Östblocket

It's taken a while, but now the voluptuous attractions of the odd-numbered time signatures and improvising possibilities of Balkan and other East European music (and also the similarly liberating, and to some extent related, delights of Middle Eastern music), and the high, exciting skill involved, are proving as enticing to many musicians outside those regions as the syncopation and freedom of jazz did for their parents and grandparents' generations. The music that is emerging sometimes sticks close to its traditional sources, but more often incorporates them with the musicians' own musical perceptions to spark tangents and departures, a genetic shuffling and re-energising that seems to be evolving a wave of strong new music in Europe and beyond. And the excitement about these exotic musics involves an admiration and seeking-out of music and musicians, and can undoubtedly help break down and humanise perceptions of the rich variety of people arriving in western Europe from the east. Eleven-piece Östblocket's music isn't Balkan clonery but a distinctive new mix with a strong influence of the forms, language and oompah bounce of klezmer, even in the Rom and original material. Carving its own path with confidence and style, it's snappy and excellently played, a powerful, well-recorded and varied sound from a five-piece brass section, sax, accordion, percussion and drums, with violinist and composer of much of the material Filip Runesson doubling on oud, santur and mandola. No string bass; in the style of Serbian and Macedonian brass bands the bottom end is handled by tuba and euphonium. About half the tracks are songs, featuring vocals by Sofia Berg-Böhm in Yiddish and other languages that are as impressive as is the band itself. Swedish rapper Timbuktu guests effectively, as do Bulgarian accordionist Plamen Dimitrov and a Swedish choir. Smart stuff, and in an ingeniously designed package. – Vocals: Sofia Berg-Böhm Trumpet: Mathias Gunnarsson Trumpet: Anders Wallseth Euphonium: Erik Axelsson Trombone/tenorhorn: Fredrik Månsson Tuba: Klas Ottosson Accordion: Johan Ohlsson Violin: Filip Runesson Percussion: Daniel Pergament-Persson Drums/percussion: Patrik Trankéll