GYPSY FOLK KLUB DUTCH EXCHANGE - AUG 2015
Thanks to our WOMEX visit last year we have managed to hook up with some fantastic bands and organisations from around Europe who we'll be collaborated with in August and SEPT 2015. It was a pleasure to head out to Holland to plat the Doe Dans Festival. Big respect to our friends at the Amsterdam Artists Collective!
In return we hosted Dutch group Amariszi to Derry to play at The Gypsy Folk Klub and The Carnival of Colours.
IRISH - BALKAN - CATALAN PROJECT JULY 2015
As part of the Earagail Arts Festival we be performed a collaboration ensemble with Catalan group RIU exploring the musical styles of Ireland, the Balkans and Catalonia. We did a special one off performance for the Festival on July 13th.
Check out pics (below) and video documentary (above) from the Tri-Trad project and Balkan Riu Sound System!
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NATIONAL RADIO BULGARIA!
Just done a fantastic inerview with National Radio Bulgaria. Really honored to be featured on the show. It's was a great tie in to our gig with the WOMAD N.I. crew where we collaborated with the fantastic Virtuso Ivanov (Bulgaria). This performance was a music and dance interaction with musicians and audience discovering steps of Bulgarian folk dances! Great fun. Here's the Audio link to interview and also the feature on Radio Bulgaria's website!
Full interview and article here :
POLISH TOUR UPDATE!!!
After just completing a full tour of Poland we have arrived home overwhelmed with the fantastic response and hospitality we received on our first musical visit to this vast, diverse country. Every day gave something different, Theatre concerts, klubs, bars, venues, schools, workshops and of course meeting new musicians! We must extend our deepest gratitude to John McGowan, Fundacja Kultury Irlandzkiej for being top hosts and to Banda Nella Nebbia and Caci Vorba for hooking up with us. Can't wait to repay the favour :) Check some of the pics from a few of the concerts...
BALKAN UILLEANN SOUND - POLAND 2016
Really looking forward to our upcoming gigs, festivals and workshops throughout Poland hooking up with some rally exciting Polish artists and visiting Theatres and Festivals March 2016 taking in the 5 cities of Poznan, Warsaw, Gdansk, Lublin and Kalisz. We have introduced some DADGAD guitar and UIllean pipes into the mix for this project which will be documented as BALKAN UILLEANN SOUND. Here's a promo video from a recent session.
PRE-TOUR CONCERTS
CABARET CRAICEAILTE // GYPSY FOLK KLUB
We'll be doing a couple of pre-tour gigs before we hit the road for our Polish Tour. Saturday 27th we'll be playing the Cabaret in Gweedore and the following Saturday we'll be doing a special Gypsy Folk Klub with Jonny Nutt and Kev Quigley supporting.
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Over the moon to announce that the culmination of one years work has came to fruition and the BASORK album is finally here in both physical (12" Vinyl) and digital format.
Massive shout out to everyone who was involved in making this record and we cannot wait to present it at our launch night on June 3rd in Nerve Centre, Derry. You can pre-order your vinyl at the following link:
https://basork.bandcamp.com/releases
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MUSICIAN IN RESIDENCE POST
Balkan Alien Sound bouzouki player, Martin Coyle has just been awarded the MIR post for Nerve Centre in his home city of Derry, N.Ireland. Expect to hear Balkan Alien Sound collaborations with local and international musicians!
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SUMMER FESTIVALS
It's great to be playing some international Festivals on our home shore. You can catch us at Hotter than July, Dublin, MELA, Belfast and Carnival of Colours, Derry. Check our concerts tabs at the top of page for details...
​WOMEX, Santiago 2016
Balkan Alien Sound bouzouki player Martin Coyle has been selected to go to WOMEX, Santiago where he will act as an Irish delegate. It was great to build on relationships made in Budapest last year and widening our international contacts.
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WOMEX, BUDAPEST 2015
Balkan Alien Sound bouzouki player Martin Coyle is just back from WOMEX, Budapest where he was acting as an Irish delegate. It was great to build on relationships made in Santiago last year and widening our international contacts.
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NEW ALBUM AS SOUNDTRACK TO CULTURAL INTERACTION
We have just been featured again on NATIONAL RADIO BULGARIA ahead of our BASORK album launch. Thanks so much to the station for their continued support. I popped on for a chat about all things BASORK, Ivo Papsov and of course our tune Hristos Dance, dedicated to the legend that is Hristo Stoichkov.
Full article here:
GREAT NEWS! We will be supporting KILA on their Earigail Arts Festival dates this July and we've also just been confirmed we'll be playing the main stage at Stendhal Festival. Can't wait to get the new material out there!
LONDON - SLIGO - DERRY
Great to be back out on the road again trying out some new material. We had a blast playing Magic Garden and Fox and Firkin in London, returing to Sligo to play the Thomas Connolly (and having Cathy Jordan, Dervish come catch the show) and playing the Gypsy Folk Klub in Derry hooking up with some old friends from Underscore Orkestra. Few more show before the album launch. Check the Concerts tab above
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ASSOCIATION of BULGARIAN CULTURE & EDUCATION
What an honour to have been part of the Bulgarian celebration of the Day of the Slavonic Alphabet Education and Culture today at Market Place Theatre. We were joined on stage by some outstanding traditional Bulgarian musicians and an array of dancers all in national dress. To top it off we were presented with a certificate of recognition from the Association of Bulgarian Education and Culture (ABCE). A great celebration of Irish and Bulgarian cultures together. We'll be inviting some of the National dancers to the BASORK album launch on June 3rd, Nerve Centre. Cant wait
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