Fast and furious, fingers flying with a fiery panache, Söndörgő are one of the most exciting bands in Europe. With their signature instrument, the tambura, the band brilliantly combines respect for tradition with a desire to innovate and a fizzing virtuosity. 

For further information, visit www.worldmusic.net/sondorgo

Listening to the band play, you soon hear it’s nothing like traditional violin-led Hungarian music. Söndörgő’s sound is light, springy and delicately plucked. Their signature instrument is the tambura, a mandolin-like instrument, probably of Turkish origin, used by the South Slav (Serbian and Croatian) communities in Hungary.  

The band is made up of three brothers, Áron, Benjamin and Salamon Eredics, plus cousin Dávid Eredics and Attila Buzás, the only non-family member, on bass tambura. Áron Eredics is also part of the band Vujicsics, winners of Hungary’s most prestigious state-sponsored cultural award, the Kossuth Prize, in 2014.
Tamburocket is Söndörgő’s second international release and features revived tunes drawn from the rich Hungarian archives and annals of the countries esteemed song-collectors and musicologists of yore. 

Tracks featured here that were first collected by national hero Béla Bartók include the dance tune ‘Drago Kolo’, played as a duet by Áron and Salamon; ‘Srpski Madjarik’, arranged for the basszprímtambura (alto tambura) and cello tambura and ‘Majka Kceru’, a rather sedate wedding song in its original version but reworked by Söndörgő in a more ferocious rhythm. 

The two melodies from ethnographer Tihamér Vujicsics were both collected by the Drava river, a tributary of the Danube, which marks much of the border between Hungary and Croatia. The opening ‘Jozo’ is a nonsensical love song, with the original Croatian bagpipe part transferred onto the samica, a small, home-made tambura. The closing ‘Kolovoda’ is a dance song for a kolo ring dance, the most popular folkdance of the South Slavs. 
‘Marice’ is a popular Croatian song named after a girl that all the guys lust after, but can’t get. ‘Evo Srcu’ features two slower Serbian melodies from Vojvodina, the northern region of Serbia. ‘Hulusination’ is based on a Macedonian čoček dance tune, but Söndörgő have brought in a sort of Chinese snake-charmer’s pipe called the hulusi (hence the punning title), plus other wind and percussion to create a powerful trance-like track.  

What Söndörgő combine brilliantly is a respect for the traditions, a desire to innovate and a fizzing unstoppable virtuosity. 


Buy Now

Söndörgő: Jozo (taken from the album Tamburocket Hungarian Fireworks)

Andy Grant taught me these three tunes on concertina. Andy played concertina, button accordion and thousands of 78 rpm records - we visited him in Warwick for a tune and session every time we went home to mum’s via Woodenbong. Andy was friend to many folkies, here he is on Walcha Road’s site https://sites.google.com/site/walcharoad/oldtimemusicians#h.sn1km3h4kzbh and at https://images.app.goo.gl/o2mGjt7v1x5XeSQAA

Trip It Lightly - Always Happy - Woodland Flowers

Hanter Dro

Gypsy Lover chronicles the meeting of cultures in music and in marriage; Serbian gypsy violin maestro Branko and English circus performer and accordionist Faith present a beautiful collection of songs combining traditional Balkan sounds with edgy and witty vocals.

For more information, visit www.worldmusic.net/faithibranko

Faith i Branko: Bumbar (taken from the album 'Gypsy Lover')

A three-part tune recorded by Frank Collins in Goulburn NSW in 1960, aged 73. He also recorded a solo fiddle version.

Frank Collins' step dance tune

Varsovienna from concertina player Clem O'Neal collected and played on duet concertina by Richard Evans at Bush Music at Morisset 2016

Put Your Little Foot - Played By Richard Evans

Boventoon - Hanterdro

Sterrekes - Hanterdro

Apeainen

Give Me Wine marks the twentieth anniversary of the legendary guardians of Olah gipsy music, Romano Drom. A national treasure in their Hungarian homeland, this sublime new chapter sees the five-piece band continue to revive the musical traditions of their forebears in new and unexpected ways.

https://worldmusic.net/collections/riverboat-records/products/romano-drom-give-me-wine

Give Me Wine

Romano Drom: Hajdi Phrala

Old and new songs, tunes and stories of the sea and bush. Folklore collected tunes handed on the traditional way from the old bush players on fiddle, concertina and button accordian. I’m a traditional multi-instrumentalist, dance caller and folklore collector, specialising in Australian real old time dances and tunes from Queensland, Balkan and European folk music. Each of the collected tunes I personally learnt from the old musicians.  Original songs about the sea and First Nations people reflect my marine biologist background.Thanks to Kirsten Wortel for additional guitar backing on several original song tracks

Trip It Lightly - Always Happy - Woodland Flowers

MariaZ Traditional Musician

Recent comments

Nastaran Sobari

Related tracks