Womad

Paprika Balkanicus

Hot and fiery 'masters of good atmosphere'

Sometimes a bad translation can throw up a bon mot more felicitous than any dictionary, and so it is with Paprika Balkanicus whose website offers the wonderfully apt description 'masters of good atmosphere'. Hailing from Romania, Serbia and Slovenia, they play a hot and fiery blend of traditional and gypsy music from the Balkans and Eastern Europe that fully justifies their spicy name. With violinist Bogdan Vacarescu creating breathtaking melodies that range from the silkily smooth to the impossibly furious, Jozef Secnik on bass and Vlad Jocic on guitar provide an intriguing harmonic foundation of frequently odd rhythms with unpredictably riotous solo eruptions. Meanwhile, the accordionists Milos Milivojevic and Zivorad Nikolic do the wild gypsy fling with abandon. They've recently recorded their debut album in London but it's their electrifying live shows that have earned them their place this weekend as masters of good atmosphere, partying like a Balkan storm. Or something like that.

Biog by Nigel Williamson