The 5th edition of the annual Balkan Sessions will once again show the incredible versatile faces of Eastern music and its ability to fuse genres and people by covering several cultural domains and integrating loads of musical influences, dance rhythms and historical backgrounds.
➀ FOOD, DOCU & STORIES
◔ 18:00 - 20:00 | FOOD | DOCU | ACOUSTIC CONCERTS
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The
festival starts with a combination of Bulgarian cuisine delicacies (served by
Sisi Food) and documentaries alternated with the live music of Trio Pletenitsa.
Charlotte Moyersoen, young millennial graduated at the Gent university in
Slavic studies with a natural born affection for and built-up knowledge about
the Balkan region, sheds a new light on long forgotten spots and events: the
Tyrant’s pyramid in Tirana, capital of Albania, a magnificent architectural
masterpiece of brutalism called the UFO in Bulgaria, and finally Tito’s ‘last
folly’, the 1981 megalomaniac Soviet ‘Monument to the uprising of the people of
Kordun and Banija’ (sic) in Croatia.
➁ TRIO PLETENITSA (concert)
♫ 18:45 - 20:00 | Trio Pletenitsa (BE/BUL)
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Three
young women. Just their voices, no instruments. Marvellous traditional
Bulgarian and Balkan folk songs. Fully a capella, magically polyphonic and
crystal clear, they wrap their vocals around contrarious, irregular rhythms typical
for eastern music. Even if we’re not sure they will show up on stage with
braids in their hair, we can already tell their voices will weave through each
other like real long Bulgarian pletenitsas.
For this occasion they prepare a premiere and bring two special guests. Enjoy
this unique concert with a typical Bulgarian meal. Listen to some Trio Pletenita music clips here!
➂ DANCE DEMO + WORKSHOP
웃 20:15 - 21:00 | Bulgarian Dance Demo + Initiation Contemporary Dance on Balkan party tunes
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The Balkan Sessions festival harmonizes tradition and innovation. The dance demo quite literally puts tradition against contemporary; at one side Bulgarian folk group Zdravets, at the other side contemporary dancer Tchi-ann Liu. Specialized in the relation between dance and music, she will hand you over some basics of contemporary dance techniques on new Balkan party tunes in an open workshop.
➃ KERMESZ À L’EST (concert)
♫♫ 21:00 - 22:15 | KermesZ à l'Est
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Above all KermesZ à L’Est is an adventurous bunch of artists avoiding all beaten paths. This eight-piece band connects Balkan brass, free jazz, polka and dislodged gypsy with the power and attitude of a rockband and the contagious animation and humour of a circus act. They mix electro, Balkan partybeats and a hilarious retro-futuristic stage performance with disarming anarchistic flair into an explosive, extremely danceable show full of post-apocalyptic energy. Fanfare-punk-muzette, bitolsko oro + dubstep, klezmer Orchestra on speed: this is a balkan band 2.0 with a healthy dose of nutty craziness. Listen to some KermesZ à l'Est music clips here!
➄ NO TENGO PATRIA (a gypsy dance journey)
웃웃 ♫♫ 22:15 - 23:00 | No Tengo Patria (a gypsy dance journey) | special festival project
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Nomadic tribes like the Indian Kalbelia travelled direction South of Spain and Northern Africa passing through Turkey and Eastern Europe, where a fertile exchange with Roma music took place. The fruitful result became an important element in the development of flamenco in Andalucia, where gypsy rhythms and Eastern melody patterns blended with a.o. traditional Spanish music and Arabian sounds. It is this image becoming a figure, with its diverse influences and junctions, being expressed in this show. For this unique festival project we gathered the most talented Belgian specialists, each in their own league. Kalbelia style: Maya Sapera, Aaricia Ponnet, Sattar Khan, Mahabub Khan. Turkish gypsy style: Maya Sapera, Robbe Kieckens, Nathan Daems. Flamenco syle: Sofia Yero, José El Titi, El Juanele.
➅ PAD BRAPAD (concert)
♫♫♫ 23:00 - 00:30 | Pad Brapad (FR)
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Pad Brapad might be the most relevant and solid innovative ‘balkan’ band of the current decennium. This concert will present their second album ‘Strikes Again’ – a marvellous example of cross-over between authentic and contemporary sounds and rhythms only few lesser gods are able to deliver in such a convincing manner. The surprising result is a furious confrontation of traditional melodies and instruments with banlieue hiphop and oldskool hightech electro. Violins and machines. Accordeons ad turntables. Mandolins and electronical witchcraft. An unprecedented fusion of irresistible Balkan grooves and a sound they call ‘Urban Tzigan’. Just wait until you experience their magic live. Listen to some Pad Brapad music clips here!
⑦ ACRO-SWING SHOW / DJ-SET PARTY
웃 00:15 - 00:45 | Dance & acro show
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We won’t give away too much. Leave it to the surprise and the astonishment of the moment. Trust the two acrobats, each in their own competence. Raquel Sanchez (COL) enhanced her experience with all kinds of educations in circus, dance, theatre and acrobatics around the world. Joren van Eyken was able to dance before he could breathe. Born entertainer, he’s particularly skilled in lindyhop, acroswing, hiphop and contemporary dance. Tonight they shine in duo.
☊ 00:30 - 03:00 | Mnsr Zéro (resident binair01)
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A steaming mix of balkan, gypsy, swing, arabtech and other bhangra will
push the dance floor to its final heights. Mnsr Zéro's sets are surprising blends of the latest
innovative cross-over partysounds from all corners of our planet. Think
exciting balkan hiphop-trap, Arab dabke from Beirut's pulsing nightclubs,
Belgrado's evolutions of crazy balkan and gypsystyle dancing, swingrhythms
mixed up with Scandinavian rap, Eastern moombahton and electro-bollywood,
klezmerwhirls, and maybe some variation from the south: AfroLatin grooves like
reggaetón, electrocumbia or faster kuduro- and afrobeats. The list of names and
styles is endless, we'd rather call it move-your-body music; an elixir through
dancing. Listen to some of his mixtapes here!
The 4th edition of the annual Balkan Sessions
is a broad festival covering several cultural domains, exploring the
incredible versatile faces of Eastern music and its ability to fuse genres and people.
➀ Live stories + The Gypsy Wolves ● Balkan Sessions festival 2018
◔ 17:30 - 20:00 | FOOD | DOCU | ACOUSTIC CONCERTS
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The 1st part of the Balkan Sessions festival ● 2018 consists of live stories, foto & docu by The Caravan's Journal, food and acoustic concerts by The Gipsy Wolves – a Gent based Roma band – and Wouter Vandenabeele's violin players. Join these 16 musicians and journalists in their deep quests to the heart of the Balkan region from 17:30 until 20:00!
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♫ The Gipsy Wolves (SLOV/BE) 18:00 - 18:20
Gent hosts some excellent Roma musicians forming a 4-piece Slovakian Balkan band.
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☄ live story + photo from Bulgaria by The Caravan's Journal 18:20 - 18:35
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♫ Wereldmuziekschool De Centrale olv Wouter Vandenabeele 18:35 - 18:50
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☄ live story + docu from Ukrain by The Caravan's Journal 18:50 - 19:05
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♫ The Gipsy Wolves (SLOV/BE)
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☄ live story Srebrenica + NESTOR photo presentation by The Caravan's Journal
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♫ The Gipsy Wolves + 4 violins closing concert 1st part 19:40 - 20:00
➁ Tcha Limberger Trio live ● Balkan Sessions festival 2018
♫ 20:00 - 21:00 | Tcha Limberger Trio (BE/HUN)
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Composer, genius violin player, guitarist and singer Tcha Limberger belongs to that tiny circle of world class musicians living on Belgian soil. Born half tzigane, or manouche, or European nomad, his musical mission is to break the existing prejudices towards Rom people from Eastern Europe by expanding their rich history and culture. Thanks to his incredible versatility, Tcha Limberger is like no other able to connect two historical sides of the Eastern-European music in all its beauty: the jazz manouche and the Rom music, thus resulting in a combination of gypsy swing and Balkan chants. At the binair01 ● Balkan Sessions festival ● 2018, Tcha Limberger Trio will bridge the acoustic live story part perfectly with the full band international headliner part, introducing the gypsy swing initiation at the end of his concert. Listen to some more Tcha Limberger music clips here!
➂ Gypsyswing show + dance workshop ● Balkan Sessions festival 2018
웃 21:00 - 21:40 | Dance show & workshop gypsyswing
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The first dance part ties up perfectly with the concert of Tcha Limberger: Shana Van Cauwenberghe and Joren van Eyken (teachers at De Ingang, connected with Crazy Legs) show their skills followed by a dance workshop gypsyswing.
➃ Gypsy Sound System Orkestar live ● Balkan Sessions festival 2018
♫♫ 21:40 - 22:50 | Gypsysoundsystem Orkestra (CH/FR)
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The 1st out of 2 international headliners of the binair01 ● Balkan Sessions festival ● 2018 is a 7-piece full body Orkestra. Gypsysoundsystem connects Balkan music with swing, hiphop, dub, tango and electro creating a fresh, contemporary sound. The musicians have very different backgrounds; some with a jazz education, others are rappers on hiphop beats or producers of drum'n'bass and dub tracks, and brass instruments show clear funk, balkan and ska influences. The accordion and sax floats on a solid rhythm section and supports both MC and vocals. Listen to some more Gypsy Sound System clips here!
➄ Giufà live ● Balkan Sessions festival 2018
♫♫♫ 23:15 - 00:30 | Giufà (IT)
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Meet Giufà, a solid Sicilian mix of gypsyska, rumba gitana and Balkan melodies with a South-Italian tarantella flair. For this clip they joined forces with Baciamolemani. Their #PROPAGANGSTERTOUR2018, supported by the Istituto di Cultura Italiana of Brussels, brings them to the binair01 ● Balkan Sessions festival ● 2018 on 8 december. Listen to some more Giufà clips here!
➅ Dance show & workshop Bollywood ● Balkan Sessions festival 2018
웃 00:30 - 01:15 | Dance show & animation bollywood
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The dj-set party at binair01 ● Balkan Sessions festival ● 2018 opens with a dance show of Maya Sapera and Aaricia Ponnet (teacher at Danshuis De Ingang), both specialists Indian dance, followed by a workshop / animation contemporary Bollywood, searching for one of the historical roots of gypsy music all the way to India. Watch some dance clips of Maya Sapera and Aaricia!
➆ mnsr zér0 dj-set ● Balkan Sessions festival ● 2018
☊ 01:15 - 03:00 | Mnsr Zéro (resident binair01)
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The dj-set party will be hosted by resident binair01 mnsr zér0. His mixes are a blend of rhythm variations. Expect not only balkan party classics, but also surprising Roma rap, Arabian dabke, Middle-Eastern hiphop, Scandinavian electroswing, moombahton, bhangra and other Oriental contemporary dance music. Listen to some of his mixtapes here!
After two successful editions the Balkan Sessions festival is growing a tiny bit bigger, with film'n'food, dj-sets and 3 very different live (big) bands from all around the globe.
21:00 - 22:30 / Oratnitza live at Balkan Sessions #3
◕ Oratnitza 21:00 - 22:30 ▷ Kelderzaal De Centrale
The combination of orthodox traditional Bulgarian chant and fast spitting rap rhymes is mesmerizing. Two didgeridoos pretend to be a double bass, a Spanish cajón replaces the traditional percussion with an explosion of hiphop, trap and drum'n'bass rhythms. No wonder Oratnitza is considered the most popular innovative band from Bulgaria.
22:45 - 00:00 / Gypsy Hill live at Balkan Sessions #3
◕ Gypsy Hill 22:30 - 00:00 ▷ Turbinezaal De Centrale
The most solid party beats will be brought by the headliner of tonight. Their contagious mix of balkan brass, Mediterranean surf-rock, ska- and swing rhythms makes the perfect connection to the party section. The core of Gypsy Hill is the legendary producers duo from London responsible for some world-famous classic balkan party grooves you'll probably already know by heart. Their very first show in Belgium with the full live band set-up will be a unique experience. The sound of this London based band is innovative and traditional in the meantime; thanks to an exceptional combination of guitars, wind instruments, tuba and scratch turntables they'll turn the concert room into one big dance floor.
Bernard Orchestar live at binair01 Gentse Feesten St-Jacobs
The 12-piece strong Brussels based Bernard Orchestar turns East-European compositions and arrangements into irresistible and extremely contagious retro-modern balkan party music with a funky twist. They also opened our Balkan Sessions festival 2017.
Binair01 balkan sessions #2 aftermovie
The 2nd edition grew to festival proportions, and the 3rd one promises a sensational line-up on november 25, 2017. See you at our New Year's Eve dancefloor in a few days.
Aftermovie features Antwerp Gipsy-Ska Orkestra, Kocani Orkestar, Lekker Gec, Radio Barbã & Mnsr Zéro. Credits Joao Santos. This production was a collaboration with De Centrale.
The 2nd edition dedicated to balkan music invites one of the very best orkestars from the balkans and one of the very best from the belgistans.
Tickets balkan sessions #2 available
The race for balkantickets is on! First 50 tickets are a €13 bargain. Yes, this includes the complete festival program: film, concerts and party.
Full line-up balkan sessions #2 finally revealed
The first Ghentish balkan festival since the confluence of Schelde and Leie with film, food, concerts and dj-sets in 2 rooms. Proud to present the line-up:
DOORS 18:00
◔ film'n'food (Kelderzaal)
▸ food by Lekker Gec
▸ 'Black Cat, White Cat' by Emir Kusturica 18:30 - 20:30
CONCERTS 20:30 (Turbinezaal)
◑ Antwerp Gipsy-Ska Orkestra 20:30 - 21:45
▸ soundcloud | bandcamp
◕ Kočani Orkestar 22:00 - 23:30
▸ youtube meshup | deezer | spotify
● PARTY 22:30 - 3:00 (Kelderzaal)
Radio Barbã dj-set
▸ mixcloud
Mnsr Zéro (resident binair01) dj-set
balkan sessions #2 - headliner mashup
This mashup presents the headliner of binair01 balkan sessions #2 on december 2 at De Centrale, Gent. The tape is also on mixcloud.
This edition is dedicated to balkan music. Tonight is a joyful celebration of its incredible versatile faces and its ability to fuse genres and people. Some of the best French and Belgian examples of this border crossing phenomenon will make you dance from second # one.