Do you want to know more? Read EB´s Interview with Alamaailman Vasarat!

The band has released in 2002 a CD, "La ruta de los foramontanos". You can listen to some tracks in their web site www.balbarda.com

You may say he is playing with the legends about the bluesman who sold his soul to the devil to improve his skills, with his provoking appearance, his spitting vocals and his exstreme guitar techniques. At stage he is a oneman band. Stomping his feats, sliding his guitars, groaning, spitting and raping his lyrics.

Most of his music is deeply rooted in the delta blues. Most of the tunes is his own or traditional in his own arrangement. The spirit Robert Johnson is always present. At the his first commersial sucsess "Bag of Nails" Berge takes this a little further, into a more contemporary modern expresion. But at his latest album he is back to the old formula.

More info at: http://www.stringmachine.net/

A member of Bukkene Bruse, a quartet (sometimes a trio) with Annbjørg Lien (fiddle), Steinar Ofsdal (flute), and Bjørn Ole Rasch (keyboards)

Bukkene Bruse Homepage

Buy this CD at our
affiliate partner, cdRoots

The Norwegian fiddle tradition is rather unique. First the fiddle is something at its own, with its substrings. Secondly the rhythms of this music differs from most traditional music. We are talking about very subtile shifts from the simple basic rhythm. This makes a very distinct, Norwegian groove. She has her own solo CD (this is rather unique for such a young fiddle artist), titled RAM. The CD reflects her talent, and shows us an artist with her own style and a distinct tone in her instrument.

EB had the pleasure of meeting her at the 2002 Førde International Folkmusicfestival, here she was part of a trio. Take a look at the pictures. 

Synnøve is also a member (leader?) of the new generation Norwegian fiddle group, Majorstuen. Here she is playing Hardanger fiddle, regular Flat fiddle and viola.

Pictures from her Førde Festival 2002 performance.

The Homepage of Blazin’ Fiddles - A Celebration of Highland and Island Fiddle Music

The Sami people have been (and still are) suppressed. Sami music, religion and culture has been banned in church and "Norwegian" schools. Mari Boine is relatively open and free spoken about how she felt when she moved to southern parts of Norway, being a Lapp (a disparaging word for Sami) and a woman. People where disrespectful toward her identity. She tells about a lot of anger (you can hear it in her first recordings). Her christian name is Mari Boine Persen, Persen is a Norwegian name she has "rejected". This is perhaps a political statement, but more important, it's way of finding back her own real identity. Making music and expressing her feeling was another therapeutic process for her. She claims that she had no idea to become an artist when she started. 

Her music is hard to describe. It often has a slow, breathing, intense pulse. She's using both electric and acoustic instruments such as guitars, djembe drum, diverse percussion, didjeridoo, violin, bass, organ and more. Her singing technique is unique. At stage she is a hypnotic charismatic personality.

At the royal wedding between Crown Prince Håkon VII and Mette Marit 26.08.01, Mari Boine was honoured (or was it the other way around?), with performing a song in the church.

http://www.fortunecity.com/millennium/lilac/3/boine.htm (Unofficial Homepage)

And Brazz Brothers or Brazz Brozz has grown out of this brass tradition. But Brazz Brothers is a strange bird in the Norwegian music landscape. Partly a small brass band with a drummer, partly a jazz band with a rare lineup, and partly a process of musical and humorous madness. It was founded in 1981 by the Tafjord and the Førde brothers, at a later stage they started to use a drummer. They travel around the world, in Scandinavia, Europe, Asia, US and Africa. Their repertoire is a unique mix of own compositions based at, traditional Norwegian brass band stuff, jazz music, Norwegian folk music, spiritual music, and African Music. Some may call it crossover music. 

Brazz Brothers have performed with musicians like Lester Bowie (trp.), John Surman (sax) Famoudou Don Moye (perc.), Amina Meyers (piano, organ), Youssou N´Dour, David Peaston, Rebecca Storm, Phil Minton, Povl Dissing, Jan Johansen, Sissel Kyrkjebø (voc.) and many others. They have also joined forces with Hukwe Zawose and Tatunane first in Tanzania, then in Norway, an then at a live the recording: AfroBrazz, 94. 

The original members are all teachers, and they also tour in Norway teaching music to amateur bands and choirs. (The author of this article is one of many hundred amateurs who has performed with them, after a workshop, thanks!). 

Concert review and picture gallery BB & Women Unite. 

 http://www.brazzbrothers.com/

Buy his Paralaia at our
affiliate partner, CDRoots

 In 1997 he releases his first CD, Paralaia, received with admiration by the specialized criticians. In Paralaia he had as guest artists the trikitrilari (player of trikitrixa, a diatonic accordion from Basque Country) Kepa Junkera, and the singer, bagpiper and composer Mercedes Peón. The CD is vibrating, accordion and bagpipe joines to shine over all. Mercedes makes a perfect interpretation, letting us wonder what she is going to bring a bit later, with her CD Isué. 

In 2000 Budiño releases his Arredor, recorded at Glasgow, where he creates a conection between British Islands and Galiza. He melts the best of both regions. Mercedes Peón is again guest artists, and it is remarkable the work by the brilliant fiddler Jacky Molard.

Homepage, new (under construction) and old(up and going)

Cheb Balowski has been acting for some time. They have been crossing the country, showing the mixture and the freshness that flows from them. But, what kind of music can be done by a group from Barcelona that´s called "Cheb" (the way young rai singers use to be called) and Balowski (a Polish adjetive derivative from the verb balovac, that means to join in dancing)? Those both influences (rai and Eastern Europe) are not the only ones. Cheb Balowski mixes klezmer and gipsy influences, as well as reggae and ska, rumba catalana, subsaharian percussion and funky. 

But, how is it possible? Cheb Balowski are eleven musicians and a bailaora. They use both occidental and oriental instruments, and they are all accurated interpreters. Their lyrics combine arabic and català. Yacine Belahcene, a algerian-catalán, is the main singer, with a deep implication with what he is singing. He leads a band full of energy that enjoys as much as you in the concert. 

Their CD Bartzeloona is very fine too, but the great value of this band is the concert. The recording has some pretty tracks, like Oh Noia, that remembers traditional quiet hebrew songs at the first moment that bursts some moments after on a explosion of complicity and rythm.

NEWS! January 2003: Cheb Balowski are recording their new CD that will be called Putiné and will be released at the beginnings of April. It will be full of surprises and guest artists.