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"Magnificent!" "this exuberantly brassy circus had the audience clapping, then dancing, virtually from their first thump-and-blare" "a mighty kick, a grunt of satisfaction and a healthy dose of humour" "you cannot take your eyes off these characters for a second" "the quiet humour and gentle wit of a band enjoying themselves and an audience enjoying them" "anything as unashamedly fun as this should go a long way" "a joy to behold"
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Articles and full reviews: The Skinny 25th April 2008 These Spiegeltent favourites and brass titans finally unveil their second full length album and anyone to have experienced their raucous live shows will delight at the magnificent way in which this ten-strong maverick crew has been captured on CD. Even anybody who has not seen the Orkestra del Sol's unique and spectacular cross of hybrid Balkan brass and slapstick funk will find themselves bouncing around with manic grins and yearning for the full live experience, which thankfully is always close to hand. Following on from Carnival by Stealth and last year's Road to Thermosa EP, The Moveable Feast touches on all the musical delights that make the band so special: huge horn-led stomps, calypso, funk and zouk all wrapped in impeccable arrangements calculated to hit you right in the dancing gland. With a line-up of trumpet, trombone, sousaphone, soprano, alto and tenor saxes, accordion, fiddle and two percussionists, their sound is full, warm and deliciously chaotic. This is true sun worship. [Ali Maloney]
The Scotsman, 20th August 07 ORKESTRA DEL SOL THE Edinburgh-based, manically Eastern European-sounding Orkestra del Sol crank up the suspense before their show by projecting a silent movie of themselves, but silence is hardly their forte. They're a riotous assembly of a high-energy ten- piece band with split-second timing, and the Old World glitter of the Spiegeltent is just the place to hear them. Featuring assorted saxes and clarinets, trumpet, trombone, fiddle, accordion, percussion and a large and battered sousaphone that looks as if it might have been salvaged from the wreck of the Titanic (not to mention a snazzy line in hats, socks and footwear), this exuberantly brassy circus had the audience clapping, then dancing, virtually from their first thump-and-blare. The band's utterly infectious syncopated racket rarely let up, whether the mode was gypsy wedding party, bar-mitzvah-meets-panto or Middle-Eastern pop. There was a kitschy calypso excursion, some terrible break-dancing and a "wind-up" curly-toed fiddler who circled the tent during one number... even one wonderful moment when we were buzzed by an imaginary low-flying aircraft (thank you Biggles, on trombone). Imagine Black Dyke Mills on grappa. And even if you weren't up to dancing the polka (they'll teach you; oh, they'll teach you), or even the "wolka", a somewhat disorientating waltz with frenetic polka interludes, there was no escaping their great, walloping groove as our seats bounced with the well-sprung and pounding dance floor. Jim Gilchrist http://living.scotsman.com
Ross-shire Journal, 17th August 07 MUSICIANS BLAZE CEILIDH TRAIL AT BELLADRUM ...The Orkestra del Sol more than lived up to their promise to fuse the "swagger of a Balkan wedding band with the riotous energy of a Latin carnival". A rollicking performance in the Venus Flytrap Stage featured eye-rolling, Cossak dancing and theatrics galore and set off a frenzy of leaping and laughter in from the crowd... Catriona Ross www.ross-shirejournal.co.uk
The Herald, 10th August 07 ORKESTRA DEL SOL, THE SPIEGEL GARDEN Think of brass band music and you might conjure up images of Hovis commercials or oompah-oompah-ing Germans. Orkestra del Sol are more oomph-ah-oomph-ha-ha, offering a mighty kick, a grunt of satisfaction and a healthy dose of humour. The Edinburgh-based troupe take their inspiration from brass bands from around the world and, much like recent visitors to Scotland, the Jaipur Kawa Rajanstani gipsies, theirs is the sound of celebration - with bells on. Balkan rhythms, Middle Eastern melodies, klezmer, calypso and polka all come together in a set that rages with enthusiasm, demonically skilful arrangements and clattering percussion, and revels in a roguish sense of theatre. The band's answer to AC/DC's Angus Young, the short-trousered Phil Philadopolous, has his life story, possibly a mite fictionalised, relayed in one of the more reflective moments. And wind-up fiddler (a term open to interpretation) Tom Adams stoats about, unblinking, in a mirthful cameo while madness reigns around him. With singing heart-throbs, extravagant accordion interludes, dancing lessons and break-dancing (ish) demonstrations, there really is never a dull moment. But watch out for that flower in the side-drummer's lapel - or take your own water pistol and get the blighter back. Rob Adams www.theherald.co.uk
Three Weeks, 10th August 07 ORKESTRA DEL SOL Great fun does not even begin to describe the show offered by the ten-piece Orkestra Del Sol. The Edinburgh-based brass band play songs from around the world, bringing out tangos, polkas, waltzes and even a calypso from their repertoire. Each musician is hugely talented, not only at playing their instruments, but at playing the characters which make the Orkestra so thrilling to watch. Each band member plays a different persona from across the globe, which they do not stray from for the entire evening. You cannot take your eyes off these characters for a second, for fear of missing another hilarious interaction or quirky gesture. Perfectly situated in the glamorous Spiegeltent, they had me dancing all night. Brilliant, exhausting fun. Alex Moore http://edinburgh.threeweeks.co.uk
The List, 9th August 07 HITLIST - THE BEST FESTIVAL MUSIC Orkestra Del Sol are A home-grown musical smorgasbord driven by a massive brass section throwing everything from eastern European vibes to jazz, Latin and pretty much everything in between. A ready made party, complete with soundtrack. www.list.co.uk
The List (Music Week Planner), 9th August 07 ORKESTRA DEL SOL You've got to love this bunch. They seem to sum up the whole ethos behind Edinburgh's cultural life, a raggle taggle bunch of musos whose music carries 'the swagger of a Balkan wedding band, the vibrancy of a Carribean festival and the flair of a Latin ballroom.' Their music has taken them far and wide, from the pebbley shores of Brighton, England to the dusty streets of Jodhpur, as this excerpt from their holiday snaps illustrates. They might not seem like your conventional musical entertainment but this is the Fringe, where anything goes. And anything as unashamedly fun as this should go a long way.
Skinny Fest, 9th August 07 ORKESTRA DEL SOL Comprising upwards of nine red-suited musical troublemakers (more may have been hidden amongst the audience and in the rafters amongst the lights), local collective OdS’ triumphant and flamboyant return to the Seagull Tent is a joy to behold. The beer hall aesthetic perfectly suits their rambunctious and frantic cocktail of Balkan laments, klezmer, belly dances, "Calypso Collapso", waltzes and polka, and before long the dance floor begins to bounce with the vibrations of stomping feet. Making full use of the stage, the Orkestra creep up and edge their way into the solo mic spot. The infectious enthusiasm of the band stirs the crowd to polka. Faster, and faster, andfaster. With a combination of storytelling and dance, the Orkestra work theaudience up into a super-skank frenzy Alasdair Maloney www.festmag.co.uk
Lothian Life, 7th August 07 ORKESTRA DEL SOL To say the Orkestra del Sol is a brass band is like saying the Calendar Girls are WRI members. The description would definitely miss the quirky eccentricity and wit of this Scottish group whose sound is straight out of Central Europe. Describing themselves as "Brass Troubadours with unruly charm", they claim to combine "the swagger of a Balkan wedding with the riotous energy of a Latin carnival". And they do, they really do. At their opening night at the Spiegeltent the audience was hooked right from the start by the confident sassy music. Their sound is exuberant and joyously big. Their dress code is smart/eccentric - a mixture of suits and trilby hats with shorts, turbans, and eastern slippers. Their behaviour is unpredictable - not so much a marching band as a running-round-the-stage band. They sing surreal songs, break-dance on the floor, and strike extravagant poses. Throughout it all, however, is superb crafted musicianship, and a sense of very well-orchestrated stagecraft. Almost without exception, the Spiegeltent audience rose to their feet after being given a basic lesson in lift-lift-lift-hop polka, unable to resist the rhythm of the ten piece band. The floor was crowded as polka gave way to waltz, and then a glorious freestyle swing. Amidst it all was the quiet humour and gentle wit of a band enjoying themselves, and an audience enjoying them. Ros MacKenzie www.lothianlife.co.uk |
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