7

The Barcelona Gipsy BalKan Orchestra, formerly the Barcelona Gipsy Klezmer Orchestra, present their seventh album – hence the title. A collection of klezmer and pan-Balkan trad numbers and originals, there is a Mediterranean edge to some of these tunes owing to the fact that many of the band are Catalan/Spanish, with an Italian singer. Margherita Abita’s silken voice stands astride this longitudinal divide, notably on tracks such as ‘More Sokol Pie’, which is not, as I assumed, a plea for another helping of delicious pastry but, rather, translates from Macedonian/Bulgarian as ‘A Falcon is Drinking’ – who’d have known? Joined by violins, accordion, guitar, bass, clarinet, percussion and what sounds like a mandolin, Abita takes us on a journey through Balkan traditions; as showcased in ‘Tisom Tiše’ – an original song about a young woman who has just bought golden thread to embroider a towel as a sign of her eternal love, only to discover that her partner has left in the arms of another girl. There are some slower, more soulful numbers, such as the flamenco-infused instrumental ‘Midnight Lamp’, but the overall vibe is energetic.