Krilja – Sosnitsa (Roma Music from Russia & Eastern Europe) (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 55:15 minutes | 1,05 GB | Genre: World, Gypsy, Female Vocal
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Liljans Musik
Traditional Romani folk music from Russia and Eastern Europe with an element of flamenco and jazz. By turns passionate and melancholic.
Krilja is a trio based in Gothenburg, Sweden, who play traditional Roma/Gypsy songs from Russia and Eastern Europe. The music is of uncertain date but in many cases from the 19th century and onwards and shifts between lyrical melancholy and fiery intensity. The lyrics of the songs are in Romanes and Russian, and tell of sorrow, pain, poverty and suffering, but also love and passion.
The arrangements have been improvised by the musicians, often influenced by styles such as flamenco, but they remain true to the traditional idiom.
The name ”Krilja” means ”wings” in some dialects of Romanes as well as in Russian.Krilja was founded in the autumn of 2010. Marita Johansson (vocals, guitar, tambourine) and Jonas Liljeström (fiddle, vocals, percussion) were the original members, and Emil Pernblad (guitar) joined the group shortly thereafter. Since then the group has performed in various venues all over Sweden – from cafés and culture centers to arts museums, churches and folk music festivals. Krilja has also toured abroad; in Scotland in the spring of 2013 and in Iceland in the summer of 2017.
Krilja seek to bring forth an aspect of the Roma music tradition which is less well known than the Balkan/South-East European tradition which is represented by artists such as Taraf de Haïdouks and Goran Bregovic, and they do it in our own way. They don’t try to imitate anyone else; they define our own sound, very much influenced by the various genres and traditions that the individual band members are fluent in outside of the Roma musical idiom – but always with affection and respect for the tradition which the music comes from.
Krilja’s debut album received enthusiastic reviews and has been played on radio all over the world. The group’s second album “Sosnitsa” (recorded at Studio Epidemin, Gothenburg, in the spring of 2023) will be relased in the autumn of 2023.
Vocalist and guitarist Marita Johansson – the group’s initiator – is a driving force for Roma culture who has collected almost forgotten traditional Roma songs and adding them to her repertoire since the early 1990s. As a part of this process she has also learned several dialects of Romanes as well as Russian. Marita is versed in many other folk music styles, and sings songs from the Sephardic Jewish tradition, Hasidic religious songs and much more besides. Marita has also studied music at Gothenburg University.
When quite young, guitarist Emil Pernblad became fascinated with flamenco, and from the 1990s and onwards he periodically lived in Spain to study the music tradition. Today he is known as one of Scandinavia’s foremost flamenco guitarists and he performs frequently in various constellations. Emil has composed music for theatre and television, and he also works as a guitar teacher.
Jonas Liljeström (fiddle and percussion) started playing the fiddle on a professional level in 1990. He is proficient in many different musical styles, including Nordic, British and Irish folk music, jazz, blues, bluegrass, klezmer and various kinds of East European folk music. He is also an ethnomusicologist, educated at Gothenburg University, Sweden.
Tracklist:
1. Krilja – Malyarkitsa (04:17)
2. Krilja – Dans från Pest / Terdy Shatra (04:22)
3. Krilja – Chergenia (03:54)
4. Krilja – Sosnitsa / Tanz Tanz Yidelech (04:23)
5. Krilja – Dokhane (04:08)
6. Krilja – Beryuzovie Kalyechke (02:33)
7. Krilja – Chajori Romani / Aj Da Na Zadena (04:06)
8. Krilja – Hasiyam (03:07)
9. Krilja – Sare Patrina (02:37)
10. Krilja – Sostar Mange Kadala Love (02:58)
11. Krilja – Metelitsa (02:11)
12. Krilja – Gelem Gelem (05:03)
13. Krilja – Trec Ţiganii (03:00)
14. Krilja – Solnyshko (03:50)
15. Krilja – Nashinke (02:23)
16. Krilja – Tsiganskije Chastushki (02:18)
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