After having hosted pretty much every fado superstar of recent years (Mariza, Misia, Carminho and Cristina Branco, to name just a few), Ljubljana can now finally say a proper hello to Gisela João.
Careful though: fado is only part of a musical language that has made her one of the leading voices in Portuguese music, and an artist treasured for an artistic identity that bridges tradition and contemporary expression with straightforward brilliance.
Gisela João (PT)
For fans of: Mariza, Deolinda, Silvia Pérez Cruz
Last year’s Inquieta takes a fresh look at major works by such legends such as José Afonso, José Mário Branco and Sérgio Godinho, with new arrangements that translate their songs into a musical idiom very much of the present moment. The album, complete with superb arrangements by guitarist Carlos Rodenas Martinez, browses the themes of freedom, memory and collective identity while showcasing the beautiful clarity and emotional immediacy of Gisela’s voice. It’s a new chapter in her artistic development, but her virtues are constant: an ability to move between genres and styles, from acoustic to electronic to alternative, while retaining a clear and highly personal voice.
In short: Gisela João’s performance will be another one of those musical (and visual) delights that Druga Godba specialises in bringing you. We’ll be talking about it long after the last note has sounded, so be sure not to miss out.
Lagon Nwar (BF/FR/RE)
For fans of: Danyèl Waro, Neneh Cherry & The Thing, Rokia Traoré
‘Lagon Nwar is the salty taste of water, the curls weighed down by rain, the port and its armaments, the fading of colonies’ Ann O’aro
Lagon Nwar would be completely new to us if it weren’t for singer Ann O’aro – and those of us who were at a packed-out Linhart Hall in March 2024 to hear her present her third album Bleu remember her very well indeed. It was one of those delightful nights of musical magic that will never leave anyone privileged enough to be there.
The really lucky ones got to see her again a few days after that at the Babel XP festival in Marseille, although Lagon Nwar are a different beast entirely. The energy, enthusiasm, commitment and self-confidence remained, this time shared with the four members of the band: a French half of two academy-trained jazz masters and an African duo whose roots stretch from Burkina Faso in the west to the island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean, where O’aro also comes from. The music expresses the warmth and depth of Creole poetry, complemented by the assertive but still poetic voice of Marcel Balboné and interwoven with the pronounced rhythms of African percussion. Clean, powerful basslines, keyboards to comfort and occasionally soothe, and sax solos that remind you that you’re looking into the very depths of the volcano as it’s about to erupt. It’s a heady mix that’s more than right for a Kino Šiška Friday night.
Line-up: Marcel Balboné (vocals, drums, koundé) / Quentin Biardeau (tenor saxophone, keyboards) / Valentin Ceccaldi (bass) / Ann O’aro (vocals) / Sébastien Bedrunes (sound)
Bobo & Behaja (FR/MG)
For fans of: D’Gary, Eusèbe Jaojoby, Njava
Druga Godba has had the honour of hosting Malagasy acts before, including legendary guitarist D’Gary way back in 1997. This time we’re off to southwest Madagascar, home to tsapiky, a genre of dance music native to the island and heavily influenced by South African pop, and to Behaja, a musician famed for his mastery of the new rhythms, guitar techniques and structures that have emerged in the Tuléar region over the last decade and a half.
Enter French saxophonist Bobo Maxime from the band Electric Vocuhila, who left for a musical research trip to Madagascar, immersed himself completely in tsapiky, hooked up with Behaja and ended up as part of a quintet that has been causing a stir on stages around the world, including at the most recent edition of the World Music Expo in Finland. The band have also released an album on Sublime Frequencies, Aia Haja?, which will set you up for a live experience like few others. Let Bobo and Behaja take you from Friday night to Saturday morning in frenetic style – karaoke speakers, homemade effects and the force of nature that is frontwoman Malala.
Line-up: Malala (vocals) / Maxime Bobo (saxophone) / Behaja (guitar) / François Rosenfeld (bass) / Gérard Rakotoniaina (drums)
Organisation: Druga Godba and Kino Šiška
Supported by Liveurope. The Liveurope platform brings together and supports European concert venues in their commitment to promote up-and-coming European acts, and actively boosts their touring across European stages and their introduction to new audiences. Liveurope is co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union.
