Slavic Soul Party! Albums (4)
What The Critics Say
There's no denying that Slavic Soul Party! are inspired by the giants of Balkan brass, and on their fifth outing, they continue to grow in stature. What they create isn't some slavish imitation of their heroes, but work that uses the idea and feel of the Balkans, mixed with their own histories and experiences. But that doesn't mean they can't do Balkan music very well indeed, as on the Macedonian "Sviraj Srecko" or the title cut, which use it as a base for some mix'n'match styles, all the while keeping to some death-defying playing and rhythms that threaten to career out of control but never do. "Real Simple," of course, is anything but, a showcase of extraordinary chops, while "Sarba" takes a little detour into Moldova. The Balkan bands aren't afraid to look outside their borders and pick up on other ideas, and this group does it too, which some electrifying results, The gospel tune "Canaan Land" starts out straightforwardly enough, then morphs onto something that would fit in down in New Orleans, with the freedom to do some real blowing that's not always there on the other tracks, while "Sancti Peri," which began life as a flamenco piece, is taken south of the border. While, quite understandably, brass predominates, a couple of pieces let accordion up for air, bringing a little variety, and the slower, elegiac closer, "Hymn" sounds as if the entire ensemble is finally catching its breath. A magnificent, daring ride that broadens the group's horizons, and consolidates their previous glory. ~ Chris Nickson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
American Balkan brass -- it's not a bad idea, and given a bit of twist on Teknochek Collision by the fact that bandleader Matt Moran's Brooklyn-based ensemble has little if any true Balkan connections. If you like the big sound of the Balkan brass bands, this will seem a little different. There's no pedal-to-the-metal soloing, and there's a decidedly jazzier take to the improvising at times, but it remains a thrilling ride, albeit on better roads. With a mix of somewhat tweaked traditional Balkan material and originals, Slavic Soul Party! can raise a good head of steam, while thankfully making no pretense to be something they're not. This is their interpretation of a musical culture, refracted through their own prism, and actually stronger for it. Certainly there's not a bad tune here, with plenty of excellent playing, the solos concise and sharp, and the rhythms more than a backbeat. You might miss the tortuous turns, which have been smoothed out here, but there's no doubt that this Americanized version can hold its own anywhere in the world. The vocal cuts shimmer with some excellent, passionate singing, and the whole thing is a real success. ~ Chris Nickson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
What does it mean to be Slavic? That's a loaded question, one that the world is probably still not ready to answer. What happens, then, when Balkan rhythms and melodies reminiscent of Eastern Europe are blended with elements of New Orleans street music and tempered with an agitated set of sensibilities right up out of Brooklyn? This is Slavic Soul Party!, a feisty response to a relentlessly mutating global reality taking place here in the stressful glare of the future, where multiple traditions and rigorous revisions mingle like mad. There are funk marches with low brass punctuation that momentarily bring to mind the Dirty Dozen and ReBirth Brass Bands and the Sun Messengers but are gleefully subverted by the accordion, rotary valve flügelhorns called trubas, and various other jostling instruments plying hyperkinetic Eurasian riffs. Punchy Serbian dervish structures are suffused with klezmer but also tap into polka and mariachi. Imaginative digressions of surrealistic free jazz and wild whimsy sail through dark passages of fascinating depth and ruminative reverie. Somewhere outside of time, Pietro Deiro and Willem Breuker are lunching with Alfred Jarry, Federico Fellini, and the Budapest Ragtime Band. Slavic Soul Party! make wonderful and exciting music, exuding a thrilling and unpasteurized blend of traditional forms cheerfully reconsidered and reconstituted by a restlessly rolling creative collective. ~ arwulf arwulf, All Music Guide
'In Makedonija'
Release Date 5/7/2002
Tracks 14
Label Knitting Factory
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Balkan music has quite a few devotees among the downtown set. The five members of Slavic Soul Party! are especially devoted: They went all the way to Macedonia in 2000 to tour and record, bringing this peppy CD into being. You'd think they were all born there, given the remarkable authenticity of their sound. That the Balkans are a cultural crossroads really comes through in the music, some of which sounds Indian, some Russian, some Jewish (the disc carries the logo of Knitmedia's Jewish Alternative Movement). Even Duke Ellington's "Blue Pepper," from Far East Suite, fits right in. With Chris Speed on clarinet, Ted Reichman on accordion, and Matt Moran on ethnic percussion, listeners happen to have three-fifths of John Hollenbeck's Claudia Quintet. Trombonist Curtis Hasselbring and cornetist Rossen Zahariev round out this nimble unit, which is equally at home with fast dance grooves, off-kilter rhythmic feels, and mournful moods. The brief, lo-fi snippets between some of the tracks lend a kind of hip-hop collage aesthetic -- a touch of New York in a Macedonian landscape. ~ David R. Adler, All Music Guide
