various: nightingales & canaries vol 1

Aching and radiant songs from 78 RPM discs dating from the '30s and '40s. Canaries and Nightingales Vol. 1 is our first collection of the voices of women from the Middle East during the first half of the 20th century. Side one of the album includes outrageously flirtatious and rocking performances by Christian and Jewish immigrants from Anatolia, Istanbul, and Roumelia. Side B includes more demure and artful performances by some of the greatest Turkish stars of the first generation of Muslim women to sing on records. Liner notes by Ian Nagoski with phtographs of the artists. A co-release with Canary records.