Singika – Pagsikat Ng Bagong Araw (Phillipines 1995 cassette)

The Philippines is one part of the world that I know very little about. This tape appears to be folk music from the Cuyo archipelago of the Palawan province. The songs are vocal instrumental and most feature guitar (or something similar. There are also other instruments used as well as male/ female vocals solo or in a group. I cannot recall that I have ever heard any music from the Philippines and this tape makes me want to seek out more. There are a couple of tunes that really strike me in their simplicity and rawness. The only other cultural evidence I have in my collections from this part of the world is a series of recent collections of first-person accounts of ghost stories (in English and transliterated Tagalog, as far as I can tell) culled from the internet. There’s no obvious connection between the two but I mention it only to spur myself on to find out more. Please to enjoy this beautiful and unexpected tape.