lockdown : vinyl find #1.

Now that the world is under lockdown (or at least a few countries, not counting on herd immunity), there's plenty of time to dedicate to writing, sharing stories, browsing the internet, learning things, doing nothing... all this beside working remotely.

Within the last months, I've been gathering quite a lot of records, some of them I will listen to only once, some others I will collect and store with love. I either bought them, or rescued them from the cold and rainy weather and from the broomstick of street sweepers, or was offered them.

So now that I have the time to listen to all this music (and non-music), I feel it's the right time to share some on these finds, and others finds from the past months and years. 

What I particularly like is to be amazed by a foreign language, a discarded record, a style I'm not used to hear. In other words, new sounds and dynamics. 

Recently, I purchased in a second-hand store in Brussels an album by Hungarian singer Koncz Zsuzsa, from whom I knew nothing. What did appeal to me ? The cover has nothing special, but displays an elegant woman sitting on a stone. The name was unusual. I knew the label, Pepita, for being home to some interesting stuff I had previously put my hand on. The year printed on the label, 1976, was a good sign, although it could have been the reissue year of something older... but judging by the clothes, the date was pretty accurate. Inside the gatefold sleeve, Hungarian words were of no help ; I couldn't even tell which instruments were used during the recording. Knowing only the big names of Hungarian rock music Locomotiv GT and Omega (I should have inverted this order), I was in for either traditional Magyar songs or innovative stuff regarding this one. 

The price (3€) convinced me to buy it. 

Verdict : Mrs. Koncz Zsuzsa reminds of the sweet Kim Jung Mi on some songs, of the rough Catherine Ribeiro on some others. And there's a variety of styles, going from choir vocals to solo acapella, accompanied by unsual strings sounds and some fair dose of audacity in the arrangements. All this allow this record to qualify for psychedelic, an adjective that is way too misused in reviews. The album feels even a bit too short, especially the B side... 

Discogs offers a perspective on the career of Mrs. Zsuzsa ; by the time she published this record, she had been on a solid streak of one or two albums per year since 1969. Her latest known album was released in 2016.

Here is my record of the day, the first of this particular period we're experiencing : 

Koncz Zsuzsa - (IX) "...Elmondom Hát Mindenkinek..."

And here is to have a listen : YouTube playlist.

Just allow yourself to be amazed by the unknown from time to time, and even more often when digging. Foreign stuff sometimes is just what you need to get out of your comfort zone.