Orthodox Celts hail from Belgrade – a far cry from Ireland! Musically, the band is very tight. As a folk rock band, they sit midway between The Pogues and The Old Blind Dogs. Orthodox Celts was formed by fiddle player Ana Đokić some seven years ago. They all come from Belgrade in Serbia. Aleksandar Petrović sings all the lead vocals. I have to say that at first I was not sure about his voice, but after listening a few times it grows on you, and there is hardly a hint of a Serbian accent. This album only goes to prove that good taste in traditional music is not just confined to the British Isles.
The rest of the band members are Dijan Lalić: mandolin, tenor banjo, guitar and Scottish bagpipes; Dejan Popin: tin and low whistles; Vladan Jovković: guitar; Dejan Jevtović: bass; and Dušan Živanović: drums, bodhran, accordion. The entire band are young and look to be in their late twenties, It is nice to see they all have an enthusiastic feel for traditional music at the moment. It will be interesting to see how they mature in the coming years.
As for the material, they are some traditional standards you have probably heard before, but there are also seven songs written by Đokić and Petrović that are very well written in a ‘Celtic’ style. The selection of material and musical arrangements are very good. In all the album comprises 13 songs and three tunes. The set order has been carefully chosen, so there is plenty of ‘light and shade’ and the album is never boring. It holds your attention and keeps your feet taping.
I simply could not find a track on the album I did not like, and I am hard pressed to say which track is my favourite, as they are all so good. The lyrics written by Ana and Aleksander all have a lot of hidden deeper meanings. Given the history of Serbia over the past 10 years, they will of course mean different thing to different people. Read in to them what you like, but they are very clever.
The album starts lively with ‘St Patrick was a Gentleman’ (trad) and is followed by the first of the songs written by Đokić and Petrović, ‘Sindidum,’ about a rebel repenting his sins and past life now finding hope in Christianity. Next is the song ‘Green Roses’ the title track for the album, a song about a hero’s fight for his life and land. ‘Stand up to Your Devil’ takes the form of a father’s advice to his son about life, religion and temptation, while ‘Leads Me On’, is a kind of lullaby of faith for the end of the day.
After a funky instrumental called ‘Merry Sisters’ comes my favourites (if I had to pick two). The song ‘Bean na Shi’ is a romantic song about a living fairy tale where your dreams will never end. The other is ‘Me, Myself And Sky’, a rambling gypsy anthem: be true to your self, and don’t betray your soul. Then just to keep hopping comes ‘Whiskey You’re the Devil’. Needless to say it’s a drinking song and ‘Far Away’, about an Irish immigrant wishing he could be back home. After a jig/reel set of ‘Wind That Shakes The Barley/Sailor on the Rocks’, with a creative arrangement, comes last track ‘The Beggarman’ with a syncopated rhythm.
This is the first album I heard from Orthodox Celts. I really enjoyed it and I will be looking for them on the festival circuit. It will be interesting to hear them live. The album was recorded at Academia studio Belgrade between June and November 1999. These days it is hard for a band to survive commercially with seven members, so I certainly wish them well.
(Metropolis, 1999)
