Tompkins Square records have released an exquisitely-curated collection of pre-war music exploring the timeless themes of love — found and lost. Aimer et Perdre: To Love & To Lose, Songs, 1917-1934 is double CD set featuring music from the Cajun bayous, America’s countryside, the Ukraine, and other locales near and far. You may recall that Tompkins Square are the creators of the excellent This May Be My Last Time Singing gospel compilation and also the critically-acclaimed To What Strange Place: The Music Of The Ottoman-American Diaspora 1916-1929. Produced by Christopher King and Susan Archie, Aimer et Perdre continues in the Tomkpkins tradition of releasing excellent and mostly unheard music, contextualized with insightful liner notes in beautiful packaging. And as you may have noticed from the image above, Aimer et Perdre is illustrated on the outside (and inside) with original art by the one-and-only R. Crumb. Listen to the whole first disc below. Happy Valentine’s Day!
