Within the framework of the 12th Cyprus Rialto World Music Festival, a number of artists and musicians have been chosen to perform in Limassol. This year, film screenings have also been added to the mix in order to extend the international feel of the festival into other art forms.
On Monday, the film Tanu Weds Manu was screened, and next Monday the film Hawaa Hawaaii will be shown.
As for the musicians, this year showcases a large number of diverse groups.
The first group to hit the stage is BandAdriatica who will be presenting ‘A Mediterranean Odyssey’. The band is composed of eight members: Claudia Prima on vocals, Emanuele Coluccia on alto saxophone, Andrea Perrone on the trumpet, Vincenzo Grasso on clarinet and tenor saxophone, Gaetano Carrozzo on the trombone, Morris Pellizzari on guitar and saxophone, Giuseppe Spedicato on bass and Ovidio Venturoso on drums.
BandAdriatica sails on the rough seas of traditional Salento music, using Balkan and North African elements, taking as its starting-point the traditional brass bands that usually play at celebrations, funerals and parties in Puglia, travelling at night from town to town. The journey expands, looking at the Mediterranean Sea as a complex ‘Babilonia’ (which is also the title of the band’s latest release), where all languages begin to harmonise around popular melodies in the cultural jumble of the ports.
The next artist invited to perform on July 19 is Abhisek Lahiri. Lahiri is one of the youngest award-winning Indian sarod artists, who was trained under his eminent father and guru. He started performing in public at the early age of 11 and, since 1977, has been touring Europe, USA, Canada, Sri Lanka, Japan and Bangladesh.
On July 24, our very own Trio Tekke will present Zivo. Trio Tekke are a highly acclaimed neo-Rebetiko group of four members (the fourth member was added in 2015) made up of Antonis Antoniou on tzouras and vocals, Lefteris Moumtzis on electric guitar and vocals, Colin Somervell on double and electric bass and vocals, and Dave de Rose on drums. The band’s sound is enhanced by a variety of instruments, creating a genre-hopping cocktail of Greek Rebetiko-style tunes infused with Afrobeat and Jazz.
Also on July 24, the Amalgamation Project will present a journey balanced between fresh Mediterranean sounds, carrying echoes of the mountains of the Balkans, and a rich timbre of polyphony. The band consisists of Vasiliki Anastasiou on voice, Ermis Michael on guitar, Alkis Agathokleous on ney, Rodos Panayiotou on percussion, Pavlos Carvalho on cello, Argyro Christodoulou on vocals and Eugenia Evaggelia Chatzaki on vocals.
On July 29, as part of the festival, the Rialto residency will be focusing on the rhythm and melody of the Eastern Mediterranean with Andreas Lardis on violin, Vasilis Filippou on vocals and drums, Panayiotis Tsappis on Ney, Marianna Moumtzi on canon and Stelios Pantechis on lute. There will also be an improvisation by Michalis Cholevas and the participants.
On July 31, the band performing will be the Cuban musicians Soneros de Verdad (the name translates as ‘singers of the truth’) who call themselves the second generation of the Buena Vista Social Club. They play Cuban classics like ‘Chan Chan’, usually augmented with their own original work.
Note that all performances of the Rialto residency will be staged in Platres.
12th Cyprus Rialto World Music Festival
A festival with a number of musical performances. Until July 31. Heroes Square, Limassol and Platres. 8.30pm. Free. Tel: +357-77-777745
By Emmelia Georgiou for Cyprus-Mail
