ABC, Glasgow, 23 January 2008

Mojmir Novacovic of Kries

“I LOVE when you can see the belly button of a set of pipes,” commented a fellow concert goer at Wednesday’s Balkan Night at Celtic Connections. And fans of pipes, percussion and a host of brilliantly bizarre instruments were in for a rare treat during this musical foray to the eastern fringes of Europe.

The Stobo Village Dance band kicked things off, blending Scottish and Irish style fiddle and accordion with Balkan percussion to produce a lively, acoustic sound. They started off gently with some Klezmer-style playing, then brought Celtic influences more to the fore, picking up the pace to peak with a fast and furious fusion.

Based in the Scottish borders, the band is the brainchild of fiddler Martin Swan, a master blender of styles and the man who brought the evening’s two main performers to Scotland, having produced them both in the Balkans last summer.

Serbia’s Balkanopolis played a blinding set, weaving traditional sounds with jazz and rhythmic rock. The opening song was powerful and resonant, backed by simple keyboards, then the full band kicked in. For an unsettling moment things were starting to sound dangerously soft rock, then belly button pipes belted into the mix, giving the whole sound a thrilling lift.

The percussion was superb, with the two white-robed drummers keeping the rhythms spot on throughout. Bongos, congas, cowbells and a variety of weird and wonderful percussive devices were the crucial catalyst, drawing diverse strands together and fuelling Balkanopolis’s captivating grooves.

The band’s phenomenally talented frontman Slobodan Trkulja switched effortlessly between a range of instruments, from shepherd’s flutes and whistles and goatskin bagpipes to clarinet and sax, and sang in a rich voice, at times joined by fellow band members who harmonised to mesmerising effect. Silky guitar, driving bass and some cracking jazz-style piano completed the blend, the lightning responses, stunning musicianship and sheer crackling chemistry of the band making for an unforgettable experience.

Kries from Croatia had an altogether more swashbuckling style, drawing on gypsy-style traditions and rural songs and blending them in with indie and hypnotic dance rhythms. Described in festival literature as “shamanic”, exuberant singer Mojmir Novacovic lived up to the label, giving a wild-eyed and passionate performance.

Numerous sets of pipes, whistles and a fantastic upside down fiddle-style instrument played on the knee were complemented by big drum beats, bongos and dirty guitar, and the band were joined onstage by Martin Swan on fiddle.

Their repertoire ranged from pounding rock to raw ballads, Novacovic, palms outstretched, singing emotionally of the horror of landmines still blighting the fields and meadows of his country. Next the topic was new beginnings, at which point the frontman seized a massive drum and leaped from the stage, parading the dancefloor in a bid to pound some life into the crowd.

A few people danced – a couple wildly – but the layout of the concert with tables laid out down to the front of the stage, wasn’t conducive to leaping around, and only a handful of spectators braved the free area of floor. Despite the best effort of the performers, and some awe-inspiring musicianship, the atmosphere never quite did the event justice. A bigger crowd and a more dance-friendly set up and it would have totally rocked.

Catriona Ross, 2008

Links

• Celtic Connections