Tag Archives: Balkan music

Stian Carstensen’s Backwards Into the Backwoods

Posted on 2nd July 2004 by Gary Whitehouse

Stian Carstensen is a Norwegian multi-instrumentalist, the cracked genius behind the group Farmer’s Market, which combines Scandinavian folk, Balkan dance music and wild post-bop jazz into a heady and infectious brew. On Backwards Into the Backwoods, his latest project freed … Continue reading →

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The Baksheesh Boys’ The Baksheesh Boys

Posted on 5th September 2003 by Diverse Voices

Judith Gennett wrote this review. At my college, the typical folkdancer was a nerdy professor’s daughter wearing a homemade polyester peasant blouse who danced with a buck-toothed smile to crackly Monitor LPs. Hence, I long ago missed the boat on … Continue reading →

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Sviraj’s Balkan Jam I

Posted on 29th October 2001 by Gary Whitehouse

Balkan Jam I is the first recording put out by the Pennsylvania-based trio Sviraj (pronounced Svee-rye with a rolled “r). On the heels of the critical success of its 2000 release, Ciganine the group has re-released its back-catalog. Balkan Jam … Continue reading →

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Cosmic Voices of Bulgaria’s Mechmetio

Posted on 20th September 2001 by Gary Whitehouse

A women’s Bulgarian choral group was one of the major phenomena of world music in the 1990s. Cosmic Voices of Bulgaria is a similar group, with a fresh recording of lively and varied choral music as it’s only made in … Continue reading →

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Beyond the Pale’s Routes

Posted on 21st August 2001 by Gary Whitehouse

Beyond the Pale, formed in 1998 in Toronto, is a young quintet making lively klezmer-based music. The fact that they’ve played more than 200 gigs in their three years together has paid off in a top-notch debut recording. Routes is … Continue reading →

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Sviraj’s Ciganine

Posted on 15th June 2000 by Diverse Voices

This review was written by Naomi DeBruyn. Sviraj (pronounced Svee-rye — with the “r” rolled; and meaning “Play on!”) is a trio of three childhood friends from Pennsylvania, who have been playing their music for twelve years. Their music has … Continue reading →

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Various Artists’ Balkans without Borders

Posted on 30th April 1999 by Diverse Voices

Brendan Foreman wrote this review. When the lights go out, when the food disappears, when death is ever-present, you still find music. – David Wilson, director Pavarotti Music Centre, Mostar In response to the extreme violence and poverty that has … Continue reading →

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