9. Bulgarian State Radio & Television Female Vocal ChoirLe Mystère des Voix Bulgares
This was re-released on 4AD in the ’80s, but I came across it four or five years ago. Someone played it to me and asked, "Have you ever heard anything like this?" It’s basically just old Bulgarian women singing Bulgarian folk songs. But there’s something about it that is absolutely mesmerising. I still haven’t heard anything like it. The way they use harmony and tone is hypnotic, and very, very emotional. And it still sounds fresh. The description "a collection of Bulgarian folk songs" sells it short. It could be a Dead Can Dance record, or This Mortal Coil, something really strange. But it’s just these old women. And I play it to people, and the reaction I get is always the same: people are just like, "What is this?!" I don’t know what the words are about or anything, but I do feel the emotion. There’s a song called ‘Svatba’ on it, the second song, which is so emotional. It’s haunting. And it’s very visual, I find. You can listen to it when you aren’t latching onto a lyric because you don’t understand any of the words, but it still paints a million pictures. I’m quite a visual person, so I find it very… useful, things like this.
