Go east young man

“Go west young man… “ - a line we all know from western movies, when the old miner gives a piece of advice to a young cowboy…

Well, these Balkan cowboys decided to go east and dug for “musical gold” in the traditions of lands somewhere between India and their homes. The three musicians and friends have admired each other’s craft for quite some time until the opportune moment appeared in the form of a 2010 summer music festival and a few available days for recording.

The cumulative musical knowledge of these high profile artists is truly versatile and vast. Deeply rooted in their native traditions (Greek, Turkish, Kurdish, Macedonian) with a broad understanding of jazz and avant-garde improvisation heritage and constant curiosity about World music (most notably India, Samoa and Africa)their shows are sensitive, sensual yet often filled with bursts of energy. They radiate original, unique, yet familiar rays of sound.

Izzet Kizil was born in Diyarbakir, Turkey. Having developed his own highly individual style featuring rhythmic elements of Western, Eastern and Middle East/Anatolian musical traditions, he became one of the leading darbuka artists of his native country. His many projects have included collaborations with Butch Morris & Nublu Orchestra, Ilhan Ersahin & Istanbul Sessions, Theodosii Spassov & Balkan Winds, Natasha Atlas, Tarkan, Göksel Baktagir, Istanbul Sazendeleri, while he has recorded on hundreds of albums.

Kostas Theodorou has been an active member of the Greek music scene since the early 1980s when he moved to Thessaloniki from his home village in northern Greece after abandoning school at the early age of 16 in order to devote his life to music. Later, he travelled throughout Europe for several years in a mobile home playing music on the street. A self-taught musician, his home is filled with hundreds of instruments of all sorts from all over the world. Kostas is a true multi-instrumentalist who built his reputation as a composer, percussionist and bassist. He has released albums with Primavera en Salonico, Theodosii Spassov and with his own quartet.

This one is the latest of their musical adventures... GO EAST