Kazum!
02-04-07, 10:28 PM
Bulgaria and Romania are naturally the themes of this years balkan Fever London festival. Here's all the details for those interested.
Balkan Fever London 2007 celebrates Bulgaria and Romania’s EU membership and the opportunities this brings for cultural exchange; at the same time Balkan émigré musicians such as Lubo Alexandrov and Nataša Mirkovič are already making musical impacts where they live. The Balkans are known in western Europe for vibrant traditional music; Balkan Fever London also presents cutting-edge contemporary artists such as Ada Milea and Alexander Balanescu.
www.myspace.com/balkanfeverlondon (http://www.myspace.com/balkanfeverlondon) / www.kazum.co.uk (http://www.kazum.co.uk)
Funded by Arts Council England, The Romanian Cultural Institute, The Austrian Cultural Forum and the Government of Québec in London. With thanks to the Bulgarian Embassy.
Lubo Alexandrov`s Kaba Horo
Day & Date: Sunday, 15th April
Time:7pm-12am
Venue: Cargo, Shoreditch
Québecois Lubo Alexandrov grew up in communist Bulgaria, learning folk music from his grandfather, a kaval flute player. After years of playing Montréal jazz clubs, Alexandrov experienced a musical revolution when he returned to Bulgaria for a Gypsy wedding. Inspired by this dynamic and free-spirited music, Alexandrov assembled the 6-piece group Kaba Horo. The result - an explosive mix of Bulgarian dance music, Gypsy songs and Turkish sounds led by Alexandrov on guitar and beefed up with funk, jazz and urban drum’n’bass grooves. Lubo has just been announced the WINNER of a JUNO AWARD 2007 (Canadian Grammys)
Tickets: £10 / £12
www.wegottickets.com / www.cargo-london.com / 07966 452557
Cargo is at 83 Rivington Street, Shoreditch, London EC2A 3AY.
Foaie Verde (Green Leaf)
Day & Date: Friday 20th April
Venue: The Romanian Cultural Institute
Created by award-winning photographer Dominick Tyler and Romanian music specialist Joe Townsend for Opera North, Foaie Verde is a musical-visual journey through a day in rural Transylvania, centring around an encounter with an elderly master violinist living the simple life and desperate to pass on his knowledge. Beautiful landscapes and human stories provide the backdrop for singer Dana Codorean-Berciu and 5 musicians to take you on an unforgettable trip.
Time: doors open 7pm
Booking line: Romanian Cultural Institute 020 7752 0134
Romanian Cultural Institute, 1 Belgrave Square, SW1
Nataša Mirkovic & Matthias Loibner
Day & Date: Thursday 26 & Friday 27 APRIL
Venue: Pizza On The Park, 11 Knightsbridge, Hyde Park Corner, SW1
Bosnian singer Nataša Mirković performed opera, jazz, rock and traditional song before fleeing war-torn Sarajevo for Austria, where she met hurdy-gurdy maestro Matthias Loibner in the Sandy Lopičić Orkestar. With intense, expressive feeling, her exquisite vocals and the exotic sounds of the ancient hurdy-gurdy won the duo an Austrian World Music Award in 2005 with a programme of folk song, quirky Alpine tunes, and sprightly hurdy-gurdy madness.
Time: doors open 7pm, Live Music 9pm
Tickets: Thursday 26th - £15; Friday 27th - £20
Call Pizza On The Park 020 7235 5273 to make a reservation
Hai La Drum
Day & Date: Sunday 29 April
Venue: Le Quecumbar, Battersea
Romanian gypsy violinist Vasile Stanescu returns to the UK from Bucharest to lead gypsy swing group Hai la Drum in the delightful surroundings of Le Quecumbar music brasserie. Revelling in virtuoso improvisations, Stanescu combines conservatoire technique with gypsy abandon.
Time: doors open 6pm, live music later
Tickets: £10
Le Quecumbar 020 7787 2227 / www.wegottickets.com
42-44 Battersea High Street, London SW11 3HX
Ada Milea & Alexander Balanescu Concert
Day & Date: Thursday 3 May
Venue: The Spitz
Ada Milea is an extraordinary Romanian vocalist who uses her voice to create moods, colour and reflection as much as to sing songs. Working in theatre (including Cirque de Soleil) her performances are experiences of powerful and playful expression. She has collaborated with Alexander Balansecu on several projects, including the surrealist work, The Island.
Born in Bucharest, violinist Alexander Balanescu has always sought to present contemporary music in new and more accessible contexts, working with the likes of Michael Nyman, Jack de Johnette, Carla Bley, and the Pet Shop Boys; playing a string quartet in a venue such as the Spitz is exactly the kind of thing he enjoys. He connected with his Romanian roots with projects such as Luminitza, and Maria T, based on the songs of Romanian diva Maria Tanase.
Time: doors open 7 pm
Tickets: £12.00 advance
From www.wegottickets.com / 07966 452557
The Spitz is at 109 Commercial Street, Old Spitalfields Market, E1 6BG
Ivo Papasov’s Wedding Band
Day & Date: Saturday 5 May
Time: 6pm-10pm
Venue: Islington Carling Academy
Ivo Papasov is the legendary ‘King of Bulgarian Wedding Music’. With his bubbling clarinet he’s astounded the likes of Frank Zappa, Steve Vai and David Sanborn. Born ‘Ibryama’ into a Bulgarian-Turkish Roma family, Ivo made his living from music from a young age, survived communist disapproval, and rose to become perhaps Bulgaria’s most celebrated musical ambassador. He appears with his full Wedding Band in a first London appearance for Papasov since receiving a BBC World Music Award from Pink Floyd’s producer Joe Boyd at Brixton Academy in 2006. "Some of the most wonderful stuff I’ve ever heard”, Joe Boyd, producer Pink Floyd.
Time: Doors open 6pm Live music from 7.30pm-10pm
Tickets: £15 advance (booking fee may apply) £18 on the door
www.ticketweb.co.uk / 08700 600 100
Available without booking fee from Carling Academy Box Office Islington (12-4pm Mon-Sat)
Carling Academy is in the N1 Centre, Upper Street, Islington N1 0PS
Balkan Fever London 2007 celebrates Bulgaria and Romania’s EU membership and the opportunities this brings for cultural exchange; at the same time Balkan émigré musicians such as Lubo Alexandrov and Nataša Mirkovič are already making musical impacts where they live. The Balkans are known in western Europe for vibrant traditional music; Balkan Fever London also presents cutting-edge contemporary artists such as Ada Milea and Alexander Balanescu.
www.myspace.com/balkanfeverlondon (http://www.myspace.com/balkanfeverlondon) / www.kazum.co.uk (http://www.kazum.co.uk)
Funded by Arts Council England, The Romanian Cultural Institute, The Austrian Cultural Forum and the Government of Québec in London. With thanks to the Bulgarian Embassy.
Lubo Alexandrov`s Kaba Horo
Day & Date: Sunday, 15th April
Time:7pm-12am
Venue: Cargo, Shoreditch
Québecois Lubo Alexandrov grew up in communist Bulgaria, learning folk music from his grandfather, a kaval flute player. After years of playing Montréal jazz clubs, Alexandrov experienced a musical revolution when he returned to Bulgaria for a Gypsy wedding. Inspired by this dynamic and free-spirited music, Alexandrov assembled the 6-piece group Kaba Horo. The result - an explosive mix of Bulgarian dance music, Gypsy songs and Turkish sounds led by Alexandrov on guitar and beefed up with funk, jazz and urban drum’n’bass grooves. Lubo has just been announced the WINNER of a JUNO AWARD 2007 (Canadian Grammys)
Tickets: £10 / £12
www.wegottickets.com / www.cargo-london.com / 07966 452557
Cargo is at 83 Rivington Street, Shoreditch, London EC2A 3AY.
Foaie Verde (Green Leaf)
Day & Date: Friday 20th April
Venue: The Romanian Cultural Institute
Created by award-winning photographer Dominick Tyler and Romanian music specialist Joe Townsend for Opera North, Foaie Verde is a musical-visual journey through a day in rural Transylvania, centring around an encounter with an elderly master violinist living the simple life and desperate to pass on his knowledge. Beautiful landscapes and human stories provide the backdrop for singer Dana Codorean-Berciu and 5 musicians to take you on an unforgettable trip.
Time: doors open 7pm
Booking line: Romanian Cultural Institute 020 7752 0134
Romanian Cultural Institute, 1 Belgrave Square, SW1
Nataša Mirkovic & Matthias Loibner
Day & Date: Thursday 26 & Friday 27 APRIL
Venue: Pizza On The Park, 11 Knightsbridge, Hyde Park Corner, SW1
Bosnian singer Nataša Mirković performed opera, jazz, rock and traditional song before fleeing war-torn Sarajevo for Austria, where she met hurdy-gurdy maestro Matthias Loibner in the Sandy Lopičić Orkestar. With intense, expressive feeling, her exquisite vocals and the exotic sounds of the ancient hurdy-gurdy won the duo an Austrian World Music Award in 2005 with a programme of folk song, quirky Alpine tunes, and sprightly hurdy-gurdy madness.
Time: doors open 7pm, Live Music 9pm
Tickets: Thursday 26th - £15; Friday 27th - £20
Call Pizza On The Park 020 7235 5273 to make a reservation
Hai La Drum
Day & Date: Sunday 29 April
Venue: Le Quecumbar, Battersea
Romanian gypsy violinist Vasile Stanescu returns to the UK from Bucharest to lead gypsy swing group Hai la Drum in the delightful surroundings of Le Quecumbar music brasserie. Revelling in virtuoso improvisations, Stanescu combines conservatoire technique with gypsy abandon.
Time: doors open 6pm, live music later
Tickets: £10
Le Quecumbar 020 7787 2227 / www.wegottickets.com
42-44 Battersea High Street, London SW11 3HX
Ada Milea & Alexander Balanescu Concert
Day & Date: Thursday 3 May
Venue: The Spitz
Ada Milea is an extraordinary Romanian vocalist who uses her voice to create moods, colour and reflection as much as to sing songs. Working in theatre (including Cirque de Soleil) her performances are experiences of powerful and playful expression. She has collaborated with Alexander Balansecu on several projects, including the surrealist work, The Island.
Born in Bucharest, violinist Alexander Balanescu has always sought to present contemporary music in new and more accessible contexts, working with the likes of Michael Nyman, Jack de Johnette, Carla Bley, and the Pet Shop Boys; playing a string quartet in a venue such as the Spitz is exactly the kind of thing he enjoys. He connected with his Romanian roots with projects such as Luminitza, and Maria T, based on the songs of Romanian diva Maria Tanase.
Time: doors open 7 pm
Tickets: £12.00 advance
From www.wegottickets.com / 07966 452557
The Spitz is at 109 Commercial Street, Old Spitalfields Market, E1 6BG
Ivo Papasov’s Wedding Band
Day & Date: Saturday 5 May
Time: 6pm-10pm
Venue: Islington Carling Academy
Ivo Papasov is the legendary ‘King of Bulgarian Wedding Music’. With his bubbling clarinet he’s astounded the likes of Frank Zappa, Steve Vai and David Sanborn. Born ‘Ibryama’ into a Bulgarian-Turkish Roma family, Ivo made his living from music from a young age, survived communist disapproval, and rose to become perhaps Bulgaria’s most celebrated musical ambassador. He appears with his full Wedding Band in a first London appearance for Papasov since receiving a BBC World Music Award from Pink Floyd’s producer Joe Boyd at Brixton Academy in 2006. "Some of the most wonderful stuff I’ve ever heard”, Joe Boyd, producer Pink Floyd.
Time: Doors open 6pm Live music from 7.30pm-10pm
Tickets: £15 advance (booking fee may apply) £18 on the door
www.ticketweb.co.uk / 08700 600 100
Available without booking fee from Carling Academy Box Office Islington (12-4pm Mon-Sat)
Carling Academy is in the N1 Centre, Upper Street, Islington N1 0PS