The Warsaw Village Band fell like a meteorite from the Polish musical firmament in 2000, sweeping all before them at the Rudolstadt festival that year. At that time still called Kapela ze wsi Warszava, the band had managed to forge an original take on Polish folksong, employing a happy combination of three female singer-violinists and three male guitarists/percussionists, whose rhythmic energy laid the foundation for the female half of the band. Since that time they have played over 400 concerts in over 30 countries across four continents, sending thousands of fans and critics wild. We could call them the true heirs to the legendary Hungarian band Muzsikas, who saw similar success in the 80s and 90s, but they have created a sound that is truly ‘of today’. Their latest album, Infinity, contains hints of electronica along with remarkable Polish blues – and, of course, music that generates an irresistible urge to dance.

Estrella Morente (b. 1980), from Granada, is the most popular singer of the new flamenco generation – indeed, on more than one occasion she has been called the best singer in the genre, and her album the best of its kind. It was director Pedro Almodovar who brought Estrella worldwide fame when she lent her voice to Penelope Cruz for the song ‘Volver’, which appears on the album Mujeres (2006). Estrella comes from one of the most highly regarded flamenco families: her father, Enrique Morente, who died last year, was the undisputed king of flamenco singers; her mother was the flamenco dancer Aurora Carbonell.


Estrella Morente’s performance here will, without doubt, be one of the musical highlights of the last few years and, after Carmen Linares’s appearance, the most significant concert of female flamenco vocals the Slovenian capital has seen.

What Mariza is to fado, Estrella Morente is to flamenco.

VIDEO: Volver

http://www.estrella-morente.es/

Co-produced by Druga Godba and Cankarjev Dom. Concert sponsor: Zavarovalnica Triglav, d.d., with assistance of the Spanish Embassy in Ljubljana.

Severa Gjurin and Dejan Lapanja, guitarists and vocalists both, have been hard at work over the last year, introducing covers of familiar songs into a repertoire that otherwise features mainly self-penned work (‘Kadar sva sama’, ‘Ledena’). Severa and Dejan have known each other since before the formation of the band Olivija, which lasted for two years (2004 and 2005) and featured Severa as lead vocalist and Dejan as one of the two guitarists. They share a keen interest in a great variety of fields and methods, drawing inspiration from art seen in wide perspective and from afar, and engaging in the kind of creative thinking that refuses to privilege one sound, one genre or one goal.


Severa Gjurin is a singer and artist. As part of Olivija, she made the 2004 album Med moškim in žensko (Between a Man and a Woman), followed, a year later, by Brez sramu in strahu (Without Shame or Fear). She has sung with the legendary Vlado Kreslin and made guest concert appearances with her brother, Gal Gjurin. In collaboration with Borut Činč (Buldožer), Severa is currently preparing Časovne skice/ Time Sketches, a CD of original music.


The musical career of Dejan Lapanja, an academy-trained guitarist, producer and mix engineer, has been characterised by numerous different genres, practices and musical collaborations, both mainstream and alternative, as befits an artist who is multifaceted and eclectic. He released his solo debut Ni časa za preroke (No Time for Prophets) last year on the Sedvex label.

Nneka Egbuna left her native Nigeria at the beginning of the millennium, going on to graduate in archaeology and anthropology in Hamburg, but it is her music that has brought her fame. As a singer and songwriter, she found popularity after her very first EP, The Uncomfortable Truth, followed by global fame with the song ‘Heartbeat’ from the album No Longer At Ease (2008). She was instantly adopted by fans in the US last year, who began to rank her talent alongside that of Lauryn Hill and Erykah Badu. However, Nneka has her own (exceptional) voice and an even stronger message, which we can now hear on her third album to be released in Europe, Soul is Heavy, which came out on 26 September 2011. It features songs of love, pain, politics and God, via a deftly balanced mix of hip-hop rhythms, reggae melodies and Afropop.

 The candour and honesty of her first two albums earned her the title of ‘soul singer of the 21st century’, while the third has merely cemented her position as the fast-rising star of conscious black music, with guest appearances from Black Thought (The Roots) and Ms. Dynamite. It was produced once again by friend and writer DJ Farhot, and mixed by Tom Elmhirst and Philippe Weiss, whose recent credits include work by Amy Winehouse, Adele, CeeLo Green and Wyclef Jean.

Sarajevan musician Damir Imamović will be giving us a personal and very deep insight in the world of Sevdah, presenting its history and aesthetics – and showing us how we can use this distinctly Bosnian style of folk music to interpret the contemporary history of the Balkans.

The workshop will take place in the Bosnian and Slovenian languages.

Members of the Warsaw Village Band will reveal the recipe for reviving traditional styles of music, placing cultural heritage within the context of today and making it exciting to the younger generations. They will also share with us some of their concert tour experiences.

The workshop will take place in the English and Slovenian languages.

Discussion workshop
 
Ana Pandur Predin will talk about the internationalisation of flamenco guitar and dance, and about the phenomenon of flamenco singing, which remains a distinctly Spanish preserve. She will then interview Estrella Morente about her career. The workshop will also be attended by the Spanish ambassador to Slovenia, Anunciada Fernández de Córdova.

The workshop will take place in the Spanish and Slovenian languages.