Well, I'll be Crammed!

Another guest post from ART58Koen - something very different this time...

Somewhere in the mid 1990s I received a pretty unusual CD from my Belgian friends: ‘The World According To Crammed’.

It turned out to be a cheapo CD sampler from Crammed Discs, a Belgian independent record label established by Marc Hollander in 1981.

 
This little disc exposed me to lots of new music, at times not that easy to listen to, but most of the time certainly intriguing. Musically it went all over the place, from jazz to Americana to experimental to dance to African and more, but that was part of the fun. Artists include Bel Canto, John Lurie, Zap Mama, Tuxedomoon, Hector Zazou, Taraf De Haidouks…

Pioneers of Romani music

Based in Brussels and resolutely cosmopolitan-minded, the label has kept reinventing itself, and has been constantly coming up with new blends, mixing elements of rock, world music, pop and electronica ever since its inception in the early '80s, often anticipating the musical movements which bloomed during the next three decades.
Although Crammed puts out records by artists from the four corners of the planet (from the Balkans to Africa, South America and the Middle East, as well as from Western Europe and the USA), the label doesn't see itself as a "world music label": it just happens to enjoy working with artists from around the world, some of whom sing in languages other than English…
Crammed's sub-labels have included the Made To Measure composers' series, world music collection Cramworld, electronic music imprints SSR, Language & Selector, and Ziriguiboom, a collection devoted to new Brazilian music. Nowadays, Crammed would like to believe that borders between genres are no longer indispensable, so most releases tend to come out under the simple "Crammed" banner. 

 25 Years Crammed Into 7 Minutes (Crammed from 1980 to 2004)

In 2007 Crammed issued another sampler with the wonderful title ’20 Ways To Float Through Walls’ which turned out to be even more eclectic and adventurous with such artists as DJ Dolores, Cibelle Feat. Devendra Banhart, Sussan Deyhim & Bill Laswell, Flat Earth Society, Konono N°1… 

Flat Earth Society

This silver platter too is the aural equivalent of high-quality ganja and might result in out-of-body experiences. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Both samplers are no longer available from Crammed and therefore I ripped them for your listening pleasure and education…

Just scroll down to the comments below, answer ART58Koen's question, and these specially ripped albums could be yours!