What the audience says: Ballake Sissoko Quartet

Beautiful, thrilling concert by Ballake Sissoko... Gorgeous musicianship, and a great spirit of communion.

It was superb! Balafon Fassery Diabate player stole it for me!

Thanks for a fantastic evening! Ballake Sissoko and his band have been majestic.

A real cultural delight... Sissoko Ballake & his Malian musicians. Inspired.

Amazing gorgeous music from Ballake Sissoko and his band .

Still reflecting on a magical musical evening with Ballaké Sissoko and friends... Catch them if you can.

Amazing night, thank you. The band were astonishingly good and Babani Kone with acoustic backing a delicious treat.

Beautiful, magical music! You and your quartet are virtuosos, each and every one of you. I'm still buzzing from listening and dancing to your music. Hope to see you all again.

Blows away the winter blues...

Magic music.

Amazing concert and even shook the great man's hand.

A standing ovation and really great feedback from people who really loved the show.

Had wonderful makingtracks nite with Ballake Sissoko. Go see!

Ballake Sissoko rocks!

Amazing concert at the sage Gateshead. .even met the legend. .made my year 

Rich Mix concert c'etait magnifique!!

a delight

Thank you for another stunning concert that was extremely well received by our audience.

Fabulous

I loved it, thank you.

Really enjoyed your concert in Bristol on Tuesday... Love your music!

SOOOOOOOOOOO beautiful!

STOP PRESS: Babani Kone joins the tour with Ballake Sissoko!

The fabulous Babani Kone, one od the top female singers in Mali today, will be joining the upcoming Making Tracks tour with Ballake Sissoko as a special guest! 

What the audience says: Benjamim Taubkin & Adriano Adewale

They were just wonderful musicians, the most glorious concert (and workshop!)

A truly extraordinary demonstration of the art of musical improvisation at the highest level - what they did was simply astonishing!

Just listened to Benjamim Taubkin and Adriano Adewale perform @wiltshiremusic. Was lovely, felt as though I had been lifted & taken away. 

A wonderful, wonderful concert last night.

The improvisation between Adriano and Benjamim was extraordinary and the concert absolutely fantastic.

Amazing gig in Gateshead last night - don't miss this! Thanks Benjamin and Adriano Adewale - great to meet you.

Mesmerizing live!!...

Just had the most wonderful evening @theapexvenue with Benjamin Taubkin & Adriano Adewale.

Wonderful musica from Benjamin Taubkin here. Was great to hear him play at @sage_gateshead last night...

Loved it! Music to get lost in...

Sensacional!

Great show!

Lovely intimate concert with great musicians.

A must see show.

Q&A with Benjamim Taubkin & Adriano Adewale

Q. What was it that brought you together as a duo?

BT: When I did a solo concert in 2009 at the Vortex, Monica Vasconcelos  - a Brazilian singer living in London - suggested that Adriano could come and sit in. We did some songs and it went great. Then in 2010 , Luiza Morandi, my producer, also living in London at that time, proposed another session: just one afternoon, recording at the Vortex. It went so well, that we decided to launch as a record.

AA: The music happened very naturally and it has been each time is both a surprise and a reassurance of the magical mix of the duo.

Q. Your music seems to subtly deconstruct popular Brazilian music and build it into something new. What is the thinking behind the compositions?

BT: I think we are both immersed in the Brazilian Music and traditions. So I believe we both feel very comfortable to let the inspiration and the moment to guide us. And of course, some new and unexpected things come out of it.

AA: The human connection, the similarities in the musical palate, but also the life story of each of us. How we come to be as we are. It all goes to the music, and to the moment. Always the moment!!

Q. Do you improvise when you play together?

AA: Everything is improvised. There is no ideas that we put together to depart from. It is always a new story, a trusting exercise and a state of opened mind which opens the channel for the music to happen.

BT: It’s 100% improvised. Sometimes we go for some known songs. But they just appear – it’s not planned. So the way we may end up playing can be also a surprise to us.

Season4 promo clip just released!

Here is our brand new promo video featuring some great music from our artists touring the Making Tracks trail this season: Adrinao Adewale & benjamim Taubkin, Ballake Sissoko Quartet, Mokoomba and Debashish Bhattacharya:

Making Tracks Season4: Line-up announced!

Following an exceptional season3, the most successful to date, Making Tracks are delighted to announce the artists for season4, which will run from Sept 2013 to May 2014. Once again four great ensembles will criss-cross the country playing in 11 of the finest venues – a unique opportunity for audiences and musicians, placing exhilarating global sounds in a local context. Coming to a venue near you: 

ADRIANO ADEWALE & BENJAMIM TAUBKIN (Brazil/UK)

From subtle to sumptuous on piano & percussion 

ON TOUR 26 Sept - 10 Oct 2013

More info

 


BALLAKÉ SISSOKO: At Peace (Mali)
Classical soundscapes of African beauty
ON TOUR: 20 Nov – 1 Dec 2013
More info

MOKOOMBA (Zimbabwe)
Rising stars from Zimbabwe: Electrifying, intoxicating, irresistible!
ON TOUR: 30 Mar - 12 Apr 2014
More info

DEBASHISH BHATTACHARYA (India)
Global Adventures on a Slide Guitar
ON TOUR: 7-18 May 2014
More info

Making Tracks is programmed & produced by KAPA Productions funded by Arts Council England.
www.makingtrackslive.org.uk

Participating venues include: 

The Apex (Bury St Edmunds), Colston Hall (Bristol), The Junction (Cambridge), Lighthouse (Poole), mac (Birmingham), NCEM (York), Pontardawe Arts Centre (Swansea),  Rich Mix (London), The Sage Gateshead, The Stables (Milton Keynes), Wiltshire Music Centre (Bradford-on-Avon)

Live Review: Johanna Juhola Reaktori at The Junction

By Robert Burnham-Rusk

Painting a story with their music, Johanna Juhola Reaktori whisk the audience away in an emotion fuelled, musical journey, that visits both comedy and tragedy.

Johanna Juhola Reaktori are a Finnish quartet who explore many different styles and genres throughout their lively set. The group mix elements of traditional folk and tango with electronic drum beats, conveying musical storytelling with a catchy dance vibe. Johanna describes the band’s sound as “Fantasy Tango” and played her song Fantasiatango at the 2007 Eurovision contest held in Finland, receiving well deserved recognition for her innovative music.

Unsure of exactly what I was about to witness from the genre defying quartet hailing from Helsinki, I took to my seat, excited. The house lights dimmed and a video of an old black and white film was projected on to the curtain at the back of the stage. The band bounded over to their instruments, in brightly coloured, cartoonlike outfits and one by one joined in with the music from the video. I soon realised that this wasn’t just simply a gig; it was an artistic performance, a show, an experience.

Live Review: Johanna Juhola Reaktori at The Stables

By Charmaine White

I wasn't sure what to expect when I first sat down in the auditorium at The Stables in Milton Keynes. I'd never heard of Johanna Juhola until a few weeks ago, and tango music isn't my preferred choice of music, let alone Finnish tango. However, as the lights gently dimmed and the hall fell silent, there was no big entrance for this band. The quartet modestly took to their seats and with a nod to the audience, began doing what they do best. I was suddenly caught up in their talent. From Johanna Juhola's intricate finger work on the accordion, blended with an up-tempo bass line from Sara Puljula and the jazzy twinkling of Milla Viljamaa on the piano, pulled together by a tight electronic beat from Tuomas Norvio on the synth pad, the auditorium was suddenly brought alive by the sound of Finnish tango.

Live Review: Johanna Juhola Reaktori at NCEM

By Desmond Clarke

Surrealist, globetrotting folktronica is rather unsual fare for York’s National Centre for Early Music; so much so that the audience, while warmly appreciative, at times seemed slightly baffled by the manic, impish figure of Johanna Juhola and her garishly dressed band. The musicians’ easy banter and obvious engagement with their songs however soon won over the eclectic crowd as they led us boldly through the world of Finnish tango music.

Live Review: Johanna Juhola Reaktori at NCEM (2)

By James Cave

Accordion-playing has a long tradition in Finland. In the 1940s and 50s, accordionists rose to prominence providing improvised accompaniment for wrestling matches, at that time the nation’s favourite sport. A key skill was disguising the participants’ flatulence: players who could improvise a special effect at a potentially embarrassing moment were highly prized.

And Finns also love to tango. The dance was introduced to the country a century ago, and has proved enduringly popular, with one in fifty taking part in the largest annual tango festival.

But hang on - this picture of high-kicking and wild abandon doesn’t fit with my image of Finnish people as fundamentally serious? I’ve been to Helsinki on numerous occasions: in my (possibly limited) experience Finns like nothing more than to follow a dip in a freezing lake with a quiet evening-in reading philosophy. The typical Finnish busker is more likely to serenade you with the Sibelius Violin Concerto than ‘Poker Face’.

What the audience says: Johanna Juhola Reaktori

You so have to check out Johanna Juhola. She's on tour at the moment and it's just great music. And a great 'elf' suit.

a relentlessly enjoyable evening.

Something really special.

Finnish electro-tango in Dr Seuss costumes - brilliant!

So much fresh air from those bellows. Inspiring, congratulations to the whole band
 
We had such a great time last night. There was so much energy and passion emanating from you all... thanks for coming to us .

Live Review: Johanna Juhola Reaktori live at Rich Mix (2)

By Craig Macartney

A bright sun waking up frosty, sleeping conifers in a Finnish boreal forest. Or, Finnish optimism, a term coined by the band when rousing the crowd after their dreamiest number of the night. This was the overwhelming feeling I experienced when leaving Shoreditch’s Rich Mix venue after the first leg of Johanna Juhola Reaktori’s two-week UK tour. This Scandinavian four-piece, offering Finnish- and Argentinian-tango-inspired folk tunes with an electro twist, definitely brightened up East London on a dark, rain-soaked Tuesday night.

Arriving on stage dressed like flamboyant pirates, the band began their set with no introduction other than an old black and white film of Finnish singer Olavi Virta.  Johanna Juhola, the group’s frontwoman and composer swiftly joined in, accompanying the film with virtuosic twinklings on her accordion. 

Live Review: Johanna Juhola Reaktori at Rich Mix

Inspired By Winter

by Andrew Chua

What happens when you mix typical Northern European stoicism with a South American dance styles and bring it into the 21^st Century performance context? The answer is the Johanna Juhola Reaktori who provided some much needed injection of joy and light-hearted humour through an incredible sonic and visual performance to the watching audience at Rich Mix, London last Tuesday night.

Q&A with Johanna Juhola

Q: Your music is described as blending the Buenos Aires tango halls with forest-dark Finnish landscapes. Can you explain how the tango came to Finland?

JJ: Tango came to Finland first time in the beginning of 19th century but it became popular not until the 60s. Finnish tango acquired influences from German marches and Russian romances on its way from Argentina and those were the ingredients of Finnish tango; melancholy and clear rhythm. There were a few very productive tango composers like Unto Mononen and Toivo Kärki and their tangos have become a symbol of Finnish melancholy and their tangos are still very popular and performed by many artists.

Q: Your music is an original blend of contemporary tango and inventive use of electronica – is it important to update the tradition?

JJ:. It's always important to update the tradition to keep it fresh and alive. But when I make music I don't think so much about updating anything, I just do what feels exciting to me. Tango is my great inspiration because of the great passion and big emotions, the drama and the melancholy. The feeling is more important than the style. Electronica is a great way to create images. When you use sounds that you can't associate to any instrument you start to create images in your own head and that's interesting. My electronica player Tumppi also plays for example vocal samples from Carlos Gardel and from a Finnish vocal group (Metro-tytöt) who were popular in the 50s. These kind of things create more ‘stories’ in the instrumental music.

Next ON TOUR: Johanna Juhola Reaktori

Eclectic & eccentric: Finnish tango from cheeky accordionist Johanna Juhola and her Reaktori band.
See here for tour dates & info.

Live Review: YTO at The Sage Gateshead

WHO WILL BUY MY BAGELS?

By Bethany Robson

If you like a band with style, excitement, dashing hats, a guitarist that can’t stop dancing and a trombone that sounds like Louis Armstrong, then this is the band for you. The Yiddish Twist Orchestra who performed at The Sage last Sunday night had the audience stood on their feet, shaking their hips and buying their bagels (yes, bagels, but more on that later).

Live Review: YTO at The Sage Gateshead

By Emma Hill

Energetic, fun, inclusive, ecstatic, care free; these are the words I would use to describe The Yiddish Twist Orchestra. On February 24th 2013 I went to The Sage in Gateshead to see the Yiddish Twist Orchestra perform. The band featured Natty Bo, an international, retro styled vocalist; along with Ben Mandelson (electric guitar), Robin Harris (keys and Vox organ), David Bitelli (saxophone and clarinet), Paul Tkachenko (bass guitar), Steve Chadwick (trumpet), Guy Schalom (drums) and Paul Taylor (trombone).

What the Audience Said: Yiddish Twist Orchestra

What a brilliant band - great feeling, exciting rhythms and an enormous sense of fun.

Excellent gig last night in Poole. Great musicians, with humour and a twist..... Thank you.

You know you've seen @yiddishtwist orchestra when you come away with a bagel and a big smile.

so glad we found you .... how did we dance without you?

Sometimes you get to see music that stops you in your tracks and shows you another whole world - thanks for the great music and sharing this tour's last gig with us ... we want more - you heard it last night!

Live Review: Yiddish Twist Orchestra at the Apex

By Karen Harradine

In the vast and airy yet strangely intimate Apex Theater in Bury St Edmunds the audience gathered around tables scattered in front of the stage, nursed their drinks and waited expectantly for the Yiddish Twist Orchestra to start. The band did so by exploding onto the stage exactly on time. Combining notes of calypso and mambo, country and western twangs, the rolling harmonies of steel bands and the intense melodic sounds of Jewish folk tunes, YTO gave an electrifying and energising performance all the way through, with a pervading sense of cool that echoed the hazy vibe of 1950’s London jazz clubs.

Yiddish Twist Orchestra hit the road

Irresistible retro roots from London's East End: Yiddish Twist Orchestra are ready to charm audiences when they start their Making Tracks UK-wide tour next week. Check out the tour dates and mark your diaries!