I find Basque music to be very compelling. It seems to me as if this music comes from someplace far away, from another time. There are three important instruments in Basque music today, the tamborine, the double-row diatonic button accordion, known as the trikitixa, and the albolka. The albolka is a hand-made reed instrument that has a sound that reminds me more of pipes than of reeds. The sounds it makes are nothing short of remarkable. I found an excellent sample on YouTube.
Wow!
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27th Street 
It has a very Renaissance feel to it plus a dose of bagpipepishness, if that makes any sense.
Remarkable! I’d never heard of this instrument, now I want one.
I like the new look on the blog, by the way 🙂