Kapsamun - Mania Ballkanike
We are pleased to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the group „Kapsamun“ with their second release for the brambus jazz family and their third cd in total.
The repertoire of „Kapsamun“ is based on traditional Albanian folk dances from Kosova. The musical homesickness of the former kosovarian saxplayer Arsim Leka – who lives now in Switzerland – the musical wanderlust of his Swiss musicians are the fundamentals of the creative energy of this band.
„Kapsamun“ incorporates in their music as well and without fear of contact contemporary and modern influences of jazz and electronical dance music. This way arise multifarious self penned compositions, which give new freshness to the traditional music of Kosova.
Inspired by the title track of Arsim Leka, the kosovarian writer Vaxhid Xhelili wrote the poem „Mania Ballkanike“ (engl: Balkan delusion) for the booklet, which is about the difficult search of identity in a divided region.
The title „Mania Ballkanike“ stands besides that for the Balkan temperament, for hilarious joie de vivre and for the borderline between tradition and innovation, between exile and home, in which the band is moving.
Their first two CDs „Mesnatë“ and „Prishtina“ found their way to a very versatile and enthusiastic audience, tours in Switzerland, Kosvoa and Macedonia, worldwide TV broadcasting via the kosovarian channel, concerts in France, Italy and Austria and appearing in film soundtracks („Bashkim“ and „Tout un hiver sans feu“) have resulted.
With their new CD in their bags, „Kapsamun“ starts in january 2008 again with intense concert activities throughout concert halls, small theaters and festival stages. w influences full of tradition, they added self penned compositions with very contemporary trends like nu-jazz and drum’n’bass. These influences have been enlarged by the addition of synthesizers in the band sound. The new album has been presented in Kosovo with big success during the month of September.
The music of “Kapsamun” lives strongly from the varied characters and musical backgrounds of the bandmembers, which reaches from the Kosovian saxplayer Arsim Leka over Swiss artists which have grown in jazz, blues, bluegrass, folk, experimental music and more, lining up Marcel Zimmermann (violin), Samuel Wettstein (piano, synth., darbuka), Florian Abt (standup bass) and Benjamin Brodbeck (drums and darbuka).
Tracklisting:
1. Mania Ballanike
2. Valle Tiranase
3. Gettin' High In Pristina
4. Delirium
5. Bukuria Jote, Emidag
6. P.GJ.GJ.P.M.
7. Princesha Ime
8. Në Zemrën Time Ndiej Sërish Dashuri
9. Post Dolorem
10. 5-6-3-3-2
11. Valle Treshe
Recorded by Andy Neresheimer at Radio Zurich, Switzerland, on December 15-17, 2005.