Instrumental, other languages
International relevance:
**
Orientexpressen may not be the most imaginative name (meaning, as easily guessed, ”the Orient express”), but it gives as rough although not perfectly accurate idea of what they sound like. Founded in 1975, they've made quite a few albums over the years with members coming and going. For this debut album they consisted of one Turkish born flute and darbouka player and five members Sweden born and bred, of which several also played with Södra Bergens Balalaikor. Add to that two guest singers. They performed traditional music from Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Serbia and the Balkans, a mix that was far from unique in those days. ”Orientexpressen” isn't as good as the less authentic but marvellous Ramlösa Kvällar but much better than the unsatisfactory and polite Radio Balkan. Performances are passionate, and the music has that certain rawness I want from recordings such as this.
The instruments are of course adequate to the music, upright bass, accordeon, fiddle, flutes from near and far, tamboura, clarinet, gajda (bagpipe)... Not to mention the thunderous drum sound of tapan and darbouka. There can never be enough of thunderous darbouka!
All in all, a convincing debut from this long standing band.
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