Melech Mechaya
Strange People (CD)

FY8216

MELECH MECHAYA (me-LEKH me-KHAH-yah) means in Hebrew "The Party Kings" and this Portuguese band may perfectly deserve such an illustrious title. MELECH MECHAYA turn their concerts into a non-stop party where the audience laughs, dances, participates, and gets involved in an irresistible performance.

MELECH MECHAYA was founded in 2006 in Lisbon, with the same line-up than the current one: Miguel Veríssimo on the clarinet; João Graça on the violin; André Santos on guitar; João Novais on double bass and Francisco Caiado on percussion.
Since their beginnings, klezmer music, that strong music tradition of the Jews from Central and East Europe, has been the basis for the creation of a repertoire that couples traditional tunes and their own compositions, always with a personal approach that manages to combine the great beauty of the compositions with a fresh and lighthearted attitude that comes to the live performance in a surprising and exciting way.
Up to now MELECH MECHAYA have been playing non-stop in their homeland Portugal, and have performed more than 30 times in Spain, and they have also been playing in countries as different as Croatia, Cape Verde, Brazil, Sweden, Finland, Belgium and Austria, playing both in large open air festivals and in theatres, metro stations, historic buildings... always wrapping the audience around their little finger and captivating the specialized press. In 2014, they’ll have their premiere in Germany and they’ve already confirmed their return to Spain, Finland, Sweden and Belgium.

This new records shows the maturity of the band, their skill on composing and arranging music inspired by klezmer tradition, enriching that legacy with a bunch of new and fresh compositions. In fact, “Strange People” contains more new compositions than never: 11 of 15 tracks. The audacity and originality of the arrangements, the dialogue and interaction of the instruments, without losing a pinch of freshness and vitality, give evidence of the high level of creativity and confidence that the band has reached.
The album features collaborations with the composer and singer Amélia Muge, singer Jazzafari, and Deolinda’s lyricist Pedro da Silva Martins.

Published: 2015

Genre: Europe
Label: Felmay