NONESUCH EXPLORER LP SERIES POLL (part 1)

from wiki

1965–1979: Teresa Sterne

Teresa Sterne led Nonesuch Records from 1965 until 1979; she was responsible not only for all of the artists & repertory decisions but also for overseeing the increasingly distinctive look of the record jackets.[3] Sterne oversaw several firsts for the label, including early electronic releases. Nonesuch commissioned Morton Subotnick's 1967 album Silver Apples of the Moon (made on the Buchla 100),[4] and in 1966 released a 2-LP set of Moog sounds with 16-page booklet called The Nonesuch Guide to Electronic Music by Beaver & Krause (which spent 26 weeks in Billboard's Top 100 chart).[5]

Among the most notable achievements of Sterne's time at the label were the release of George Crumb's Ancient Voices of Children, inspired by the poems of Federico García Lorca, which sold more than 70,000 units;[6] the recording of new works by Elliott Carter, including his first and second string quartets; and the commissioning and release of Charles Wuorinen's Time's Encomium, which became the first electronic work to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1970.[7] Under Sterne, Nonesuch helped spark a ragtime revival in the United States with the release of a series of Scott Joplin piano rags performed by Joshua Rifkin.[8] Sterne also launched the groundbreaking Explorer Series, building the foundation for the field of world music.

Sterne's abrupt termination in December 1979 prompted some two dozen Nonesuch artists to write a letter to the editor of the New York Times speaking out against the decision; several noteworthy composers, Elliott Carter and Aaron Copland among them, sent a letter to the vice president of the parent company, Warner Communications, in protest.[9]

Sterne was replaced by the founder's younger brother, Keith Holzman, a production chief who, for the next five years, operated the label from Los Angeles.[10]

not sure why the Bali one ended up first there, sorry, that is #15

classic: the Bali ones, the Bulgarian ones, the Caribbean ones, most of the Indian ones, A Bell Ringing In The Empty Sky
underrated: Turkey, Persian Santur, Pennywhistlers
destroy: not much?? the Swedish fiddle one doesn't really grab me, nor do most of the early ones (first 10 or 12 are before the label/style really got solidified)

Thx for the above info re: Teresa Sterne!

Felt like going Gamelan, ripped through the diff Indonesian releases listed as a refresher, really like how 72044 is recorded (also, picked it up on CD at my retail job recently, where I tranced out effectively while it played that workday), so Javanese Court Gamelan it is for me this round of releases

ooo great poll idea, stoked for the madness. i only ever heard a few of these tbh.

Thanks for caring y'all!

In terms of actual deep listening I just finished 72013, the Bahamas one. Some real weird spooky bluesy type stuff on that one, and the gorgeous closing hymn as well.

Going through them I can see that 72018, the first South Indian one, is where Teresa Sterne really established the look of the series.

The Real Bahamas is great--love Joseph Spence's voice (plus, some cool subculture influence w/r/t the Grateful Dead learning "We Bid You Goodnight" from it, as well as Incredible String Band [whose connection to the material seems a bit more direct since they were on Elektra at the time])

yes, that's the hymn I meant - Charalambides does a beautiful version as well

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teresa_Sterne

:O

Sterne began performing at the age of eleven and made her professional debut at twelve when she performed Grieg's Piano Concerto with the NBC Symphony Orchestra at Madison Square Garden.

The CD reissues were bargain bin staples when CD stores still existed (picked up a bunch of the gamelan at Olsson’s, Barnes and Noble, etc.)

I approve of the CDs but it was easier for me to complete my LP run since I had so many already, I finally got the last one in maybe 2018?

the LPs were also dirt cheap for many years, and always a good deal

72014 is kinda blowing my mind right now with some delicate bell chimes, not what I expect from Indian Classical, this is almost minimalism and I bet it got hoovered up by the 1750 Arch crew as an influence

(side 1 track 3)

voted Pennywhistlers

I own two of the Japanese ones but I don't remember which ones and can't find them in the shelves right now. They're pretty enough, I guess.

ok see now y'all are making me wanna vote for the Monkey Chant (72028)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uN5JBbQ_Q1M

anyway on to the first "hit" of the label I think? - 72015 Music From The Morning Of The World (Bali)

worth noting that this came out in 1967, and I bet a ton of hippies/heads/music dorks absorbed this right into their bones just like people did at the 1889 Paris Exposition

72007 some SF hippy named Jerry Garcia heard the first song and decided to steal the melody and turn it into one of the Grateful Dead's most famous songs.

I learned that from you! I think he made the right call.

love this series, used to buy anything i saw when thrifting. haven't even heard a quarter of them! it was kind of like cable access: never knew what to expect, but always found it interesting/quirky/fun. i was aware of the steel drum one, but never heard it because i never came across a copy. it ―like all of these are, presumably, upon looking up a few― is on the internet archive. brilliant.

one week not nearly enough time, considering how few i know. good poll.

Yeah, what Austin said - no shade on the poll, but not enough *life* to listen to all of these.

Instinctively I'd go for some Gamelan, but not because I know these particular records! (Listening to the Java Court Gamelan and dang, take me there.)

I haven’t heard any of these, but would love to hear all of them

xxp I did give it two weeks, but yeah it's a lot

Sooooo many great ones.

Like seriously how can I pick???

72041 Escalay / The Water Wheel/Hamza El Din
72042 Village Music Of Yugoslavia
72043 The African Mbira - Music Of The Shona People Of Rhodesia
72011 Music Of Bulgaria (frankly all the Bulgaria ones)
72030 Sarangi / The Voice Of A Hundred Colors
72018 Dhyānam / Meditation (South Indian Vocal Music)

I mean jesus christ, all the Indian ones, really, and all the Gamelan records are great too of course.
Maybe I should vote for the Real Bahamas in case nobody else does.

also village music of Yugoslavia & Black Music Of South America.

today's listening so far has been the steel band LP and the Tahiti LP, both of which are fun but not transcendent

72018 - this style of Indian vocal improv (?) is not really for me
72019 - better, but still has those vocals sometimes
72020 - I've always liked this one, delicate court sophistication

but ian otm, at least ten of these are stone cold classics

72021 Guaraní Songs & Dances (Paraguay)

this is much better than I remembered, just classic folklorico jams

also, it is pretty fucking cool that these are all (or mostly all) available for listening on archive.org

72022 Kalpana Improvisations (Instrumental And Dance Music Of India)

superb

I was just coming here to post “kalpana is the only reasonable answer for me in this part of the poll,” i think i have listened to that record more than a hundred times, it is absolutely incredible

gotta agree, I happen to be on side 2 right now

but... MONKEY CHANT

true, but i feel like Kalpana is singular in a certain way, whereas many many recordings exist of the monkey chant, so it doesn’t feel as special to me

the only one i know of these is "the water wheel", which feels like a boring pick... idk why, maybe it's rymcore or something? i like "the water wheel" though.

and yeah i love the ramayana monkey chant but there are so many recordings of it

random side note, i distinctly recall listening to a zappa bootleg from the flo and eddie era and hearing flo and eddie break into a version of the Monkey Chant. i can't remember which one. i wasn't expecting that. flo and eddie are interesting dudes.

72025 A Bell Ringing In The Empty Sky (Japanese Shakuhachi Music)

I think this is my THIRD copy of this damn record, and it looks clean but skips like crazy when actually played. Very annoying!

72027 The Ten Graces Played On The Vīṇa (Music Of South India)

thoroughly fried, recommended for stoners, a total vibe and another stone cold classic

gonna try to listen to all 50 of these before my vote since the end date is 6/9, I'm ahead so far

unless someone else steps up for the Monkey Chant I will prob need to vote that on principle, but I wanna hear (or re-hear) them all, this Vina one is so great

w/r/t the pressing issues of 72025, these must have been pretty damn popular because there are several different label designs and pressings of a lot of these. In this case I chose the copy with the grooves spread out over the widest area (iirc the older tan label one was freakishly short), but I guess I made the wrong call.

Can't say I've heard a great many of these, but love, love, love these two (as in they've brought tears to my eyes):

72031 The Jasmine Isle (Javanese Gamelan Music)
72043 The African Mbira - Music Of The Shona People Of Rhodesia

The Hamza El Din one is awesome too.

72029 Kingdom Of The Sun (Peru's Inca Heritage)

nothing but love for this one as well, so classic - I heard lots of variations of these songs being played all over back when we were in Peru

today's listening so far

72032 The Pulse Of Tanam (Ragas Of South India)
72030 Sarangi / The Voice Of A Hundred Colors
72031 The Jasmine Isle (Javanese Gamelan Music)
72033 Folk Fiddling From Sweden
72034 A Harvest, A Shepherd, A Bride (Village Music Of Bulgaria)

as per ian again, these Bulgarian ones are just amazing, my god

oops also 72032 The Pulse Of Tanam (Ragas Of South India)

wtf something real weird with the C&Ps here, sorry

also, it is pretty fucking cool that these are all (or mostly all) available for listening on archive.org

― sleeve, Tuesday, May 27, 2025 1:44 PM

yes, to correct my earlier post: i have found a few that are not there. i haven't been keeping track, but if you web search for the title, catalogue number, and archive.org, there's about a 4 outta 5 chance it's there. and always youtube if not.

your notes are invaluable, sleeve. thank you!

Oh my, I feel like I've heard/own quite a few of these but in reality it's strictly the excellent Bali/Java volumes from this list. (Which feels like a hopelessly Australian thing to say, now that I've typed it lol.)

^ no longer true: The Ten Graces Played On The Vīṇa and The Pulse Of Tanam have served as, er, furniture music here this afternoon. They are indeed very groovy IMHO.

i love that first one too

Kalpana still wins for me

today & yesterday's listening

72035 The Bauls Of Bengal (Indian Street Music)
whatever this vocal style is, I prefer it to the "fancier" style which is a little flashy for me, too many notes - this is more sustained and emotional to me

72036 In Praise Of Oxalá And Other Gods / Black Music Of South America
wild shit, my copy of this does a very bizarre thing where the needle skips on the runout groove of each track.

72037 Music For The Balinese Shadow Play
this is my favorite of the Bali/Java/gamelan volumes so far, just fabulous

72038 In The Shadow Of The Mountain / Bulgarian Folk Music
more insane close-harmony overtones, nothing else like it

72039 The Persian Santur / Music Of Iran
whatever the hammered string instrument is, I love it (like a dulcimer or something)

sorry not "runout groove", I meant the "band marker" between tracks

Are any of these streaming?

I think via the archive.org links?

e.g.:
https://archive.org/details/lp_the-bengal-minstrel-music-of-the-bauls_purna-chandra-das-baul

https://archive.org/details/lp_in-praise-of-oxala-and-other-gods-blac_david-lewiston

not all, but most, according to Austin above

Found one of the Bulgarians on Internet Archive, listening now. The female performers are all called Nadezhda?

I see two Nadezhdas credited on 72034, but not what you describe

72040 Kaccheri (A Concert Of South Indian Classical Music)
my favorite of the Vishwan records so far

72041 Escalay / The Water Wheel/Hamza El Din
love me some oud, this is another stone cold classic obv

uh oh I better start listening to these again to be done by the 9th

I checked a bunch of these out from our public library system when I was in high school and college. That was so long ago... I think I was most moved by some village female vocals and I remember falling down a Gamelan rabbit hole for a while. However, I can confidently vote for

72047 Caribbean Island Music, Songs And Dances Of Haiti, The Dominican Republic & Jamaica

I just got to that one! more later.

are these... accordions?

ok so

72042 Village Music Of Yugoslavia
yet more close-harmony greatness

72043 The African Mbira - Music Of The Shona People Of Rhodesia
this is pretty and all, but I am not feeling it as much as I know some other folks do

72044 Javanese Court Gamelan From The Pura Paku Alaman, Jogyakarta
these are all so good, how can you pick?

72045 Fiestas Of Peru (Music Of The High Andes)
OK this isn't quite as catchy to me as the previous Peruvian one, but still solid

72046 Gamelan Of The Love God
gahhh ok maybe THIS gamelan one is my favorite, idk

72047 Caribbean Island Music, Songs And Dances Of Haiti, The Dominican Republic & Jamaica
this is really great but it would not be my personal #1, altho it's pretty unique in the catalog and also prob the most wildly varied one so far. the high points are up with any other moments in the series.

the mbira album has some really interesting liner notes, I will also say (sorry for blurry)

https://i.imgur.com/qZzxsmp.jpeg

72048 The Irish Pipes Of Finbar Furey
good lord this is fantastic, I may not have listened before? killer reed action.

72049 P'ansori (Korea's Epic Vocal Art & Instrumental Music)
yep this is very formal, I dig it but it's a bit stiff

72050 Turkish Village Music
this one is great, I flagged it right off the bat as an underrated fave. essential.

the Turkish record continues to rule, I am on side 2 now. def in my top ten of this first batch.

https://archive.org/details/lp_turkish-village-music_laxmi-g-tewari_0

https://i.discogs.com/omOyD1pi-ZJ9E1KNu5n8Zp-JQ1Oh0w11F23hnDDZ4w8/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:594/w:600/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTE2NTY2/NTkxLTE2MDg1MjQ3/NjYtNjE5OS5qcGVn.jpeg

I haven't heard very many of these but most of them sound promising. Could use another year or two to investigate the archive.org stockpile

til there are records that are freely available online yet mostly only known to physical record collectors i guess

72047 Caribbean Island Music, Songs And Dances Of Haiti, The Dominican Republic & Jamaica
this is really great but it would not be my personal #1, altho it's pretty unique in the catalog and also prob the most wildly varied one so far. the high points are up with any other moments in the series.

It is indeed wildy varied as you said, which I like. And the first one that really "clicked" with me for some reason.

Nice to hear the original Monkey Chant on archive.org, I was only familiar with the Glenn Kotche cover.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

I'm listening to the last one in the poll series now! very unique Chinese court music, keening and sharp

OK I am wrong, this is "folk" music not "court" music - still pretty austere and formal-sounding to me.

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71mVrE0YaiL.jpg

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

can't complain, glad I voted for Ten Graces