This Kurdish oud solo, recorded possibly in 1926, comes from the first ever post on the excellent Excavated Shellac - an esoteric blog dealing exclusively in extremely hard to come by 78s from around the world; dusted down, painstakingly researched, and re-recorded on digital format for the benefit of visitors of discriminating taste:
"A weekly blog dedicated to 78rpm recordings of folkloric and vernacular music from around the world. These items are from my own collection and have been transferred to the best of my abilities, without the aid of expensive noise reduction software. They are for research purposes only."
Originally thought to have been recorded in Iran at the time of its original posting - where material of Kurdish origin was "routinely confiscated and destroyed" (as in Turkey, where possession of such material was illegal until 2003) - it now appears that the musician was likely Lebanese in origin, and the solo recorded in Syria.
An Aladdin's cave of preciously exhumed and catalogued treasures. Blink, and you may well lose out forever.
▼ CHAHADÉ SAADÉ: SAMAII HIJAZ KAR KURDI from "Samaii Hijaz Kar Kurdi" 78rpm (Odeon) 1926 (Lebanon)
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