First proper lp release from aQ pal, 78 collector, and curator of the awesome Excavated Shellac blog, Jonathan Ward, appropriately enough on Parlortone, “The Phonographic Arm and Limited Edition Leg” of longtime favorite reissue label Dust-to-Digital. And it’s a doozy, before we get into it, anyone who buys everything on Mississippi is gonna want one of these, if you loved the Black Mirror collection, or the Victrola Favorites, for anyone into world music, into lost gems, old sonic obscurities, this is about as good as it gets, the song selection, the curation, the sound, the detailed liner notes, utterly fantastic, and sonically breathtaking. But of course we would have expected nothing less.

For those not familiar with it, Excavated Shellac is a blog dedicated to “78rpm recordings of folkloric and vernacular music from around the world”, and besides having an incredible collection, Ward also is a fantastic write, who writes extensively about each record he posts (almost all unavailable anywhere else in any format), detailing the recording, the style of music, the history, a musical lesson in every post, and the music, well needless to say, it’s easy to get lost and subsequently obsessed.

So Excavated Shellac: Strings, is an analog extension of the ES blog, with all the things we love about the blog intact. Of course there’s the music, impeccably chosen, deftly cleaned up, and perfectly sequenced, the writing, informative and funny, educated and informed, about the record, the project, and each track and artist, and of course the object itself, beautifully laid out, pressed on thick vinyl, lots of amazing archival photos, so great.

This first volume focuses on string instruments from around the world, Armenia, India, Bolivia (listen to this track), Congo, Vietnam, Georgia, Iran, Turkey, Uganda, Lebanon, Japan, Norway, Croatia and Paraguay. Every song a gem, haunting solos on Middle Eastern lutes, tangled frantic, droney sitar like buzz from India, playful festive dance music from Bolivia played on small guitars fashioned from gourds, gorgeous acoustic guitar music, lush and melodic, with soulful call and response vocals, from Congo, home recorded duets on 2 string fiddle and ‘moon guitar’ from Vietnam, solo violin from Iran, traditional folk music from Georgia, we could go on and on and on and on. But you know already if you need this, and it seems likely you probably do. We had been hearing rumblings about a Jon Ward / Dust-to-Digital project in the works, and had been anxiously awaiting it ever since. Now that we’re playing this to death, we find ourselves already looking forward to future volumes. So incredible, and so totally recommended.

Beautifully printed matte finish sleeve, heavy vinyl, with a printed cardstock 4 page insert, with liner notes and photos and more! - Aquarius Records

Greetings from Paris, where today we commemorate the 150th anniversary of the recording of Au Clair de la Lune by Edouard-Leon Scott de Martinville - the earliest audibly recognizable record of the human voice yet recovered. This week we visited each of the French institutions at which we’ve identified Scott’s manuscripts and recordings over the last two years, presenting each with copies of our high resolution scans of their holdings. Today we’re visiting a number of establishments that Edouard-Leon himself might have frequented for conversation, libation, and a good meal. Celebrate with us! Tonight (preferably by the light of the moon) open a window in time, raise a glass in the direction of Paris, and toast an inventor whose experiment - made 150 years ago today - succeeded far beyond his own expectations.And in a more sober moment, check out the documents that trace the inception, development, and maturation of Scott’s phonautographic work. They’re all at FirstSounds.org.