Drunken Balordi interview 2009

Drunken Balordi are a relatively new band that we are itching to have on stage at Nazdrove. If you have a thirst for something that smashes Punk, Gypsy and folk together, then you need look no further. Definitely an East meets West soundclash vibe going on here!!! Read on….  

Can you give us a history of the band. 

(When did you form, who is in the band, how did you all meet up, international mix of members?)

I left Dublin in 2000 to go busking around Europe and settled in Bologna, Italy for 7 years. There I played in punk bands and then I moved to London to make a name for myself after that. After searching for 6 months I gave up the quest of looking for a great band to join as all the live acts I saw were boring, unenergetic and basically passionless live, so I decided I would start my own.  I formed Drunken Balordi just over a year and a half ago, but 'what style of band would I form'? 

Well, it all came about after I saw the film 'Everything is Illuminated', and even though it is a great film it was the Eastern European soundtrack which moved me more than anything. The music was so tragic, passionate and at the same time very lively and festive. So I thought this is the music I wanted to make and I would mix it with my punk roots.

The hard bit was finding the right players, cause when I found a few people they thought I was bonkers and that it would not work! ha ha ha

Then things got better when Clemens (Violin), found my advert on Gumtree even though he was living in Germany at the time, and had been looking for the right band to join for 5 or 6 months. So he come over for an audition, I played him some of my songs and then he moved to London! Clemens had been playing in bands that made Klezmer (Jewish) music, so he was perfect. Then one evening in the pub after rehearsal we were discussing about trying to find a drummer and this long haired hippy named Pag (Drums) overheard our conversation at the bar. He said that he could play drums so we gave him a try out and he was great. They we started looking for a bass player and I remember meeting this guy called Justin (Bass) from South Africa at a party a few months earlier who was already in a band but by the time I went looking for him he left that band and joined us. Then came the really hard part ...finding an accordion player!

Thats when kathy (Accordion) answered our advert. She said that she was just interested in a try out, and she said she would stick with us just for our first gig at the famous 100 Club in Oxford St. but she was hooked after that! ha ha ha 

You've been together for such a short time and achieved quite alot on the touring front. What has been some of your favourite festivals and club nights to play at? 

The 100 Club was special as it was our first gig and it's got so much punk history, and it was the first time all our friends saw us perform this music style! 

Supporting Shane McGowan and The Popes at The Pogues After Party after the Pogues xmas gig in Brixton Academy. That night we hammered it and won over not only the crowd but also won the heart of The Popes manager Adrian Smith from 7 Music and shortly after he left them to manage us full time and since became a very close friend.

Playing the Eden Festival in Scotland, jesus, they went nuts for us and would not let us off the stage until we did two encores!

The Roots Festival in Norway when we played with The Levellers,..we and all our friends who came along too were treated like kings.

You also played a few dates in NYC, especially at the legendary Menhatana Bar. How was that?

Yeah, New York what can I say, they love us over there. We did a few dates in NYC, this summer to test out our music on the other side of the pond. We played the underground world party venue EastREV in Brooklyn, was great, we even caused a mini riot between the Ecuadorian homies, I think they couldn't take all the energy that we were dishing out. 

And then, ... there is the Menhanata bar in Lower East Manhattan h ah ha ha. We were asked to play from 10pm till 11pm on a Saturday night but the place didn't fill up until we were half way through the set. Then all of a sudden the place got rammed packed and the people were going crazy for us, and the next thing I see ADI our manager trying to push through the crowd to tell me that the owner of the place changed his mind and said we can play as long as we want!    

DJ Misto even played two of our tracks back to back 4 times in a row at the end of the night, i couldn't believe it.

It's a great bar with two floors and an Ice cage where you can drink as much vodka as you like for 10 minutes for $10!!! Have I got some stories for you about that night! h ahhaa  

You've certainly been busy for a band without an album out yet. I do hear of something forthcoming from you. Can you tell us about your upcoming album and about some of your songs? (what have you got to say)

Yeah, we are almost finished making the debut album now. We are working with Andy (Ex drummer of StereoLab) from Press Play Studios. He is the engineer and producer. I have played a 5 string banjo, Nashville tuned acoustic guitar for extra depth and texture,and we also have brass and many other surprises on the album! Its sounding great! I'm not gonna say anymore, you will have to wait and listen for yourselves. 

Your vocals have been compared to Joe Strummer? Is that a compliment or a misdirected comparison? (Whats influenced your vocal style) 

Ahhh, the late great Joe Strummer... yep he was the man. I love it when people come up to me after a gig and say that my voice reminds them of Joe, it's happened quiet a few times. I love the Clash, so it is a great compliment! 

Some bands wear their influences on their sleeves. Would you say this is the case with DB. I hear Pogues meets Gogol thrown about quite a bit in regards to your band. Is this a fair or clumsy description and what would you say has influenced DB?

I am not afraid to wear my influence on my sleeve cause it's honest. Gogol were a starting point for me as The Sex Pistols were for The Clash.  The Clash used The Pistols as a reference point but don't sound like The Sex Pistols, and its the same with Drunken Balordi we have similarities but we are way more punk. Eugene (Gogol) is great, he is a gypsy but I am a punk.

My main influences are The Clash for Joe's energy and drive, The Pogues for Shane's lyrics, again both frontmen were honest and lived what they sang ..and that is the big secret in a great band. Again, these frontmen would not be so great without a great band behind them. 

Gypsy music is pretty trendy at the moment. What would you say to the critics who say you are jumping on the Gogol band wagon? 

Honestly, I used to get pissed off, but now I just laugh cause it's like saying Megadeth jumped on the band wagon of Black Sabbath or Metallica!

Come on, there are a million bands in each genre. I think Gogol are great, don't get me wrong but we are different, it's just the critics dont know anyone else in this genre, for example there is Kultur Shock from the states (whom we supported recently at the Underworld in Camden) who are going just as long as Gogol. Then you have Leningrad who are probably my favourite. Check them out! 

What has also been your favourite and worst music press description of your band?

We have not have had a bad review yet, thank god! The best review was probably by DJ Misto after we played the Mehanata bar in NYC this summer, he said great things about us.

You use the term Gypsy punk. What does it mean to you?  Can you play it without being a Gypsy or is it just a form of music? 

It's a phrase coined by Eugene (lead man Gogol), he used to describe his sound. I think its great, it was where we started from as we are a young band, but we have already changed the description of our music as we are already changing musically. We are World Punk now cause we are mixing alot of different music together. You can play any style of music without actually being from that background. Of course, it helps if you do come from that background.

Can there be only one Gypsy Punk band or is there a scene?

There can be many, why not. There really is a big gypsy scene happening, and it's not going to go away either. It's still quiet underground, as it is not mainstream, not yet anyway. 

A lot more people are becoming aware of the scene, as like with cinema for example, people are tired of Hollywood and are opening their mind to world films and new cultures which opens the door to new music and new artists around the world. The world is getting smaller and it's not about being a big commercially marketed band anymore. It's all about.. the best band to make the best party! 

Drunken Balordi are rising so fast it's scary, and I guess it's because our music creates a party no matter how big or small the stage or venue is. It's honest music with honest lyrics about most of my life's experiences, be it heartache, love or just going crazy. You can see the pattern here, there is always high emotion and energy. That is the secret! 

I hear of punk, folk and festival roots within the band? 

(I take it this has a big influence on DB's music and outlook? Could you explain a little about what you've brought from those scenes into DB?)

Again, it's the whole band really, Clemens for the Klezmer and Classical, Kathy for the Traditional, Justin for the Rock n Roll, Pag for his crazy Slayer meets Country and myself the punk. It's a mad mix but it works. 

There has been a long history of Irish punk folk in the UK. Where does DB fit in with that. Are there other bands you recognise or tip the hat to?

I am an Irish man living in London mixing punk with folk, so it's got to be Shane McGowan and The Pogues.

But then again, you seem to hold a great fascination for Eastern Europe which people proclaim it to be the new 'wild west'? What pulls you there and what experiences have you had there?

That is a good description of it, the wild west, yeah! I have been to Sziget Festival before and loved it. I hope we get to play there next year!

Would you say the hearts and minds of these Isles are moving away from Americana to the unchartered territory of the East?

Yeah sure, you can see it even on a lot of peoples facebook or myspace pages! There is so much music, art and literature which has not been discovered in these parts. It's exciting and it's all out there for you to discover at your own leisure , without some supermarket ramming it down your throat.

Have you played Sziget festival yet? What other places would you love to play?

 We want to play many many festivals, but I like the club night like Cafe Cairo nights,Stranger Than paradise and Balkan Beats London, all these guys really know how to throw a good party. When we played Balkan Beats London there were 450 people bouncing to our music like lunatics earlier this year. Check out these places. Crazy times!

What bands are you raving about within the Gypsy Balkan diaspora?

There are some great great Roma/Gypsy bands out there like Taraf de Haidouks, Fanfare Ciocarilia, Kocani Orkestar, Emir Kusturica and the no smoking orchestra, which reminds me, check out the composer Goran Bregovic he is great, check out the music he did for the film Black cat White cat, great stuff.

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Are there any bands you would like to do a project with or work with?

There are many many, where do I start, do you have to time for me to list them all?

Any bands in London that we should be looking out for?

Yeah, there is one actually, you might know them! Does the name Drunken Balordi ring any bells???

Finally let us know your plans for 2010?

Well first, finish the album early January with a bang, and then a punishing tour throughout most of 2010 and hit many festivals and places throughout Europe and also a mini tour of the east coast of the US! Watch out we are bringing the party to your town. OPA !!!

THANKS FOR THE INTERVIEW.

Thank you

Russen Disko Yuriy Gurzhy interview 2009

Yuriy Gurzhy is part of the amazing Russen Disko party crew outta Berlin. Responsible for serious party times in the Kreuzberg area of the capital and a successful compilation series documenting their club nights; Thus enabling us to sample those crucial tunes coming out of the East. Not content with one of the most buzzing nights in Berlin, they release the aforementioned compilation CDs, write books and articles, operate a radio show called Radio Multi Kulti, play in bands such as Rotfront and produce and remix music for other performers .... phew!

There is no denying the influence that Russen Disko has on NaZdrove. Along with Gypsy and Balkanic diaspora musical influences on our night, RD provides another crucial element of our sound, giving us the Eastern vibe with a healthy dose of ska, reggae and alround baro sound. We wanted to find out more from these eclectic inspirational impresarios ...if you do too, then read on!!!!

Obviously Russen Disko didn't start as soon you guys both moved to Berlin. How did you and Wladimir link up and what you were both up to before RD?

Russen Disko started about two or three years after my arrival in Berlin. Wladimir and I met at a gig of a band I had joined. Wladimir also knew the guys in the band and they had invited him to film the concert. He was the only friend of theirs that had a video camera. The following day we went to his place to watch the video and I saw that he had a huge tape collection. I borrowed some of his tapes and I returned a couple of days later with some Ukrainian music he had never heard before. That was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

I hear that you debuted at the ‘Red October’ Night. Can you tell us a little about that night and also the influence of the emigre community on RD.

It was the anniversary e posters advertising the event and suddenly 300 people turned up. Most of them Germans. That was cool. 

Capital cities by their nature are cosmopolitan. There’s a growing Russoeast Euro community in Berlin. Was this a pulling factor for you to move there? 

The Russian Diaspora was ABSOLUTELY NOT THE FACTOR! We’ve never wanted to throw ‘Ghetto’ - parties ‘for Russians only’. That would have been so saaaad!!! The Russian parties are nostalgic events, like dancing to the cheapest worst sounding pop-music you can (YOU CAN’T) imagine. We wanted to expose the music we loved to the people of Berlin. Whoever would be interested.

We gather this night led to you guys to continue DJing and a long time association with Kaffe Burger.

Yes that’s right. Kaffe Burger was about to re-open after 20 years and the new owners happened to have visited our party. So they approached us right there and asked whether we considered doing RussenDisko regularly in the new place they were about to open. 

Can you tell the readers about a typical RD evening at KB?

We come in around 10pm and start spinning and drinking. People come, drink, dig the music and at some point , usually around midnight no one can sit anymore and everyone dances wherever there’s enough space.

Can you  also explain how you build up a night musically. I guess there’s a mixture of fast and slow music and a fairly wide mixture of styles? 

That’s right. But we have no plan. It’s totally improvised

Is the image of RD as important as the music?

Music IS the image, in a way :)

You’ve been playing out for over 10 years now.

Oh fuck, yes..... 

Has the crowd changed in that time?

I’ve no idea ... It’s still a very wild mix ... you can meet your grandpa dancing to Russian dancehall with some Japanese tourists!!!

How has the reception to the music you play changed. Was there a ‘What the fuck is this’ reaction at first or did you have an understanding crowd straight from the start?

There’s still quite a number of people with that attitude, man! Most of the crowd is understanding and very adventurous. I love them for that!

But 10 years is quite a long time. Are you still getting a buzz when you play them at Kaffe Burger?

Well, it depends on the reaction of the crowd I guess .... every time people on the dance floor get excited, I get excited too.

What are some of your favourite songs to play at RD?

Well, my top 5 changes every week.

The East is so big!!! How do you find out about all these amazing bands? 

Well, in all these years we became actually friends with a lot of these bands so they keep us updates. I also read alot of music blogs and check out regularly hundreds of MP3s.

Are there any new bands that we should look out for?

Sure! Always! Check out the new record of PERKABALA and also the hilarious band SELO & LUDY who are from my hometown of Harkiv. Oh yeah also UKRAINIA, A Canadian - Ukrainian band, these guys ROCK!! Also NAYEKHOVICHI are great and the only Klezmer punk band in the world. The only one that matters anyway!

While some of the bands you have featured on the compilations have played traditional folk (albeit the Eastern Europe

Yes, that’s a natural process. The history of music is all about mixing. Hardly any music exists without incorporating elements from what’s happening around.

You’ve just toured with Rotfront and as Russen Disko DJ. How would you compare the reception to your DJing on tour to playing at home at KB?

It’s like going out with a wife - compared to the first date with a girl you just met. Ha! Ha!

You have just played at St. Pauli which has a football club well known for its antifascist following?

Yeah, St-Pauli is a district of Hamburg. But we are 100% antifa, of course.

The compilation CDs you’ve released have been pretty astounding. Tell us about the label.

At some point, after the first two Russen Disko comps, we realised that no record label would want to do as much as we had been planning ... so we decided to start our own label.

Which CDs were you most excited to release. Any upcoming releases?

My personal favourite is our latest release, Ukraine Do Amerika. It’s a great compilation. The sound is fantastic and I’m very fond of the artwork Alex Cuccumberass did together with Dimitri Kireev - these guys are amazing! There are no plans for the next releases however. We are closing RussenDisko Records as none of us has neither the time nor experience to run a record label the way it should be done. But the new compilations will still come.

Regarding your band Rotfront. You’ve listed reggae, Punk, ska, Zieguner as influences as well as Boney M, Taraf and The Clash. That’s quite a mix!!

All the music my friend Simon from Hungary and I have been enjoying through our lives directly influences Rotfront. Everything’s allowed. My first music guru was my granddad Boris Rivkin. As a boy he was playing the violin and wanted to become a professional musician, but during World War II his violin was stolen and after 1945 he became ... a dentist. But he wasve been grooving to since I was 2, 3 years old. From him I’ve heard things like Barry Sisters, or the Beatles but also some German Disco like Boney M or Dschinghis Khan - that was my favourite music when I was 4 or 5.

Shetl Superstars Orchestra is a band you do with Lemez Lovas from Oi Va Voi. How did you hook up with Lemez?

Lemez contacted me years ago and invited Rotfront to play in London. Back then no one actually knew the band. Even in Berlin there was like 20 or 30 people in the audience. We also would have had to go to Dusseldorf to get visas at the English Embassy - the whole idea of going to London seemed totally unreal ... I’d spent half an hour on the phone trying to talk Lemez out of it ... but he was persistent. So we went there, and had a great gig and dj’ed together with Lem and a couple of years later we’ve put out a compilation together. it’s called Shetl Superstars - funky jewish sounds from around the world. And while working on it, we actually recorded some songs together as we both deeply respect each other’s stuff. I’m a fan of Lemez’ Oi Va Voi songs and he’s been a fan of RussenDisko and Rotfront.

Is it essentially you two with guest musicians?

Yeah, it’s us with Yaniv Fridel, who’s producing the album together with Lemez in London. And we are inviting our friends to sing some songs. The first album was a compilation and we will release our first ‘real’ album soon which will be called “Shengen Visa Wedding”. It’s a concept album. I would even call it a modern musical - a love story of two immigrants who are involved in various ‘not-so-kosher’ business ... they travel around the world, with many adventures, and find each other in te end ... I hope...

I was surprised to see that you were credited for ‘Disko Boy’ on Shantel’s Disko Partizani LP?

I have a deep respect towards Shantel. He’s also a good friend. He mailed me that instrumental track and asked whether I would write some lyrics for it. I listened to it a couple of times, loved it alot and had all the lyrics pretty fast. The musical inspiration was a song of Barry Sisters and lyrically it was pretty much something coming directly from my observations as a DJ. A guy too shy to impress a girl ... happens all the time.

Who else have you written for? You’ve done some remixes - I’m thinking Alec Kopyt and the AMSTERDAM KLEZMER BAND amongst others?

Alec Kopyt is a legendary legend. He’s the greatest!! A friend, a mentor, an inspiration. I’ve produced a track of his forich.

Ok, finally, what release can we expect from you in the future?

There’s a new compilation we’ve been working on lately with Lemez Lovas - ‘Godfathers of Jewish Funk’. As for RussenDisko - We’re gonna release a new compilation this year, pretty different from what we’ve done before. The ROTFRONT LP ‘Emigranski Raggamuffin’ came out this year and as I said before the ‘Shengen Visa Wedding’ LP will be out this year as well.

DEATHRAY TREBUCHAY Nazzine No.1 2007

East London's Death Ray Trebuchay bring many ingredients to the mix. They hit you in the head when they summersault between Balkan Brass Jazzy Punk blasts and samba surf ska melees. It's all punked up into a big band assault even though there are only six members in the band. They blitzed the Nazdrove crowd this summer with a deranged set of punked out brass, even more so when they pulled out a Kalashnikov cover!!! Scary face masks abounded to only add to their frenetic live performance. Certainly a band that you can't resist dancing to.

Could you tell us a little about the band's sound? There's quite a few things going on there. Tell us what went into that mix and which influences came to dominate?

I guess that the Balkan brass sound is the biggest influence, but it’s mixed up with quite a lot of other stuff... especially hardcore punk and experimental music.

Tell us about the band members, your musical roots and how you came together?

I always loved the sound of Balkan brass, but the idea for the band came after traveling to the Guca trumpet festival in Serbia. I don’t know if you have heard of it but it’s totally amazing, there’s about 150,000 people there and all the music is Balkan brass. They all go apeshit! I came back and decided to put together a band, then spent 6 months going to gigs and asking round to find the right people. I came from a classical background but most of the other dudes are hardcore jazz players.

You've played mostly in London. Tell us a bit about what's going on there. What club nights have you played and are pretty happening at the moment?

The best nights we have played have been at Shunt, you should check out shunt.co.uk is being closed soon, so go down when you can! The entrance to the club is an anonymous looking door in London Bridge Train station. You step through and into another world… 

You've also played a few festivals. Which have been your faves?

Secret Garden was amazing, they put so much detail into what they do. Glastonbury of course, and the Glade was cool as well. Bestival was good apart from the fact that the Sugarhill Gang’s tour bus crashed into our van.

Without wanting to pigeonhole things, would you say there a sorta Balkany punky ska style diy scene forming or would you say things are a lot more fluid or looser than that?

Sort of, in a way I think it is just this country catching up with what has been going on in the continent for years. I don’t know if I would put us with that scene though, there are a lot of differences. All the music is written out and then memorised for one thing.

Is there something behind the music? A message and ethos? What are you trying to say as well as play?

Enjoy yourself.

I heard something about a new record. Do you want to tell us something about that? Title?Label? Songs? Artwork?

We have got our first single coming out on Feb. the 2nd, produced by Seb Rochford from Polar Bear. The man’s some sort of genius. The tracks are Number 6 and I’m Gonna Kick You In the Ass.

Any tours or gigs to support the release of that? And what festivals are you hoping to hit next year?

We are doing some gigs with Acoustic Ladyland that may form into a mini-tour, check out the myspace for details, it’s myspace.com/deathrayband. We will probably do a few less festivals this year, we did about 20 festival gigs last summer and at the end I was about ready to eat my own head if I saw another pieminister. I think Secret Garden and Glastonbury are going to be for certain though.

Cheers Dudes,

Llywelyn 

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