Cyprus Rialto World Music Festival
13th Cyprus Rialto World Music Festival
Ethno Cyprus
Following the success of the six previous years, Ethno Cyprus 2018, which was established in 2005, organises youth music camps dedicated to each participating country. The music camps aim at offering the opportunity to young people to discover the traditional music of each country participating in this year’s edition.
Forty young virtuosos of traditional instruments (aged between 15-30) from European countries, such as Cyprus, Croatia and Belgium, and Arab countries such as Lebanon and Jordan, will explore the roots of their common music identity, teaching each other local music traditions. The end result will be a unique concert repertoire that will creatively combine the music traditions of the Mediterranean countries under the artistic direction of Andreas Christodoulou, traditional music teacher at Limassol and Nicosia Music Schools.
Ethno Cyprus 2018 is organised within the framework of the Euro-Arab Youth Music Centre in collaboration with JM International, Arab Academy of Music, JM Croatia and the National Music Conservatory of Amman. It is funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture and the EU programme Erasmus+.
Fourth Moon
The Fourth Moon Quartet comes from Scotland for the first time in Cyprus for a unique concert at the Rialto World Music Festival on Thursday, July 12, at Heroes Square. Each member of the group is origin from a different country, giving in this way a clear multicultural character to the band, which consists of: David Lombardi (Italy): violin, Andrew Waite (Scotland): piano accordion, Geza Frank (Austria): flute & whistles, Jean Damei (France): guitar.
Fourth Moon was founded in 2013. Since 2016, the quartet has been successfully performing in international folk festivals all over Europe. Their programme consists of an original repertoire, entirely composed and arranged by the members of the band. The music of the quartet has its roots in the Scottish and Irish rich musical traditions, but it develops by following new and innovative ways. With backgrounds and music influences from classical and jazz to Eastern European traditions, Fourth Moon’s sound is strong and unique and it fuses many different styles.
Fast and virtuosic reels and jigs are mixed with slower tunes and more contemplative moments. Riffs, loops and dynamic changes follow each other in a pulsating flow and the melodic instruments often take the place of the accompaniment and vice versa.
Reviews: BBC Radio Scotland described them as "absolutely amazing" and the BBC Radio Ulster as "a group to be entrusted with the jewels of trad themselves”.
Monsieur Doumani
Monsieur Doumani was formed in 2011 in Nicosia by Antonis Antoniou (tzouras), Angelos Ionas (guitar) and Demetris Yiasemides (trombone, flute). Coming from different musical backgrounds, but influenced by the Cypriot tradition at various levels, Monsieur Doumani compose Cypriot songs that draw inspiration from the contemporary Cypriot society, as well as from the turbulent conditions of our era. The original identity of the project was determined by the adaptation of Cypriot traditional pieces, with a special contemporary colour in sound and mood, forming their own distinctive style.
The band has recently launched its third album with the symbolic name Angathin [Thorn] (2018), which has attracted great interest internationally, receiving the prestigious 'German Records Critics' Award' (Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik) in the category 'World Music'. It has been in the Top 10 of the Transglobal World Music Chart for 3 months reaching No. 1 in April 2018 and No. 2 in May. It has also climbed at the top of the World Music Charts Europe in May 2018 and it was given the title of 'Top of the World' album by British magazine 'Songlines'. In May 2013, Monsieur Doumani released their first full-length album entitled Grippy Grappa, which received excellent reviews from international media and established their ‘world music’ reputation. In 2015, they launched their second album Sikoses, which also received critical acclaim. Monsieur
Doumani participated in numerous festivals and venues across Europe (WOMAD - Charlton Park 2014, FMM Sines (Portugal 2018), Rudolstadt (Germany 2018)), receiving international recognitions and nominations as one of the four best new bands (Songlines Music Awards).
Dikanda
Dikanda is a world music internationally renowned band from Szczecin, Poland. In its artistic work Dikanda promotes the authenticity of style, searching for new trends, thus most of their works are original compositions. The band members draw their musical inspiration from traditional folk sounds of the broadly defined Orient – from the Balkans, Israel, Kurdistan and Belarus to India. Their works are dominated by Balkan and Gypsy influences.
The band has been playing since 1997 and has recorded 7 albums so far, including a live DVD recorded in the Witkacy Theatre in Zakopane. They have performed hundreds of concerts, mostly in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, but also in Russia, India and the USA. They have won numerous awards among which the Disc of the Year Award for their album Ushtijo in 2005 by the German magazine “Folker”. Dikanda’s concerts are emotional journeys through ethnic sounds, zestful meetings full of charisma, energy and true feelings. What distinguishes Dikanda’s lyrics is the creation of new words, thus forming their own genuine language - “dikandish”. The most important element of their artistic work is the message – a special relation between the musicians and the audience.
Ania Witczak – singing, accordion
Dominik Bieńczycki - violin
Daniel Kaczmarczyk - percussions
Piotr Rejdak - guitars
Grzegorz Kolbrecki – double bass
Kasia Bogusz - singing
Szymon Bobrowski – trumpet
Mercedes Peon
Mercedes Peón is coming from Spain for a unique concert at the Rialto World Music Festival. She is considered to be one of the most charismatic women of the current world music scene. Her wide repertoire, the spell and the energy that seizes each of her performances, make this woman a sure bet for the continuity of the ethno contemporaneous scene in Europe.
Mercedes Peón at the age of 13 heard some women singing on the Costa da Morte and she was fascinated by the playing of the tambourine and the singing of the ribeirana. This triggered a desire to collect the songs, dances, stories and experiences of her village’s people. An intense compilation began. She transmitted all this knowledge to schools, Galicia Television and in Universities such as La Sorbonne, Oporto, Wales etc. The variety of her compositions that start from the polyrhythm under the gaze of the most ancestral rhythms, culminate in eclectic and blatantly vibrant themes.
After expanding the tradition for more than 25 years, in 2000 she recorded her first album called Isué. She expressed herself free of clichés and expanded internationally without support from the media. In her later works, Ajrú (2004), Sihá (2007) and Sós (2008), her compositions led her to a particular atmosphere bordering the electroacoustic, marking her own distinctive sign inside and outside our borders. Her latest work, Deixaas, is the result of an intense research on the possibilities of tradition and sound art, in which she stands out as an international reference.
Mercedes Peón: Vocal, Electric Piper
Ana Fernandez: Piano, Sampler and Vocal
Monica De Nut: Vocal
Rialto Residency 2018
This year’s Rialto World Music Festival organizes a residency programme aiming at the development of skills and the enhancement of dialogue among professional musicians. Under the direction of Michalis Cholevas, the residency (18-21.7) will focus on techniques, forms and stylistic elements of the traditions of the Eastern Mediterranean region.
On Friday 20th the participants will present improvisations at Lofou Square and on Saturday 21st in the yard of the Community Hostel in Lofou they will present a repertoire of traditional and original compositions.
Michalis Cholevas is a multi-instrumentalist playing the Ney, Yayli tanbour, Tarhu and saz. He studied Classical, Jazz and Eastern Mediterranean Music at music high school of Pallini and the municipal Conservatory of Piraeus, Greece. He has performed and collaborated with several artists including Louisiana Red, Angelo Bandalamenti, the Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra and George Kontrafouris and Project Eleusis. On June 2009 he completed his Master studies (MA in Music Performance) at Rotterdam Concervatory of Music having been awarded the HSP excellency scholarship.
With the cooperation and support of the Lofou Community
Nicolas Tryphonos Quintet
Nikolas Tryfonos Quintet consists of well-known Cypriot musicians and is a result of the members’ past collaborations. The group will present original compositions and melodies from the music tradition of the Eastern Mediterranean Region, arranged in their own unique style. The band, is influenced by the jazz idiom and the traditional music of the Eastern Mediterranean region. Performing authentic compositions, Nicolas Tryfonos Ensemble is a collaboration between the Jazz Piano Trio members and two virtuoso soloists who masterfully render the spirit of the Orient and the Balkans.
Musicians:
Ilias Ioannou – trumpet
Yiannis Koutis – oud
Andreas Panteli – piano
Andreas Stephanou – drums
Nicolas Tryfonos - double bass
Macumba
This year’s World Music Festival, after two weeks full of successful concerts, culminates with a unique concert by Macumba, presenting their own authentic compositions and arrangements, inspired by the latin-jazz and world music. Charged with the frenetic dance rhythms of the band and the lively performance of its members, the concert invites the audience to an unforgettable music journey.
The collaboration between Chilean bassist Rodrigo Cáceres and Rodos Panagiotou, Giorgos Morfitis and Elias Ioannou, brings a new air to the Jazz & Latin music scene of the island. A different approach to Latin rhythms - mostly Afrocuban & Brazilian - blended through a modern jazz aesthetic. Macumba have presented their work in various concerts, events and festivals such as Windcraft Music Festival, Old Port Jazz Festival, 4th Cyprus Jazz & World Music Showcase, attracting a wide and increasing audience.
Rodrigo Cáceres: bass
Εlias Ioannou: trumpet
Giorgos Morfitis: piano
Rodos Panagiotou: drums & percussions