Dear people, what’s up in the body music world? By the end of the week we’ll be on our way to Montenegro to play at Barski ljetopis festival, and then to Slovakia, on a short tour: Bratislava, Piešťany, Smolenice, and Nitra. Then back to Serbia for a workshop and concert in Srbobran while preparing for the intense week in Sremski Karlovci at the New Balkan Rhythm festival.
What happened in July?
We were on tour in Bulgaria and Serbia and took a time to go to the seaside in Croatia.
A to JazZ festival was a dream: we performed with some very interesting artists, like Hands in Motion, Argalios and Ephemere and also enjoyed their company. Feeling like stars in five stars hotel, we were equally treated on stage. The audience at the festival was of all ages, very open and happy to enjoy the known and unknown tunes from the Balkans with us.
After that we traveled to central Bulgaria to Gabrovo to play at FestivalNO. Travelling through Bulgaria gave us a chance to look at the beauty of nature of Balkan mountain and to get to know more about our area in person.
Photos: Rumina Georgeva (A to Jazz), Tsvetomira Ivanova (FestivalNO)
Photos: Dragan Zabunović
In the beginning of July we played at Dombos fest in the north of Serbia. Later in the month we went to a special place in Serbia, Arilje, and a very interesting festival, ARLEMM. We did workshop for kids in the morning and a concert in the evening for the whole community.
ARLEMM lasts for two weeks, during which there are masterclasses of classical music and workshops, mostly for kids and youth. All activities are located around the main square near a medieval church, situated on a hill with a superb view. Just five minutes drive from the center is mountain river Rzav, as clear as a mirror. We spent two days there, but it felt like we were propelled to a different dimension that intertwines art and nature in the most delicate and sensitive way.
ARLEMM has a festival edition magazine and we’ll soon share the interview with you.
08/02 Radio FM, live concert, Hudba sveta radio show, Bratislava, Slovakia
08/04 Piešťany Street ART festival, Gitarové múzeum ŽiWell Kursalon, Piešťany, Slovakia
08/05 Piešťany Street ART festival, Le Griffon Winterova, Piešťany, Slovakia
08/07 Smolenický zámok, Smolenice, Slovakia
08/08 Music A cafe, Nitra, Slovakia
08/15 Dom kulture, Srbobran, Serbia
08/25 New Balkan Rhythm festival, Sremski Karlovci, Serbia
09/01 Knin, Croatia
09/09 BALKAN:MOST Festival, Veszprem, Hungary
See you at the New Balkan Rhythm festival?
So excited that this year we will again host the New Balkan Rhythm festival! Can’t wait to start the artist residency, perform at the opening concert on the 25th and have three full days of workshops, teaching, learning, dancing, moving. This year we have a slightly different concept: you can join almost any workshop, because they won’t be directly related.
The exception will be Ana’s and Marko’s workshop, that will be a continuance of work of Elena Hristova. You’ll learn a song with Elena and then connect it to the rhythm with Alice in WonderBand.
Workshops of Ben Schuetz at the second New Balkan Rhythm festival
Blending Afro-Peruvian and Afro-Brazilian rhythms
What happens when you play two rhythms from different South American musical traditions at the same time? That’s what we’ll find out together in this playful workshop. Plus you will gain a deeper understanding of how these rhythms work and how everything is connected.
Argentine Chacarera in the body
During his first journey to Buenos Aires, Ben immediately fell in love with the Chacarera music tradition. The original feeling of its rhythms is very unique and it is a lot of fun to transfer them into the body.
Improvising with body and voice
Improvisation is at the heart of modern body music. Circle singing and other methods allow people from diverse backgrounds to spontaneously connect and resonate together. Let’s all join in!
Read about the first edition of the New Balkan Rhythm festival!
AWb in the media
Read about A to JazZ festival in Sofia from Salvatore Esposito of BlogFoolk. We performed on the first day in South Park.
Here is what he writes about our performance: The duo gave the audience an original, as well as fascinating, journey through traditional Balkan music, ranging from Macedonia with the love song “Jovano, Jovanke” to Bosnia with “Mene majka jednu ima” to immerse themselves in a sound itinerary that from their native Serbia crosses Greece and arrives in Turkey. To embellish everything, their theatrical attitude in presenting the different pieces, but above all the choreographies that characterized the entire performance. Grazie!
We are also mentioned in the Songlines Magazine overview of the A to Jazz festival. Thanks, Justin Turford.
Jazz in Europe has also graced us with our presence in their article about A to Jazz festival. Thank you, Andrew Read. Nice photo from Lubomir Vassilev.