Folk Fiddling. LP Rounder. 6004
Scandanavian-American Folk Dance Music Vol 1-The Norwegians in Minnesota. LP. Banjar. BR 1825
Early Scandinavian Bands & Entertainers-Historical Reissue of Rare Original 78RPM Recordings. LP. Banjar. BR 1840
Sweden
From Sweden to America: Emigrant and Immigrant Songs. Caprice. CAP 2011        
Stranded in the USA – Early Songs of Emigration. TRIKONT US-0326
World in Our Backyard, The: Ethnic Music of our Neighborhoods. Chubby Dragon. CD 1005
To What Strange Place-The Music of the Ottoman-American Diaspora 1916-1929. CD. Tompkins Square. TSQ 2608.

Not all these are vintage or field recordings of course, but they're still worth listening to. Also, don't forget that Arhoolie has put out a lot of stuff from New Mexico, plus a CD of Texas-Czech Moravian bands.

Subject: RE: Folksongs of Another America
From: Thomas Stern
Date: 08 Jul 15 - 01:45 PM

Hi Fred,
Thanks for list - some interesting looking titles. Looks like some of these are aimed at the ethnic audience, rather than outsiders. Probaly all the more indicative of the kind of music living in that community.
Cheers, Thomas.

Subject: RE: Folksongs of Another America-Dust to Digital
From: Joe Offer
Date: 08 Jul 15 - 08:48 PM

Thomas Stern says: A comment about ethnic music in America, which is seems not a high priority among mudcater or the folk community in general.

"Ethnic" music was very important when I was growing up in Detroit and Milwaukee in the 1950s and 1960s, Thomas. I grew up knowing a few German, Italian, Polish, Jewish, Spanish, and French songs. Even Armenian and Arab music had a place.

-Joe-

Subject: RE: Folksongs of Another America-Dust to Digital
From: GUEST,Fred McCormick
Date: 09 Jul 15 - 06:40 AM

Thomas. The vast majority were aimed at the ethnic market. Certainly anything pre-world war two would have been published solely with the ethnic market in mind.

BTW., It's interesting to note that the record companies were processing ethnic discs long before they became aware that there was a market for America's own ethnic music - Ie., blues, jazz, country music etc. The reasons are fairly obvious. European ethnic groups were often concentrated in northern cities, where the record companies were. Also, American record company executives were often of immigrant stock themselves. So they knew exactly what their people wanted, and they provided it.

In any event, all this has set me wondering. We know that the pre-war ethnic record market was satisfied by large record companies, EG., Victor and Columbia. So too was the market for blues and country music. However, after the war, the majors largely gave up on those two idioms, and the market for blues and country was satisfied mainly by small local companies. EG., Trumpet and whatever the name of Jay Miller's company was called.

Could something similar have happened with the ethnic market? Could it be that the demand for polka music or czardas, or whatever, was satisfied by local record companies lodged in the Immigrant ghettos, and selling mainly in local record stores, market stalls or wherever?

I honestly don't know, but perhaps someone else would care to comment.

Subject: RE: Folksongs of Another America-Dust to Digital
From: Joe Offer
Date: 15 Jul 15 - 07:36 PM

I couldn't tell for sure from the Amazon description whether the $40 book from Amazon contained CDs, but I took a chance and ordered it. It does indeed include 5 CDs and a DVD. What a wonderful piece of work!

-Joe-

Subject: RE: Folksongs of Another America-Dust to Digital
From: GUEST
Date: 17 Jul 15 - 11:35 PM

Hi All,
Very nice to see the comments on my Folksongs of Another America project. I worked on it slowly for about 30 years, and intensively (whenever I had time, with a lot of help) for about 10 of those years.
We raised a lot of $$$ to do the digital transfers and restoration of the sound recording and film/DVD, and also to subsidize the final production so that it would be affordable.
About immigrant/ethnic labels emerging in the post-WWII era (when major labels like Columbia and Victor dropped "foreign" music/ musicians), there were lot and lots of 'em. In Wisconsin where I live, Pfau and Polkaland were prominent. Standard/Colonial operated in the NYC area. Chicago had Rondo and Balkan and more. There were many more, and also "ethnic" artists made post-WWII 78s for labels with a larger scope like Imperial, Mercury, King, Continental, etc.
If anyone is interested in learning more about this, try to track down the American Folklife Center/Library of Congress publication from the early 1980s, Ethnic Recordings in America. There's are terrific essays on such matters by Dick Spottswood and Pekka Gronow, including a check list of such small ethnic labels.
Jim Leary

Subject: RE: Folksongs of Another America-Dust to Digital
From: Thomas Stern
Date: 21 Sep 15 - 06:32 PM

here is a label which has issued some interesting material:
ANGRY MOM RECORDS
list at Forced Exposure, available from many other sources - check prices if that concerns you....

Angry Mom Records

http://www.forcedexposure.com/Labels/ANGRY.MOM.RECORDS.html

Best wishes, Thomas.

Subject: RE: Folksongs of Another America-Dust to Digital
From: GUEST,Fred McCormick
Date: 23 Sep 15 - 08:21 AM

It got here this morning; Folksongs of Another America that is, and it's sure looking good. I haven't had much chance to do anything with it yet, but by 'eck, it's looking good. There's 5 CDs (187 tracks) with, if what I've listened to so far is anything to go by, amazingly good sound quality, considering these were very primitive field recordings from 70 odd years ago.

There is also a near A4 size 456 page book which consists mainly of extremely detailed song and tune notes, complete with song transcriptions and translations.

Plus there's a DVD about Alan Lomax collecting in the area which I shall watch avidly.

I don't know whether all the ethnic groups of the Upper Mid-West are represented, but I'd say most of them are.

And all that for just over £40-00! Dust to Digital certainly comes up with some fascinating stuff. This one is completely unmissable.

Subject: RE: Folksongs of Another America-Dust to Digital
From: GUEST,Mike Yates
Date: 23 Sep 15 - 08:29 AM

There is a review on the Musical Traditions web-site.

Subject: RE: Folksongs of Another America-Dust to Digital
From: GUEST,Fred McCormick
Date: 23 Sep 15 - 11:02 AM

Thanks Mike. How the hell did I miss that one?

BTW., and re your review There is an article about the old-timey yodel in one of the editions of Tony Russell's Old Time Music. I can't remember what it said, but I do recall that it dismissed the possibility that Jimmie Rodgers picked it up from Black singers (despite Howlin' Wolf's claim that he taught Rodgers to yodel in the 1920s), and I think it would have been equally sceptical about Swiss cowboys. In fact it claimed that Rodgers picked the yodel up from Tyrolean Vaudeville acts who were apparently quite popular around then.

If I can find the damned thing, I'll have another read of it.