"This exceptional document features small ensembles & solo performers on a variety of unique instruments (many with vocals). This is rare and disappearing music from the Jerai, Banhar, Ede, and Rongao ethnic groups and although the recordings are made during informal settings, they are raw, emotional, dreamy, and transcendent.
From Vincenzo Della Ratta's liner notes:
"In recent decades, the traditional cultures of various ethnic groups in Vietnam have undergone dramatic changes, leading to the radical transformation or even loss of some long-standing traditions, all of which has also had a significant impact on the musical traditions of the Central Highlands. The recordings on this album reflect this period, in which the last representatives of the old musical traditions have coexisted with a new wave of musicians and performers. This shift has affected the musical instruments used, the functions or contexts in which they are played, the repertoires, and the playing styles. A further characteristic of musical change in the Central Highlands is the influence of Western or Vietnamese music, evident in the way young musicians perform with a clean and measured style, with the standard Western tuning. This contrasts with the traditional playing style of older generations, and both styles are featured on this album. Rather than just being a “musical postcard”, this album is intended to provide an accurate sonic representation of the musical landscape in the Central Highlands over the past two decades, while still being highly enjoyable. I feel that it is particularly significant, considering the present period of major change, during which the music of the older generations is fading from the villages of the region, making way for new forms of musical expression." -Boomkat
In the remote villages of Vietnam's Central Highlands, a profound musical transformation is taking place. Traditional songs that have echoed through generations of the Jerai, Banhar, Ede, and Rongao ethnic groups now exist alongside new forms of expression, creating a complex sonic landscape that Vincenzo Della Ratta has documented across two decades of field recording. This exceptional release captures not just the music itself but a pivotal moment in cultural history—the last flowering of ancient traditions as they encounter an irreversibly changing world.
Recorded live on location between 2003 and 2023, this collection presents otherworldly folk music performed by some of the region's most renowned musicians. The performances, captured during informal settings, reveal the raw emotional power that makes this music so transcendent. Small ensembles and solo performers demonstrate a variety of unique instruments, many accompanied by vocals that seem to carry the weight of centuries.
What distinguishes this documentation from mere ethnomusicological preservation is Della Ratta's recognition of musical change as a living process. Rather than attempting to freeze traditions in amber, the album presents what he calls "an accurate sonic representation of the musical landscape" that includes both old and new approaches to performance. The contrast is striking: older generations maintain traditional playing styles with their characteristic microtonal inflections and temporal flexibility, while younger musicians increasingly adopt Western tuning systems and more measured approaches to rhythm and melody.
This generational divide reflects broader cultural pressures affecting Indigenous communities worldwide. The influence of Western and mainstream Vietnamese music has created what Della Ratta describes as a "new wave of musicians and performers" whose clean, standardized style represents both adaptation and loss. The album documents this transition without nostalgia or judgment, understanding that cultural change, however painful, is inevitable.
The recordings capture the full spectrum of this transformation—from instruments whose playing techniques may soon be forgotten to vocal styles that bridge ancient and contemporary worlds. Each track represents not just a musical performance but a cultural artifact of profound significance, documenting traditions that exist nowhere else on earth.
The extremely limited-edition LP presentation honors the material's importance through careful attention to context. A four-page full-color insert includes photographs of the musicians and their surroundings, detailed track listings, and Della Ratta's insightful liner notes that help listeners understand the broader cultural significance of what they're hearing.
This is far more than what Della Ratta calls a "musical postcard." It stands as essential documentation of a musical world in transition, offering listeners the rare opportunity to witness—and hear—history as it unfolds. In an era when globalization threatens to homogenize musical expression, these recordings preserve something irreplaceable: the sound of cultures maintaining their voice even as their world transforms around them.
Sublime Frequencies is a collective of explorers dedicated to acquiring and exposing obscure sights and sounds from modern and traditional urban and rural frontiers via film and video, field recordings, radio and short wave transmissions, international folk and pop music, sound anomalies, and other forms of human and natural expression not documented sufficiently through all channels of academic research, the modern recording industry, media, or corporate foundations. Sublime Frequencies is focused on an aesthetic of extra-geography and soulful experience inspired by music and culture, world travel, research, and the pioneering recording labels of the past including Ocora, Smithsonian Folkways, Ethnic Folkways, Lyrichord, Nonesuch Explorer, Musicaphone, Baronreiter, Unesco, Playasound, Musical Atlas, Chant Du Monde, B.A.M., Tangent and Topic.
Dr. Vincenzo Della Ratta
Music From the Mountain People of Vietnam
This album was recorded live by Vincenzo Della Ratta from 2007 to 2023 in various villages of the provinces of Đắk Lắk, Gia Lai, and Kon Tum of the Central Highlands of Vietnam (Tây Nguyên).
FORMAT: LP
LABEL: SUBLIME FREQUENCIES
CATALOG: #SF 129LP
GENRE: WORLD, FOLK
RELEASE DATE: 9/26/2025
SOURCE: Digital / ttou
01. Jarai Ethnic Group - Two Gông
02. Jarai Ethnic Group - Gông + Voice
03. Jarai Ethnic Group - Kơni
04. Jarai Ethnic Group - Tojap
05. Jarai Ethnic Group - Gông + Kơni
06. Jarai Ethnic Group - Gông + Kơni + Voice
07. Jarai Ethnic Group - Guitar + Voice
08. Bahnar Ethnic Group - Ding Djông #1
09. Bahnar Ethnic Group - Pơt Pơng
10. Bahnar Ethnic Group - Brŏ
11. Bahnar Ethnic Group - Ding Djông #2
12. Bahnar Ethnic Group - Lôm Ding
13. Bahnar Ethnic Group - Ting Ning + Voice
14. Bahnar Ethnic Group - Ting Ning
15. Ede Ethnic Group - Tak Ta
16. Ede Ethnic Group - Čĭng Kram
17. Ede Ethnic Group - Bru + Voice
18. Ede Ethnic Group - Gôč
19. Ede Ethnic Group - Ding Buôt
20. Ede Ethnic Group - Ding Năm + Voice
21. Ede Ethnic Group - Gông Kram
22. Ede Ethnic Group - Ki Pah
23. Rơngao Ethnic Group - Tô Tơn #1
24. Rơngao Ethnic Group - Ting Ning + Voice
25. Rơngao Ethnic Group - Tô Tơn #2
26. Rơngao Ethnic Group - Tô Tơn + Voice
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