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ILÆY is a singer, songwriter, producer and voice-over artist. Born in Turkey, now based in Prague and Berlin, she represents a thrilling intersection of Avant-pop and Turkish folk music narrated by an alluring voice. She puts together various cultural influences in her dramatic aural stew and her densely layered music.

Her musical journey started during her childhood and evolved to a full passion for stage. During her short solo carrier she has played several important live performances incl. famous Glastonbury Festival. She has won several singing and jazz competitions, including the Istanbul Culture and Arts Foundation (IKSV) Young Jazz Competition — twice and also she got into the finals of 1Band2Play organised by Full Moon Magazine in the Czech Republic in 2020.

With full scholarships for Musical Theatre programs of the New York Film Academy and the American Musical and Dramatic Academy ILÆY has done Turkish voice-overs in Disney, Hasbro Studios, DreamWorks and Netflix productions and voiced characters who originally featured Jessie J, Gloria Estefan, Phillipa Soo, Gillian Anderson— to name just a few.

ILÆY is currently preparing for the release of her highly anticipated debut album. It is a deep exploration of the concept of identity and the ways in which it manifeststhrough music. The album promises to be a compelling and thought-provoking addition to ILÆY’s growing body of work.

Ankara, Istanbul, Prague and Berlin, the four cities ILÆY has lived in, take part in the transcendent combination of Trip-hop, Avant-Pop and Turkish Folk in her new original solo project.

PAST PERFORMANCES:

Glastonbury Festival 2023, Karneval Der Kulturen Berlin 2023, PIN Music Conference Skopje 2023, Kansai Music Conference Japan, Istanbul Jazz Festival, Colour Meeting Festival, Mladí ladí jazz Festival Prague,

PRESS:

“ILÆY gives the songs an otherworldly atmosphere and tension, which just adds to the combination of Turkish Folk, Space Rock, House, and Trip Hop – to namecheck just a few influences. ILÆY’s emotional and expressive voice will hypnotize you. Prague by way of Ankara, her layered synths and samples is a world where Europe meets Asia and the result is musically transcendent.”
— Rick Manore (CPop Gallery, Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts · Detroit)

Prag’ta iki Türk müzisyen: Blackloud ve ILÆY (Posta.com/TR)

Yeni teklisi “Kızıl Çimen”i dinleyicilerle buluşturan ILÆY ile bir röportaj(Bikuble.com)

Ankara konserinin tadı damağımda kaldı (Hurriyet.com.tr)


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Sam Lee (UK), 11.10.2022, Prague, Kasárna Karlín. More info and tickets HERE.

 

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Tim Eriksen unites a mastery of traditional American and world folk styles with innovative arrangement, original and experimental music. “One of the best singers in music” according to producer T Bone Burnett, he has contributed extensively to films including Cold Mountain, for which he worked closely with Jack White, Ralph Stanley and Nicole Kidman, and his song I Wish The Wars Were All Over was chosen by Joan Baez to be her final recorded musical statement. His singing and storytelling, alternately heart breaking and hilarious, showcase his ability to bring a rare depth of musical and emotional experience even to those who are completely new to his “hardcore Americana” and world music sound.

A multi-instrumentalist whose performances typically include banjo, fiddle, guitar, bajo sexto (Mexican twelve string bass) and kaval (Balkan end blown flute), Eriksen’s influences range from the American folksong canon and “shape-note” music to Ottoman-era Balkan love songs and otherworldly indie folk. His theater and dance collaborations have included live original music for Minnesota Dance Theater (“In The Shadow Of The Mountain,” 2006), Nimbus Dance (“Hollow Square,” 2019) and the play “Refugee” by Milan Dragicevich (2017-2019). He has performed his ongoing “Pumpkintown,” magic lantern musical theater from an imaginary village, at venues including Harvard University, Dartmouth College, Occidental College, Theatre
Thenardier (Paris), Konstepidemin (Gothenburg) and throughout the UK and US.

Eriksen’s primary musical training was in South Indian classical music, and he holds a Ph.D. in ethnomusicology, but he cut his teeth playing punk, world and indie rock in seminal bands including Cordelia’s Dad (post-punk and folk) and Žabe I Babe (Bosnian folk and rock). He has recorded with artists including Afro Cuban pianist Omar Sosa (on the twice Grammy nominated Across the Divide), English fiddle legend Eliza Carthy, and in composer Evan Chambers’ symphonic song cycle The Old Burying Ground. His recent and upcoming work includes a second collaboration with Omar Sosa, collaboration with legendary producer Joe Boyd (Nick Drake, Pink Floyd) and a posthumous recording project with Esma Redžepova, “the queen of Gypsy music.” With his longtime involvement in Sacred Harp or “shape-note” singing he has helped spearhead an international revival of the music, teaching workshops across North America, Europe and as far abroad as Singapore. Eriksen’s media appearances have included Prairie Home Companion, Mountain Stage and the Academy Awards, and he
has been called the only performer to have shared a stage with both Kurt Cobain and Doc Watson.

TICKETS: https://goout.net/en/concerts/tim-eriksen/wsyhf/+wovnp/

www.youtube.com/user/batfancy
www.timeriksenmusic.com
www.facebook.com/timeriksenmusic

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 After passing the bless on latest album, in 2019 Darla Smoking presened their new album “Extinct”, dedicated to all the wanishing live on our planet. “Extinct” will try to awake and remind again that the battles against extinction from some decades ago are still there and haven’t been getting any attention and help in solving the situations. We still have Native Americans without their prairie, Tibetian people being forced to become Chinese, Maori and Aborigini tribes drowning in the big city’s slums, massacre in Amazonia and the last sheppard in Bulgaria who is being sucked into globalisation. It goes all the way to the plastic soundscape under the Arctic sea. All in all the new album will spit out the dying screams and helpless anger while we all quietly watch the world blow in our faces. Extinct is the new dead.

Darla Smoking is a Slovenian duo of crazed cats, Brgs and Nac, who seriously shook the Slovenian grounds with the release of “Big Bug” on Kapa Records in 2017. Darla mixes various influences and sounds, including field recordings from various parts of the world, which Nac then carefully electronically processes. Brgs on the other hand provides a constant drum drive, combined with extensive use of modular synthesizers. Their sound is therefore extremely multifaceted, with the most dominant elements of world or ethno music, dub and psychedelia, but their music reaches and goes far beyond just these genres. Album Extinct is supported with live visuals on concerts by Atlas Skull who is part of Darla’s visual message from the beginning. 

A post-everything cacophony of brilliance that barges into your brain and forces your limbs to dance. It’s dub music for rockers, punk music for the electro generation, world music for the outcasts and night owls. Few bands ever get close to creating such a hedonistic, seductive racket, but that’s because few bands are like Darla Smoking.” Europavox.com

“Incredibly interesting, unusual, challenging and fresh album” Rockline.si

“The Big Bug album is proof that people who rush through life often overlook the unique moments which make this world so beautiful” RockOnNet webzine

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The Carioca-Japanese-Portuguese-Italian songwriter, Luiz Murá, was born in one of the paradise cities in the world Rio de Janeiro, Luiz always had been close to a musical atmosphere. Hearing samba on the bars and streets together with by his multicultural family. One Japanese grandfather born in Peru, another Portuguese grandfather from Madeira Portugal. One Grandmother from Brazilian-Japanese Family and the other Brazilian-Sicilian-Calabrese family. Mixing music and cultures have been going on since before he was born.

Luiz Murá left Brazil with the dream of finding music cultural connections between Brazil and other a countries around the world. It was on the Mediterranean Barcelona, that he met the Italian violinist Agostino Aragno, Desirée Miras from Spain, the contrabassist Ernesto Vargas from Mexico and the drummer Gloria Maurel from Barcelona. They all found the perfect environment to put at test their dreams: Moroccan gimbris, Italian singers, Flamenco dancers, Brazilian sambistas, Irish fiddles, Senegalese djembes, Russian bayans, Mexican mariachis and Romenian gypsies were unconsciously performing the same song, with a new sound and flavour. That became the core of MiraMundo’s path. Connecting Cultures that seem different through music.

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“Invisible World“ is based at the jazz crossroad where East European, Balkan and Mediterranean influences merge and set off in new directions. The band is led by Czech bassist Tomáš Liška, a prolific musician of many ideas and projects, joined by Turkish violinist Efe Turumtay, Serbian accordionist Nikola Zarić and Moravian drummer Kamil Slezák. Tomáš Liška met all of them in the course of his musical journey around the world, while tirelessly searching for fascinating interactions between instruments and cultures which would enthrall both him and his audiences. The foursome’s join approach is not based on individual exhibitions, but rather on a philosophy where music is a crystalline medium which irradiates a rich palette of emotional hues. These are inspired by strong melodies which are adorned by a subtle and seemingly effortless lacework of improvisation.

Invisible World have been awarded the Audience Award of the Ostrava Music Crossroads 2017 music conference.  In 2018 reached nomination for the Czech “Grammy” award Ceny Anděl in category Jazz & Blues. In 2020 released their second album “Hope” which has won the Ceny Anděl award as The Best 2020 Czech Jazz Album. The band have performed at world music & jazz festivals and venues across Europe, Africa, United Kingdom and Japan including WOMEX Gran Canaria 2018.

PRESS

A sophisticated blend of New and Old World influences, including Turkish violin, Balkan accordion and a pinch of tango nuevo. The result leaves as much space for listeners as for the musicians. A great opportunity for music adventurers.”
(Petr Dorůžka, world music journalist & explorer)

Eastern European flavours with a Parisian jazz air.” 4*/5
(Tom Newell, Songlines, December 2017)


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Between New Orleans street brass band and mini-big fairground band, common jazz combo and bunch of mimes and circus clowns, the Sergent Pépère are something unique. With their shimmering rhythms and charming ingenuity the band mixes balkan, gypsy and oriental tunes with jazz, chanson, latin, folk and circus music. But what makes their show so irresistible event is their kind- hearted human humour, which is easy comprehensible for an audience of all kinds, nationalities and ages. Indoor or outdoor, across France and Europe, Sergent Pépère has been giving happiness and pleasure to children and grown up for more than 10 years now.

The Sergent Pépère was born in 1998 in French/Bretagne city of Rennes. The band started as a part of street theater Arpion Celeste and lately has morphed to the regular band. Members of the band are experienced both as actors and musicians of many musical styles. On their concerts these musicians are able as well to make their audience twitching with an incredible deal of energy as to smoothly embark them to the road of an intoxicating imaginary folklore. On stage or on streets the Sergent Pepere tumbles and sets the tone!

Selected performances:
Francophilles, Terre-Neuvas, Coup de chauffe, Jazz a la Villette, Jazz en Touraine, Les Fondus du Macadam, Paleo Festival, Colours of Ostrava, Folk Holidays festival and many more… + touring United Kingdom, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Spain.

Press quotes:
Wild Polka, bohemian jazz, oriental group… The Sergent Pépère’s mix is astonish! Ouest- France

There is the Sergent Pépère, and the show goes on with their delirious musical show with its mimes, acrobatic gags with 6 cranks outfitted kind of serbo-croatian middle age style! ( Lester Bowie’s brass band is not so far): a real success! Jazz Hot

With this psyche name, a crazy and coloured direction, and a singular instrumentation, Sergent Pépère is remarkable in the middle of the happy brass bands. Precise, falsely chaotic, their music blows and tinkles with class and impudence, with simple fancy. Not folk: but rare; I said! Radio Ceros

The 6 musicians, or I should say “the folklorico-mobil disarming commando” as they call themselves, proposed some jazz, gipsy songs, ouzbeks, latino with casualness. Good mood for sure! La Montagne


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Sometimes you listen to a band and say to yourself – that would be great to work with such amazing artist… yep, as you wish, here you go! We are happy to announce ORKESTA MENDOZA, hot and intriguing band from Tucson, USA, is a new member of our family. Check out the band’s profile HERE.

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“Orkesta Mendoza is one of the best live bands out there. Their music delves into a myriad of directions, rhythms and moods, big band orchestrations mixed with lo fi electronica, vocals en Español together with moving instrumentals.” — Joey Burns, Calexico

Something is stirring in downtown Tucson. That’s no great surprise perhaps: Calexico have been sending out missives from the desert for 20 years now, Giant Sand for even longer than that, and the Green on Red revival is surely overdue. These three giants of American popular music ask questions of the form, chiefly because of where they are situated. Let us remind ourselves that this isn’t a big city in the American sense (it’s the country’s 33rd largest), but that its hinterland is indeed as big as it gets. For an hour south, Mexico starts. And this is where things get interesting.

Born in Nogales, Arizona, raised in Nogales, Sonora, multi-instrumentalist and band-leader Sergio Mendoza grew up listening to the Mexican regional styles jostling for headspace in a young, music- mad mind – cumbia mainly, but mambo, rancheras and mariachi too. The border is always a fierce arena of exchange, both commercial and cultural, and so there was American music too. At one point ‘rock and roll, the classics’, as Mendoza himself deadpans, seemed to win out and he stopped playing those ‘Latin styles’ for a good decade and a half.

The return to those sounds was a strong one in 2012’s Mambo Mexicano, co-produced by Mendoza and Joey Burns of Calexico – a band for which Mendoza has become an increasingly integral touring and recording member. While that record had a studied air, tentative in parts (as befits the renewal of an old love affair), ¡Vamos A Guarachar!, released on 7 October 2016 by prestigious Glitterbeat Rec., is another beast entirely: by turns raucous (‘Cumbia Volcadora’, featuring Mexican electronic pioneer Camilo Lara), tender (‘Misterio’, surely Salvador Duran’s finest moment with the band so far) and plain serious fun, as in ‘Contra La Marea’ and ‘Mapache’, it also bears a robust electronic edge, a keen pop sensibility and all the hallmarks of Mendoza’s love of 60s rock, with the closing track, ‘Shadows of the Mind’, sure to be included if anyone decides to update the Nuggets collection for the 21st century. This is roundabout way of saying that it appears to have everything, but never too much of anything. Focused, fierce and beautifully executed by a superbly drilled set of musicians, it is a record that fully matches the band’s explosive live performances.

Nogales, Sonora, Nogales, Arizona: this is what the border looks like here – for now. To talk about borders and the diasporas they create, is to be pitched headlong into our era’s most urgent debate, marked by Trump’s lurid obscenities and the lines being hastily reinstated across Europe. Orkesta Mendoza’s contribution to that debate is to show us what the border sounds like and what masterpieces can be achieved by honest cultural exchange. What we decide to do with that information is up to us. With this record, however, we’ll have an awful lot of fun deciding.

You could, of course, take the trip to Tucson yourself, to the home of this essential set of field recordings. The scene hangs out together, so … if the stars align and their frantic tour schedules permit, you might see any number of folks from Calexico, Giant Sand or up-and-coming cumbia rockers XIXA deep in conversation somewhere in town with a quiet young man in black. That’s Sergio. Right now, in this endless game of Tucson tag, Orkesta Mendoza are IT.

PRESS

“Mixing 60s rock styles with traditional Latin stompers, the US-Mexicanband are both experimental and rousing.” – The Guardian

“A sunny-side-up mix of cumbia, mambo, indie and electronica… If you think Latin American music tends towards the formula, try this out for size.” — fRoots

Sergio Mendoza is probably my favourite musician of this time. He has the cumbia and mambo in his DNA, but he has the power to make it sound like today. His Orkesta is as punk as the Sex Pistols and as violent as Perez Prado” — Camilo Lara, Mexican Institute of Sound

 


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TERNE ČHAVE are considered as probably the oldest working and definitely one of the most famous Roma (Gypsy) bands in the Czech Republic. The band is renowned for their distinctive sound blending Central European traditional gypsy music with funk, rock, soul, ska, jazz, blues and other influences. Many years ago these musicians have stood on their own feet and crossed borders of Roma ghetto. Bringing their gadjo friends as musicians among themselves they set out into the big world. Touring Europe from Czech Republic and Slovakia via Poland, Hungary, Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Benelux, England to Scotland, wherever they go people are dancing.

Today Terne Čhave are band without ethnic or genre limits but their gypsy roots give them a solid base for musical trips to destinations too distant for many others. The band doesn’t fuss about style too much and you will have no time to think about it too because much of their songs are played with devil’s tempo. But in case you wouldn’t sleep this off we can reveal that this is the real gypsy rock’n’roll or … It’s only Rom’n’Roll!!!


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