You can never seem to get away from Europe these days, and all you seem to hear is how better everyone would be if we drew up the borders, stuck to our own kind and keep each other at arm’s length.
How utterly wonderful it was, then, to hear a genuine melting pot of beautiful, pan-European music, skilfully and lovingly crafted by a troupe of fabulous musicians who hail from all corners of Europe and met in London.
She’Koyokh filled the Peel Centenary Centre with their style of fiery Balkan, Jewish, Eastern European and klezmer music, drawing on music taken from Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldovan influences, with hints and nods to many other European folk styles, such as Breton and Spanish flamenco.
The band consist of Serbian accordion player Zivorad Nikolic, percussionist Christina Borgenstierna who originally hails from Sweden, multi-award winning violinist Meg Hamilton, guitarist Matt Bacon and clarinetist Susi Evans.
They were fronted by the gorgeous, haunting vocals of the highly acclaimed Turkish singer Cigdem Aslan.
The set was made up largely of the band’s latest album, the marvellously-titled ‘Wild Goats And Unmarried Women’, and left the sold-out crowd in awe of the fiery and fiercely passionate music on offer.
The musicianship was a joy to listen to, and the crowd found it impossible to sit and watch, choosing instead to leave their seats and dance.
There was, in a couple of cases, belly dancing. In Peel! You had to be there.
This concert marked the first in the year’s concerts at the Centenary Centre, and there are many more up and coming nights to make note of.
The Scots folk quartet The Poozies are playing on March 12, and the following week there is a hotly-anticipated night with the blues and swing of Si Cranstoun on March 19.
Then there is a performance from the ‘world’s best western swing band’, the Hotclub of Cowtown, all the way from Austin Texas, who are appearing on April 2.