What people search:
 | Title : Balamouk
Author : Les Yeux Noirs
Release Date : 20020611
Binding : Audio CD
Regular Price : $16.98
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Editorial Reviews :
The relationship between Eastern European gypsy music and Yiddish klezmer has always been slightly mysterious. As traditional 'outsiders' to Christian village culture, both gypsy and Jewish musicians earned a living in the preindustrial past by integrating local melodies with whatever else was in vogue for weddings, banquets, and other celebrations. The result was plenty of stylistic cross-fertilization, though the particulars are lost to history. According to the French-based ensemble Les Yeux Noirs, however, the paths of the gypsies and the klezmorim don't merely cross; the two groups walk in one another's footprints. So if 'Tchaye' simultaneously resembles a Spanish flamenco, Balkan hora, Yiddish freylekh, and Middle Eastern belly dance, the genre confusion fuels the fun. Classically trained violinists Eric and Olivier Slabiak founded Les Yeux Noirs (the name comes from a Django Reinhardt tune, 'Black Eyes') after falling in love with the music of the Jewish diaspora and all its far-flung influences. The band matches the mind-boggling precision of its performances with the deepest soul. 'Trionica' overlaps accordion and cimbalom melodies, while Pascal Rondeau flings off French gypsy-jazz guitar chords in a driving hailstorm of notes. 'Guene Roma' adds a tuba to the acoustic mix, while 'Joc de Loop' knocks the traditional melody for a loop with swing-style, cross-cultural controlled pandemonium. Vocals worthy of a cantor on 'Liebkeit' ('tenderness') boost the pleasure quotient another couple of notches on a disc already saturated with satisfying style. Although Balamouk is Romanian for 'house of fools,' the band shell is clearly populated with musical wiseacres. --Bob Tarte
Buyer Reviews :
It is playing right now in the background, while I am writing these words, as I have just returned from Les Yeux Noirs' concert. I want to cry, to shout, to scream, to dance, to die, to live - is it love? This music carries your soul down to the depth of your blood, and believe me, your blood would boil exstatically as soon as Eric Slabiak touches the tormented strings of his violin... Whoever and whatever you are at this very moment would not matter. Suddenly your knowledge of Roma, Yiddish or Russian manifests itself: you unsuspectedly speak in tongues, sing, and dance as if you had these skills all along.
Blessed is the one whose days start with the sounds of Les Yeux Noirs, and whose days end with their music. The heights of joy and grief are there. And the most sincere love of the band members to the old melodies is transfused into your veins. After all it is love..............
(by Anatole Upart)
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