I’ve been listening to more and more world music recently, especially ethnic and folk recordings issued on 78 in the pre-LP period (that goes as late as 1970 in places like South Africa). One genre I’ve discovered that floors me is son huasteco, the country music of the northeastern Mexican state of Huasteca. I have one astonishing 78 of it, plus the track that introduced me to it, from the superb Excavated Shellac. It’s usually played by a trio composed of the violin, the jarana huasteca (a small 8-stringed guitar), and a quinta huapanguera (a full-sized 5-string guitar). The gentle, high-pitched singing frequently ventures into falsetto and reminds me of Bob Wills.

The video above shows the modern trio huasteco Los Camperos de Valles, captured by the Smithsonian in 2005. The fiddle playing and singing are exhilarating – the sympathy between the musicians, the combination of relaxation with virtuosity. The Smithsonian says: “The melancholy themes often contrast with and yet somehow complement the playful melodies. ‘El gusto’ (The Pleasure) is about lost love and typifies how imagery of rural life is often used to portray this pain and longing in son huasteco.”

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