CSKOLOM

For many people, Transylvania is mainly associated with the activities of the infamous Count Dracula, rather than with the fascinating music coming from this region. Apart from the influence it had on the composers Bartok and Kodaly, Transylvanian music has remained largely unknown and unaffected by outside influences due to the area´s geographical and political isolation.
The Hungarian Gypsy music of today known so well in the West still contains echoes of Transylvanian roots, but Csókolom spices its repertoire with a few unpolished originals in which a good deal of the older dance-music can be heard and felt. This is a music with a romance all of its own. Its particular charm and swing can be heard not only in the traditional pieces but also in the group´s own arrangements and compositions.
The raw and spirited singing-style belongs naturally to the Hungarian songs. They tell of an all-too-beautiful daughter-in-law in a Romany song or a dancing bear in a Yugo-rap. Both evokes emotions of yesterday and tomorrow.
Csókolom also uses elements from other styles such as jazz, gypsy swing and even Latin rhythms.
However, the result is not a melting pot of sounds but a lively and fascinating symbiosis - a modern version of the kind of music which in Transylvania is indispensible at festive occasions.

Kerèn Chave 2:58
(Trad./arr.: Anti von Klewitz)
Taken from the Promo-CD Csókolom“
(New Morning Records)