thu 28/03/2024

Fanfare Ciocârlia vs Boban Marcovic - Balkan Brass Battle, The Dome, Brighton | reviews, news & interviews

Fanfare Ciocârlia vs Boban Marcovic - Balkan Brass Battle, The Dome, Brighton

Fanfare Ciocârlia vs Boban Marcovic - Balkan Brass Battle, The Dome, Brighton

No ballads, no pauses, just sheer demented energy

Balkan brass bands Fanfare Ciocârlia and Boban Marcovic prepare to whip up a musical storm

Subtlety is overrated. I've always thought so. Critical consensus too often rates nuanced, emasculated emoting over music that smashes you over the head with an iron bar. From hardcore punk to gabber to speed metal to the sort of dubstep that sounds like four-storey bass bins begging for mercy, music that's ballistic doesn't leave room for quibbling. You're either on the bus or you can piss off and listen to Bon Iver in your bedroom.

Subtlety is overrated. I've always thought so. Critical consensus too often rates nuanced, emasculated emoting over music that smashes you over the head with an iron bar. From hardcore punk to gabber to speed metal to the sort of dubstep that sounds like four-storey bass bins begging for mercy, music that's ballistic doesn't leave room for quibbling. You're either on the bus or you can piss off and listen to Bon Iver in your bedroom.

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Drat - I'm so sorry I missed this (though with four operas on the trot I guess I needed a night off). Was introduced to Boban Markovic and his Orkestar by two Austrian friends who've been to Gucar twice, and found the complex rhythms of some of the numbers unbelievably sophisticated. Sounds amazing, but can you reassure me it wasn't amplified? That's what stopped me going to such things after I heard the likes of Ivo Papasov and Taraf de Haidouks miked to buggery.

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