Kickstarter3 - bring The Other Europeans to WOMEX
If you aren't familiar with "The Other Europeans" project you have been missing one of the most exciting projects of recent years. They have a delightful CD out ("Almost Bootleg") and give one hell of an intense concert. It was one of the highlights of my life to help bring them to Boston last year and watch a thoroughly excited audience cram into Johnny D's. I'll let Alan Bern take it from here:
many of you already know about The Other Europeans (www.other-europeans-band.eu). It's a truly incredible, 14-piece band playing heartbreaking and virtuosic music that goes back to pre-WWII Bessarabia and a community of professional klezmer (Yiddish) and lautar (Gipsy/Roma) musicians who live and played together for more than a century - a rare, historical example of such close cooperation between these groups. The Other Europeans restores this almost lost heritage to the 21st century.
The project brings together some of today's greatest klezmer and lautar musicians from 8 different countries - Moldova, Hungary, Bulgaria, Germany, France, Great Britain, the Ukraine & the USA and combines historical and ethnographic research with the highest levels of musicianship. It was only possible to create with the help of funding from the European Union. But now that funding has run out. To continue to exist, we have to connect with agents and festivals and find ways to continue to tour and record. That's no small financial task for a 14-piece international ensemble.
Now we've been invited to play a showcase at the 2011 WOMEX in Copenhagen—by far the most important trade fair for world music. It's the best possible chance for us to attract just the kind of attention and support we need. But first we have to get there! We have to pay our own expenses for travel and accommodations, and we also need to launch our live double-CD at the showcase. To accomplish that, we really need your help.
Some of you are already familiar with Kickstarter. It's an internet site that lets artists raise funds for projects just like this. As a reward for their support, donors also get our music and many other interesting and unique benefits. I've set up a kickstarter campaign for The Other Europeans. If you are already a fan of The Other Europeans, or if this project sounds worthy of support to you, then I hope you'll visit the site below and contribute whatever you can—every little bit helps! Thanks to all of you in advance, and I hope that with your help we can launch The Other Europeans at the WOMEX and visit your area in the near future to play a concert. Here's the Kickstarter website:
www.kickstarter.com/projects/2102598033/the-other-europeans-womex-cd-launch