I just bought a new record!

Well, it's not really a new record. It was released in 1951.

It's the album "Smithsonian Folkways - Folk and Classical Music of Korea." For years, I have loved almost every record on Folkways and this is no exception.

The first song, "Chang Poo Ta Ryong" is a hit!

It's an up-tempo, feel good tune featuring a female lead singer and a catchy bouncy melody. She's a star!

On tracks two and three, Shin Tan Ga brings it on a couple of beautiful and strange recordings featuring mainly his manly weathered voice, sparse banging sounds and a woman making occasional hiccup sounds in the background. It's awesome and weird!

The fifth song, "Noa Rai Ka Rak," features beautiful female voices, flute and more banging. I love the banging! Modern music needs more strange banging sounds combined with the computer sounds.

"Cha Jin Nong Poo Ga" features a 200-year-old woman, I think, killing it!

She's got this raw amazing powerful voice. It's just her and some more percussion and hiccup sounds. That's all it needs. That's all I need!

"Kei Myon--Chung Ahk" and "Woo Cho--Chung Ahk" comprise what I suppose is the classical music section of the album, featuring a beautiful orchestra. 

There's something so chill about this music, despite some of the sounds being archaic and exotic by today's standards. There's an overwhelming sense of calm. I feel awesome listening to this.

Two of the songs, tracks nine and 11, combine a choir and an orchestra, often in unison, creating an otherworldly effect.

Some would consider these recordings lo-fi, but they were using the best technology of the time with a limited budget. To me it adds to the music. It unifies the sound and makes it more mysterious and mythic. It brings the listener in.

Songs number eight and 10 are solo flute jams. I'm not so into these. Maybe if I played the flute...

"Jong Myo Yong Shin Ahk--Ah Ahk" features solo male vocals with strings, flutes and percussion accompanying him. It's like a ballad. The melody is achingly beautiful. I'm tripping.

I love how similar, to my ears, the sounds of old folks are from all over the world, singing in their hard-lived voices over scratchy old recordings.

It's all the same to me; folk music from the southern United States, white or black, and from Africa, Asia, or Europe. There's an authenticity and a realness that transcends any limitations in performance and technology.

I'm so thankful to Smithsonian Folkways for travelling the world and documenting this and other amazing music before it disappeared. Go to Folkways' website to get this and other old recordings and to see what they're up to now.

Here's a more recent clip of Korean folk music posted by Smithsonian Folkways:

Colin Langenus is a guitarist and songwriter in several groups including Colin L. Orchestra, CSC Funk Band, and Usaisamonster. He also produces and engineers at his recording studio in Brooklyn.