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Who are the BALKAN PLAYBOYS? Just the umpteenth artistic metamorphosis
of mercurial Nikola Parov, the multi-instrumentalist who over
a long career has founded and directed a number of great outfits
including Zsaratnok, one of the most popular Hungarian groups
(check out the Dunya CDs The Balkan Legend and The Balkan Move)
and who fans of Irish music will remember for his work with Davy
Spillane, Martin O'Connor, not forgetting his contribution to
Billy Wheelan's Riverdance band world music project in the mid
90s.
Parov has always had a clear Idea of what he wants to do with
folk music. While appreciating the importance of conserving tradition,
he's not interested in simply discovering and amassing tunes from
the past but in working them over and fitting them out for today's
mutant music scene and a new posterity. His new acoustic quintet,
the BALKAN PLAYBOYS skip agilely across the whole Balkan territory
from Hungary and Romania to Bulgaria, lands rich in musical ore
and lore that to this day form an essential part of the vitality
of the communities who live there.
This is the music of their everyday life, that serves to mark
all the rites of passage (from weddings to leave-takings for military
service to funerals) that though defunct or muted in significance
in the West, still strongly mark the lives of the peoples of Eastern
Europe. The BALKAN PLAYBOYS reworkings of this repertoire are
remarkably fresh and intriguing, while the quality of the musicianship
melds with the beauty of the melodies to create a work of an extremely
high standard.
The group's instrumentation varies greatly from track to track,
with brass and chordophones leading the way. Among Parov's preferred
tools of the trade are the gadulka (an instrument related to the
medieval rebec that's extremely difficult to learn, with three
bowed strings plus an additional nine sympathetics which provide
amazing resonance) and the kaval (a Pan-pipe-like instrument with
a soft, clear tone, composed of three wooden tubes, that was o
riginally played by shepherds), while also deserving of mention
are the tambura (from the lute family, with two rows of strings
one of which produces a drone while the other is used to pplay
the melody and the tapan (basically a large tambura).
Apart from the virtuosity of the musicians, on close listening
to Balkaninis you will hear cultural and stylistic cross-pollinations
of great delicacy and refinement.
Tracklisting
1. Dobrudzsanatz
2. Severnyashkatz
3. Little Dance at Little Street
4. Rumanyatz
5. Kyutshekatz
6. Ivanatz
7. Kopanatz i Srbkovatz
8. Graovatz
Musicians
Nikola Parov - gadulka, kaval, clarinet,
buzuki, guitar, tanburs, bass, percussion
Ivan Barvich - contratambura, flute, okarina
Slobodan Wetetics - accordeon
Zsigomond Lazar - violin
Balazs Jakabfy - tapan
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