4TheRcrd Mag.

The Balkans: “The area was known as a crossroads of various cultures. It has been a juncture between the Latin and Greek bodies of the Roman Empire, the destination of a massive influx of pagan Slavs, an area where Orthodox and Catholic Christianity met, as well as the meeting point between Islam and Christianity…

Through its history many other ethnic groups with their own languages lived in the area, among them Celts, Illyrians, Romans, Avars, Vlachs, Germans and various Germanic tribes.” - Wikipedia

Balkan is therefore quite an apt name for this …group, Balkan Beat Box. It seems far too limiting to refer to them merely as a musical group. Music is their tool, but their mission is to create “a new musical breed that surpasses old borders of reality” . The music they create is a mash of as many different cultural forms that they can find, from all over the mediterranean, from New York city to the far east of asia, they intend to “erase political borders,” their philosophy being that “our ears don’t have them, why should we?”

They describe their performance as a “semi circus” involving “many disciplines”. You can even watch videos of their lively performances and see for yourself the diversity of their music. It sounds at parts like you could be walking through a middle eastern market from some time in the past, until a new sound from somewhere else is introduced, creating a unique and lively effect.

Y-NET, New York describes their performance as “a circus with local and international talents, an event with a delirious effect on the mind.”

Now here’s the best part: Balkan Beat Box is scheduled to perform at UBC’s very own Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, on Saturday March 1, 2008. The event is co-presented by the Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad and Chutzpah! The Lisa Nemetz International Showcase of Jewish Performing Arts.

If you are interested in attending, you can grab some tickets by calling the Chutzpah! Box Office at:604.257.5145, or you can pick them up from the Chan Centre Ticket Office in person.

I personally plan on attending, so if you can’t make it yourself, you can keep an eye out for my review to come post-performance.

Peace!

IMAGE CREDIT: HERE.