Loyko:
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A virtuos and experimental Gipsy trio,
with two fiddles and guitar, all three of them sings. The fiddlers are
"brothers", or cousins to be precise, and grew up next door. They are all
classic trained in their homecountry, Russia.
The band are named after a Maxim Gorky character. Gorky created him inspired
by the legends about a violinist named Lokoy Zabar. It is told he could
make people cry and laugh at the same time, even the animals came out of
the forrest while he was playing.
Loyko was formed in London, 1991, and are now based in Ireland. The
two violinists, Sergey Erdenko and Oleg Ponomarev started, and soon Vadim
Koulitskiy joined at guitar. All members are part of gipsy families of
musicians going three houndred years back.
The band started with a standard Gipsy song reportoire. But soon the
music was flavoured with other ethnic elements from Moldavian, Jugoslavian,
Jewish , and Eastern harmonies.
All three are looking for new sounds at their pure, acoustic instruments,
fiddles and guitar. "...Loyko reproduces such acoustic sounds, to generate
with a rock team would have to use a whole arsenal of electronic effects:
birds singing, puffing steam locomotive, mystic thrills and demonic howl,
cutting its way through the sweetest singing", "Myllarit" wrote, after
"Folk Marathon 2000".
Loyko at the Førde Festival
Loyko played at the Førde festival this year (2002), and I want
to share my impresions with you visitors. For some reason my film from
the two Loyko concerts was blank. So all I have to show for myself is the
one in the left colomn. A shame and a pitty!
In the gallery pages I state "Loyko is close to the perfect band.
Want to know why?" I regret saying that. A perfect band goes beyond
description. Words seems so poor compared to what I saw and heard. Nevertheless,
let me try. To put it simple, they dellivered a hell of a show!
The lieup is changed since the text abowe, a new band. Sergey Erdenko
is the only of the origenal members left. Fiddler Ponomarev is replaced
by Georgy Osmolovsky, and guitarist Koulitskiy by Alesha Bezlepkin. The
lineup is also extended by singer and dancer, Sergey Erdenko's niece Leonsia
Erdenko (her father is the leader of another leading gipsy band named Jung).
Leonsia Erdenko has added another dimention to the group. She is also
a vokal-leader, and is forms a visual counterpoint to Serjey Erdenko, both
are strong stage personalities. Leonsia's largly ranged altovoice fits
perfectly in, and extends the repertoire, bringing in some ballad material.
This does not stop the extreme virtuose potential in the group. The violins
still makes incredible sounds.
(The technic level is in a division at its own. I guess most of the
fiddlers among the audience decided to go home and do some serious really
rehersals, or even some decided to stop playing.)
Loyko has always been very rhythmic band. Stating the rhythm in varios
ways, by plucking and other "tricks". Bands with no drummer or percursionist
often lacks something. After the shows I was strucked by the fact that
I had not missed it a single moment.
Sergey gave me a copy of their latest CD, Gypsy Blues. Thank you! The
text abowe is a strong recomendation.
The tempo is slightly lower than at previous Loyko CD's. This adds
a "new and blue" feeling. But the basic concept is the same. Excelent music
performed by excelent musicians. The title track is a sentimental song
about falling in love with a gipsy.
"Fall in love a time or two,
Ever false, never true:
What you are is Gypsy blue."
This song was nominated as the Irish contribution to the Eurosong contest.
It's written by Sergey E. and Tom Moor.
More at Loyko
Homepage, and Loyko
- The Russian Gypsy Band |
