We all know that Brooklyn is a place where all crazy ideas will find its place and that there is no limit on how creative one can get in order to live up to the legacy of this great borough. Here the true meaning of the “melting pot” comes alive and it manifests itself in every form and shape. Only in Brooklyn you can have two distant cultures collide and interact with each other and form a perfect artistic balance at the same time. This is exactly whats going to happen at Warsaw Ballroom on Sunday, November 17 at 6.00 p.m. A roots of world music concert event presented by Gram-X Promotions will feature the Grammy nominated Slavic etno/folk and Jamaican roots reggae on one stage during one evening. It might sound crazy but craziness is what Brooklyn is all about and this particular gig looks up to be an extravagant one. The Grammy Nominated Warsaw Village Band has performed in over forty countries around the world since the release of their first album. They have been awarded the BBC Radio 3 World Music Award, topped the European charts, won countless numbers of festivals and magazine awards and now they are coming to Brooklyn to enrich peoples musical senses and spirits with their Slavic roots music and original style. The New York Times has boldly praised the group in a “This is the Sound of Globalisation” publication which said: “Traditional Polish songs, with their cutting vocals and meshed fiddles are the foundation of Warsaw Village Band’s repertory. But while their line-up is primarily acoustic – hand drums, hammered dilcimer, violins, cello – their sensibilities are modern. They hear dance -club drive and trancey echoes in the songs and they use recording studio techniques to heighten the central drones and eerie percussive sounds in their songs. Hints of reggae and guests like a scratching disc jockey should further infuriate purists”
It is true and whats also worth mentioning is a fact that their original sound comes from medieval instruments rarely used these days which gives the spectators a unique chance to actually experience their sound played together and remixed with modern vibrations of ambient, reggae and electronica. Warsaw Village Band really does represent the sound of globalization but so do other artist that will be performing that night. The balance to the slavic folk experience will be even out by the amazing Jamaican roots reggae line up. Ras Emmanuel is a four time NJ reggae award winner and has also claimed the reggae artist of the year and reggae song of the year awards. He will be accompanied by Ras I Ras who has been a part of reggae bands such Addis Ababa, Dread Lions, Steppin Razor and primarily The Easy Star All-Stars with whom he performed throughout Europe, Canada, South America, Asia and Africa. Ras I Ray is also credited with starting the Until That Day movement. The final rasta-love message will be send out to the people by the lovely female reggae-artist Cindy Simeon.
Does that sound extravagant enough ? The promoter didn’t think so and to top it off a special showcase performance by the Polish-American Folk Dance Company was added in order to ensure that it will be once in a life time original experience for anyone who decides to attend.
All that in one wild night at a venue famous for breaking cultural and social borders for over one hundred years. Warsaw Ballroom in Greenpoint is a place “where pierogies meet punk” and now it can definitely expand on that as the pierogies will meet reggae live on stage on Sunday, November 17. Sounds Insane ? Welcome to Brooklyn….
The Warsaw Village Band will perform in following line-up:
Magdalena Sobczak Kotnarowska – voice, dulcimer
Sylwia Świątkowska– voice, violin, Płock fiddle
Ewa Wałecka – voice, violin
Piotr Gliński – baraban drum, percussion
Paweł Mazurczak – double bass
Maciej Szajkowski – polish frame drum, percussion
Mariusz Dziurawiec – soundmaster
Miłosz Gawryłkiewicz – trumpet
Get your ticket today on the Gram-X Promotions!
Official website of the Warsaw Village Band
