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The Untranslatable

Oct 6, 2025 7:00 AM – 10:00 AM

Music

With DJ Jagannath

Into the Orient

An exploration of Middle Eastern music, particularly experimental and fusion genres that blend musical traditions of Persia, Arabia, and Turkey with those more commonly associated with the West

7:01 AM		Kronos Quartet My Ruthless Companion (feat. Mahsa Vahdat & Marjan Vahdat) Placeless (feat. Mahsa Vahdat & Marjan Vahdat) Valley Entertainment 2019
7:05 AM		Set Break: ----------------------------------------------------
7:05 AM		Black Ox Orkestar Perpetual Peace Everything Returns Constellation 2022
7:12 AM		Esmerine Lost River Blues I Dalmak Constellation 2013
7:19 AM		Esmerine Lost River Blues II Dalmak Constellation 2013
7:22 AM		Om Sinai Advaitic Songs Drag City Records 2012
7:34 AM		Set Break: ----------------------------------------------------
7:35 AM		Rojin Sharafi Your Mirror Stage Was Spotlighted Kariz Ventil Records 2021
7:43 AM		Rojin Sharafi Ghaaf Kaaf Gaaf Zangaar Zabte Sote 2020
7:47 AM		Sanam Hadikat Al Ams N Sametou Sawtan Constellation 2025
7:54 AM		Arash Pandi Chargah Exotic Paradox Zabte Sote 2020
8:01 AM		Set Break: ----------------------------------------------------
8:02 AM		Use Knife Kadhdaab N État Coupable VIERNULVIER 2025
8:09 AM		Sote Plebeian Sacred Horror in Design Opal Tapes 2017
8:20 AM		Saint Abdullah The Howls of Wadi-al-Salaam Ta Tash 2018
8:30 AM		Muslimgauze Mullah Said Mullah Said Staalplaat 1998
8:42 AM		Koufar Fire Over the Bay of Jounieh Lebanon for Lebanese Unrest Productions 2017
8:57 AM		Set Break: ----------------------------------------------------
8:58 AM		اکوان (Akvan) اسفندیار / Esfandiyar Esfandiyar / اسفندیار 2018
9:04 AM		Ātesh او هرگز نخواهد مرد مهرت از دل کی برون کنم ASRAR 2021
9:15 AM		Al-Namrood Min Trab Al Jahel Kitab Al Awthan Shaytan Productions 2012
9:22 AM		Mulla يا إلهي مَوْلَى 2020
9:29 AM		Damaar Preaching for Mass Suicide Triumph Through Spears of Sacrilege - EP Damaar 2007
9:37 AM		Set Break: ----------------------------------------------------
9:37 AM		Crescent The Fires of Akhet Carving the Fires of Akhet Listenable records 2021
9:46 AM		Melechesh Mystics of the Pillar The Epigenesis Nuclear Blast 2010
9:54 AM		Kostnatění Opál Úpal 2023
9:58 AM		Set Break: ----------------------------------------------------
9:59 AM		Konstruct & Keiji Haino All Things Will Be Reduced To Equal D お Tっっ3 BBRc MMM あ元, Pt. 3 A Philosophy Warping, Little by Little That Way Lies a Quagmire Karlrecords 2017

Chat is archived.

Good morning everyone and welcome back to the Untranslatable! Focusing on the Middle East today

Morning DJ Jagannath

Morning Rob how's it going

Sup DJ Jagannath!

Morning TAndy

Slightly calmer set today (at least for the first half)

morning. nice drone.

Morning Dale! These guys do a cool drone/doom/folk fusion

@DJ J, going fine. Hopefully with you too?

Hi again TAndy and morning Dale

Yep all good, could've done with an extra hour of sleep though

Me too

Gotta run (or walk, actually). We both have enjoyed your show this morning, DJ Jagannath

Thank you! Hope you have a good walk

And hopefully see you next week

I may or may not have fixed back off during that Om piece earlier. You do a great job at finding and playing some real cerebral music dude

Haha thank you I try! My favorite part of having this show is how much cool stuff I've discovered in doing research for it

I can't imagine what one can learn from discovering music this far out!

My favorite is to see how people from all over the world are adapting genres in ways that would be unthinkable

Like can you imagine those original Norweigan racists seeing what their albums have inspired in terms of fusion black metal

Also in different approaches to tonality, most middle eastern and Indian music has different tonal systems which makes for some super cool sounds when combined with other genres

I've definitely noticed that. I don't doubt it's because of the American hypercapitalistic tendency to reduce everything down to a platable version, but approach to tonality and melodies in a lot of music made for people like me has become ESPECIALLY banal and sanitized in the past decade. I recall seeing a video that scratched the surface that the pandering to nostalgia is an effort to hide the cracks forming in the surface, but like that video I feel like that's a whole discussion-

That requires a lot more research and examples. But back to my main point, I've noticed that a lot of the eastern based music I've heard on the station hits different for me. I don't feel stressed out, I don't feel like I'm listening to something too mysterious. It just sounds like a new home to me.

If you haven't, recommend reading Adorno's take on this - while I'm not the biggest fan of his, I do like his analyses of tonality and its relation to modern capitalism

I've mentioned him quite a few times on my show at this point

May I have a short-ish reading or article discussing this? I have to go get my oil changed in about an hour and it'd be nice to have something to occupy myself other than car reviews and doomscrolling hahah

*My last messages don't apply to some shows on here like, again, Dave's show on Friday mornings. Especially the RIO, Zeuhl, and some Canterbury sounds absolutely pushed the envelope on what "traditional" rock music could sound like.

I'd read Frederic Jameson's overview of his thought in Marxism and Form, but that isn't exactly short-ish.

https://journalofmusic.com/opinion/adorno-s-philosophy-music this seems decent though

I do recommend checking out the Jameson one if you ever get the time, PDF is fairly easily found online

Thank you!! I'm keeping that tab open next to the playlist so I don't forget. If I'm not in such a state of zen that I doze off again, I'll tell you what I think about it next week :)

Of course! Just remembered I may not be here next week since it's fall break but the week after next, if not

Gotcha gotcha. Homework!

Do you have the title for the Jameson article? I tried searching up "Jameson musical tonality" and found a lot of results, including by different authors.

it's from his book "Marxism and Form", the first article in that called "T.W Adorno or Historical Tropes"

https://www.jstor.org/stable/40546454

Thank you!

it's a little dense because most critical theory tends to be but I liked it when I read it for class earlier this year

Interesting takes on classical music, especially Beethoven vs Wagner, and Schoenberg vs Stravinsky

You make it sound like I'm about to read a gossip editorial from an ancient tabloid for intellectuals hahah. I'll look for the full PDF if I can't make an account on that site.

JSTOR usually has free access online but if not, sci-hub always exists

Thanks so much for the show and the recommended reading! I'll see you in a couple of weeks:)

Of course! Have a great day