Mark Gergis and Alan Bishop (who is also part of Sun City Girls) run the Seattle label „Sublime Frequencies“, publishing compilations by unknown artists from regions that are overlooked or dismissed by the European-American "world music" marketing machine. Their work is that of DIY-archivists, who put at public disposal all they collect on foreign trips or find in personal collections – music that might otherwise be lost – out of love for the diversity of music and with a huge amount of personal commitment. Although they might in this respect be following the tradition of Folkways and Harry Smith, authentic folklore is not their main interest. They much prefer to document more obscure and accordingly more creative, idiosyncratic hybrid forms, engendered by the clash of different eras, traditions and cultures.
 
Their compilations of sounds gathered in North Korea, Indonesia, Cambodia, Syria or even Iraq are called, "Radio Pyongyang: Commie Funk and Agit Pop from the Hermit Kingdom“ or "Cambodian Cassette Archives.“ These are not infrequently the product of a bootleg market widely unknown to Western Europeans, and without which a lot of the music Bishop and Gergis collect could not have developed.
 
This night Bishop and Gergis will play from their collection of hitherto unheard sound and music recordings from the Middle East and Asia. They will also present their latest film „Sumatra Folk Cinema“ – a 60-minute kaleidoscope of classic Dangdut rock music, street and country scenes, Pop culture, raw TV excerpts, Minang Orchestras, night markets, folk music, and much more.
 
> www.sublimefrequencies.com
 
see also:
> THU 25/1 > CTM.07 OPENING CONCERT > Sun City Girls
> WED 31/1 > HANDCLAPS: SUMATRA FOLK CINEMA