So, how did that female “voice” sound at the concluded “Pocket Globe 2024” festival?

So, how did that female “voice” sound at the concluded “Pocket Globe 2024” festival?

by | 25.11.2024.

The third “Pocket Globe” festival took place in Novi Sad from November 12 to 14, 2024, across several venues. With a program that included six concerts, a workshop, and a presentation, the spotlight was firmly placed on female artists.

. . .

The first thing I want to say at the very beginning of this article is that the final preparations and organization for the “Pocket Globe” festival have never been more difficult. The reason is serious and grim: eleven days before the third edition of our festival, the roof of Novi Sad’s Railway Station collapsed, claiming the lives of 14 people, with one of the severely injured passing away 16 days later, on November 17.

This tragic event will rightfully continue to shake Serbian society and its political scene. During the period of shock and the initial wave of profound grief felt by the people of Serbia, particularly the citizens of Novi Sad, we were nevertheless compelled to go ahead with what had already been scheduled and planned, especially since the official three-day mourning period had passed.

Although the official mourning on a national level ended, the profound despair, suffering, and dissatisfaction continued – and still linger – in people’s hearts.

This situation and atmosphere naturally led to the “Pocket Globe” festival seeing its smallest audience yet. Those who did attend described the experience as almost therapeutic, offering a fleeting sense of solace to their weary minds – whether through something beautiful, pleasant, emotional, contemplative, moving, poignant, restorative, or joyful, depending on the specific concert.

In a way, it could be said that the program of this third edition of the “festival in your pocket” offered a fittingly intimate sound and content – one that neither agitates nor invites celebration. And so, in unfortunate circumstances, everything “aligned” this way.

The concert program of the third “Pocket Globe” was held in the new building of the Student Cultural Center Novi Sad, located on Vladimir Perić Valter Street. The spacious ground-floor hall, featuring a large stage, excellent sound, and a bar providing easy and quick access to refreshments, created a pleasant, practical, and fitting environment for the concerts that unfolded over the festival’s three evenings. It seemed that everyone was satisfied – musicians, audience, and organizers alike.

The first to perform on November 12 was the French female trio Samaïa. The sincere, almost childlike cheerfulness of the three exceptionally skilled and experienced young artists – Éléonore Fourniau, Noémie Nael, and Luna Silva – established an instant connection with the audience, who clearly enjoyed the performance and rewarded it with enthusiastic applause. Their program featured stunning, harmonious vocal polyphony, beautifully and tastefully arranged instrumental parts (hurdy-gurdy, bendir, riq, bombo legüero, bass drum, daf, and mandola), and a captivating selection of diverse traditional songs from Europe and the Middle East.

It’s fair to say that Samaïa was a revelation for both the audience and us as organizers. Their time is yet to come, and in a way, we took a chance inviting them – uncertain if they would prove to be good or extraordinary. In the end, the latter turned out to be true.

Following the young French trio, the stage welcomed the oldest (48) and most renowned musician of this year’s festival edition (centered on women, exclusively Serbian premieres, and predominantly younger artists) – Ana Alcaide from Spain, a prominent figure on the contemporary Spanish music scene. Supported by her longtime collaborator and life partner, Bill Cooley (playing the oud, psaltery, bouzouki, bass pedal, and programming), Ana cast her signature spell with an ambient, ethereal, and transcendent atmosphere.

Her performance, angelically refined, was led by the beauty of her voice and the timeless sound of the Nordic nyckelharpa. She took us on a journey across the Mediterranean and the paths of the Sephardim.

It seemed Ana was slightly disheartened by the modest audience turnout, as an artist of her caliber is accustomed to larger crowds. However, there was little we could do about it. Such was the fate of “Pocket Globe” in the penultimate month of 2024.

The second evening, November 13, featured performances by two duos. First, Hiram Salsano & Marcello De Carolis delighted the audience with captivating and energetic interpretations of traditional music from southern Italy, particularly the regions of Campania and Basilicata. Everything was as one might expect from the temperament of this part of Europe: Hiram’s powerful vocals, passionate tambourine shaking, and rhythmic pulsations of the jaw harp created a perfect synergy with Marcello’s virtuosity on the chitarra battente. Loopers added extra depth to the atmosphere without compromising the raw authenticity of the old songs.

At one point, Marcello’s measured dancing with some of the audience members in a traditional circle dance added a warm sense of togetherness – something especially meaningful during those heavy November days.

After the Italians, the stage welcomed a performance that drew visitors not only interested in world music but also in experimental and avant-garde sound. Some attendees even traveled from Belgrade to Novi Sad specifically for this concert. The Polish duo Maniucha & Ksawery based their performance on the album “Oj borom, borom…”, which, even seven years after its release, continues to inspire and captivate. This duo’s artistry is so compelling that no one expects them to rush into releasing another album anytime soon.

The concert by Maniucha Bikont and Ksawery Wójciński seemed to resonate most profoundly with the somber mood in Serbia during those November days.

With a voice that is tender yet piercing and raw, Maniucha channeled the emotions of rural women from the Ukrainian part of Polesia (a border region spanning Poland, Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus, where she has conducted extensive field research for years). Her performance vividly portrayed various forms of sorrow from the everyday lives of these women in the past. Yet, this sorrow was also a means of release, a way for rural singers to alleviate their anguish and restore their psychological well-being.

Double bassist Ksawery, as an interpreter and collaborator in this experimental-traditional exploration of Ukrainian heritage, added tones and harmonies of tenderness, suffering, emotional disjunction, searching, and the reestablishment of inner peace.

The third evening, November 14, began with a performance by Finnish artist Teija Niku, who, with her accordion in hand and on her lap, offered the audience around fifty pure “chill-out” minutes. She alternated between the alluring melancholy of Northern Europe and the passionate dynamism of the Balkans, crafting a natural and intimate sequence. Even the familiar melody of the popular song “Ajde, Jano” felt seamlessly integrated into her set. Despite Teija’s invitation for the audience to dance to this close-to-home theme (something we might have eagerly done in another context), everyone remained seated, savoring the beauty of each tone and melodic embellishment.

Teija drew the largest crowd of the festival, thanks in part to a significant group of students from Novi Sad’s “Isidor Bajić” Music School, brought by their accordion teacher, Marko Asurdžić. It was a wonderful example of encouraging young people to broaden their listening experiences outside of school and expand their horizons within their field of study.

The final act of “Pocket Globe” featured the increasingly acclaimed Serbian-Austrian artist Jelena Popržan, presenting one of her current projects, the Jelena Popržan Quartett. Over a decade had passed since her last performance in Novi Sad (as part of the duo Catch-Pop String-Strong), one of “her” cities. Born in Novi Sad, Jelena had an overwhelming desire to share all her inner passion, ideas, and creativity with the audience.

Her complete and heartfelt devotion to the music, the moment, the space, and the gathered community resulted in a compelling interpretation of material from the album she released with the Quartett in 2022.

While the instrumental pieces were as fascinating as the songs based on the poetry of Jewish-Polish-Austrian poet Tamar Radzyner, it was these very vocal-instrumental moments that emotionally moved the audience even more profoundly.

The accompanying events of the festival played a significant role in enriching the experience, starting with a workshop on Tuesday, November 12, in the early evening. This workshop, much like the previous year, marked the official opening of the festival. Last year, it was led by Iva Bittová, while this year, Maniucha Bikont took the reins. Once again, it was a resounding success!

Maniucha was exceptionally dedicated, working with curious and musically inclined children from the Children’s Opera Studio of the Serbian National Theatre on several Ukrainian songs. Along the way, she introduced them to the phenomena of traditional music and rural life. The choir’s conductor, Verica Pejić, observed with satisfaction, occasionally offering her active support.

Some of the children attended Maniucha & Ksawery’s concert the following evening, and one brave girl even joined them on stage to sing a song together at Maniucha’s invitation.

Another complementary event took place at the “Isidor Bajić” Music School on Wednesday, November 13, in collaboration with the “Eufonija” Association, which nurtures and promotes accordion art. Teija Niku delivered a presentation for the school’s accordion students and teachers, sharing her artistic journey and insights into the Finnish accordion scene.

She provided a special focus on a unique type of classical accordion characteristic of Finland, which differs slightly from models in other parts of Europe and the world.

These two events represented additional activities by the guest artists under the framework of the “Sounds of Europe” project. This initiative supported the visits of Maniucha, Ksawery, and Teija to the festival. Beyond Maniucha’s workshop and Teija’s presentation, which formally took place as part of “Pocket Globe”, two other activities aligned with the project but occurred outside the festival’s organization. The first was a concert by the trio WOŠ in Novi Sad at the Cultural Center of Vojvodina “Miloš Crnjanski” on November 11, where Ksawery Wojciński performed with local musicians Predrag Okiljević (tenor saxophone) and Aleksandar Škorić (drums). The second was Teija’s concert on November 12 at the Cultural Center “Mija Aleksić” in Gornji Milanovac, as part of the “traveling” festival “Creative Europe”.

The “Pocket Globe” festival is organized by the Ring Ring Association in collaboration with the Music Information Centre of Serbia, and this year also with the Students’ Cultural Center Novi Sad.

The third “Pocket Globe” received support from: “Sounds of Europe” (Creative Europe), the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia, the Embassy of Spain in Belgrade, the Polish Institute in Belgrade, the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, the French Institute in Serbia, the Austrian Cultural Forum Belgrade, the Italian Cultural Institute in Belgrade, and the magazine Etnoumlje.

. . .

🔗  Pocket Globe:  Website   ǀ   YouTube   ǀ   Facebook   ǀ   Instagram

🔗  Pocket Globe 2024:  A report in Serbian on the Remix Press portal

 

Women’s “voice” at the third “festival in the pocket”

Women’s “voice” at the third “festival in the pocket”

by | 17.10.2024.

The third Pocket Globe World Music Festival will be held in Novi Sad, at the new building of the Student Cultural Center (Vladimira Perića Valtera Street 5), from November 12 to 14, 2024. Each of the six concerts within the festival program will celebrate the creative power of women and their leadership spirit in music and artistic projects in its own way. The start of each evening is scheduled for 8 PM.

. . .

The first two editions of the “Pocket Globe” festival, held in 2022 and 2023, demonstrated that Novi Sad is indeed a suitable place for showcasing sound and cultural heritages from various parts of the world, whether traditionally or modernly interpreted, original or arranged, through their diverse content, large audience, and exceptional atmosphere.

After those exciting, promising, and acclaimed initial steps, the “Pocket Globe” festival happily continues its mission, which involves broadening musical horizons and listening habits, serving as a form of spontaneous music education, and enriching the cultural offerings of Novi Sad and Serbia with rare, lesser-known concert programs, often including premieres: local, Serbian, and even regional.

When it comes to this year’s edition, “Pocket Globe” can proudly announce that all concert programs will be premiered in Serbia.

This year’s festival is dedicated to women. Their “voice” – in both a literal and metaphorical sense – will dominate the concert program, which consists of six concerts divided over three evenings. At some concerts, women will be the sole performers on stage, while in mixed settings, it will still be women who take on the leading roles!

At the very beginning, on Tuesday, November 12, we will listen to the French trio Samaïa, composed of three young artists captivated by vocal polyphony, various musical traditions, and linguistic diversity.

With their radiant and sharp voices, sometimes accompanying themselves on instruments, Eléonore, Noémie, and Luna interpret songs in more than ten languages, drawing from traditional Breton, Occitan, Anatolian, Caucasian, and many other European and Eurasian song sources, enriching their repertoire with their own original compositions.

They have two albums to their credit, with the latest one, “Traversées”, released in June 2023.

Following them, the star of this year’s “Pocket Globe”, Ana Alcaide, will take the stage. This unique Spanish artist is deeply committed to ancient traditions, drawing inspiration from them for her own compositional work.

Ana’s originality is largely based on her combination of playing the nyckelharpa and performing medieval Spanish melodies, some of which have spread throughout the Mediterranean over time. Naturally, Ana’s artistic openness has also embraced Sephardic heritage, including singing in Judeo-Spanish.

On her artistic and research journey, Ana has collaborated with numerous musicians from various countries. Among her regular collaborators is the American-Spanish musician Bill Cooley, who is also her life partner. He plays various oriental string instruments and incorporates electronics into his work. At the concert in Novi Sad, titled “Essentia”, we will hear Bill Cooley alongside Ana Alcaide, who will play not only the nyckelharpa but also the Hardanger fiddle and sing.

The second evening, on November 13, will be opened by the duo Hiram Salsano and Marcello De Carolis, whose fresh joint project “Fronni D’Alia” is rooted in Hiram Salsano’s long-standing dedication to the music of Southern Italy, which she researches in the field and then performs and reinterprets with her exceptional vocals, as well as by playing Italian frame drums (tamorra and tamburello) and jaw harps (marranzano), skillfully using the looper as well. Hiram has received multiple awards in Italy for her work so far. Marcello, Hiram’s partner in this captivating musical experiment, plays the chitarra battente while also using the looper.

The fusion of their affinity for archaic themes and modern virtuosity offers a fascinating journey through the landscapes of Southern Italy, exploring the spirit and essence of folk narrative songs, serenades, work songs, and more.

This “duo evening” will be rounded off by Maniucha Bikont and Ksawery Wójciński, Polish artists whose project, as well as their album “Oj borom, borom”, released in 2017, continues to delight European audiences – not only fans of world music and traditional songs but also enthusiasts of experimental and avant-garde sounds.

This project is also rooted in a woman’s perspective, as Maniucha’s in-depth field research focuses on Ukrainian songs from the border region of Polesie, which she performs with her rustic-ethereal voice.

She found the perfect collaborator in double bassist Ksawery, who seamlessly blends his avant-garde vocabulary with her archaic voice and messages, bringing a deep understanding to their music.

After one trio and three duos, “Pocket Globe” will feature the smallest and largest ensemble in its third edition. On Thursday, November 14, the audience will first be introduced to Teija Niku, an academically trained accordionist from Finland, who not only possesses technical and performing excellence but also a musical cosmopolitanism. Open to various influences, Teija often combines different traditions and genres in her playing and composing. She is perhaps best known for her love of the Scandinavian North and the Balkan South, as evidenced by her three solo albums: “Finsko Pajdusko”, “Memento”, and “Hetkessä”.

To conclude the festival, the organizers have chosen the increasingly recognized Serbian and Austrian artist Jelena Popržan, an authentic and unique performer. Although the local audience has had many opportunities to hear her live in Serbia (Jelena last performed in her hometown of Novi Sad in 2013), this will be the premiere concert of her ensemble and project, Jelena Popržan Quartett. Joining Jelena (vocals, viola) are esteemed jazz musicians from Austria: Richie Winkler (clarinet, alto saxophone), Clemens Sainitzer (cello), and Lina Neuner (double bass).

The project of this quartet, materialized in the 2022 album of the same name, features Jelena’s original compositions inspired by the poems of Tamar Radzyner (1927 – 1991), a Polish-Viennese poet of Jewish descent. This concert program combines the form of a song cycle with a series of vivid instrumental compositions.

The performance of Jelena Popržan’s quartet, which synchronously unites two powerful female signatures, will convincingly conclude the third edition of the “Pocket Globe” festival, dedicated to the strength of the female voice and the creative power and contributions of women in society, culture, and music.

In addition to the concert program, the festival will also offer the audience some accompanying events, about which more information will be available soon.

Tickets for the festival can be purchased through the Gigstix website. The price for a single evening ticket is 1,000 dinars, while the price for a full festival ticket package is 2,500 dinars.

The festival is supported by: The international project “Sounds of Europe” (supported by Creative Europe), the Embassy of Spain, the Polish Institute in Belgrade, the Austrian Cultural Forum, the French Institute, the Italian Institute of Culture in Belgrade, and the Student Cultural Center Novi Sad. The organizer is the Ring Ring Association in partnership with the Music Information Centre Serbia.

. . .

🔗  Pocket Globe 2024:  Website   ǀ   Facebook Event “Pocket Globe Festival 2024”   ǀ   Facebook   ǀ   Instagram

🔗  Samaïa:  Bandcamp   ǀ   YouTube   ǀ   Facebook   ǀ   Instagram

🔗  Ana Alcaide:  Website   ǀ   Spotify   ǀ   YouTube   ǀ   Facebook   ǀ   Instagram   

🔗  Hiram Salsano & Marcello De Carolis:  YouTube   ǀ   Hiram / Website   ǀ   Marcello / Website

🔗  Maniucha & Ksawery:  Facebook   ǀ   Bandcamp   ǀ   YouTube

🔗  Teija Niku:  Website   ǀ   Spotify   ǀ   YouTube   ǀ   Facebook   ǀ   Instagram

🔗  Jelena Popržan Quartett:  YouTube   ǀ   Bandcamp   ǀ   Jelena / Website

 

“Todo Mundo 2024” in the Spirit of Roma Music

“Todo Mundo 2024” in the Spirit of Roma Music

by | 05.09.2024.

The 12th edition of the Todo Mundo festival will feature six concerts, an international conference, mentoring sessions, and an interview with the artist. The festival will be held in Belgrade from September 20 to 22, 2024.

. . .

At a time when children and parents have already settled into the school rhythm and autumn is taking over from summer, the “Todo Mundo” festival gifts the audience its twelfth edition, which is largely dedicated to Roma music.

During the three festival days – Pokreni! (Move!), Zavrti! (Spin!), and Poskoči! (Jump!) – daytime and evening events will take place. The main evening program will consist of six concerts, held at the Jewish Cultural Center (Jevrejska 16).

The concert program will kick off on September 20 with the Belgrade band Kal – well-known to both local and international audiences – featuring their distinctive, strong rhythms, powerful energy, and the compelling vocals of frontman Dragan Ristić. The evening will be rounded off in a completely different mood, with a concert by Tcha Limberger’s Kalotaszeg Trio.

Limberger, a violinist and vocalist, has a deep love for the music of the Carpathians, Transylvania, Romania, and Hungary, which has brought this exceptional, skillful, and versatile artist into the circle of top interpreters of Roma heritage from a region far removed from his native Belgium.

Tcha’s trio includes two Roma musicians: Toni Rudi Junior (viola) and Vilmos Csikos (double bass).

The second evening (September 21) will begin with a performance by the brilliant young Slovak singer Júlia Kozáková and the five-member Roma instrumental ensemble Manuša. Together with Júlia, they create a light and exhilarating atmosphere, deeply rooted in the tradition of Slovak Roma. Júlia’s warm, agile alto is perfectly supported by violin, cimbalom, viola, double bass, and guitar.

After Júlia and Manuša’s concert, the “Vojin Mališa Draškoci 2024” award will be presented by the World Music Association of Serbia to Vladimir Lenhart, known on stage as Lenhart Tapes.

This unique local musician is a virtuoso on Walkmans, creating a club atmosphere and experimental sound by sampling audio cassette material. After receiving the award, Lenhart Tapes will perform alongside vocalist Tijana Stanković.

The final musical evening (September 22) will feature performances by legendary bands from Hungary and the Czech Republic – Romano Drom and Terne Čhave. Both bands create modern gypsy music, with Terne Čhave even coining a slogan: It’s only Rom’n’Roll. Unlike them, Romano Drom builds modernity on the foundation of Vlach Roma tradition, which the band carefully nurtures and modernizes. The concert in Belgrade, as well as their entire tour this year, celebrates Romano Drom’s 25 years of successful work.

The accompanying program of the “Todo Mundo” festival includes several events. In collaboration with the National Committee of Serbia ICTMD and the Institute of Musicology of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, there will be an interview with Júlia Kozáková (in English) on the topic: “Reinterpretation of Traditional Songs of Romani from Central Europe”. The interview will take place at the Institute of Musicology (Knez Mihailova 36/4) on September 20, starting at 12 p.m.

On Saturday, September 21, starting at 11 a.m., at the garden of the Hotel “Rex”, mentoring sessions will be held with local and international delegates and musicians. Musicians must register in advance via email: todomundofestival@gmail.com.

The festival’s daytime program also includes an international conference in English titled: “Roma People and Music: Freedom, Adaptation, Taking Over.” The conference is scheduled for September 22, starting at 11 a.m., at the Jewish Cultural Center.

With the program on the final day, September 22, the festival, as it did last year, joins the celebration of the “European Folk Day”, just one day earlier, on the eve of the actual date which is September 23.

Ticket prices are 1,000 dinars for each concert evening. The price for a festival pass is 2,500 dinars. Tickets can be purchased through the website and at Tickets.rs sales points. Admission to accompanying events is free.

The organizer of the “Todo Mundo” festival is the “Ring Ring” Association, in collaboration with the Music Information Centre of Serbia. The festival is supported by Sounds of Europe, the Ministry of Culture of Serbia, Collegium Hungaricum, EFFEA, the World Music Association of Serbia, the Czech Center Belgrade, and the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic.

. . .

🔗  Full festival schedule

🔗  Facebook Event „Todo Mundo Festival 2024”

🔗  YouTube:  Kal   ǀ   Tcha Limberger   ǀ   Julia Kozakova   ǀ   Lenhart Tapes feat. Tijana Stanković   ǀ

Romano Drom   ǀ   Terne Čhave

 

Twenty-Eighth Stone of Joy: “Ring Ring 2024”

Twenty-Eighth Stone of Joy: “Ring Ring 2024”

by | 16.05.2024.

May is the Ring Ring month! The 28th edition of the prestigious Belgrade festival of new, different, experimental music is ahead of us, and will be held from May 23 to 26, 2024, at the Jewish Cultural Center and Zappa Baza. The organizer of the festival, the Ring Ring Association, promises four exciting musical evenings and a total of seven diverse concerts featuring artists and bands from the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Switzerland, the USA, Turkey, and Serbia.

. . .

Running an independent, alternative festival in Serbia is demanding and challenging work. Each year, you push that stone anew. Sometimes it seems that the uphill climb gets steeper with each passing year. On one hand, financial support is often undefined until the start of the festival, while there’s an increasing number of brilliant bands and musicians. They persistently apply and patiently wait. It appears as if they have more understanding of the situation than we do ourselves.

The program pieces of every “Ring Ring” are arranged according to the desire and necessity to introduce new and familiar names to the audience, both from the domestic and international scenes. However, there is, of course, too much phenomenal music on the planet for just one festival per year. But when that one festival arrives, and the audience fills the familiar space at Jevrejska 16, the organizers are simply ecstatic. And already then, they joyfully begin making a wish list for the next edition of the “Ring Ring” Festival.

The combination of debutants and artists known from previous festivals has reached one of its possible peaks this year. Thus, on the same evening, May 25, the legendary Dutch band The Ex, which has been around for 45 years, and the Istanbul-Belgrade TRIOBROK, which will soon celebrate its first anniversary, will perform.

The opening night, May 23, belongs to a long-awaited collaboration – the Belgrade band Fish in Oil has long admired Vienna’s, and our own Jelena Popržan, recognizable for her creative, alternative approach to instruments, voice, and composition. Their long-held dream comes true in full force this year.

Manja Ristić is another name in our festival program. For the first time, she performs at “Ring Ring”, to the great joy of organizers and audiences, bringing a completely fresh program. In the past few years, Manja, working from Korčula, distanced from all metropolises, has entered the circle of more significant sound explorers. On the same evening, May 24, we will hear another debutant of “Ring Ring”, performing in a solo performance: American experimenter Michael J. Schumacher brings his usual sound devices, including eight special speakers.

As it begins, the festival “Ring Ring 2024” will also end with concerts on the floor of the hall at the Jewish Cultural Center. On the last night, May 26, the Cologne trio C/W|N will perform, led by (again, our own) Dušica Cajlan, joined by the trio’s old acquaintance of festival audiences, Georg Wissel, and Dutch percussionist Etienne Nillesen. The last performance at this year’s festival belongs to the international Šalter Ensemble, which performed seven years ago in a slightly different lineup. In early May, they released a new album, “Tri dela”, on which the collective improvisation of this ten-member ensemble shows that for creative musicians, there are no obstacles to opening new collaborations and achieving an ever closer connection with the audience.

Tickets for the festival (individual and a festival pass) can be purchased via the Tickets.rs website, as well as through email at ringringfestival@gmail.com.

. . .

🔗  Video teaser „Ring Ring Festival 2024”

🔗  Facebook Event „RING RING 2024”

🔗  Facebook Event „The Ex u Beogradu, na festivalu Ring Ring”

🔗  Tickets:  Festival pass   ǀ  May 23  ǀ  May 24  ǀ  May 25 ǀ  May 26

🔗  YouTube:  Manja Ristić  ǀ  Šalter Ensemble  ǀ  The Ex

 

Innovative Punk: The Ex in Belgrade at the “Ring Ring” Festival

Innovative Punk: The Ex in Belgrade at the “Ring Ring” Festival

by | 19.03.2024.

On their tour marking 45 years of work, the legendary Dutch punk group The Ex will perform in Belgrade at Zappa Baza on May 25, 2024, as part of the 28th Ring Ring Festival. The same evening, the Istanbul-Belgrade based TRIOBROK will also perform.

. . .

The years and decades may pass, but The Ex never falter! The famous quartet from the Netherlands, highly respected in circles of unconventional, avant-garde punk music enthusiasts, celebrates its 45th birthday in 2024. This jubilee is marked by an impressive series of concerts in 45 countries, including their 2000th career concert held in the Netherlands at the beginning of March. This is their first tour since the pandemic.

The Ex exude inexhaustible energy and strength. Their concerts and tours boast an enviable intensity, while their discography remains highly dynamic. They are also known for their frequent, unusual, and diverse projects and collaborations, which span the realms of avant-garde, traditional, and improvised music.

Founded in 1979 in Amsterdam, The Ex began collaborating with jazz musicians and a Kurdish-Iraqi group in the early 1980s. Throughout the 1990s, these collaborations became more frequent and diverse, but perhaps their most famous phase of musical cross-pollination began in 2002 with Ethiopia. This culminated in a collaboration with the renowned saxophonist Getatchew Mekuria, with whom The Ex released two albums and performed over a hundred concerts.

As unwavering advocates of the “do it yourself” concept, The Ex have operated independently of record labels, managers, and roadies throughout the years, serving as a model for other progressive bands and musicians. They have released 28 albums on their label “Ex Records”, and from the outset of their career, they formalized their independent management activities under the name “Stichting Ex”. They have performed concerts across nearly all of Europe, as well as in the USA, Russia, Canada, and Ethiopia. In Belgrade, they have performed three times, with their last appearance in 2015, also at the “Ring Ring” festival.

The members of The Ex are: Terrie Hessels (guitar), Arnold de Boer (vocals, guitar), Andy Moor (guitar), and Katherina Bornefeld (drums, vocals).

The concert of The Ex at the 28th “Ring Ring” festival will be preceded by a performance from the Turkish-Serbian ensemble TRIOBROK, starting at 8:30 PM. This very young group, founded in 2023, is composed of esteemed and experienced musicians from the jazz, improvisational, and experimental music scenes: Ali Onur Olgun (tenor saxophone), Daniel Izmaylov (double bass, electric bass), and Atilla Ozan Keskin (drums).

Tickets for the entire evening, priced at 1800 dinars (balcony: 2500 RSD) in advance, can be purchased through the Tickets.rs website, as well as at their sales outlets.

The organizer of the “Ring Ring” festival is the Ring Ring Association, with the concert of The Ex also being organized in collaboration with the Connected Agency.

. . .

🔗  Facebook Event “The Ex u Beogradu, na festivalu Ring Ring”

🔗  The Ex:  Website   ǀ  YouTube   ǀ   Facebook

🔗  TRIOBROK: YouTube: A gig in Belgrade, at the “Živa” Cultural centre

 

 

In the rhythm of world music: “Pocket Globe” 2023 is over

In the rhythm of world music: “Pocket Globe” 2023 is over

by | 13.11.2023.

The second Pocket Globe festival was held in Novi Sad, from November 9 to 11, 2023, at different locations. The program included six concerts, a workshop, a musician’s session, a presentation and two lectures.

. . .

When the idea was conceived in 2021 to turn the series of concerts called “Pocket Globe” into a permanent festival event in Novi Sad, we announced that it would not be an action related only to the year of the “European Capital of Culture”. Because the world music festival is needed in Novi Sad, both because of the curious audience and the fact that members of a large number of peoples live together and very harmoniously in the city, and because of the extremely rich local music scene. In accordance with that idea, we have built a concept in which we are slowly including Novi Sad musicians, cultural workers, concert venues, the media, but also those young and the youngest people.

This year, a part of the city’s new cultural hub, SKCNS Fabrika, was chosen as the central concert venue. In the end, the choice turned out to be excellent.

Although this space may be famous as a place where rock or punk music is played, in cooperation with excellent sound technicians, we have enabled the audience to enjoy the concerts, which are world music, but with rock elements, as was the case on the first night, and turning space into the hall for real chamber concerts, which characterized the second evenings. Again, on the third evening, there was enough room for those who wanted to sit and enjoy the music, as well as for those who were driven to dance by the same music.

The organizing team, in cooperation with volunteers from Novi Sad, technicians, also with the help of friends of the festival and the understanding of the city’s institutions that reduced the prices of their services, realized second very successful festival, with six concerts, two lectures, one presentation, a musician’s session and a workshop.

Certainly the headliner of the festival was Bombino, an artist from Niger, whose latest album was released just two months before the festival and who included Novi Sad in the program of his European tour.

At the premiere concert in Serbia, Bombino showed how great an artist he is, but also a humble person, approachable for conversations with the audience after the concert.

The Belgrade-based band The Cyclist Conspiracy, who released their debut album for an Italian label a month before the festival, fit perfectly into the program of this first evening.

Although Bombino was the biggest name of the festival, the Czech artist Iva Bittova had the most intense contact with the audience. First of all, on the festival’s first day, during the workshop with members of the Children’s Opera Studio of the Serbian National Theatre created exceptional communication with the youngest and showed a desire to continue this cooperation. The children, together with their parents, the following evening, with the invitation of Iva and the organizers, came in large numbers to the concert, which introduced them and the large audience into an incredible atmosphere, at the end of which Iva Bittova and her collaborator Vladimir Vaclavek sang an encore together with the audience.

The second evening was opened by Serbian artist Jasna Jovićević (feat. Bojan Bojić), with the program “Illusion of Freedom”, premiered on this occasion. Before the concert, Jasna was awarded with the “Vojin Mališa Draškoci” award, which has been awarded for years by the World Music Association of Serbia to those artists who creatively combine tradition and world music with other musical genres.

On the last evening, the Slovakian group Nogaband, led by violin virtuoso and researcher Michal Noga, performed first, which was a great opportunity to hear traditional music performed in a very authentic way. Italian artist Stefano Saletti with his band Banda Ikona had the premiere concert in Serbia that evening, presenting Stefano’s vision of the Mediterranean, along with the story of the extinct Mediterranean language – Sabir. Saletti, on the same day, held a successful and well-attended lecture on this contact language in the Zenit bookstore.

In addition to the concerts and the aforementioned lecture and workshop, the festival included several additional events: the lecture “Rich and vital, old music of Slovakia” by Michal Noga in the Zenit bookstore (10.11), a session by Vladimir Vaclavek with local musicians at the Petrovaradin Fortress (10.11), as well as the presentation of the “Creative Europe – Culture” program in cooperation with the Creative Europe Desk Serbia, also in the Zenit bookstore (11.11).

 

This site is registered on wpml.org as a development site.