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This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein

XI World music festival PORTA

Programme

 

3rd of November

 

4th of November

 

 

The Great Guild, Riga,19:00

Culture centre “Jūras vārti”, Ventspils, 19:00

5th of November

 

Latvian Academy of Music, Riga, 10:45 - 12:30

The Great Guild, Riga, 19:00

VALRAVN (Faroe islands)

 

The band debuted in 2007 with the self-titled album “Valravn”. Their blend of electronics, raw energy and Nordic folk roots took audiences as well as critics by storm. The album was nominated for three Danish Music Awards.

Valravn has toured extensively in Denmark and Europe, having played festivals and venues in Germany, Norway, The Netherlands, Finland, France and Switzerland, to name a few. Highlights include Roskilde Festival, Spot Festival, by:Larm and TFF Rudolstadt.

 

Edgy, atmospheric and deliciously fearless, Valravn drags the listener on a mental and musical journey over sweeping forests and deep into moody waters. The result is strange and wonderful, intensely outlandish and utterly hypnotic.

On the album as much as live, the charismatic Faroe Islands singer Anna Katrin Egilstrøð is the narrative heart of Valravn - with a rare and very efficient dynamic, she moves from storm to stillness with the natural ease of the sea rising with the tide.

Transforming the traditional into the extraordinary, Valravn finds an edgy drama that is just downright fierce, painting a landscape that is thoroughly modern but with ancient callings.

A stunning, headlong leap into folktronica.

 

 

“Valravn have since their debut been going from triumph to triumph and they have been clearly growing with their task. The result is this new album, which is simply outstanding.”

Torben Holleufer, Gaffa, Denmark

 

“They put nerve on the traditional instruments with an extraordinary punk energy. They do it leaving a lot of space of expression to the great voice of Anna Katrin Egilstrød: an explosive scene presence.”

Roberto Gatti, Corriere del Ticino, Switzerland

 

 

OqueStrada (Portugal)

 

They create music that is 100% free, 200% good-humoured and 300% genuine. Singing in Portuguese, Cape-verdian “crioulo”, Spanish, French and English, OqueStrada-mix, sometimes within the same song, creative references as distant as fado, funaná and “chançon française”.

On a stage transformed into an imaginary „tasca”, where “desgarradas” are constant

and theatre goes hand in hand with music, the audience members are no longer mere spectators but accomplices to the spirit.

The clear ringing voice of its lead singer Miranda and the total energy and abandon displayed by this 5 person band is infections. OqueStrada splendidly incorporates the spirit of a changing Portugal. If you have ever been to Lisbon and experienced its multiculturalism, the sublime clash of Cape Verdean funaná with Portuguese Fado, the sound of semba wafting into your ear drums in downtown Lisbon, Brazilians and Angolans delighting themselves with Portuguese cuisine, then you will identify with OqueStrada and you will love them.

You will love their bohemian nature, their boundless energy, their love for music, their love for today’s Portugal. Because only in today’s cosmopolitan Portugal is it possible for such a band to emerge, a band that fuses fado with funaná and ska and African rhythms as if it was nothing new.

 

Terje Isungset & Lena Willemark (Norway, Sweden)

 

With warm vocals and an innovative approach to the fiddle, Lena Willemark has risen to the upper echelon of the Swedish music scene.

 Her solo recordings and collaborations with multi-instrumentalist Ale Möller and bands Frifot and Nordan Project have helped to bring the traditional music of her homeland up to contemporary standards. The audience praised her for her "fine sensitivity and strength," and her "extraordinary, powerful voice can snap a listener's neck hairs to attention."

"What makes Lena's singing so special is the way she uses the whole range of her voice. It runs from breathing as a rhythmic effect, through husky jazz vocals and scatting, passionate strident shrieking to the penetrating high frequency kulning which is liable to appear in any of her performing contexts" -Andrew Cronshaw, Folk Roots

 

Terje Isungset is a Norwegian musician (primarily as a percussionist) and composer. From his background in jazz and Scandinavian music, he has designed musical instruments from non-traditional materials including ice.

Terje Isungset is one of Europe’s most accomplished and innovative percussionists. With over two decades experience in jazz and Scandinavian music he is taking these types of music far beyond their traditional boundaries, becoming more like a cross between a sound artist and a shaman. Crafting his own instruments from Norwegian natural elements such as arctic birch, granite, slate, sheep bells and even ice, he is highly recommended to those sensible to the poetry and simplicity of sounds.  "Timbres" and "colours" are central in Terje Isungsets music and compositions. In the press, his work has often been described as innovative, visual, energetic, and different from any previously known concepts. He has been given the Norwegian awards Jazz musician of the year and composer of the year

Isungset augmented his loose-tuned drum kit with an assortment of stones, pieces of wood and bones to create whispers, moans and squelches that, though warm-hearted, had the underlying menace of a malevolent forest spirit.  His joy in discovering new musical sounds by scraping, shaking and tapping what comes to hand was palpable.

Financial Times

 

 

« The Secret of Harmony » (Georgia, Moldov, Latvia)

 

We all want to be happy in this world. This is the disposition which unites the mankind, and this tendency can not be bind with country of origin, geographical location or historical development.

Musicians from the participating countries will share their musical visions and interpretations, creating multimedia performance with the elements of dance, visual effects, video design, the play of lights.

The musical story will be told in three different interpretations, which in diverse ways will reveal our divine humanity – “The secret of Harmony”.

TSH is a joint project between Latvian, Georgian, Moldavian musicians and dancers, and this possibility is ensured by collaboration of Latvian, German, Estonian, Moldavian and Georgian concert organizations.

 

 

TRIGON (Moldov)

 

 TRIGON is an ethno- jazz band from Moldova. The group was created in 1992 and debuted at the Chişinău Jazz Festival in 1993. It originally consisted of the band leader Anatol Ştefăneţ (viola), Sergiu Testemiţeanu (bass-guitar) and Oleg Baltaga (drums). Anatol Ştefăneţ born into a traditional lautari family is known for his virtuoso viola skills, especially its Moldovan traditional version, the "bratsch". His solos are featured on several other albums and projects, including the "Black Sea Orchestra" and the "Lăutari".

Trigon released their first CD "Moldavian Wedding in Jazz" in France (SILEX) and immediately received the French music award "Grand Prix du Disc". Their second album, "Oglinda" was released in Germany (Jaro). During 1996-1999 the group toured Europe and the ex-USSR countries extensively always to a critical acclaim.

The latest incarnation of the band includes Anatol Ştefăneţ (alt), Dorel Burlacu (keyboards), Valentin Boghean (sax) and Garri Tverdohleb (percussion).

"Trigon's style encompasses elements of folk, jazz, rock and symphonic music. Brilliant improvisations and a keen understanding of musical forms characterize their jazz compositions. Trigon is undoubtedly a phenomenon in modern jazz music in its highest intellectual expression." (L.Osipova, Vice-president of the Russian Composers Union)

 

 

Valts Puce and  Orchestra (Latvia)

 

In Latvia, Valts Pūce is famous for his unique ability to combine the substance and stylistic nuances of academic, folk, and rock music, thus providing an opportunity for modern people living in highly urbanized environments to become acquainted with extraordinarily diverse and deeply human qualities.

In his vital, philosophically poetic, dramatically refined, and playful arrangements of folk music, the composer has revealed a deep understanding of traditional Latvian culture.

 

 

The Shin (Georgia)

 

The Shin is at the moment internationally most acclaimed Georgian world-jazz band. After successful performance at the WOMEX showcase in 2006, The Shin brought they programme to enthusiastic audiences more than in 30 countries. The Shin musicians Zaza Miminoshvili (guitar), Zurab Gagnidze (bass, vocals) and Mamuka Gaganidze (vocals, percussion), who live for several years in Germany, belong to Georgian music elite. They have been scripted works for productions at the Tbilisi State Theatre and for numerous film, television, and radio projects in Georgia and around the world. In 2009 The Shin became the winner of the Creole World-Music National Competition in Germany.

 

 

 

Documentaries

 

Calypso@Dirty Jim's 

Direction: Pascale Obolo

Producer: Maturity Music Limited&Dynamo Production

2005

 

Calypso is the soul of Trinidad. For the past three centuries the storytellers are the
« chantwell » of the Creole world. Improvising and « extempo-ing », revolted through their poetry against any kind of censorship, the calypsonians tell stories of slavery, freedom, war and everyday life... emphasising of course for love, with a high dose of humour and sex. Captivating melodies and timeless hits, their rhythms free the bodies of the audience who sings with them the joy and drama of the journey of these Caribbean nations.
« Calypso @ Dirty Jim »s” tell the story of the reconciliation with this generation of artists in the heart of the “Calypso City” and on stage at the infamous « Dirty Jim's Swizzle Club » duly re-encacted for the needs of
this movie.
In Port of Spain, the Calypsonians are getting older and older but their energy is intact. As their voices, « golden voices », full of « soul » and tropical heat !
In a studio, the last grand master came back to sing Calypso classics such as « Rhum and Coca Cola », « Jean & Dinah », « Shame & Scandal in the Family », backed by the musicians of the era of the Dirty Jim. During these exceptional sessions, the singers talk about the beginning of their career, their bohemian life, and the harsh competition to become the King.
Filmed around the Carnival ceremonies, which take over the street with Soca sound-systems, this musical documentary – colourful and moving – is a sensible and original evocation of the Golden age of Calypso.

 

 

Nomadak TX               

 

Tx is an abbreviation for txalaparta. A musical instrument made of wooden beams and played by two people who strike out the rhythm alternately. It is unique in the world, in it’s shape and in the way it is played, and is closely linked to the Basque cultural identity.

During their project, “Nömadak Tx” two txalaparta players – Harkaitz Mtnez. De San Vicente and Igor Otxoa, have traveled a great deal with their instrument – a focus for exchange and dialogue. They have met nomadic people and musicians from Sahara, Lapland, India and Mongolia. As a result of these travels, they have compiled bewitching visual and musical material with a clear objective: sharing this music, these sounds, these images, these experiences. The result is a documentary film called “Nömadak Tx”, which has received awards at the most important festivals all over the world.