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"Magnificent!" "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" |
UK Tour Press Release |
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Live reviews: |
Album reviews: |
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The Scotsman 20th May '08 |
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The List, 22nd May 2008 "Orkestra del Sol let loose a riot of rebellious global street music...the unruly and charismatic crew instinctively razz up a kinetic brawl of rhythms" |
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The Herald, 20th May 2008 |
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The Sunday Herald, 25th May 2008 "You might not get the comedy antics of their live shows but the mood of wholehearted entertainment remains loud and clear...It's the sound of a tightly welded unit abundantly blessed with composers and having a blast." |
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"They do this with an energy and flourish which makes invigorating, if exhausting listening...Nor is their rebellious musical fusion just a matter for the ears: this will almost certainly be your only chance this year to dance a 'wolka' " |
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Orkestra del Sol "Live they are utterly captivating with a crazy tongue in cheek humour...This CD captures their anarchic impact"
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The Scotsman, 20th August 07 "a high energy ten piece with split second timing...this exuberantly brassy circus had the audience clapping, then dancing, virtually from their first thump and blare" |
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Other Press:
"What do you get when you mix the Indian been with the Scottish bagpipes a Scottish orchestra with and Indian brass band? a whole lot of euphoric Delhiites who're alternately swaying waltzing and balle-balleing to some fantastic music!" |
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The Herald, 10th August 07 "offering a mighty kick, a grunt of satisfaction, and a healthy dose of humour...a set that rages with enthusiasm, demonically skilful arrangements, and revels in a roguish sense of theatre"
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Scotsman article on China Trip "The good citizens of Beijing will be wandering what's hit them this weekend, as Edinburgh's Orkestra del Sol blows into town..." |
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More Reviews: The Skinny, 22nd May 2008 Roll up roll up, indeed. Do these guys ever have an off-gig? With horns blazing, accordions pumping, drummers thumping and the whole band beaming and jumping, tonight Edinburgh’s very own sun-fuelled orchestra/circus launch their album in firey form and in front of an audience whose ages seem to range from 3 to 90 – well this is The Queen’s Hall after all. Aye, and there’s the rub: Orkestra del Sol are such a visual band, it's a shame that nobody on the dance floor can actually see them. That would be more of a problem if they were only a visual band, but even without being able to clap eyes on their slapstick shtick and dapper matching suits, their beguiling music is a euphoric wonder that would surely decimate any DJ’s dancefloor – and when Black Cat’s divine vocalist, Saska, joins them for the traditional Serbian Mesecina, a joyous riot erupts which rightfully shakes The Queen’s Hall to its core.[Ali Maloney]
Three Weeks, 10th August 07 ORKESTRA DEL SOL, The Famous Spiegeltent 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 Skinny Fest, 9th August 07 ORKESTRA DEL SOL, The Famous Spiegeltent 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, The Famous Spiegeltent 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 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] |
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