Don Kipper
Don Kipper, led by the formidable Greek-Serbian singer Dunja Botic and driven by an explosive rhythm section, create a powerful sound drawing from modern electronic Romani club music and bone-deep rural folk traditions. Together, their unique sound has become both a blazing homage to the folk cultures they love, and a fresh take on global dance music.
Their first all-original album, Always Can’t Go On Forever, is now out, and you can grab it here!
Raka
Raka are an 8-piece ensemble that play traditional music from the Balkans. The unmistakable groove of Raka brings everyone to their feet. Our music has a strong focus in the folk traditions of Bulgaria and Macedonia, as well as the Romani music that span far and wide across the Balkans. Our meandering musical tributaries have all led us to one communal river: the love and commitment to understanding and interacting with the music of the Balkans.
Josh Middleton & Rasika Ajotikar
Josh and Rasika met in London, a city that thrives as a melting pot of cultures, where diverse musical traditions have historically overlapped and intertwined, creating a layered and multi-textural soundscape. Their music both breaks with and draws upon tradition. Using the grammar and vocabulary of forms such as folk, classical, and semi-classical music of South Asia—and, in the case of the accordion, the many and diverse techniques derived from the various traditional musics that Josh has studied, from Celtic to Bulgarian Folk music—while also bending and reshaping them. Instead, they explore the gaps, the in-between spaces, and the surprising connections: how voice and accordion converse, how their sounds meet, what meanings emerge in their open and curiosity-driven encounters.
Tsvey Kipperim
This duo delve deeply into the neshama (spirit) of Jewish music. In their performances they take the audience on an odyssey through Eastern Europe, touching on many of the traditions which have influenced Klezmer Music, such as Romani Music, and rural folk traditions from around the Balkans and the Mediterranean. Through the intimate interplay between accordion and clarinet, these two musicians explore the potential that a shared love for a tradition, and a profound friendship, can create.