Ethnomechanica World Music Festival
September 25-27, 2009
Sergey Kuryokhin Contemporary Art Center

International World Music Festival “Ethnomechanica”, the project of Sergey Kuryokhin Charity Foundation, first took place at Sergey Kuryokhin Contemporary Art Center in 2008 and immediately became the significant event in Saint Petersburg’s life. During four days, both stages of Sergey Kuryokhin Contemporary Art Center saw a lot of interesting national and international projects in world music style: Orange Blossom, Alamaailman Vasarat, Psoy Korolenko, Zdob si Zdub, Iva Nova, Serebryannaya Svadba, Ptitsa Tyloburdo, Belorybitsa, Namgar, General Levy, Jacky Murda, Tibetan Buddhist monks from India, and many others.

Carrying on the SKIF festival traditions, “Ethnomechanica” familiarizes its audience with original musicians, welcoming experiment and synthesis in arts. The festival keeps on extending its national and musical geography. “Ethnomechanica” perfectly combines Altai throat singing kai and Sami throat singing yoik, Siberian rock and French hip-hop, jouhikko and shopping trolley, Balkan beat and baile-funk, cumbia and Uzbek pop.

This year the following musicians will perform at the festival: Mari Boine and the band (Norway), Alexander Balanescu & Evelina Petrova duo (UK/Russia), La Caution (France), Filastine (USA), Jouhiorkesteri (Finland), Debruit (France), Troitsa (Belarus), DakhaBrakha (Ukraine), Gurzuf (Belarus), Inna Zhelannaya (Russia), balkanXpress (Germany/Bulgaria), Obmorok Imama (Uzbekistan/SPb), Sonido Del Principe (The Netherlands), Cheinesh and Maria Stepanova (Altay/Moscow), Velena (SPb), Testo (SPb), Otava Yo (SPb), Tamara Soundsystem (Odessa), Hidden Tribe (SPb), Bugotak (Novosibirsk), Asfaltal da kosmasas (Finland/Russia), Peterburgska Roma (SPb), Sanya Ezhov (SPb), DJ DenisRubin(SPb), VJ Anima (SPb). Besides the musical program, the festival will embrace the world cinema, workshops and dances.

September, 25th the festival will be opened with the performance by the ethno-trio “Troitsa” (Belarus) on the main stage. Collectors of Belarussian folklore use about 20 instruments of different countries. The next in the program, Inna Zhelannya is by right called the best Russian singer in world fusion music style. She has still been working with Russian folk material, but she has chosen another area. That time her music gains a progressive electronic temper with expressive nuances of psychedelic and trance. The most-awaiting performer of the evening is the universally known singer from Norway, Mari Boine. Her music unites Sami throat singing, yoik with jazz, rock, electronics and improvisation. In the foyer this evening there will be Siberian ethno-rocker Bugotak; Altai throat singer Cheinesh in a team with Maria Stepanova who will be creating the animation on the sand to the accompaniment of her singing; Uzbek merry fellows “Obmorok Imama” and ethno-electronic musicians “Hidden Tribe”.

This year there is a new thing at the festival, the dance-oriented night program. Hip-hop, afrobeat, digital cumbia, grime, oriental tunes, Balkan beat, jungle, baile-funk are just half the story about the music that will make people dance.

The night of 25/26 September will start with the performance by the cult Parisian hip-hop group “La Caution”. Three MC and the DJ artfully mix French hip-hop with Arab tunes and electro, these experiments lead to the new sounding. Another outstanding artist is Filastine. He promises to blow the dancefloor up with a mix of hip-hop, jungle, oriental tunes, French and Spanish rhymes, dancehall, Indian songs and countless trends from all over the world. His instrument is the shopping trolley stuffed with electronics and acoustic percussion. Another Parisian genius is Debruit, producer, DJ, instrumentalist, vocalist, who mixes in his music sounds of Congolese drums with electro and hip-hop, introducing into the electronic a spirit of Muslim bazaars and narrow streets of Tunisia. The night is crowned with magical sounds of digital cumbia by Sonido Del Principe. The most fashionable Argentina dance has made its way to the Western Europe, and Russia with no doubt will become the next country to be conquered. While music caresses the ears, belly (and other body parts’) dances will cheer the eyes up.But that’s not all! In the chillout zone there will be workshops on harp performing and Altay throat singing; and cinemas of the former SU republics will be shown.

September, 26th evening at the main concert hall will start by the concert of the Finnish quartet “Jouhiorkesteri” virtuously playing the ancient instrument made of horsehair, jouhikko. The night of virtuous performers will go on with a duo of our fellow countrywoman, the pride of the modern Russian music, accordionist Evelyn Petrova and the violinist of Romanian descent Alexander Balanescu. “Balanescu Quartet”’s leader, a musician of genius, irreproachable improviser and incredibly inventive composer, Alexander Balanescu is one of the most original and unpredictable musicians of our time. Next on the stage, Ukrainians “DakhaBrakha” use Indian tabla, Buddhist gong, violoncello, maracas, Russian rattles, accordion in performing folk songs with heathen, shaman frenzy, mixing trance and psychodelic rock with hip-hop and… African rhymes. As for Belarussian duo “Gurzuf”, the hard rock reefs interlace there with folk and classical music. There are only two instruments, accordion and drum, sounding so powerful, as if it was an orchestra.

At the foyer stage there are two premieres that night: two St. Petersburg groups, “Velena” and “Testo”, performing Russian folk mixed with modern electronics. “Asfaltal da kosmasas” is a Finnish-Russian project, where an ancient Finno-Ugric tradition, Arab and Indian traditional music, Afro-American rhymes, Jamaican dub found inspiration in our city. For those who are tormented by nostalgia, “Otava Yo” will perform Soviet hits, such as “Riorita”, “'The blue globe spins and whirls”, “lezginka” and many others in a folk arrangement. Sanya Ezhov (bayanist of “La Minor” band) will sing for you chastushki, and all the fans of folk poetry are invited to sing along with him. The night’s surprise is the ensemble “Peterburgska Roma” with repertoire of traditional and contemporary Gypsy folklore accompanied by the Gypsy band and tap dances with colorful and stirring show.

The night program of 26/27 September promises active dances till the morning, because the DJ desk will be under control of Kosta Kostov and his “BalkanXpress” along with “Tamara Soundsystem” from Odessa and DJ DenisRubin. BalkanXpress party is very popular one, organized by Kosta at Cologne club Gebaude 9. Kosta mixes rhythms of traditional Balkan music with drum’n’bass, breakbeat, and, not limited by any geographic territory, adds to his sets some oriental music, cumbia, baile-funk etc. “Tamara Soundsystem” mixes Odessa’s klezmer, Ukrainian and Moldavian music with videocollages composed from home wedding archives and turbofolk videoclips. “Peterburgska Roma” adds spectacularity to the show’s visual part.

For those who are tired of music and dances there will be the possibility to take a rest in the chillout and to watch there the masterpieces of the the world cinema.

Visual accompaniment to both days will be created by VJ Anima.

On September, 27th there will be two film premiers in Russia - “Favela on Blast” from Brazil and “Kuduro – fire in the neighbourhood” from Portugal, both about new music styles, coming from the poor neigbourhoods in third world countries, and becoming a trand in the world .“Favela on Blast” shows the culture surrounding “Funk Carioca” or baile funk, a musical rhythm that mixes the American electronic funk of the 1980’s with the most diverse influences of Brazilian music. It is one of the most interesting musical movements in the world, and it comes from one of the most violent and poorest places too: the slums of Rio de Janeiro. The similar story is told in «Kuduro – Fogo no Museke» (Kuduro - Fire in the Neighbourhood). It’s about music that grew out of the musseques, the crowded neighborhoods in Luanda, that sprung up during the war where cement block houses stand wall to wall, bursting with kids and restless youth – the new generation of Angola. The novo urban beat driving kurduro sounds like rap but is said to be a mixture of kizomba and techno, complete with its own dance movements. Kuduro is controversial and dynamic and has even been dubbed as the up-and -coming, hip new music on the international music scene.

The Festival “Ethnomechanica” is held with the support of the Saint Petersburg Committee of Culture, Institut Francais, Culturesfrance, The Finnish Institute in Saint Petersburg, ESEK fund (Finland), Sapmi musikk (Norway), Musikk Finnmark.

Myspace: www.myspace.com/ethnomechanica

From Ethnomechanica-2008