Smithsonian Folkways has two exciting and diverse new albums coming out: Quetzal’s The Eternal Getdown (available March 10th) and Rahim AlHaj’s Letters from Iraq (available April 7th). Both are now available for pre-order and feature an instant download of the first single.

GRAMMY-winning East L.A. band Quetzal summons a powerful panoply of sounds from its urban palette – rock, R&B, Mexican son jarocho, Japanese taiko, Afro-Cuban batá, and more – to create an ambitious, artful album with a social point of view.

Pre-order and learn more about this powerful music, listen to “Olokun y Yemayá” featured on NPR’s Alt-Latino, and watch an in-studio video of “Get to Knowing” featuring singer Aloe Blacc.

Iraqi-American composer and oud player Rahim AlHaj transposes actual mailed letters from war-torn Iraq to eight programmatic compositions. Working with a string quintet and percussion, AlHaj’s recordings that make up Letters from Iraq are of deep emotion and great beauty, melding mastery of Iraqi and Western classical genres.

Pre-order and learn more this gripping album, peer behind the scenes with an in-studio video of “Letter 1. Eastern Love – Sinan,” and watch a recent performance with the Seattle Symphony.

Video

Get to know the McIntosh County Shouters, the acclaimed upholders of the African American ring shout tradition, and their recent album Spirituals and Shout Songs from the Georgia Coast with this mini-documentary featuring music from the recording.