Che Sudaka (E)
Che Sudaka was born in the street music scene of Barcelona and unites musicians from Argentina and Colombia. Strictly devoted to the social counterculture their lyrics are about the problems of immigration, social injustice and war. Che Sudaka’s multicultural attitude is expressed in Spanish, Portuguese, English and Italian lyrics, that combine this explosive power of Punk and Reggae which makes the band so unique.
Che Sudaka unites musicians from Argentina and Colombia who moved to Barcelona in 2001/2002 and stayed there as so called “illegal immigrants” after their tourist visas had expired.
Che Sudaka is the product of an instinct for musical experiment and the struggle for life emerging out of the environment of the street-music scene in the Mediterranean seaport that is Barcelona.
Streets, bars, metros and the suburb trains of the Cercanía were where they honed their unique musical vibe as well as their undoubted showmanship.
A humourous on stage (and street) , improvisation and complete dedication were the basic requirements to fill the hat (with money). This energy and their will to give the audience their best are still the outstanding attributes of this band.
Che Sudaka’s debut album “Trippie Town” (2003) was dedicated to the “Plaza del Trippie” (Plz. George Orwell) in the old town of Barcelona, a renowned meeting place for street musicians from all over the world and a source of inspiration for a fusion of different styles.
Loaded with all these musical influences their first album presents ten songs that take the listener on a journey from Reggae, Ragga, Rumba to Drum&Bass and Argentinean folk music.
They became known internationally with their contribution “Sin papeles” (without documents) to the sampler “La Colifata” which presents the Mestizo scene of Barcelona. Che Sudaka’s musical evolution was shaped not least by their friendship with Manu Chao and Radio Bemba. For the production of their second album “Alerta Bihotza” (2005) Manu Chao’s bass player Gambeat helped with production being responsible not only for the harder and more direct sound, but also for the elaboration of their extreme energy in live performance.
Their third album “Mirando el mundo al revés” (2007) is a return to Che Sudakas roots, the street music resulting in catchy songs recorded acoustically featuring several guests ( Karamelo Santo, Amparo Sanchez of Amparanoia etc.).
Che Sudaka have presented this album Europe-wide at first (more than 50 concerts in eight countries), before they officially introduce it in Spain where their concerts as always brought an immensely positive reaction from their audiences and the media.
After almost 600 concerts in a relatively short band history, Che Sudaka are without a doubt amongst the most important and most fascinating bands made in Barcelona. They have fans all over the world, were awarded CD of the week at Funkhaus Europa, the Swedish national television featured them in a reportage about the music scene in Barcelona alongside names like Ojos de Brujo and Peret and invited them to Sweden to participate at the official presentation.
Che Sudaka have played at some of the most prominent festivals in Europe (Sziget Festival, Lowlands, Territorios Festival, Bardentreffen, Stockholm and Malmö Festivalen etc…) and to Spain’s most important music exhibition Vic 2008. This is a result of their untamed energy and enthusiasm.
Being devoted to the counterculture their lyrics are about the problems of immigration, social injustice and war. The multicultural spirit finds its expression in Spanish, Catalan, Basque, English, Portuguese, French and Japanese songs which combine the explosive power of Punk, Reggae and Latin rhythms …. And this is what makes the band so unique.
In 2009 Che Sudaka will be ready again to fight for a more equitable world with Latin-Punk and Ragga-Reggae. Live we can expect a full volley of racing drums, fat guitars, pushing basslines and synthi-samples; many-voiced singing, influenced by Rumba, Cumbia and the freaky live show of two singing-brothers Leo and Kacha.
Anselmo Crew
Anselmo Crew has been already called a dance music blender, Urban World Music Dance Band, still it can be best described as a concert band — in the most positive sense of the word. Only those know what I mean who has ever seen the band live.
No wonder that the group formed in New Zealand where Szabolcs Árkosi lived as a street musician and one day he bumped into Tamás Erdős in a club. Tamás came to Wellington from Asia with nothing to do but he thought he could come up with something as an excellent bass guitar player. The two got friends very quickly and soon they realized they shared the same view on music so decided to start a group.
The name Anselmo Crew is a tribute to the great-grandfather of the bass player Tamás Erdős. Pa Anselmo, the honourable manufacturer moved from Italy to Hungary at the end of the 19th century and after starting a family he finally settled there. The child Tamás got his first guitar, a family relic, from grandma Anselmo. The old, worn instrument arrived with Old Anselmo from Italy.
The band is a regular visitor of the biggest festivals in and had many concerts and many towns of the countryside.
The band is playful and strictly organised at the same time. It is a group of highly-qualified, experienced and joyful musicians. All the members joined the group with some years of professional.
Their first record, Passport, bitte….! (2004) was followed by a maxi CD in 2005, entitled: Only for promo.
The members of the band:
Szabolcs Árkosi vocal, saz, accordion
Gábor Sátori guitar
Balázs Deseő keyboards
Gergely Katona pozan, cornet, vocals
Tamás Erdős bass
Kornél Mogyoró percussion, rap
Ákos Kerényi percussion, vocals
Áron Koós-Hutás trumpet
Gábor Oláh drums
