The Rotating Pan of Dzenana Aganspahic

With Easterndaze, we have travelled across Central and Eastern Europe since 2010 in search of up-and-coming local musicians thanks to whom we learn about the atmosphere and the feelings of post-communist reality of this region, whose part we are as well. The differences between the various countries in this geo-political region, are significant, as well as the parallels. As part of our travels, we have also visited the Balkan region. fter Serbia and Macedonia, we have gone to Bosnia a few weeks ago. When we say Sarajevo, most people imagine the almost cinematic images of the war, which has ravaged this country not even 20 years ago. Life in Sarajevo in 2013 is not so dissimilar to any other city in the region, it is perhaps futile to dwell on the past. We met the student of musicology and musician Dženana Aganspahic in the historical part of the capital Sarajevo, in Baščaršija, surrounded by mosques and tourists. Dženana has learned a traditional Bosnian technique of rotating a pan used for baking bread. This technique was widely practices by women in the villages, who used the pan as a musical instrument. Dženana has performed with tepsija, the pan, at a prestigious experimental event AvantAvantGarde in Cologne in Germany.

Dzenana Aganspahic and her rotating pan - Sarajevo part 1

Imre Kiss grew up in Southern Slovakia. Ever since he was a child, he has been fascinated by music as well as visuals. These two fields merge in his work. As a graphic designer, he has lived and worked in London, currently he moves back and forth between his native Šamorín and Budapešť. In the beginning of October, his album was released by the Budapest-based label Farbwechsel, which has acted as an umbrella for the new wave of electronic producers from Hungary. Kiss´s music alludes to the hypnagogic sonic realms in some way, soaked in lofi nostalgia, a universal and highly personal piece of work.

http://www.rozhlas.cz/radiowave/vychodiska
http://farbwechsel.bandcamp.com/album/imre-kiss-midnight-wave

Imre Kiss´ Midnight Wave

Ken Ganfield came to Prague at the beggining of the nineties and stayed ever since. At the beggining he was mostly active in the english speaking theatre and literature scenes. Today under the moniker Traktor, he releases his recordings of homemade modular synthesis on Soundcloud.

Vychodiska is a regular show on Czech Radio Wave broadcast every Wednesday at 11:20 and 16:20 CET introducing up-and-coming musicians from Central and Eastern Europe.

@traktor
www.wave.cz/vychodiska 
www.easterndaze.net

Riding the modular waves of Ken Ganfield

The Stories From Ferentari
There are two rules in Ferentari. Never reveal your real name or address. Ferentari is an area situated in southwest Bucharest, in its fifth Sector. Historically, it is the first industrial area of the city, which developed in the 19th century. These days, the situation is different. Ferentari is a place most inhabitants of the Romanian capital tend to avoid, a no-man's land, where several characteristics of the postcommunist reality merge – poverty, unemployment, turbocapitalism in its twisted way. The Romanian writer and anthropologist researching the music phenomenon of manele Adrian Schiop, who lived there for several years, captured the genius loci of this area in his latest novel. Manele is a type of music, whose vibrant guise is created in the streets of Ferentari, and which is a de facto sonic “persona non grata”, something alien, “dangerous” and “low-brow”. The majoritarian society, similarly to the phenomenon of manele, displaces the issues of minorities – economical or ethnic.

Adrian Schiop's writing style is thanks to his authentic, naturalistic style sometimes compared to the works of William Burroughs, we can find parallels in Hunter S Thompson's gonzo journalism. Schiop does not observes the phenomena of modern times through the prism of a scholar safe in his ivory tower, but he becomes an active part of occurences he writes about and which he researches. He is fascinated by Roma culture, but it is not only a sign of political correctness of an anthropologist. Soldatii. Poveste din Ferentari is thus a vibrant, autobiographical document of a period and time, of poverty and love, desperation and hope.

www.polirom.ro/catalog/carte/sol…in-ferentar-5159/

04/12/2013 - Adrian Schiop and his Ferentari stories

Utrp3n1 kn1z3t3 St3rn3nh0ch4

Vychodne pobrezie - Nozkar

Underground, women and music in Belgrade

June 2014. We are sitting on a train which has departed Subotica, a picturesque town on the Serbian-Hungarian border. We are heading to Belgrade – the singer and electronic musician Yva, rapper and producer Katie and me. They are currently on tour; apart from them other bands perform too, whose members are predominantly women. It is a coincidence, but in some ways a welcome one. Underground scene is still quite unequal, when it comes to its gender distribution. “In my first songs, I rapped as if I was a man. Back then there were not many girl rappers around.  I struggled to find a rap identity, but I'd always wanted to be a rapper secretly,” says Katie, aka MC Kopy Kat. 

Katie Woznicki comes from the US, her home for several years has been Belgrade. She has various projects, a solo rap guise under the name MC Kopy Kat. “In America when I used to go to shows as a teenager, I would look at the lineup of big festivals, and realise there were all men playing. There´d be maybe one band that would have a girl and she´d be a keyboard player without any creative input. But there´s some kind of revolution of creative women starting to happen. I remember thinking why are there no women performing, women should make music. Why don´t I be the woman who makes music.”

Yva, on the other hand, comes from Belgrade, but for years, has been living in Rome. She has been coming back with an increasing intensity to her birthplace and has an affection for Serbian eclecticism and ironic humour in arts, its contrasts and booming underground music scene. Ironically, one of her biggest hits, Crni Dijamanti, is a cover version of the Serbian turbo-folk star Jasna Milenkovic. Her music project is called Yva and the Toy George.  “Toy George is a groovebox, which is the other part of my band, and actually it is the main part of my band, he does everything and I´m just the singer. But it is a machine, not a man,” she says.

Are women present in Serbia's non-commercial music scene? “There is a lot of female rappers actually. Like Mimi Mercedes, she´s the new queen of rap,” says Yva. “We also have a great band called Za Pokolj Duše, a post-punk band with the greatest singer in the world.” The interview comes to a close and we are nearing our destination, Belgrade. At the end of the week, I meet up with Yva and Katie again, this time in the bustling city centre on the Knez Mihajlova street, where they play another concert at the Jazz Bar. We spend the morning hours in the park before I bid farewell and head over to Budapest. 

http://www.rozhlas.cz/radiowave/vychodiska/_zprava/vychodiska-underground-zeny-a-hudba-v-belehradu--1384503

Yva & Katie

Alexei Borisov is one of the most prominent figures of the Russian music underground. He has been actively involved in music since the 80ties. Originally, he studied history and international relations. He started in the new-wave band CENTER as a guitar player, he also became a member of the band Nochnoi Prospekt or noise and techno project F.R.U.I.T.S. In his solo work, he gravitates towards more radical music forms, experiments with noise and improvised electronics, he was also featured in the documentary Elektro Moskva. Olga Nosova is a few generations younger, she plays drums and sings. They met in Moscow five years ago, and have a collaboration under the name ASTMA.

Astma

Lo/ve - Hey Mother
Space Love - Raven´s Voice
Laura Luna - Oxytocin
Sister Body - Evol of Lluf
Ratkiller - Must Be Love
Martins Rokis - Split
Without Letters - Arch
Budapest Mixtape
S Olbricht & Carla Under Water - Birds
Kokum - Not Social Demons
Gábor Lázár - EP6
Daniel Kordík - Crossroads
Amen Tma - Oculolinctus
Shibuya Motors - Usiku
Dunno Sampler - Heroiny
( AN ) EeL - Holly Erotic Massage - Revitalize
Putopisi - Potop 3
Dedice - Dedice i dame
Aranka Mákos i plaćene daviteljke - Dzinovsko Oko
Raze de Soare - Vis implinit
Yva & Toy George -Crni Dijamanti






Easterndaze Xmas Mixtape 2014

The third part of our Hungarian special will introduce the Budapest based promoter collective Bounce and their label 8ounce. In the last three shows, I´ve tried to select organizers, who despite some musical differences, remain autonomous and uncompromising, when it comes to their activities. Budapest, in spite of its critical political and socio-economic situation, remains surprisingly active when it comes to its music scene, in contrast to let´s say the city´s flagging art scene which is dependent on state subsidies. I met one of Bounce founders Milán Vácz, in one of the few independent galleries in Budapest city centre called Telep. From their promoting activities, the label 8ounce gradually developed, focused on releasing electronic and urban music. Does the current climate influence their activities? “What is taking place here at the moment in politics and economics certainly does not facilitate this, but we are trying to stay independent from both, cover everything from our own money. The issue is, that there is not enough ambitious and resourceful people here who would be willing to invest rather than make money in the early stages,” says Milán Vácz, promoter of the Bounce collective. 

http://8ounce.bandcamp.com/

Astma

vychodiska @@@ Radio Wave

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