Bulgaria - Sofia

 Now, I'd be lying if I said I like Sofia as a city, but I have many memories from this place, many of them happy, some of them tinged with sadness.  My cousin Bart was cremated there by the whackiest funeral director you are ever likely to meet, I have made lasting friendships here, I saw Roger Waters perform a re-run of Pink Floyd's The Wall here, I had some great food and drink at a mafioso-run restaurant, became a well known regular at a rustic hotel.  I could fill a movie, or alternatively a beer-fuelled evening of story telling.  So let's explore some of the music from the capital of Bulgaria.

Alexander Nevski Cathedral, Sofia

 One of my first encounters with the music of Bulgaria was at a concert in 2004 of the Bulgarian Voices - Angelite, who were performing together with Mongolian outfit Huun Huur Tu at the Sconfinando world music festival in Sarzana, Italy.  The all female choir was one of the many off-springs from the old Bulgarian State Television Female Vocal Choir, which began back in 1952 and was later renamed as Le Mystere des Voix Bulgares.  They have developed their own style combining the distinctive Bulgarian slightly disconsonant (to western ears) harmonies and irregular 9/8 rhythms with other influences from around the world.  Here is a track from their 1987 album, Cathedral Concert, which was recorded live in the St. Petri Cathedral in Bremen, Germany.  The song is called Begala E Vena:

Also former members of Le Mystere des Voix Bulgares are the Eva Quartet, who came together in 1995, showcasing traditional Bulgarian folk songs.  Here the title song from their 2021 album Minka:

The Ravnec Folklore Band are a male ensemble from Sofia, who play traditional folk from across the country, but predominantly from the Rhodope Mountains.  They try to stay close to the original material using traditional instruments like Bulgarian bagpipes.  Here is a song from their 2017 album Na porti chuka i ruka called Goro le, goro, zelana:

Ethno-fusion band Oratnitza combine traditional Bulgarian singing with vibrant beats and dancefloor rhythms.  Although using acoustic instrumentation, they have an almost techno vibe to their music.  Here is a track from their 2018 album Alter Ethno entitled Pushka Pukna:

Ethno-Jazz band Outhentic were founded in 2012 in Sofia. They cleverly blend Bulgarian folk with jazz and improvisation, and even a touch of folk-rock.  The kaval / flute solo in the following live version of the song Roazoral Dedo almost has something of Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson.  It's from their 2019 album Transparent:

World fusion band Irfan were established in 2001 in Sofia.  They produce hypnotic, slightly New-Age melodies mixing electro-acoustic world fusion of music from the Balkans, the Orient and Medieval Europe, led by oud and haunting female voices.  Here is the title track from their 2015 album The Eternal Return:

Multi-instrumentalist Nikola Parov was born in Sofia in 1962 in Sofia, but moved to Budapest, Hungary at the age of 10.  There he founded the Balkan folk band Zsarátnok with a bunch of Hungarian musicians.  With this band he stayed close to Bulgarian traditions, but later collaborated with various Irish musicians including Davy Spillane.  Here is a track from their 1998 album The Balkan Move called Simplicity:

Pop/jazz singer and actor Milenita (born Milena Nikolova) was actually born in Havanna, Cuba in 1975, but returned to Sofia at the age of 14 via Madrid and Mexico City.  She later had spells Palma de Mallorca and Chicago, but is now firmly settled in Sofia.  So she is truly a citizen of the world, which shows in her various musical influences, singing in Bulgarian, Spanish and English.  Her music leans on contemporary jazz influences with a strong pop flavour.  She only ever released 2 albums, but has also written music for films and acted herself.  Here is the opening track to her 2010 album Gato called Cherni Kotaraci:

And finally a hip-hop ode to Milenita's home town Sofia-Grad:

That's it from Sofia, next we're heading into the southwest of Bulgaria.  In the meantime, as usual, you can follow my virtual travels on my Tripline map.

Moldova & Transnistria

 Moldova is another country with an unresolved border dispute.  A narrow sliver of land in the east of its officially internationally recognised territory, between the river Dniester and the Ukrainian border, is controlled by the de facto country of Transnistria or, as they like to be known, the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic.  They have all the bits making them look like a fully fledged country, such as their own elected administration, currency, military, flag and national anthem, yet they are not recognised by any member of the UN, so are dependent on Moldova for access to the outside world and Russia for military and economic aid.  The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe defines the region as under military occupation by Russia.  To be fair to them mind, they did split from Moldova, before Moldova declared its own independence, so as such has never been under Moldovan control.  Apparently it is possible to visit the territory, which would be quite a cool thing to do visiting a country that doesn't exist.

Transnistrian Parliament. Photo credit: By Донор - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27580045

In the interest of completeness I have truffled out a musical act from the region, the worldbeat/hip-hop trio DoReDoS, who were formed 2011 in the northern town of Rîbniţa.  They actually represented Moldova at the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest.  This is their 2022 single One in a Million:

The rest of Moldova is culturally and linguistically the twin of Romania.  The official language of Moldova is in fact Romanian and there was even talk of the 2 countries uniting at one stage.  It is however one of the poorest countries in Europe.  We start our journey through Moldova proper in the small commune of Pepeni in the north of the country where folk singer Nicolae Glib was born in 1949.  He is the most popular living folk singer in Moldova and has gathered many awards and prestigious titles.  His most famous song is Moldovean ca mine nu-i (There's no Moldovan such as myself), which features on a 2019 self-titled compilation album of his work:

The rest of the time in Moldova we are hanging around the capital Chişinău.  Nearly a third of the population lives there and it hosts an annual wine festival in October, which sounds fun.  Moldova after all is one of the cradles of winemaking with a history dating back to 3000 BCE.  We start with something probably more authentic from folk singer and ethno-musicologist Cristina Godoroja.  I don't know much about her, but she has just released her debut album in 2023 called Ciobănaş Cu Oile: Songs from Moldova and Romania.  All the songs are sung a Capello and this one is called Down the Dniester to the Valley:

Trans-Balkan band Drobinska's link to Moldova is rather tentative.  The band is actually based in St. Petersburg in Russia and the members are from Russia, Ukraine and Palestine, but it was founded by Oleg Drobinski, who studied and discovered Balkan wedding music in Chişinău, before travelling other parts of the Balkan peninsula.  Here's a track from their 2004 album Cuie de Cirnat called Dumi mi, duni:

Folk-rock band Zdob şiZdub were established in 2011 in Chişinău and have already represented Moldova 3 times at the Eurovision song context.  They mix their fun Balkan rhythms with rock and punk elements.  Here's a fun video of their 2021 single Trenulețul (The Train):

And that's it already from Moldova.  Next, like Zdop siZdub, we're heading into Romania. As usual, you can follow my virtual progress on my Tripline map.

Finland - Uusimaa & Helsinki Part I

 Next on our virtual trip around Finland we reach the region of Uusimaa, which includes the capital Helsinki.  First up we stop in the city of Espoo, where the all female kantele quartet Kardemimmit come from.  They were formed about 2005 by 2 sisters Anna & Leeni Wegelius and Jutta Rahmel and Maija Pokela.  Apart from playing various forms of the kantele, the national instrument of Finland, they sing self-composed or rearranged folk songs in tight harmonies inspired by the traditions of different regions from all over the country.  Here is a carefree love song from their 2009 album Kaisla called Huoleton rakkaus:

Also born in Espoo in 1964 is accordionist Maria Kalaniemi, who we met on our last post together with Eero Grundström.  She has also worked with pianist Timo Alakotila, whom we also met last time round.  In 2018 they produced an album together with Johanna & Mikko Iivanainen (vocals and guitar respectively) called Seimiyö.  Here's a song off the album called Heinillä härkien Kaukalon:

Finally we arrive in the capital of Finland and the 'Pearl of the Baltic Sea', Helsinki.  It is ranked as one of the most desirable cities in the world to live and is brimming with culture and music.  I have never been, but it's on the bucket list.

We start with one of my all time favourite acts, the vocal quartet Loituma.  They've been going since 1989 and still occasionally get together, but have only released 2 albums during their long career, both of which are hard to get hold of these days, but they scored one huge hit, when initially a Flash animation featuring their song Ievan Polkka went viral.  An old performance from 1996 of the full song soon surfaced and went viral too.  The song featured on their 1995 self-titled album (later released internationally as Things of Beauty) and reinforces my impression that Finnish is just a joke language...

More recently we have electro folk outfit Okra Playground.  They combine traditional Finnish folk with instruments including the kantele and the bowed lyre with a more modern contemporary approach.  Recently their most recent album Itku won the best European album of the year award from Songlines magazine.  The music is dominated by the 3 female vocalists and strong rhythms.  Here is the title track from the album:

'Vocal folk hop group Tuuletar are also relatively new on the scene.  The all female quartet has made some waves at Womex in Budapest and New Zealand, using only their voices, beatbox and even overtone singing, but deeply rooted in Finnish culture and language.  Here's a haunting song from their 2019 album Rajatila / Borderline called Lähteellä (At the Source):

The first musical instrument I ever set eyes on was probably a harmonica.  My Dad had an old diatonic harmonica from his days in the Rotterdam Harmonica Orchestra (yes there used to be such a thing...), which lived in a drawer of our living room cabinet with old shoelaces, buttons, scissors and other useful paraphernalia.  Later, as a teenager, I got into the blues and as harmonicas were cheap, I bought myself a Hohner blues harp.  I managed to get bluesy sounds out of it almost from the first moment I picked it up and managed to get quite good at it.  People still ask me how I do it, and I literally can't explain it, except that I seem to have a natural affinity with the instrument, even though I rarely play it.

Anyway, this long preamble serves me as an introduction to the next act, the harmonica trio Sväng, who were established by Eero Grundström, whom we met in the last post.  It consists of 4 varying types of harmonica, playing anything from Balkan rhythms, Slavic melancholy to passionate tango, world music from the north and wild improvisations.  It is quite a unique combination.  Here's a funny video of them explaining what their name means, whilst playing harmonica and cooking sausages:

Here's a medley from their 2021 album In Trad We Trust called Katrilla, Pilkkua ja Wappua:

Born in 1966, Sanna Kurki-Suonio has been part of the Nordic neo-folk scene for a long time.  She was a founding member of both Swedish-Finnish act Hedningarna as well as singing and playing the Kantele with Loituma and British/Finnish collaboration SANS.  She has also had a successful solo career with her band the snappily named Sanna Kuurki-Suonion Kuolematon Erikoistysteemi (Sanna Kuurki-Suonio's Unparalleled Special System).  This is more folk informed indie rock with elements of psychedelia. This is a track from their self-titled 2015 album called Häävalssi:

As I said Sanna Kurki-Suonio is also a vocalist for British/Armenian/Finnish quartet SANS.  It's the brainchild of British multi-instrumentalist and zither player Andrew Cronshaw and he is also joined by Armenian duduk player Tigran Aleksanyan and reeds player Ian Blake.  The music is roots inspired, but a conversation of different traditions, including Karelian, Armenian and English folk.  Here is an extract from a Womad concert with some of the songs included on their 2018 album Kulku:

That's it for today, next time we'll carry on exploring the music of Helsinki.  Until then you can check out my musical ramblings on my tripline map.

Norway & Sweden - The Far North

 Finally finishing our long journey through Sweden and Norway, we'll be zigzagging between the two countries exploring the far Arctic north.  Our first stop is the town of Bodø just north of the Arctic Circle in the Nordland County of Norway.  This is where traditional folk musician, fiddler and composer Susanne Lundeng was born in 1969.  Her music is firmly rooted in the traditions of her home region, but has a distinctive sound of her own as a fiddler, composer and free thinker.  She has just recorded her 13th studio album called Følge, named after the guardian spirits that accompany each person throughout their lives according to Nordic beliefs.  Here's a song from the album called Sku det meir te:

Next we are retracing our steps back to Sweden and the county of Norbotten.  The small town of Kalix apparently has its own dialect unintelligible to other Swedes and even its own culinary speciality, a kind of caviar called Kalix Löjrom, which is made from the eggs of a local fish called vendace.  This is where singer / songwriter and producer Vera Vinter was born in 1981.  Her music has something of an ambient film music feel to it, creating a uniquely Nordic atmosphere with some dark undertones.  In 2022 she got together with violinist Hanna Ekström from Dalarna in central Sweden to record an album called Lios entirely in the Kalix dialect.  Here is a song from the album called SÅLT Å VATTNE (salt on the water):

Now for something completely and wildly different we are heading to the far northern municipality of Jukkasjärvi, still in Norbotten County, where organist Gunnar Idenstam was born in 1961.  Classically trained on the organ (yes we are talking about great big church organs) his mission is to broaden the instruments appeal to a wider audience and dabbling with 70's prog rock and Swedish folk.  If that sounds whacky listen out for his 2022 collaboration with Sámi hip-hop and rap artist Ola Stinnerbom, who takes Sámi joiking to a whole new level.  The resulting album is called A Saami Requiem and is described as a musical journey to The Kingdom of Death and back.  It is quite difficult to describe in words, so here is a sample called A Saami Requiem Part 1 "The Journey":Saaiva - The Door to the Kingdom of Death.

Next we are hopping back over to Norway and the northern-most city in the world Tromsø.  I visited it once many years ago, it also sports the northern-most university in the world, the northern-most beer brewery (although you need to take out a mortgage to be able to afford a pint...) and the Arctic Cathedral.  Sadly my ex-girlfriend has kept all the photos I took on that trip.  

Anyway, I digress, Tromsø is also the birthplace in 1987 of Fiddler, composer and singer Julie Alapnes.  She has been playing the instrument since the age of 5 and was immersed early on in the traditional music of the far north, which she now combines with more contemporary sounds.  Here is a song from her 2022 album Helleristning called Støa:

Next we are heading to Kautokeino in the Troms og Finmark county.  This is where the Sámi from all 4 corners of their territory gather for their annual spring festival over the Easter weekend, dressed in their bright blue and red costumes, herding their reindeer with them and racing on reindeer sleighs on a frozen over lake.  It's a spectacle I was lucky enough to witness back in 1982 and, although I don't have any photographic evidence any more, remains one of my most vivid travel memories.

Kautokeino is also the birthplace of singer, joiker and activist for Sámi rights and the environment Sara Marielle Gaup Beaska (aka Iŋgor Ántte Ánte Mihkkala Sara in Northern Sámi) in 1983.  She doesn't really have a website, but a look at her Instagram page reveals her strong activism.  Here is a video from before her visit to the Paris COP conference, where she invites everybody to join her in a joik:

She has also performed with ice musician Terje Isungset, whom we already met in Viken County.  Here is a live piece from a concert in 2019 in Oslo called Ocean Memories:

About 60 km north of Kautokeino is the village of Masi (or Máze) where young joiker John André Eira comes from.  Still in his 20's, he has been joiking since the age of 2, and is said to have a particularly keen ear due to the fact that he was born blind.  Whilst keen to preserve the ancient traditions he is also not afraid to blend it with modern influences including rock and blues, especially with his current band GABBA.  Here is a track from their 2022 self-titled debut album called Mihkkelaš:

Next we are heading almost as far north as you can get in Norway to the village of Gamvik on the northern shore of the Nordkinn peninsula, which is just east of North Cape.  This is where joiker Torgeir Vassvik was born in 1962.  His compositions are wildly dramatic, incorporating traditional drums and distorted strings to the traditional joiks.  He calls himself an Arctic Soundpoet.  Here is a track from his 2019 album Gákti called Whipped / Spiddumat:

Finally we conclude our journey of Sweden and Norway in the far north-eastern corner of Norway in the town of Vadsø.  This is where Hardanger fiddle player Sivert Holmen was born, although at the age of 6 his family moved to Aurdal in Inlandet County, which is evident in his musical influences.  He has since toured the world with his fiddle.  Here is a tune from his 2021 album Jotunheimen called Sumarkveld i Jotunheimen:

That's it finally from Sweden and Norway and we can move onto a new country next with Finland.  Sorry it's a bit of a long post this time, I just wanted to get through the last of the material I had on these 2 countries.  As usual you can follow my virtual journey on my Tripline map

Denmark - Sjælland Part II

As we continue our exploration of Copenhagen, we encounter balfolk band the Mads Hansens Kapel.  Coming from a variety of musical backgrounds the 5 members of the band got together in 2015 to play traditional Danish dance tunes with a slightly unusual line-up of instruments with fiddle, guitar, bass, piano and clarinet, which gives them a sometimes slightly jazzy feel.  Here is a live version of a tune called Newcastle Hotline from their latest 2021 EP One For the Road:

Like most capital cities, Copenhagen has its fair share of international influences and a thriving global music scene.  One such example is North Macedonian saxophonist and clarinettist Bjonko, who has made Copenhagen his home.  He creates a crossover of Balkan Beats and Nordic contemporary sounds and hip-hop.  Here's a hip-hop Balkan number called OPA! from his 2021 album Enigma:

Spanish guitarist (the guitar style being Spanish, not the player) Jacob Gurevitsch was actually born in the small town Havnbjerg in the southeast of the country, but is now very much a Copenhagen resident.  He is at pains to point out that he does not play flamenco, but melancholic style Spanish guitar tunes mostly in minor tunings evoking romantic moods of Spain.  Here is the title track of his 2015 debut album Lovers in Paris:

Danish/Pakistani Sufi Rock band Rocqawali combine the 1000 year old traditional Pakistani Sufi music of Qawali with 70's style rock'n'roll.  The Pakistani front man Ejaz Sher Ali comes from one of Pakistan's most eminent musical families, and he is backed by 4 Danish musicians from the Indie Rock scene.  Here is the opening track of their 2017 album Sufi Spirit called Ill Allah:

The north meets the east with Klezmer band Mames Babegenush, who blend Nordic calm with East European wedding music.  The 6-piece band formed in 2004 in an effort to revive the Danish Klezmer scene and developed their own style of the genre.  For their 2017 album Mames Babegenush with Strings they added, as the name suggests, some strings to their sound and this is the opening track to the album called Tornado Albastru:

Fusion band Total Hip Replacement combine Reggae, soul with a dash of Afrobeat.  They mostly operate as a live band touring extensively around the world, but have brought out some notable releases.  This a song from their 2020 album Bliss called Lost in Thought:

Finally, just before hopping over the bridge to Sweden, we go to the island of Amager, which houses the eastern half of Copenhagen.  We started this post with something traditional and we shall finish on that note.  Medieval folk band Virelai has a Viking theme to much of their music with Nordic ballads as well as some southern European dance tunes, all played on traditional instruments. This song is homage to the Norse goddess of love and fertility Freja and was released as a single in 2017: Frejas Store Kraft:

That's it from Denmark, next stop the south of Sweden.  In the meantime, as usual, you can follow my virtual musical journey on my Tripline map. 

Greenland - Nuuk and the South

 We take the next ferry south to arrive in the capital of Greenland, Nuuk, which contains a third of the population of the country.  Inuk indie-folk singer/songwriter Nive Nielsen was born here in 1979.  She tours internationally with her band the Deer Children singing mostly in English, with a few songs thrown in in Greenlandic.  Here is one of her songs in Greenlandic from her 2015 album Feet First called Tulugaq with some nice shots of Greenlandic scenery:

Hip-hop band Nuuk Posse formed in 1985 and rap in Greenlandic, English and Danish.  They don't appear to have a website any more and might no longer be active, but here is a track to their 1995 album NP called Inupiliaqqat:

The indie-rock band Nanook was formed by brothers Christian and Frederick Elsner in Nuuk in 2008.  The brothers are half Inuit, half Danish and sing in Greenlandic.  They also run a record company and a musical instrument shop in Nuuk.  They are the most popular current pop act in Greenland, their name referring to a mythological Greenlandic bear.  This is a track from their 2018 album Ataasiusutut Misigissuseq called Aarnuaq (Talisman) filmed in Uummannaq in the north:

Finally we hop on a ferry again to the southern town of Qarqortoq, where singer/songwriter Simon Lynge grew up, although he was born in Holstebro in Denmark in 1980.  He quotes his early influences as Jimi Hendrix, the Doors, Simon and Garfunkel and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young and he sings mostly in English.  He comes from a long line of musicians in his family, and he has been the first to achieve international success.  Here is the title from his 2018 album Deep snow, which is available as a free download on his website.  The video is filmed in Nuuk:

That's it from Greenland.  In conclusion it seems the Greenlanders like the letter Q rather a lot in their language, I wonder what the Q is worth in their version of Scrabble (answers on a postcard, please)?  Next we'll return to Denmark to continue our virtual journey of that country.  Meanwhile you can follow my path on my tripline map.

Germany - Bremen & Hamburg

 Next we are heading to the port cities and city states of Bremen and Hamburg.  Now there is an intense historical rivalry between these two cities as to which is the better, prettier, more important or has the better football team.  Now I was born in Bremen so I'm biased and we'll leave the argument aside for the moment... (of course Bremen is much prettier and as for the football teams Werder Bremen vs Hamburger SV, it's not even a competition!).

Bremen's most notorious claim to fame is the Grimm's Brothers fairy tale of the Town Musicians of Bremen, a troupe of elderly domestic animals that run away from their cruel owners to become musicians.  There is a bronze statue erected in their honour behind the main cathedral in the centre of town.

I loved this story when I was a kid and appreciate it even more now that I'm older.  To the people of Bremen themselves the true symbol of the city is its Roland though, a tall statue of a proud knight erected in 1404, which according to legend watches over the city's free and independent status.  Here he is sporting a large gingerbread heart to celebrate Bremen's Freimarkt, the funfair season in October.

Musically we start with a band that I very briefly led in Belfast.  Our stint as a band was so brief, that we didn't even get around naming ourselves and we only had one gig at the European Permaculture Convergence in County Wicklow.  Apart from myself, the flutist Julia Cross is also from Bremen and coincidentally we grew up within 1/2 a mile of each other, although 10 years apart, so our paths only crossed when we met here in Northern Ireland.  This is a first rehearsal of one of my songs called The Economic Myth with me on Bulgarian tambura, Julia on flute, Liz on violin and my Brazilian friend Victor on guitar.  As for the genre... I always like to say that one of my inspirations is Bob Dylan, as he couldn't sing or play the guitar either... :)

Julia Cross is a musician in her own right (a much better one than me I hasten to add) and now lives in Mallorca.  Must be something in the water where we grew up to become travelling town musicians.  She writes songs in a number of styles and has recorded some music, which is available on Bandcamp here and here.  Here is a Reggae inspired song by her called HumanKind:

  In 2003 3 school friends from Bremen-Nord got together to form hip-hop band De Fofftig Penns (The fifty pence) singing their lyrics in Low German, a language they had to learn as the younger generation didn't learn it any more.  I was amongst the last generation who still learned Low German in primary school.  The band disbanded in 2018 and here is a song of their last album Dat Läppert Sik (That adds up) in homage to the local football club Werder Bremen called Gröön un Witt (Green and White after the colours of the club):

In 1968 a couple of bored students in Hamburg started Irish and Scottish folk band Hawkers and Tramps.  From 1975 onwards they switched to German folk, both traditional and own compositions with a good dose of humour, and renamed themselves as Liederjan.  Here is a song from their 2015 40th anniversary album Vierzig Jahre - Sowieso (40 years - anyway) called Ein kleiner Frieden mitten im Krieg (A small peace in the middle of war), which tells the famous story of Christmas Day 1914, when the soldiers from both sides downed their weapons for a day and started a football match in no-man's land instead:

Derya Yildrim & Grup Şimşek are a Turkish psychedelia band. Derya was born in Hamburg of Turkish decent and sings in Turkish.  If you don't understand the lyrics, she is not bothered, just learn Turkish, she says.  Last year they released their second album called Dost 1, from which this song is taken called Haydar Haydar:

Caribbean steel drum sounds is not what you expect from Hamburg, but that is exactly what the Funk band Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band deliver.  Established in 2007 by bandleader Björn Wagner, who spent some time in Trinidad & Tobago where he studied the steel drum, they developed a bit of a cult following with a bunch of 7'' vinyl releases of mostly cover versions.  They have now released their 3rd album with both originals and cover versions called Expansions from which this tune is taken called Dirt of Your Shoulders:

Finally composer, sound designer and multi-instrumentalist Andi Otto from Hamburg is mostly known for his cello playing, but not as you know it.  He calls his instrument a fello, where the bow of the cello his fitted with electronic sensors that manipulate a computer to produce an electronic soundscape.  He has collaborated with musicians from all over the world to create unique fusions, and in his 2018 album Rwandance he worked with Rwandan singer and dancer Evariste Karinganire.  This a track from the album called Igisasa:

That's it from Bremen and its suburb Hamburg for the time being, next we're off to the far north of Germany.  As usual you follow my virtual ramblings on my Tripline map. 

Czech Republic - Bohemia

 Bohemia makes up the western part of the Czech Republic, including the capital Prague, where we will spend most of our time on our virtual trip.  And no, we will not be playing the Bohemian Rhapsody...  First stop though is the city of Hradec Kralove, where gypsy band Terne Čhave come from.  They are the first to admit that their style is not exactly traditional, their motto being "It's only Rom'n'Roll", but they produce a rocky danceable style with a definite Roma signature.  Here's the opening track from their 2019 album Balvaj called Vyšus, which apparently means shit in Czech.

Arriving in the capital Prague we first encounter all female Neo-Medieval band Psalteria who were active between 2001-2007.  During those years they toured the Medieval markets of Central Europe and released 3 albums of Medieval music from all over Europe singing in various languages.  Here's a song from their 2006 album Balábile called Jovano, Jovanke:

After the break-up of Psalteria, some their members reformed as BraAgas, a mainly female quartet specialising in sephardic music from Scandinavia and Spain as well as traditional Balkan and Moravian folk.  Here's a live version of a song called Mi Suegra from their 2014 album Yallah!

Still in Prague we meet balfolk trio Ba.fnu.  There name is short for bal folk nuevo, which describes their unique take on the genre.  Whilst covering the usual dance tunes such as mazurkas, schottishes, cercles, bourrés etc on hurdy-gurdy, cittern and percussion, they add some electronics and loops to the mix, all with a Czech twist. Here's a live version of a song from their 2019 album '10.refused.reduced' called Školácká (pas de sept):

Poet, translator of French literature and musician Mikuláš Bryan aka Mr. Folxlide from Prague has another take on the balfolk theme, combining it with Blues on an open-tuned American cigar box guitar and a loop station.  He sings in English and French.  Here's a song called Mind the Gap (Scottish) from his 2018 album 1-4-5:

Romani Hip-hop band Czech.cz was founded in 2004 by Radek Banga, a Prague Zizkov Roma who was born into a musical family.  Originally playing more traditional material he soon was drawn to Hip-hop and as a band they have represented the Czech Republic in the Eurovision song contest (although they were eliminated in the semi-finals with 'nul points') and have toured the international festival circuit including an appearance at Glastonbury.  Here is a song from their 2006 album Romano Hip-hop called Jednou:

I can't find much about Prague based folk rock group Ahmed má hlad (Ahmed is hungry), but they seem to no longer be active.  An airplane flies across their website proclaiming Ahmed to be dead (he probably starved to death...).  Their music seems to be influenced by Russian folk centred around the balalaika.  Their last album Magadan was recorded in 2004 and is named after the Siberian city of the same name, which started as a gulag.  Here's a song off the album called Maksym Kozak.

Finally from Prague something a little different, fusion band N.O.H.A.  Founded in 1995 by Prague born Philip Noha and New York native Chevalier 'Chevy' Hadley, the initials stand for Noise Of Human Art, they blend drum and bass with world music sounds and sometimes with an almost Zappa-like sound, defying any genre categorisation.  Brazilian singer and guitarist Camila de Oliveira gives many of their songs a Latin flavour such as in this song called Di Nero from their 2012 album Circus Underground

Finally our last stop in Czechia is the small town of Rokycany in the west, where the Ella Fitzgerald of Romany music Vera Bila was born.  She grew up in an impoverished Gypsy community and was discovered in the 1990's by Ivan Krall, formerly bassist of the Patti Smith Band.  She was subsequently signed by German record label BMG and achieved international success after a documentary about her life was released.  Sadly she died in 2019 aged 64, after going back into obscurity, mourning the death of her husband and her adopted son and struggling with addiction to slot machines and poor health.  The song Pas O Panori features on her 2008 Retrovision - Best of album:

That's it from the Czech Republic, sorry it turned into a longer post this time.  Next stop is Poland.  In the meantime you can follow my virtual ramblings on my Tripline map.

Slovakia - Bratislava and the Rest

 We arrive in the capital of Slovakia, Bratislava.  Now, as I said I have never been to Slovakia, but we had a young woman from Slovakia staying with us for a short while last year and I asked her for recommendations for music and her father suggested a folk band called Radio Edit.  I don't know much about them or whether they have published any music the sparse information available for them is in Slovakian, but they play an international influenced style of folk on acoustic instruments and sung in Slovakian.  Here is a song of theirs called Koniec Sveta, which apparently means end of the world:

Although from Bratislava folk ensemble the Michal Noga Band very much draw on the traditional music of the Slovakian countryside inspired by Gypsy bands of the Horehronie region as well as Wallachian shepherds, Hungarian tunes and bagpipe music of the Upper Orava region, all led by the fiddle of Michal Noga and accompanied by more strings, a cimbalom and song.  After some years of collecting material and playing at weddings and events they have released their debut album Stopy last year.  Here is a tune that mimics the national instrument the fujara flute on fiddle.  It's called Dušikova Fujara:

In 1990 5 friends got together in Bratislava to form a band to play at another friends wedding.  Only one of them had any formal training, but they wanted to play traditional Slovak folk.  The performance at the wedding was such a success, that they were asked to play at other events and even concerts, and so the folk band Muzička came into being.  In the subsequent years they diligently researched old folk songs from the various regions of Slovakia, listening to scratchy old recordings and breathing new life into the genre. They have recorded a number of albums since, but are probably at their best live, where they invite the audience to participate and dance along.  Here is a song and dance called Balocké / Dances from Čierny Balog:

For something a bit more modern from Bratislava, Romani group Kmeťoband, consisting of father and son Igor Senior and Igor Junior Kmeťo, have been mixing Gypsy sounds with electronic pop and hip-hop. Their biggest hit was a song called Amen Savore, which features on their album Vagabund:

Let me take you back in time to the dying days of the Iron Curtain and to the city of Trenčín near what is now the border to the Czech Republic.  This where underground rock band Bez Ladu a Skladu started to make waves from 1985.  They were renowned for their declamatory, deadpan vocals sung by the then 13 year old Michal Kaščák.  The lyrics were political, which led to bans by the regime and according to the New York Times they were amongst the bands whose influence helped to bring down the Iron Curtain.  They were active until 1997 and still occasionally get together for live gigs.  Here's a song from their early days called Udavač, which means snitch apparently.  Spying on your fellow citizens was of course very much encouraged by the Communist regimes.

On the final leg of our tour of Slovakia we stop at the town of Nimnica for something very traditional again.  The Trombitáši Štefánikovci ensemble was founded in 2008 by various members of the Štefánik family.  They specialise in the traditional shepherd's music of their home region of Puchov, playing traditional instruments such as shepherd's horns, trombitas and fujaras as well as bagpipes, mouth harps and cowbells.  They released an album in 2017 called Grúňom Hore.  Here is a sampler of their music:

That concludes our tour of Slovakia, next up we will visit the Czech Republic.  In the meantime, as usual, you can follow my virtual trip on my Tripline map.

Hungary - The Northeast

 Last year I helped a friend relocate to Spain and as a thank you she gave me a CD/book by Hungarian folk ensemble Szeredás from Debrecen in the Hajdúsák region of north-eastern Hungary.  The 1999 Cuháré album is beautifully presented with an explanatory booklet in Hungarian and English.  The group have been playing traditional Hungarian music of their home region since 1993.  Here is the title song from the album, meaning merry making, a fun song in the Csardas style about a lost horse and other countryside adventures:

We are moving on to the town of Eger, where folk rock band Kerekes was formed in 1995.  They combine traditional shepherds flute tunes with Jimmy Hendrix-like guitar riffs and elements of psychedelia.  It makes for a great fun Ethno-funk sound.  They recently released a new album: Fire (Live at Hortobágy).  This is a song of the album, called Jellyfish/Ördöngős

In a similar vein electro folk band Holdviola were formed in 2006 in Miskolc.  Having recently split, they took Hungarian folk songs and put them in a contemporary pop setting, making them very popular in their home country.  Here is a song called Ha Te tudnád amit én from their 2010 album Vandórfecske:

Cimbalom virtuoso Kálmán Balogh was born in 1959 in Miskolc of Gypsy heritage.  He has studied gypsy music for several years before becoming a prolific performer both solo and as part of varies ensembles, most notably with the Gypsy Cimbalom Band.  This solo performance of the Bonchida Dance (Bontsida Tánc) really shows off his wizardry on this instrument and features as a full band version on the 1995 album Roma Vándor:

The name of Roma Hip-hop band Fekete Vonat means Black Train, referring to the train departing from Szabolcs to Budapest, which was used as a commuting train by many of the Gypsy community looking for work in the capital.  They were formed in 1997 demonstrating some sub-culture amongst the minority community.  Here's a song by them called Hol van az a lány:

From a black train to a white horse, the meaning of Gypsy music ensemble Parno Graszt, who were formed in the village of Paszab in 1987.  In Roma culture the colour white stands for purity and a horse symbolises freedom, so you could call them Pure Freedom, a very Gypsy concept.  Simon Broughton of Songlines magazine is quoted as saying: "They do not use sources of Gypsy music - they are the source itself".  This is the title song of their 2002 album Rávágok a Zongorára/Hit the Piano:

That's it from Hungary as we hit the 10,000 mile mark on our virtual journey since we started in Portaferry, Northern Ireland.  Next stop is Slovakia.  Until then you can follow my virtual trip on my tripline map.

Liechtenstein & Austria

 When I set out this blog, I said I'd stop in every country, so I better give Liechtenstein a mention (although I draw the line at Vatican City!).  I have on a number occasions accidentally visited Liechtenstein, usually when trying to avoid a traffic jam in one of the tunnels in Switzerland and suddenly realising that the number plates on the cars looked different.  On one occasion I ended up in a traffic jam in rush hour Vaduz instead, so had a bit of time to look at the place as well.

The majority of the population are either bankers and/or play in the international football team plus their respective partners.  There are a few alpine skiers as well, so it doesn't leave many people making music.  There is one guy called Al Walser who has become a bit of a pop star in Los Angeles and there is gothic metal band Erben der Schöpfung, and that is about it to my knowledge.  In time honoured fashion of rock bands, they have had numerous infights and split with one of the founders retaining the rights to the original band name, whilst the rest carried on under the name Elis, after the title their first single.  Here is said song:

So much for Liechtenstein and before you know it you have crossed another border and end up in Austria.  

Now my memories of Austria are altogether more positive than those of Switzerland: delicious cakes in Vienna, racy white wines in ancient cellars in the Wachau region around Krems and unctuous desert wines on the Lake Neusiedl in the east.  But for music?  Here is an abridged history of music in Austria:

• 18th-19th century: Vienna is the centre of the musical universe with classical composers from everywhere drawn to the city with it's most famous son Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at the centre.
• Intervening period until 1980's: Some yodelling
• 1986: Falco sings Amadeus
• 2014: Conchita Wurst, the lady with the beard, wins the Eurovison Song Contest

So in other words, Austria is not exactly famous for music in the modern era, not sure why this is.  We begin our journey in the west of the country in Hall in Tirol, where composer and jazz musician Werner Pirchner was born (1940-2001).  He seemed to have had a wicked sense of humour.  The following is a short extract from a film called Der Untergang des Alpenlandes (The fall of the Alpine country), for which he composed the music.  In the intro they bemoan the fact that traditional dance hasn't changed for hundreds of years and propose a new form of dance...

About 10 years ago, when we lived in Italy, we were joined on our land by a young volunteer from Klagenfurt in Austria called Steph.  She told us of her dreams of travelling the world and becoming a musician.  She had already represented Austria in the junior Eurovision Song Contest, a fact she was slightly embarrassed about.  Now 10 years and many travels later she has just released her first album under her artist name She Got Salty Bones called Ocean Shores.  Here is a short album preview.  You can buy it directly from her website if you feel like supporting a young artist.

Hubert Achleitner is so proud of his home town of Bad Goisern that he renamed himself Hubert von Goisern.  The singer/songwriter certainly has been around, from South Africa, Canada and the Philippines to Tanzania and Tibet.  He is friends with primatologist and anthropologist Jane Goodall and the Dalai Lama. All this has influenced his music style which he incorporates into the traditions of his native Austria.  His genre is often described as Neue Volksmusik (New Folk), but more often as Alpenrock (Alpine Rock), which probably better describes it.  From the mid-80's to the mid-90's he was accompanied by his band Die Alpinkatzen.  This track, Da Juchitzer, which can be found on his album Eswaramoi 1992-1998, features some wild yodelling over some rock rhythms:

The duo Attwenger were formed in 1990 in the city of Linz, consisting of drummer Markus Binder and button accordion player Hans-Peter Falkner.  They combine the traditional folk music of the Upper Austrian region with hip-hop, singing in their local dialect.  During the early days they literally took traditional Austrian songs and put a punk spin on it, but as they evolved over the years, they began writing their own material, mixing in electronic elements, rap and dub.  Here's a song from their 2011 album Flux called hintn umi (round the back):

Composer and electronic music pioneer Hubert Bognermayr (1948-1999) was born in Linz.  He was one of the founder of the Ars Electronica festival in 1979 and founding member of Austrian rock band Eela Craig and founder of the Blue Chip Orchestra.  He is even credited with influencing Mike Oldfield.  With the Blue Chip Orchestra he created a New Age electronic sound inspired by Native American music, which is sensitively interwoven into the music.  Here is the opening track to the 2000 re-issue album Enigmania (not sure if it is still available) called Ate Heve Lo!

I'll leave it at that for today and will give the capital Vienna a separate post.  In the meantime, as usual, you follow my virtual trip in my Tripline map.