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There’s a connection between the musical history of the Mediterranean that can’t be explained through academia alone. It’s an expression of simultaneous grief and celebration that trespasses cultures and generations; and demands to be felt, or even better, danced, to be understood. The same spirit weaves Rebetiko from the ashes of the Ottoman empire to the heavy Hafla soundtracks on the Koliphone label in ‘70s Jaffa, or rebellious Turkish psychedelic music to the first generation of surf guitarist migrants in America. It's an infectious feeling that travelled and evolved wherever it was called, and that passion is embodied in “Back to the Taverna”, the new album by Berlin based bouzouki quintet, Cherry Bandora.
On the milestone of their third release, original members Liad Vanounou (Bouzouki) and Lorena Atrakci (Vocals) have bolstered their sound with longtime friends and collaborators Moshe ‘Moosh’ Lahav on Keyboards and flute, Tamir ‘Hassan’ Chen on Bass and Nimrod Lieberman on Drums to create an album celebrating the ecstasy of being able to drink and perform together again, freed from the anathema of the last years. The band has evolved considerably since their beginnings ten years ago as an Agean-influenced part of the local Balkan Swing scene; the most significant addition being the deployment of “The Hardest Working Man in Tropical Music” Alex Figueira as musical director for this album. His scorched fingerprints are unmissable throughout the extended psychedelic breakdowns and percussive overdubs that make “Back to the Taverna” such a dynamic offering.
Cherry Bandora have always been a very personal band; collecting songs from nearby cultures and history and blending them into their own experience by developing new arrangements or lyrics, just as musicians from those times would have. Lorena delights in expressing herself away from her mother tongue or providing modern lyrics for an updated feeling, as she does to the beloved Turkish standard, “Rampi Rampi”. In this interpretation she uses her native Hebrew in a saucy lockdown-delivery-guy romance... This track also features Barış Öner from local Turkish rock band Kara Delik on his signature flanging Saz.
Singing in Greek, English, Turkish and Hebrew was also a natural choice on the album, representing the “multikulti” area of Berlin that the band lives and records in. These languages would all be heard on the street as they walked to record in the analog Studio Wong in Kreuzberg.
“As descendants of Mizrahi Jews (Jewish migrants from non-European countries), growing up listening both to Beatles and Umm Kulthum, playing in jazz music departments in high school, and now living in Kruezkölln, we basically pay tribute and revive this shared heritage in the context of the global music scene of today” says Lorena.
The opening track, The Sound Of Baglama, is an interpretation of the anthemic Vasilis Tsitsanis homage to the tavernas and sweethearts of Thessaloniki. It lays the ground for what to expect from Cherry Bandora’s exceptional live performances, featuring effortless switch-ups between surf rock choruses and laid-back verses dipping into Persian disco funk. This song will be accompanied by a tour-collage “found footage” style film clip in production at this time.
Cherry Bandoras show their dedication to the bit with a rousing English version of the canonical rembetiko tune Dimitroula Mou. This amour song, popular with generations of female singers, is accompanied by real studio plate smashing, a ritual which sealed theirfinal session for the album.
2 bonus tracks are included on the digital release, both a little more raw from the band’s home studio: the reeling dervish Rubi Rubi (which will be released as a second single with a video clip) and the emotionally dense and hypnotic slow burner Esý.
The album will be released digitally and on vinyl as a collaboration between Rebel Up Records (Belgium) and Rumi Sounds (Berlin) on Friday 3 november 2023 and is a prime example of what a raunchy, open minded and tireless bouzouki band can do as they hit their prime.
An extensive highlighted review will appear in Songlines magazine #135 December issue and the track ‘Benimde Canım Var’ will be featured on their free compilation. Also radio play on Radio Campus France playlist (allover) during November and December.
Collaboration between Rebel Up Records & Rumi Sounds.
credits
released November 3, 2023
Recorded, Mixed and Mastered at Studio Wong*
Recording Engineers Olli Wong, Dennis Kern
Mix: Andi Bukelini
Mastering: Dennis Kern
Musical director, Percussion**: Alex Figueira
Cover Artwork: Anna Dotan
*Except for tracks 9 & 10, recorded at Solarium Studio
Esý mixed by Alex Figueira
Rubi Rubi mixed by Liad Vanounou at Sabot Studio
**Recorded at Heat Too Hot Studio
Cherry Bandora wishes to thank Olli, Andi and Dennis at Studio Wong, Alex Figueira, Seb of RebelUp, Erbatur and Julia of Rumi Sounds, Solarium, Sabot Studio and Trickster, Barış, Tino, Matan, Anna, Moni, Regina, Moody, Chrysanthi, Dimitra, Kami, Yaeli, Ilia, Eric, Wuzi, our families, friends and fans, the grand masters Grazia, Levitros, Aris San, Stelios Kazantsidis, Vasillis Tsitsanis, Roza Eshkenazy and many more....
Supported by Initiative Musik gGmbH with project funds from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media
Cherry Bandora is a jewish oriental princess.
This underground bellydancer found her golden band playing the squares and markets of Berlin, reviving 50’ and 60’ mediterranean classics with surf rock influences.
supported by 10 fans who also own “Back To The Taverna”
Every track is Anatolian fire. If you’ve arrived here by chance, it’s not by chance. You were destined to discover the ecstatic psychedelic joy of this record and to snap it up before the last 11 are sold Gareth Fitzpatrick
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