Barcelona Gipsy balKan Orchestra

Barcelona Gipsy Klezmer Orchestra
Barcelona Gipsy Klezmer Orchestra
	Barcelona Gipsy Klezmer Orchestra and Jordi Oliver Barcelona Gipsy Klezmer Orchestra and Jordi Oliver
Background information
Origin	Barcelona, Spain
Genres	Balkan; Klezmer; Jazz Manouche;
Years active	2012-present
Labels	Satélite K
Members	Robindro Nikolić; Mattia Schirosa; Ivan Kovačević; Julien Chanal; Stelios Togias; Sandra Sangiao;
Website	Official website

Barcelona Gipsy Klezmer Orchestra (BGKO) is a band that was created in 2012 in Barcelona, Spain. The band's style of music has many influences including: Klezmer music, Jazz Manouche and Roma music; but it also explores the sounds of some Eastern European regions. BGKO's music has also drawn inspiration from Barcelona's musical scene as well as from Catalonia, other regions of South America, and the Middle East.

History

The permanent members of BGKO are clarinetist Robindro Nikolić (Serbia/India), accordionist Mattia Schirosa (Italy), double bassist Ivan Kovačević (Serbia), guitarist Julien Chanal (France), percussionist Stelios Togias (Greece) and vocalist Sandra Sangiao (Catalonia). However, BGKO is a big family formed by nomad musicians, which is why the band keeps the influences from the various artists that have been a part of it.

The origins of this group go back to the spring of 2012, when eleven musicians gathered in Barcelona to celebrate the International Romani Day. Some of them had already met at various jam sessions, especially at El Arco de la Virgen, while others met at other venues of Barcelona's musical scene.

File:Balkan Reunion en la Sala Apolo.jpg

Balkan Reunion at Sala Apolo (March 2015) // Jordi Oliver

In 2013, Barcelona Gipsy Klezmer Orchestra auto-published its first album, Imbarca, which was re-released one year later with the discographic Satélite K with three new songs: Hasta Siempre, Comandante, Cigani Ljubiat Pesnji and La dama d'Aragó. After joining Satélite K in 2014, BGKO played on tours around Italy, Greece, Malta, Serbia, Slovenia, Germany and France, in concerts and festivals in Spain and at the Auditorium of Barcelona. Currently, it's one of the musical groups with more international repercussion in Barcelona.

The group hosted the Balkan Reunion in March 2015, a concert that brought together numerous celebrities of the Balkan music scene from all of Europe, like the Macedonian saxophonist King Ferus Mustafov (referent from the East Gipsy music), Vlado Kreslin (known by his collaborations with R.E.M.) and the Turkish singer Nihan Devecioglu. Around 1,300 people attended the concert, which took place at sala Apolo. BGKO's second disk, which germinated from this Balkan encounter, will be available for purchase in September, 2015. Throughout 2015, the band has played—or will play—in Granada, Málaga, Palau de la Música Catalana, Ireland, the Netherlands, France, Austria, Switzerland, Serbia, Germany and Istanbul.

Its version of Djelem Djelem, the international Gipsy hymn, has received more than 1,400,000 views on YouTube.

During the spring of 2015, BGKO began a management and booking collaboration with Diggers Music.

Discography

Imbarca (2014)

Songs

Hévenu Shalom Aléchem (Traditional Jewish / arr. Robindro Nikolić) (2014)
Djelem Djelem (Traditional Romani / lyrics Žarko Jovanović) (2014)
Hasta Siempre, Comandante (Carlos Puebla / a la BGKO) (2014)
He thought he was Italian (Stelios Togias) (2014)
Kus Kus (Julien Chanal) (2014)
La dama d'Aragó (Traditional Catalan / a la BGKO) (2014)
Hana'ava Babanot (Israel dance / arr. Robindro Nikolić) (2014)
Dance of Joy (R. Pansera / a la Klezmer) (2014)
Ederlezi (Traditional Romani) (2014)
Ot Azoy (Traditional Klezmer) (2014)

External links