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VulgarGrad bring you a highly alcoholic and volatile blend of the old songs of the Russian thieves (called blatnie pesny or blatnyak), along with punk classics of the Perestroika era and a strong dose of contemporary St. Petersburg swearing ska. The band delivers this music with style, raucous menace, stripy shirts and a smattering of grim smiles (very important).
Legend of stage and screen, Jacek Koman (Children of Men, Moulin Rouge, Romulus My Father, Australia) is the genial but vengeful front man who roars with the voice of a man betrayed, and he is backed by a gang of Australia's most illustrious ex-cons drawn from bands such as The Spaghetti Western Experience, The Blue Grassy Knoll, Zulya and the Children of the Underground, Croque Monsieur, Blue Drag, and the Five Angry Men. The Line-up is guitar, drums, trombone, trumpet, accordion, and watch out for the largest, most triangular instrument of them all, the mighty contrabass balalaika.
"This album is an absolute hoot! The album title (read with tongue firmly planted in cheek) says it all really – think Tom Waits in Russian meets Waiting For Guiness or any of that ilk. VulgarGrad are a Melbourne-based outfit featuring bassist Andrew Tanner (Zulya’s Children Of The Underground) on contrabass balalaika, with an able crew of guitar, horns & accordion, and at the helm the extraordinary guttural vocals of Jacek Koman.
All the songs are sung in Russian, delivered with all the morose hilarity we love from the Eastern Bloc proletariat, and with titles like ‘Alkoholik’, ‘Why Did The Aborigines Eat Captain Cook’ and ‘Anarchy Is Our Mother’ you can probably assume this is not music to be bourgeois to. It swings, stutters, stumbles and growls, veering and careering from cabaret cheese to jazz groove to carny to ska. While the musicians are clearly seasoned (or pickled), they play with shambolic abandon, often threatening to slide off the vodka-soaked table and into a puddle on the floor, with Koman’s growl providing enough rust to prevent proceedings from ever getting too slick. A fat horn section slithers & seesaws with well-oiled grunt, peppered with tasteful sprinklings of Nara Demasson’s jazzy guitar and what I assume is Svetlana Bunic’s MIDI accordion sounding like xylophone, hammond organ, flute and other sundry effects.
Superlatives aside, this is a great slab of music – energetic & fun, well-played and imminently danceable, although possibly even better to get very drunk and hurtle to."
01. Murka (trad.)
02. Alkoholik (S.Shnurov)
03. Why Did the Aborigines Eat Captain Cook (V.Vysotsky)
04. Anarchy is Our Mother (V.Tsoy)
05. The Giraffe (V.Vysotsky)
06. Vaninsky Port (trad.)
07. This Russian Rock 'N' Roll (F.Chistyakov)
08. The Years Rush By (A.Severny)
Jacek Koman: vocals
Andrew Tanner: contrabass, balalaika
Renato VaCirca: drums
Ros Jones: trombone
Adam Pierzchalski: trumpet
Nara Demasson: guitar
Phil McLeod: piano, accordion
Link
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"Ah...where to begin? How about if I use one of their own quotes "Six Yanks dedicated to the preservation of fine drikin', fightin', courtin' and sailin' songs of Ireland and Scotland". That should just about say it all and yet there is much more to tell! There is so much diverse talent in these 6 musicians it's almost unfair to all the rest. They have singing/songwriting ability and are capable of playing just about any instrument known to man including bagpipes, fiddles, banjos, whistles, accordion, violin, bodhran, haggis (I have no clue what a haggis is) my favorite mandolins and of course all the usual everyday type of instruments that the rest of us struggle with. Most of all though they are just having a damn good time doing what they're doing and it shows whether in their songs or in their stage performance. This is old hat for some of them including singer Kyf Brewer who has been in the music business for a few years now.
He started back in the 80's with the Ravyns (the good old days!) then moved on to Company of Wolves and now he is again enjoying great success with Barleyjuice. Yes, there is still some time to work on some side projects for those of you who have followed his career. Keith Swanson or Swanny,another one of the founding members of the band was Pipe Major of the Loch Rannoch Pipe Band before starting up Barleyjuice a year later. I could go on and on with the individual talent in this band but the truth is if you throw these six guys in a pot, stir it round a bit, you have gold.
They have already done 3 albums starting in 2003 with "One Shilling" followed by "Another Round" and finally giving us "Six Yanks" in 2006.
So put on your kilts...don't tell me you don't own one! Alright you might have to find one...look on the Internet under "kilts" and get down to see the band. I promise you the time of your life, but after all the whiskey and beer I won't promise you that you'll remember it. Just an excuse to do it again!"
01. Misty Mornings Miss'd
02. Pretty Wild Bride
03. Modern Pirates
04. Love With A Priest
05. Real Old Mountain Dew
06. Beauty And The Rum
07. More Pipes
08. Tartan Is The Colour Of My True Loves Hair
09. Tim Finegans Wake
10. Dear Ould Ireland
11. Whiskey
12. A Bands A Band For A That
Kyf Brewer (vocals, guitar, accordion, harmonica, bagpipes, congas, bodhran, tin whistle)
Keith Swanson (vocals, guitar, bouzouki, mandolin, bagpipes, tin whistle, bass)
Billy Dominick (fiddle, vocals, violin)
Jimmy Carbomb (whistle, banjo)
Eric Worthington (bass, backing vocals)
Gregor "The Shredder" Schroeder (drums, vocals)
Link
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The Dreadnoughts are Vancouver's biggest, baddest, drunkest, punkest celtic band. One part roaring sea shanty, one part haunting Irish melody, and a solid chaser of gut-crunching street punk.
The Dreadnoughts: One part roaring sea shanty, one part haunting Irish melody, and a solid chaser of gut-crunching street punk. This ragtag group of drunken misfits stays true to the ancient ballads and bawlers that once drove sailors around the world, all the while smashing out modern punk with a fury and intensity that is unmatched in their home city of Vancouver, BC.
Formed in 2006 over pints of cheap beer at East Vancouver’s notoriously violent Ivanhoe Hotel, the Dreadnoughts cut their teeth in the roughest dive bars in the city. They started by opening for (and earning the praise of) celtic-punk grandfathers The Real MacKenzies, and since then have never looked back. Hauling a fiddle, an accordion, a mandolin, a tin whistle, guitars and drums into every venue that would have them, they quickly became known for their powerful, chaotic live performances. In three short years they have slowly but surely joined the ranks of Vancouver’s punk rock heroes.
The Dreadnoughts are nothing new to all of us in the Celtic Rock… but to many this band has remained underground until we started getting in requests for their music lately here from around the world. “Legends Never Die” is The Dreadnoughts first release, but this is not a CD made by amateurs… these musicians are by far more talented than some of their peers and other media give them credit for. To grasp the sound of this diverse group could be summed up as a mixture of Great Big Sea, Circle J, Finn’s Fury, Blaggards, and even some Flogging Molly mixed in between. “Legends Never Die” could have been in our Top CDs of the year for 2007… if only just they would have got it to us by then. Pick this one up today if you are looking for a little Sea Shanty, Celtic Trad Jigs, Celtic ROCK, and a little punk added to the mix. This is the next Celtic Rock band to watch for years to come! Tracks of interest: “Fire Marshall Willy”, “Mary the One Eyed Prostitute….”, “Sons of Murphy”, and “Roll the Woodpile Down”.John B. www.paddyrock.com
01. Old Maui
02. Katie, Bar The Door
03. Fire Marshall Willy
04. Antarctica
05. Leonard Cohen
06. Mary The One-Eyed Prostitute
07. A Rambler's Life
08. Sons of Murphy
09. Elizabeth
10. Roll The Woodpile Down
11. The Dreadnought
The Dread Pirate Druzil: Mandolin, Tin Whistle, Banjo, Skin Flute
Seamus O'Flanahan: Fiddle, Accordion
Uncle Touchy: Guitar, Shouting, Vomiting
Stupid Swedish Bastard: Drums, Flatulence
Squid Vicious: Bass, Intimidation
Cockface: God, Merch, Sex
Link
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Coming from the predominantly Irish neighborhoods of South-Side Chicago, the Tossers have been expanding the boundaries of contemporary Irish music since the early '90s. The band chose their name for its derogatory meaning of ?throw away. The term dates back to Shakespeare and depending on who you ask it also means commode, drunk or the bunk British currency the Irish rejected after their independence in the 1920s.
Although their name may be irreverent, their music certainly is not. The heart of their distinct sound is derived through the melding of traditional Irish and Punk Rock roots. Combining traditional instrumentation of mandolin, fiddle, tin whistle and banjo with amphetamine fueled guitar, bass and drums, the Tossers play with a furious edge that teeters between rage and raucousness.
With over 15 years of the music grind behind them, the Tossers are a staple in the Celtic Punk and Folk scenes. Currently the band has five full length albums, the newest of which is "Agony" their second release on Victory Records.
While their live shows are fueled with a little bit of blood and sweat and a whole lot of whiskey and beer, their albums are dedicated to musical elegance and provocation. Possessing the ability to masterfully employ stark tempo changes from the brink of the insane to the solemness of an Irish ballad, the Tossers are an act that does not disappoint in print or in person.
Never afraid to take on new challenges at any venue for any audience the Tossers have had an eclectic past playing with acts such as the legendary Pogues, Spider Stacy (solo), the Popes, the Dropkick Murphy's, Stiff Little Fingers, Black 47 and Flogging Molly. In addition to this Irish menagerie they've also toured with hardcore favorites like Clutch and Murphy's Law; rockabilly icons Reverend Horton Heat and the Horror Pops; SKA classics like the Pie Tasters, Reel Big Fish and Catch 22; and moody rock n' rollers Murder By Death. The list goes on, as does the band.
"The Tossers are slowly getting their props as an American treasure. Too often lumped into the Celtic-rock scene as just another Pogues or Flogging Molly ripoff, actually they have been around for over 12 years, and are only now getting the press they deserve. Singer/Mandolin player Tony Dugginss songwriting has improved with each record (and on his intense solo release last year) and the songs here are some of the best in their canon. Perhaps because a lot of these tunes were played live for months before recording, the band is tight and raw, each member contributing to the tunes with subtle touches that could only have come from having lived with the songs for awhile. Ballads of love lost and shame encountered; stomping punk jigs that celebrate fall-down drunkenness as an act of glory; from the South Side of Chicago, The Tossers reach to the gutters and churches of Dublin and back again with another classic. Love them now, then have some whiskey and love them forever."
Mike Wood
01. Never Enough
02. Pub and Culture
03. Shade
04. Did it All For You
05. The Sheep in the Boots
06. Not Forgotten
07. Siobhan
08. Traps and Ultimatums
09. Leopardstown Races
10. Claddagh
11. Where Ya Been Johhny?
12. Not Alone
13. Political Scum
14. Romany
15. Movin' On
16. The Nut House
17. Be
Mike Pawula: Guitar
T. Duggins: Voice/Mandolin
Aaron Duggins: Tin Whistle
Danny Shaw: Bass/Backing Vocals
Bones: Drums
Rebecca: Violin
Clay: Banjo
Link
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Cicala-Mvta is One of Japanese Most Exciting and Original Groups. Both Traditional Chindon and the Retro-futuristic Sound of Cicala-Mvta is an Entirely Natural Combination of the Old and New, the East with the West.
Cicala Mvta is a group described by some UK music critics as the most impressive exponents of contemporary Japanese grass roots music. The music presents old-fashioned and brass band music. Featuring chindon, a kind of Japanese drum, saxophones, clarinets and tubas, Cicala Mvta's music is a kind of street music originally played at funerals or the openings of local shops. But the band blends the cheesy music with social critique, thus creating a sarcastic outlook, in both its musical style and in its stage performance.
Before TV commercials, drum and woodwind bands would march through the streets of Japan carrying banners advertising products or stores. Bandleader WATARU OKHUMA modelled his band after these Chindon groups and named it CICALA-MVTA .(Pronounced Shi-ka-la Moo-ta, it means Mute cicada after the epitaph of a great Japanese street singer songwriter) All in all, it is a wild ride, as Cicala Mvta views klezmer, Balkan, Turkish, early jazz and free jazz music through their Japanese street band lens, which has something to do with topology and physics and their bent view of musical reality.
"Sounds close to the ground. Cicala-Mvta's music sometimes sounds like that. The band starts to play slowly and begins to stride on the ground powerfully. Sometimes they lash about the ground, and and run fast forward. They are not an underground group. Yet, they don't ascend nor float. They just go forward close to the ground.
A question is asked whether music is something to progress. Listening to Cicala-Mvta, I can believe that there lies much ground to go forward. They go forward on the surface of the globe, a sphere. It may not be progress. Terms such as experiment and evolution do not fit Cicala-Mvta. Their ceaseless march has a texture that has a much more hard-core nature.
Ten years ago, Wataru Okuma, the clarinet player, initiated this group. The Ghost Circus published in 2004 is their third album. It seems that by now they have become a one solid mass. They consist of very idiosyncratic players, and they make up a fairly unique instrumental ensemble. Yet, they move forward as a mass. As though they were a three-piece hard-core punk band.
With circus and street band music as their signature, Cicala-Mvta tries amalgamation of various music on the globe, and their music is almost impossible to analyze. The diverse musical elements each musician has absorbed physically in their bodies merge in an instant, and a spark of unique and allomorph music appears. As the album title shows, any academic scrutiny would be absurd-a sonic circus! It supercedes the speed of our thinking.
Their wordless music has become all the more eloquent and carries a message. Full of love, humor and rebellious spirit, their music is a tribute to people on earth who has but to survive. Sometimes it sounds like a requiem. In
01. Ghost Hymn Introduction
02. Pillow Walk
03. The United People Will Never Be Defeated
04. Stara Planina
05. The Sleep-Walker's Escape
06. Dr. Caligari's Side Show
07. Heraklion
08. Song Of The Birds
09. The Beam And The Bellows
10. The Right To Live In Peace
11. Ghost Requiem
12. Bonus
Wataru Okuma (clarinet, bass clarinet, vocals),
Yoshiyuki Kawaguchi (saxophone),
Yoshiki Sakurai (guitar),
Takero Sakijima (tuba, recorder),
Tatsuya Yoshida (drums, vocals),
Keisuke Ota (violin, vocals),
Yoshiaki Sato (accordion),
Yoichiro Kita (trumpet),
Akiko Watanabe (trombone),
Miwazo Kogure (ching-dong, gorosu)
Link
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With a history of bizarre and dramatic destiny, Tales Forest been a long and unpredictable way - from rabid hooligan punk, a hardcore, psychedelic with a touch of shamanism and Irish folk, before these disparate components formed her own very unique style.
1. So far at Ladoga
2. Undead
3. Hey, the spirit
4. Vorojeya
5. Ulyatay
6. How nice
7. Jolta Ku
8. Ladoga
9. Kalyaki-Maliaka
Andrei Figa – vocal, accordion (music composer)
Pavlik Vlasov “Egypt” – shaman-drummer (poet)
Roma Tentler – contrabass
Petya Sergeev “Jaguar” – percussion
Volodya Molodcov “Professor” – flutes and bagpipes
Sergey Kirianov “Korotishka” – guitar
Dimarik Shihardin – fiddle
Link
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A Detroit area native, Daniel Kahn attended the University of Michigan where he studied acting, directing, playwriting and poetry. After finishing his studies he lived, played music, recorded, acted, directed plays and composed theatre music in New Orleans, Detroit, New York and Ann Arbor.
In summer 2005 Daniel moved to Berlin, and, within a very short space of time, became an integral part of the city’s folk and klezmer scene, playing in different groups and musical projects. As a corollary, he soon formed his own band, featuring a rotating roster of some of Berlin and New Yorks best young Klezmer and Balkan players.
"The Painted Bird" concocts a mixture of Klezmer, radical Yiddish song, political cabaret and punk folk, kept together by Kahn's amazing abilities both as a songwriter and a performer; telling stories of outrageous incidents, poetically dark, tragically humorous and politically incorrect.
"Dan Kahn and The Painted Bird’s new album, Partisans and Parasites is an addictive collection by outstanding, creative musicians. Together, the fast-paced, high energy klezmer, and sharp, evocative lyrics - sung in Yiddish, English, German and Russian - are a necessary compass for navigating the endless moral riddles and inescapable paradoxes in which we live.
Some songs are old Yiddish songs that Kahn & co. gift to new audiences with Kahn’s English translations, including the defiant “Yosl Ber/ A Patriot.” Others are brand-new, written and arranged by Kahn, including “Six Million Germans/Nakam” a true story about revenge after the Holocaust, and “Dumai,” “a song of exile & statelessness,” (in his words) and Kahn’s first composition in Yiddish, which he sets against a traditional Chassidic nigun (melody). Anyone who loves music or politics should own this album, which brings them together with delicious precision.
Kahn, raised in Detroit and living in Berlin, says of the new album, “We wanted to make a rock album that was using klezmer and Yiddish, German and Russian. A multi-lingual, multi-national rock album. There’s something about rock and roll that naturally subverts borders that otherwise tend to get reinforced, like ideas of authenticity and entitlement. We wanted to dispense with any kind of nostalgic preciousness. We just wanted to make a punk-rock klezmer record that you can dance to.”
01. Yosl Ber / A Patriot
02. Parasites
03. Borsht Revisited
04. Rats
05. Rosen Auf Den Weg Gestreut / Embrace The Fascists
06. Six Million Germans / Nakam
07. A Rothschild In Your House
08. Vampirn
09. Dumai / "Think"
10. Khurbn Katrina
11. The Destruction of New Orleans
12. Mayn Rue Plats / Where I rest
THE PAINTED BIRD:
Daniel Kahn: vocals, accordion, piano, ukulele, harmonica, shruti box
Michael Tuttle: contrabass, electric bass, back vocals
Hampus Melin: drums, percussion, back vocals
Michael Winograd: Bb clarinet, horn arrangements
Bert Hildebrandt: bass blarinet
Dan Blacksberg: trombone
Guests:
Vanya Zhuk: 5-, 6-, & 7-string electric guitars, vocals: Borsht & Yosl Ber
Johannes Paul Gräßer: violin
Frank London: trumpet on Yosl Ber, Six Million Germans, & New Orleans
Paul Brody: trumpet on Parasites & Rosen Auf Den Weg Gestreut
Geoff Berner: back vocals on Parasites
Psoy Korolenko: vocals on Vampirn, Rothschild, Dumai
Link
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"While Huun-Huur-Tu are folkloric pioneers, bringing the traditional music of Tuva to a worldwide audience, the goal of throat-singing rock band Yat-Kha is decidedly more aggressive and revolutionary. Albert Kuvezin, the band's founder and leader, and a former member of Huun-Huur-Tu, sees the folk music of Tuva as a stepping-off point for his band, a point of contact with the heritage but also a point of contention with the power of static culture. Yat-Kha feature electric guitar (often fuzzy and distorted, to mimic the gruff, basso kargiraa vocals), in addition to local string and percussion instruments that offer a rooted sound to an often chaotic musical web. A few of the songs on Dalai Beldiri come off as just repolished folk-pop, imitation blues that rely too heavily on standard times and melodic structures. But most of the album shines, using the shamanic roots of the group's Siberian predecessors to forge ahead with new, innovative, and often disconcerting music that emphasizes the power of the human voice as much as the power of the electric guitar. This is a groundbreaking album for Tuva, one that pushes the boundaries without just making it accessible. In fact, this music is anything but easy. It's challenging and unusual."
"Why can Tuvan people not be long out of Tuva? Why do strangers who visit this land want to come back again? What does this ancient place have so attracting and so luring? Maybe from here, far from civilization and large noisy cities and main roads, it is possible to sense the breath of nature and history - to stop time and motion, looking on ancient mounds and majestic rocks to track the development of Earth and Human culture. Fathomless skies and endless valleys, sharp mountains and swift rivers, black-eyed beauties and frisky racehorses. Life and fight, love and death, freedom and independence... So is the world-outlooking subconscious of the Tuvan person and our songs on the new disk are about that. I hope it will help you understand the soul of the people, their music and to accomplish a journey through time and space.
Peace and Harmony to everybody."
01. Kaldak-Khamar
02. Khemchim
03. Dyngyldai
04. Opei Khoomei
05. Kazhan Toren Karam Bolur
06. Keergentchig
07. Charash Karaa
08. Ydyk Buura
09. Hondergei
10. Sodom i Gomora
Albert Kuvezin - yat-kha, guitars, bass, shanzi, khomuz and low kargiraa vocal
Aldyn-ool Sevek - morin-huur, igil and sygyt, khoomei, kargiraa vocal
Zhenya Tkachëv - tüngür, percussion, gongs and stikhi vocal
Special Guests:
Steve Goulding - drum-kit
Martyn Barker - kat-drum
Martijn Fernig - little bell
Lu Edmonds (aka Akym) - extra bass, cümbüsh, saz
Link
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"The idea of colliding Romany music with punk may at first seem bizarre, but there's more common ground to be found than one might first suspect, not the least of which involves the rejection of authority and dominant cultural norms. Musically, the Romanies' exuberant celebration of life may appear the antithesis of punk's original nihilism, but both are kindled by a sense of immediacy, a "no future, let's play for today" atmosphere that fires every song. And so Gogol Bordello, while certainly unique, is not as odd as it may seem. The group long ago left the concept of borders, musical or otherwise, behind. The members may have met in New York City, but bar one, all traveled far to get there, arriving from Israel and a variety of Eastern European nations. Singer/lyricist Eugene Hutz brought with him his rich Ukrainian heritage, a gift for storytelling, a twisted sense of humor, and a sharp sense of irony. The bandmembers brought their excellent musicianship, a love of their own cultural sounds, and a magpie's delight in plundering from others. The group's name pays tribute to Ukraine's most feted author, Nikolai Gogol, whose distinctive style and leitmotif provide inspiration for Hutz's lyrics. Skipping stealthily from the real world to the surreal, the pugnacious to the paranoid, the singer spins out his tales of wonder and woe, commonplace occurrences and counterintuitive events. Behind him, the band lets loose with an accompaniment that makes a nonsense of genres, a storming backing awash in melody that pushes toward pop, but cries out to the vast Eurasian steppes. Incredibly anthemic, Multi Kontra Culti will set your head spinning and your body with it, your blood racing to the rhythms, and your spirit soaring with the wildness of the untamed sounds within."
01. When The Trickster Starts A-Poking
02. Occurrence On The Border
03. Haltura
04. Let's Get Radical
05. Smarkatch
06. Future Kings
07. Punk Rock Parranda
08. Through The Roof'n'Underground
09. Baro Foro
10. Hats Off To Kolpakoff
11. Huliganjetta
Ori Kaplan: Saxophone, Vocals
Yuri Lemeshev: Accordion
Victoria Hana: Vocals (Background)
Oren Kaplan: Guitar, Vocals, Engineer
Eugene Hütz: Guitar (Acoustic), Vocals,
Sergey Rjabtzev: Violin, Vocals
Link
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Hop onto The Baghdaddies magic carpet for an amazing musical trip traversing many corners of the earth. The Baghdaddies have been astounding audiences throughout Europe for many years with their anarchic melange of traditional European and world musical styles of all eras, throwing them together to form an infectious unique brand of music that never fails to have audiences jumping around in a frenzy !!
The Baghdaddies play an eclectic mish-mash of musical merriment, an ideal accompaniment to dancing, drinking, partying and shopping. The band formed in 1996 and since then have released four albums. They have toured and gigged extensively throughout the UK and Europe. On stages far and wide, big and small, on the streets, in village halls, the music appeals to all.
Their sound is influenced by music from throughout the world. from the Roma wedding, brass band and gypsy music of Eastern Europe, through reggae, ska, calypso, jazz and punk rock. The Baghdaddies always maintain a truly happy and seriously danceable side to their music.
Fourth full-length from the Geordie Gypsies
"The riotous five-piece from Newcastle - firm favourites on the festival circuit - return with their fourth album of fun and frolics. The title is regional slang for 'See you later', and it's a collection of original songs and a couple of trad tunes sung in English and Welsh, ranging from pavement buskers' Gypsy-jazz to full throttle Balkan wedding-band frenzy.
There's an entertaining theatrical element of comedy and satire. Lyrics have a tongue-in-cheek humour as in 'Wonder Woman' ('you make me so domesticated, you just wash, I can dry'), and 'Not Drowning But Raving' ('forever bloody waiting for the rain to keep away... will we reach the stars or will we stay in bed?').
Influences are wide-ranging. While the Balkan brass is prevalent, there is also a fair share of klezmer, jazz, ska and punk - an anarchic fusion where Ivo Papasov meets The Clash meets The Beat. There are also shades of calypso as in 'Sweet Girl', tango ('Multibubble'), and the animated vocal style is sometimes reminiscent of Dr John.
The band have a particular flair for the Balkans and capture its frenetic energy and flamboyance wonderfully. 'Gream Parelli' is a highly playful trad Bulgarian tune and its rapid, winding melody is played here by the sax. 'Dongle' is typical of the Romanian doina, a freeform style also common in klezmer and Gypsy music. The Baghdaddies have given us another fresh and funky dose of their quirky concoction of party tomfoolery."
01. Ramiros Theme
02. We Try
03. Wonder Woman
04. Ramiros
05. Not Drowning but Raving
06. Multibubble
07. Cwch
08. Mudfight
09. Gream Pareli
10. Sweet Girl
11. Dongle
Ziad Jabero: guitar, vox
Paul Ruddick: sax, flute, vox
Martin Douglas: drums, vox
Nigel Kirkpatrick: trumpet, vox
Paul Susans: bass, vox
Link
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A Detroit area native, Daniel Kahn attended the University of Michigan where he studied acting, directing, playwriting and poetry. After finishing his studies he lived, played music, recorded, acted, directed plays and composed theatre music in New Orleans, Detroit, New York and Ann Arbor.
In summer 2005 Daniel moved to Berlin, and, within a very short space of time, became an integral part of the city’s folk and klezmer scene, playing in different groups and musical projects. As a corollary, he soon formed his own band, featuring a rotating roster of some of Berlin and New Yorks best young Klezmer and Balkan players.
"The Painted Bird" concocts a mixture of Klezmer, radical Yiddish song, political cabaret and punk folk, kept together by Kahn's amazing abilities both as a songwriter and a performer; telling stories of outrageous incidents, poetically dark, tragically humorous and politically incorrect.
Fronted by Jewish-Detroiter singer-songwriter Daniel Kahn on vocals, accordion, piano and guitar with East German Johannes Paul Graesser on fiddle, US expat composer Michael Tuttle on upright bass and a rotating roster of some of Berlin and New Yorks best young Klezmer and Balkan players, the band was formed in Berlin in fall of 2005. Guest artists on the CD include NY downtown Tsadik players Brandon Seabrook & Eric Rosenthal (Naftule's Dream), Holland's rising yiddish folk diva Niki Jacobs (Nikitov), and members of Berlin's "Grinstein's Mishpoche" and "Shikker Vi Lot." Like the grotesque Jerzy Kosinski novel from which they take their name, The Painted Bird reminds us that even if man is only an animal, he can still sing.
"Dan Kahn is the hottest damn songwriter you've never heard of. Kahn is not only an amazing multi-instrumentalist/playwright/poet, he also typifies the youthful ethos that reminds us that music without heart is just a bunch of noise."
01. Beyze Vintn
02. The Broken Tongue
03. Yesterday is Buried
04. Nakht un Regn
05. Migrant Chorale
06. Die Ballade von der 'Judenhure' Marie Sanders
07. Birkenau
08. Unter di Khurves fun Polyn
09. Son of Plenty
10. Edward the Young
11. Man of Plenty
12. The Silver Window
Daniel Kahn – vocals, accordion, piano, guitars, ukulele, etc.
Johannes Paul Gräßer – violin
Michael Tuttle – contrabass
Detlef Pegelow – drums, horns, mandolin, etc.
Bert Hildebrandt – clarinet
Guests:
Niki Jacobs – guest vocals
Sabine Ostermann – backing vocals on "Edward The Young"
Fabian Schnedler – backing vocals on "The Broken Tongue"
Brandon Seabrook – lead electric guitar & banjo on "Yesterday Is Buried"
Eric Rosenthal – drums on "Yesterday Is Buried"
Link
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America, what a country! The assimilated young New Yorkers in this Gypsy-punk sextet sure think so, jury duty and ESL classes notwithstanding. Previous Golem discs rewired traditional klezmer (raucous Jewish wedding jazz), mainly with vocals in Yiddish. Their fifth disc’s originals, based loosely on Ukrainian immigrant songs collected by singer Annette Ezekiel-Kogan, are in English and just about every tongue spoken East of the Danube, with rock and reggae underpinning whirling dervishes and Old World lover’s laments. The universality comes from carefree comic irony: Ezekiel-Kogan brassily nails a mock citizenship exam (Q: “Can you name the 49th state in the Union?” A: “Al-aaaaa-ska!”) and cosinger Aaron Diskin rhymes kosher and fo’ sure in a song about how much he loves tuches. Pretty soon, the space between exile and arrival starts sounding like a hot spot."
"This 6 piece Gypsy Punk Gem is renowned for electrifying dance floors with their globetrotting goulash of Jewish, Slavic, and Gypsy songs. Mixing old world and new without compromising either, the album is a startling portrait of an ideal world where there is no need only to ghettoize or assimilate. Citizen Boris winds through the struggles and triumphs of immigrant life in America, with the wild energy and panache that characterizes Golem's Gypsy-punk sound."
"Instantly accessible!"
01. Train Across Ukraine
02. Mirror Mirror
03. Tucheses and Nenes
04. Come to Me
05. Meat Street
06. Zingarella
07. Tell Her You Love Her
08. Citizen Boris
09. Lullaby
10. Chervona Ruta
11. Balkan Espanol
Annette Ezekiel Kogan, Aaron Diskin (vocals)
Alicia Jo Rabins (violin)
Curtis Hasselbring (trombone)
Taylor Bergren-Chrisman (bass instrument)
Tom Monaghan (drums)
Emery Dobyns (percussion)
Link
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A miraculous eastern whirlwind breaks up from this music, an eddy that nips you away like a dream! Natural easiness, joyful power that makes you fly. The latest album of Grandpierre Attila's group playing world music of ancient power is characterized by freshness from Middle-Asian, Moldavian, Transdanubian, Chinese and Indian folk music. In the endless plains of Eurasia the horse-riding people lived through this compelling world of experience,from which the impressive folk music of the ancient steppe was born, speeding on the back of galloping horse throughout thousands of years. On this CD the Vágtázó Csodaszarvas (Galloping Wonder Stag) lets the magic power of the compelling of music free. Everithing is pervaded by the fascinating feeling when the energy is liberated, the gates to the living universe open wide, and the cosmic creating power of the All blooms there. The Galloping Wonder Stag gives over the direction of its music to the miraculous cosmic creating power living within us. This is the secret of its genuineness of ancient power.
01. Napkapu- Sungate
02. Hunok Csatája - Battle Of Huns
03. Ének A Csillagokig - Song To Reach For The Stars
04. Tengertánc - Dance Of The Sea
05. Égi Áramlás - Heavenly Flow
06. Mámoros Éji Vágtázás - Ecstatic Galloping At Night
07. Emlék - Memory Of An Other Life
08. Emberélet - Human Life
Attila Grandpierre - voice
Csaba Bakos - percussion
Botond Bese - bagpipes
Róbert Benkő - double bass
András Fazekas - drums
András Fábri - cister
Géza Fábri - strings
Bernadett M. Gebri - vocals
Krisztina Molnár - violin
Géza Orczi - tapan, ud, saz, buzuki, dzura, tambura, tamburica
Zsolt Vaskó - wind instruments
Link
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"Once upon a time in Hungary a group of young and talented people – who had otherwise not much common points – agreed that they will show their compatriots and to the whole world that the saying “the Hungarian rejoices crying” is absolutely false. In the music of Yava Folcore Punk Brigade the folk songs are not artefacts of museums or worldmusic-like commercial products but pulsating energy which is not only intertwined with the musical traditions of the Middle East or Indonesia but also with hardcore punk music. After long waiting the debut album of the band will be coming out in November 2008 and the band that already had several international gigs is ready to conquer the world.
Yava was established by the bassist of the legendary band “Galloping Coroners” (VHK), Adam Mestyan and Polett Dus in 2001 and their very different characters define the main features of the band. Polett today is the editor in chief of a radio station but before she played as an actor in a travelling company, was a folk-musician and then lived for a long time in Indonesia where she studied the ancient arts of “wayang” and the “gamelan” music. Adam was graduated as an Arabist and lived in North Africa and later one year in Kuwait. In 2002, the folk musician Szabolcs Roka joined the band who is the master of the Hungarian “koboz” and the Arabic-Turkish oud. From 2004 the also legendary VHK-member guitarist Fritz Laszlo Nemeth joined the band while the progressive metal-drummer Kristof Szabo is the youngest member.
In the inimitable music of the YAVA FOLCOR PUNK BRIGADE it can happen that the bass will answer to the themes of the bagpipe. Who does not believe this, listen to this magic how the different musical traditions of different nations are united, how the medieval songs and instruments are joined to punk and hardcore melodies."
01. Szerelem
02. Tizenkettö
03. Ó, Castília
04. Indonéz
05. Mire vársz
06. Gen 36
07. Rejtsetek el engem
08. Kezemet homokba
09. Üsküdari mese
10. Aranytoll
11. Izzott nyögött
12. Hergetés
Link
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"This family band from Flagstaff, Arizona, pump up their politically driven punk with some serious medicine - a unique Native American worldview that informs their music as it sets them apart from other message rockers. Navajo (Diné) siblings Klee, Clayson, and Jeneda Benally are joined by elders both spiritual and geneological on One Nation Under, which features Joey Ramone on two tracks as well as proud papa Jones Benally, a champion hoop dancer and pow-wow singer. There's no starker depiction of the Blackfire dichotomy, and the band make the tensions between hallowed tradition and the urgencies of modern rock work for them again and again on this CD, which handily netted a Native American Music Award in 2002. Blackfire drive home their reservation blues with traditional percussion and vocals deployed over a taut rhythm section recalling the predatory post-punk of Fugazi. There's plenty worth shouting about, as the scandalous situation of America's first people is rich with enough bad faith, cynicism, and exploitation for a hundred Minor Threat albums. But while the social injustices may be specific to the Diné and their kin, there's resonance with the struggles of oppressed folk everywhere. And it's to them that Blackfire offer their hard truth, promising survival to those strong enough to maintain their culture, with all the incongruities, rage, and humor that this modern age demands. May they long practice what they preach."
01. No Control
02. Exile
03. Stand Strong
04. One Nation Under
05. Prove Them Wrong
06. Is This Justice
07. Dine' Gourd Dance Song
08. Many Farms
09. What Do You See
10. It Ain't Over
11. Lying To Myself
12. Someone Else's Nightmare
13. Level
14. Shattered
15. Downfall
Clayson Benally - Drums, Vocals
Jeneda Benally - Bass, Vocals
Klee Benally - Vocals, Guitar
Link
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Eugene Hutz picked up a sideline career as a film actor with 2005's Everything Is Illuminated, but anyone worried about that derailing the momentum of his riotously inventive band Gogol Bordello can breathe easy. On Super Taranta!, the NYC-based gypsy-punk crew is as energized as ever, knocking out a rocked-up take on Eastern European and Roma traditional music that sounds a little like The Pogues and Gipsy Kings partying in the back seat of the speeding car from Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas. This time around, styles like flamenco and reggae work into the mix. But whatever the sound, everything revolves around charismatically anarchic frontman Hutz, who tosses his Ukrainian-accented lyrics like grenades laden with radical politics and a sly sense of humor: "Have you ever been to American wedding? / Where's the vodka, where's marinated herring?"
01. Ultimate
02. Wonderlust King
03. Zina-Marina
04. Super Theory Of Super Everything
05. Harem In Tuscany (Taranta)
06. Dub the Frequencies Of Love
07. My Strange Uncles From Abroad
08. Tribal Connection
09. Forces Of Victory
10. Alcohol
11. Suddenly...(I Miss Carpaty)
12. Your Country
13. American Wedding
14. Super Taranta!
Link
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One of my largest favourites: Shane MacGowan...:)
The Pogues are a band of mixed Irish and English background, playing traditional Irish music with influences from punk rock, formed in 1982 and fronted by Shane MacGowan. They reached international prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s, until MacGowan left the band in 1991 due to drinking problems. They continued with first Joe Strummer and then Spider Stacy on vocals before breaking up in 1996. The band began performing together again in 2001, though they have yet to record new music.
Their politically-tinged music was influenced by The Clash, yet used traditional Irish instruments such as the tin whistle, banjo, cittern, mandolin, accordion, and others. In the later incarnations of the band, after the departure of Shane MacGowan, rock instruments such as the electric guitar would become more prominent. The first of The Pogues' albums, Red Roses for Me, borrows much from the punk tradition of MacGowan's previous band The Nipple Erectors (later dubbed "The Nips").
The Pogues were founded in King's Cross, a district of North London, in 1982 as Pogue Mahone—pogue mahone being the Anglicisation of the Irish póg mo thóin, meaning "kiss my arse".
The band specialised in Irish folk music, often playing with the energy of the punk rock scene in which several of the members had their roots.
"The Irish Clash? A punk Dubliners? The fact is that The Pogues - or Pogue Mahone as they were initially known until Radio 1 had a hot flush on discovering that it was Irish for "Kiss my Arse" - were far better than both and only suffered the comparisons because the mid-80's music scene didn't know what the f**k else to make of or say about them.
To be fair though nobody had really clattered a tea tray against their head before to help keep time or tooted on the tin whistle like the devil himself had hold of their crotch in his fist. And certainly nobody had EVER written about the boozed and bruised experience of the Irish diaspora with the broken, fired-up eloquence that Shane MacGowan poured out in such large measure.
Many of the songs collected again here are now held in the same high regard as the standards which Shane grew up listening to and later covered - note the definitively crushed reading of Eric Bogle's 'The Band Played Waltzing Matilda'.
'A Pair of Brown Eyes', 'Rainy Night in Soho', the Christmas-isn't-Christmas 'Fairytale of New York'... the term poetic genius might now be devalued through lazy overuse but no other epithet does the crazy, bewildered bloke full justice.
The Pogues stand alongside The Smiths, New Order and The Jesus and Mary Chain as one of the truly important bands of the last 20 years but their songs will easily outlast the lot. Long after Shane's finally supped his last and tumbled off his barstool for the very last time, we'll still be boozily linking arms and shouting "you scumbag, you maggot..." in each other's faces with genuine affection. God bless you, Shane. You're not the first to have p**sed away your talent."
01. Dirty Old Town
02. Irish Rover - Pogues & The Dubliners
03. Sally MacLennane
04. Fiesta
05. Pair Of Brown Eyes
06. Fairytale Of New York - Pogues & Kirsty MacColl
07. Body Of An American
08. Stream Of Whiskey
09. Sick Bed Of Cuchulainn
10. If I Should Fall From The Grace Of God
11. Misty Morning Albert Bridge
12. Rain Street
13. White City
14. Rainy Night In Soho
15. London Girl
16. Boys From The County Hell
17. Sunnyside Of The Street
18. Summer In Siam
19. Hell's Ditch
20. Old Main Drag
21. The Band Played Waltzing Matilda
Accordion, Piano - James Fearnley
Citern, Vocals - Terry Woods
Guitar, Vocals - Philip Chevron
Tin Whistle, Vocals - Spider Stacey
Banjo, Saxophone - Jem Finer
Drums, Vocals - Andrew Ranken
Lead Vocals, Guitar - Shane MacGowan
Bass, Vocals - Darryl Hunt
Link
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Ex Oriente lux – light comes from the East. The magic spirit of ancient Eurasia is conjured. Shaman power in psychedelic hardcore. Huns from the Steppes finally triumphed. Primordial God-feeling. The spell-binding knowledge of the One and Indivisible Universe. All these are different formulations of one music group: VÁGTÁZÓ CSODASZARVAS - The Galloping Wonder Stag. As it is written about their music: “Certainly there is no other music that could more effectively communicate to our compatriots, or even to the whole world, the powerful force of our national past and heritage — which survives and flourishes to the present day, as the music of the Vágtázó Csodaszarvas (cca. Wonder Stag in Full Gallop) so eloquently testifies. If you hear it once, you will find it unforgettable — and will seek out the experience again” (you can see the whole article below: The Power of Galloping Melodies).
Actually, the music of the Galloping Wonder Stag arises in the same way as the ancient ethnic music: from the deepest impulses of the human spirit seeking expression of life’s profound, enrapturing, unfolding beauty. It is a natural music, born of the cosmic creative power of Nature.
As the great Hungarian composer Bela Bartók wrote: “The real ethnic music is a natural phenomenon free from any cultural influence, the result of the formative activity of the unconsciously acting natural force. Such creations develop with the same organic freedom as the other living organisms of Nature: the flowers, animals etc…. Such music expresses the instinctive manifestation of a peasant’s musical perception.”
The deepest human self-expression reaches back to this natural, cosmic force, with all its elementary, magical power. VÁGTÁZÓ CSODASZARVAS’s music manifests the ancient spirit of Eurasia, of the rich and noble experience of restless, nomadic people canvassing the wilderness for human possibilities. Listening to this music, you can tune into the experience of a thousand years of horse-riding people intimately connected to the heart of Nature, and immerse yourself in the bright treasures of overwhelming rhythms and melodies that is their legacy to us, denizens of the modern age. The leader of the group, Attila Grandpierre, is a bona fide shaman in the ancient sense of that term, a perceptive instrument mediating the ancient and eternal reality of this primaeval experience, translated to us in our own age via this incomparable, magical folk-music.
VÁGTÁZÓ CSODASZARVAS emerged in 2005 subsequent to five years of creative activity defining and refining its concept and musical direction. Attila Grandpierre, founder of the ensemble, left his former music group Vágtázó Halottkémek (abbr. VHK, cca. Galloping Coroners) in the year 2000, after 26 years of vital activity. They were officially forbidden by the authorities, but were able to play because of their incredible popularity. In these decades he had became a world-renowned icon of the contemporary Hungarian music scene before his departure. VHK had acquired its reputation as the best shaman-punk band ever. In this new group, Attila invited some of the best Hungarian folk virtuosos, together with some previously unknown but technically excellent and spiritually-endowed musicians. Their recent debut in the Petőfi Hall presented a ferocious performance, and received wide credit as a tremendous success. The band now consists of eleven members, playing on zymbalon (dulcimer, ancient Hungarian cymbalom), koboz (kobsa, ancient Hungarian lute, lyre), the Hungarian bagpipe, the Csango drums (ancient Hungarian shaman-drums), violin, and double bass — all together fusing to create what is by turns a ferocious and enrapturing sound.
VÁGTÁZÓ CSODASZARVAS is not merely a musical experience, but a vision of an unlimited will to live our lives to the fullest capacity. The ritual, shamanic dance presented by Attila Grandpierre is a source of magic that enraptures the whole band and hypnotizes the audience, who thereby experience the extraordinary world where the magical music still lives, as it has ever lived from time immemorial.
It almost goes without saying that The Galloping Wonder Stag is reputed to be an eminently distinguished Hungarian cult band. The music of VÁGTÁZÓ CSODASZARVAS is a proud music, life-affirming, spontaneous, joyful, and suffused with overwhelming energy seeking release. In present terms, it is shamanistic and psychedelic. It is a cosmic vision about the role of earthly life in the destination of the Universe. It develops in a sovereign way as a self-revelation by means of its sheer elementary power.
The first CD of VÁGTÁZÓ CSODASZARVAS — entitled Pure Spring — appeared in August 2006, published by FONÓ Records. Its pride and glory is to recall Béla Bartók’s concept of the real folk music — and to make it resonate with the minds, sensibilities, and spirits of people like you and me who seek vital connections with our living world and with our human past. It reached the top at the list of the best records of 2006 of the editors of Rockinform, the Hungarian musical journal, and has been dedicated to the best CDs of 2006 in the categories of the best debut albums, the best productions and the best CD covers as well at the international list of Hungarian Metal Awards Hang-Súly’06.
1. Végtelen Egy / Infinite One
2. A Zene lakodalma / Music’s Wedding
3. Mámoros éji vágtázás / Elated Nocturnal Galloping
4. Rég volt / A Long Time Ago
5. Fohász egy lóhoz / Prayer To A Horse
6. Pótolhatatlan Halhatatlanság / Irreplaceable Immortality
7. Vágtázó Himnusz / Galloping Anthem
Grandpierre Attila - voice
Bese Botond - bagpipe
Balogh Kálmán - zymbalon
Benke Félix - drum
Benkő Róbert - double bass
Bolya Mátyás - lute
Geröly Tamás - drum
Márton Bernadett - voice
Miller Krisztina - violin
Róka Szabolcs - lute
Szokolay Dongó Balázs - wind players
Link
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"New York-based band Firewater, incorporated a global range of musical influences into their highly-dynamic sound. A loosely-knit ensemble centered around the lead vocals of ex-Cop Shoots Cop bass player Tod A. (born: Tod Ashley), Firewater tied together such influences as Klezmer, Indian wedding music, art-punk, and Tom Waits-style cabaret poetry to create their heady, often quite danceable sound. Coupled with Tod A.'s acerbic, post-apocalyptic, and death-obsessed lyrics, Firewater was a band to be reckoned with almost from the beginning.
Shortly after forming in 1995, Firewater released its debut, Get Off The Cross (We Need The Wood For The Fire). Both it and 1998's The Ponzi Scheme featured guitarist Duane Denison of Jesus Lizard, drummer Yuval Gabay of Soul Coughing and saxophone and accordion player Kurt Hofmann of the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. The sultry vocals of Elsyian Fields' Jennifer Charles also drifted through both albums. Charles returned for 2001's more pop-oriented Psychopharmacology; other contributions came from saxophonist Ori Kaplan and sitar player Oren Bloedow. In 2003, Tod A. and his "wedding band gone wrong" returned with a stripped-down, razor-wire-wrapped effort for Jetset entitled The Man on the Burning Tightrope. The covers album Songs We Should Have Written appeared early the following year. Tod A. then went on an extended trek through Thailand, India, Pakistan, Turkey and Indonesia, which he chronicled on his blog Postcards from the Other Side of the World. A. also recorded music on his travels, collaborating with producer Tamir Muskat and local musicians along the way. The results were The Golden Hour, which Bloodshot Records released in spring 2008."
"In photography, the golden hour is when the sunlight is at the perfect angle to capture beautiful images; in the medical world, it's the window of time where a life can still be saved after severe injuries. Both meanings could apply to The Golden Hour, Firewater's first album of original material in four years: it's a musical travelogue of the three years Tod A. spent in India, Turkey, Pakistan, and Indonesia (which he also chronicled in the blog Postcards from the Edge of the World) after his divorce and the reelection of President George W. Bush in 2004, and each song is like a vibrant, sometimes violent, snapshot along the way. A.'s travels were no vacation -- if anything, there's a sharper edge to his songwriting here than in years, and combined with the contributions of local musicians from each country, The Golden Hour is some of Firewater's most consistently potent music. The album underscores its concept by kicking off with "Borneo," a jaunty, pissed-off exit song listing all the reasons for leaving the U.S. ("You got a monkey for a president" is near the top) with theatrical flair, and from there, A. and crew -- including drummer/producer Tamir Muskat of Balkan Beat Box -- find ways to dance on their troubles with quintessentially Firewater songs like "Hey Clown," "Already Gone," and "Three Legged Dog." The band ups the ante with "This Is My Life," where the tumba, chimta, and dholki of the native musicians (many of whom normally play in the backing bands for belly dancers) add an extra spark to the song's already fiery rhythm. But for every brash moment on The Golden Hour, there is an equally vulnerable one, whether it's the cautionary tales of "Paradise" and "A Place Not So Unkind" or "Six Forty Five," an elegant ballad filled with emptiness as it wanders from sunset to sunrise. On "Weird to Be Back," Tod A. notes that "everything's the same or maybe just a little worse," but that can't be said of The Golden Hour -- it's some of Firewater's angriest, most poignant, and most accomplished music."
Reviews:
"Melodic Eastern European-flavored gypsy rock, Indian and Middle Eastern percussion, hypnotic sarangi solos... the album is a biting travelogue, the rantings of a surly castaway among the noble savages."
...Firewater s most compelling record yet, a funky, furious bouillabaisse of fuzzy Gypsy-punk guitars, tart Bollywood strings and throbbing hand-drums.
01. Borneo
02. This Is My Life
03. Some Kind of Kindness
04. 6-45 (So This Is How It Feels)
05. A Place Not So Unkind
06. Paradise
07. Bhangra Bros
08. Electric City
09. Hey Clown
10. Already Gone
11. Feels Like the End of the World
12. Weird To Be Back
13. Three Legged Dog
Link
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Cicala Mvta (pronounced shikala moota) are one of Japan's most exciting and original groups. Like other innovative musicians, their music is hard to define; "punk chindon jazz", "world and noise band to clarinet in a chindon group. Colorful chindon groups used to be a common sight in Japan, marching in the streets noisily banging a chindon drum, while saxophones or clarinets would pick out the melody to the hits of the day. Ohkuma tramped the streets of Tokyo for 7 years playing clarinet as part of a spluttering tradition, until the late 80s when together with the group Compostella he started to revive chindon music by mixing it with other elements. While Japan is the only eastern country to have so readily absorbed western music, street performances of wind and percussion instruments can be found all over the world. As an "unmilitarized" street music, chindon is related to Jewish Klezmer music, New Orleans brass bands and wind and percussion ensembles from China and south east Asia. Ohkuma is as keen to embrace these influences in the music of Cicala Mvta. "In my opinion, old jazz , klezmer or wedding brass band traditions, from India to the Balkans, are all similar to chindon as an early modern mixture music . These are all clarinet musics, so it's very natural for me to play these types together" he says.
Ohkuma's other disparate influences help give Cicala Mvta their own distinctive sound. These he cites as progressive rock, punk, avant-garde jazz, early modern music (such as Bartok) and folk. Only occasionally featuring the chindon drum, Ohkuma's perky clarinet is ably abetted by an unusual line-up of musicians, each bringing with them a sense of individuality to supplement Ohkuma's clarinet and saxophone, in what is a totally original line-up; fluid, distorted electric guitar, rip-roaring, booming tuba, squeaking, screeching cello, frantic, discordant fiddle, and tinny, shuffling drums. "Deko Boko" is Cicala Mvta's second album and a progression on their self titled first CD. The mixtures are more radical than ever, and the tunes self penned by Ohkuma and arranged by the group. Both traditional chindon and the retro-futuristic sound of Cicala Mvta are an entirely natural combination of the old and new, the east with the west.
Cicala Mvta is one of only a few Japanese groups, to have created a 'buzz' in other countries. Their first overseas gig in 2000 was supporting Blur in London, afterwhich they toured for 6 weeks, playing to enthusiastic audiences at festivals throughout Europe. Despite being instrumental, their music is not without a message. The band's name, Italian for a 'mute cicada', derives from the epitaph written on the gravestone of Soeda Azembo (1872 -1944) the greatest street singer and songwriter of popular music in Japan before the 1920s. "His songs were banned and he was repeatedly thrown into prison. They tried to break his spirit and make him really mute" explains Ohkuma. Cicala Mvta and chindon music too, is not about to go quietly.
01. Tokyo Jinta
02. Kyu na saka
03. The lowest saddle
04. A weekend of a clown
05. The blue flower kopanitza
06. Sukiniatte gomen nassai
07. Don cholecha variation
08. Bessarabian hora
09. Bulgaria Rhytm
10. Albert Ayler Medley
11. Jerry roll strange motion
12. Motto kyu na saka
OHKUMA Wataru : clarinet,bass clarinet, accordion, timpani,glockenspiel,chorus
OHTA Keisuke: violin, singing(6),chorus
SAKURAI Yoshiki: guitar,Irish bouzouki, lap steel guitar, banjo, reverb tank,chorus
SAKAMOTO Hiromichi: cello,musical saw,chorus
SEKIJIMA Takero: tuba,recorder,chorus
KAMIMURA Shoko:drum,big bass drum(1), chorus
KAWAGUCHI Yoshiyuki: alto,soprano,bariton sax, chorus
Samm BENNETT: drum(3) , percussion, toys,turn table
Link
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