NEW ANTHEM

Yekermo Sew by Mulatu Astatke

Mulatu Astatke is a jazz veteran, and the father of Ethio-Jazz. He was the first Ethiopian musician to study abroad, and is largely responsible for the modernization of traditional Ethiopian music. If the song doesn't sound African to you, that'd be thanks to Ethiopia's close proximity to the Arabian Peninsula. Beautiful, smooth, alien stuff.


Svartesmeden Og Lundamyrstrollet by Windir
One of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard. The song was written by the late Valfar, who wrote in Sognmal, an old dialect of Norwegian. The song is apparently about a mountain that locals feared due to an ancient troll who dwelt there. An upstart blacksmith crafted his greatest weapons and armor, and went to the mountain and killed the troll. Trolls are basically nature-guardian spirits, so this kinda pissed off the mountain. Now it's cursed. Pretty epic. Windir is probably the best black metal band I've ever heard, though they're disbanded now. This is footage of their last concert, following the death of band leader and songwriter Valfar. There's another video where Valfar's brother, Vegard, does guest vocals in his brother's honor. It's kind of amazing to see it, because Vegard (in the video) looks like the incredible hulk in corpsepaint.