I meant to write about (and pick up) this compilation a while back, soon after its release date, but I spaced on it and am just getting around to it now. Better late than never, I suppose. Black Mirror: Reflections in Global Musics is a collection of twenty four tracks recorded between 1918 and 1954, compiled and annotated by Baltimore’s Ian Nagoski. The remasterd works were culled from Nagoski’s extensive 78 rpm record collection spanning the globe from places like Bali, Burma, Cameroon, China, England, Germany, Greece, India, Japan, Java, Laos, Poland, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Syria, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, Vietnam, and Yugoslavia.
It was fascinating to discover that Nagoski acquired these lost gems spending less than $200 and found them within a thirty-mile radius of his home. Eighteen of the songs are making their digital debut and all but one of the tracks are being reissued in the U.S. for the first time.
What prompted me to write about the comp all these months down the road was the gorgeous video that I came across produced by Erin Womack for Marika Papagika’s (one of the first female Greek singers ever recorded) ephemeral “Smryneiko Minore.” Beautiful and moving vintage-looking black and white visuals reflecting courtship and longing are perfectly set to Papagika’s otherworldly vocals and delicate piano arrangements.
Black Mirror: Reflections in Global Musics is out now on Atlanta imprint Dust-to-Digital.
[MP3]: Marika Papagika ”Smryneiko Minore”
Black Mirror, Dust-to-Digital; 2007