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PICK OF THE WEEK: BIG IN FALKIRK
When Falkirk council announced it was to launch an arts festival in 2000, few expected more than the usual mix of crusty folk musicians, children's puppet shows and that samba band who haven't put down their drums since 1992.
But Big in Falkirk is anything but the typical small-town festival. Among Scottish festivals outside Edinburgh, it is unique. Located in the sprawling 180-acre Callendar Park, it attracts crowds of 100,000 from all over Scotland and the north of England for what is a heady mix of colourful outdoor theatre, spectacular pyrotechnics, art, comedy and a curious but clever mishmash of music acts, some of whom are well known, others who are still only big in Falkirk.
For the second year the festival will incorporate a visual art programme. The Environmental Art Project, curated by the installation artist Guyan Porter, has been designed specially for Callendar Park. Students from the environmental art course at the Glasgow School of Art will build installations in the forest park and around a section of the historic Antonine Wall.
This, though, is just the calm before the storm. The festival closes on Sunday night with the world premiere of Full Circle, a new show by the pyrotechnicians The World Famous. In what promises to be a visual feast that Jean Michel Jarre would be proud of, Slovenian musicians Terrafolk will perform in specially designed pods while fire, fireworks and special effects light up the night sky behind Callendar House.
“It's the sort of show that Falkirk does very well,” says Butler. “The performers are some of the best at what they do in the world, so it's very challenging and exciting to watch, but it's also something that can be enjoyed by the whole family.”
(The Times, UK, 27th April 2008) |
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"Mientras, en la cercana plaza de Sant Jaume, dedicada a los conciertos de folk, destacó la actuación de los eslovenos de Terrafolk, que ofrecieron una verdadera lección de musicalidad y capacidad de comunicación convirtiéndose en uno de los descubrimientos que recordar de esta Mercè."
"Meanwhile, in the St. Jaume square nearby dedicated to folk music concerts, the performance of the Slovenes Terrafolk stood out, who offered a true lesson of musicality and communication ability, becoming one of the discoveries to remember from this "Mercè" festival. " (El Pais, Cataluna, Barcelona - 24/09/2007, L. HIDALGO / M. JURADO ) |
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UK Tour, May 2007
It would be a brave person who thought that he had the measure of a Terrafolk show. There are the gipsy traditions, the conservatory-standard musicianship, liberal injections of lunacy, audience participation, fiery exchanges between violin and accordion and just when you're thinking, well, that's quite a lot to be going on with, they'll produce some expert Bach or a heavy-metal solo out of an innocent-looking acoustic guitar. Swing jazz, anyone? Or how about a power ballad to the love of accordion studies? The real trick with this quartet is that they make diversity flow.
Nothing could have prepared us for what was about to happen. Enter Terrafolk to take the festival by storm. The eccentric, highly talented Slovenian four-piece won the audience over straight from the start. It was five minutes of pure musical theatre, with, in the middle, a grand entrance of a special guest top Slovenian classical violinist Anja Bukovec. If Terrafolk were to steal the show, and Bojan stole our minds, Anja stole our hearts. Perfect.
An unforgettable death-metal version of You Are My Sunshine rounded off a stupendous set from Slovenian mavericks Terrafolk on Sunday, entirely apt for Shetland's perennially inspiring - and frequently insane - shindig.
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Shock, horror, Terrafolk to split up……and then immediately reform. A Terrafolkian response to news of some of the pension funding reformations on the rock scene, and who can blame them? Having taken Musicport by the scruff of its collective necks and given it a good musical shaking they informed us that they were on the last leg of their anti rock n roll tour – going to the gym, not drinking too much and getting to bed early. So now you have some idea of the universe inhabited by these anarchic souls from Slovenia.
Not that these characters are not splendid musicians, they are, and this album captures the excitement and virtuosity of a live performance very well. In the mix are Bach, Mozart, Osibisa, Van Halen, the Penguin Café Orchestra and Scotland the Brave. All of which get a good going over, flying fiddles, booming bass, mellifluous mandolins, galloping guitars and acrobatic accordion, a bit of audience teasing and a good time is had by all. Imagine Sharon Shannon meets the Pogues in the company of an incendiary Bill Bailey and you’re getting somewhere close. Who else could follow a rousing version of Music for a found Harmonium with the Ventures’ Walk Don’t Run? This is music for a good time, maybe not for the purists, whatever that means, although there is plenty for those who like their tunes played straight. This last remark may not apply to the booming, growling, heavy version ( nay, two versions, there’s a remix) of You are my Sunshine that closes the album, but fusion isn’t all jigs and djembes. Mind you I’m not sure it is fusion, but it is murderously good. Don’t be put off by the live tag, this is well recorded and the stuff that usually irritates on live albums – too much applause etc – is thankfully absent here. (Folk Devils) |
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UK Tour,October 2006
…It is impossible to single out musicians and artists but there were a few that left a lasting impression but I have to give a mention to Terrafolk, Reem Kelani, Buena Vista Social Club and David Moss who we caught in the corridors overtone singing in the style of Mongolian throat singers…
Gondwana radio, 25th October, 2006 (festival at Whitby Music port)
As a band invariably filed under "world music", Terrafolk had the art of non-verbal communication down pat.
Terrafolk, Komedia, Brighton (oktober 2006) (By Rachel Wareing (The Argus)) |
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Terrafolk & Simfonièni Orkester (RTV Slovenija ZKPTO DVD 001)
Orchestral folk anyone? Nearly 2 hours herein of often frenetic musicianship by the accordion/violin led Slovenian band, accompanied by arrangements for symphony orchestra and various guests. The Quality and taste of the selections varies greatly – guest fiddler Anja Bukovec shines but I can’t quite decide if the Laibach-style metal version (with orchestra) of You Are My Sunshine was a good idea or not. Probably on for the converted.
(Froots magazine May/2006) |
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Terrafolk de topper 15/08/05 -door Patrick Adriaans- TERRAFOLK THE SUPREME -BY Patrick Adriaans- ( -BY Patrick Adriaans ) |
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They don't take themselves seriously and because of that put on an
extremely
good show. Expect serious folk music and you may be slightly
disappointed.
Expect an enjoyable and entertaining performance with some top class
music
and you will have a great time!
(www.footstompin.com Music discussion) |
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The Slovenian monsters of folk arrived on stage 20 minutes late in true Rock ‘n’ Roll fashion. A huge crowd was crammed into the glorious Spiegeltent by this time buzzing with anticipation, ready to witness what has become a ‘must see’ show at the Festival. Terrafolk do not display any of the stony faced seriousness that many traditional acts posses; their tongues are firmly in their cheeks, only making an appearance when either one of the four band members decides to unleash theirs in order to pull a rock star facial expression. The abundance of musical talent and diverse influences within the band combined together wonderfully tonight, making their opening gig of this year’s festival one that the sell out crowd will never forget.
tw rating: 5/5
(Threeweeks magazine - Edinburgh Fringe Festival, August 2004 ) |
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Of all ex-Yugoslav republics Slovenia has made least impact on the world music scene. And then in 2003 a band called Terrafolk seemingly appeared from nowhere and walked away with the audience award at the BBC Radio 3 awards for world music. Anyone who was lucky enough to catch them live at one of their triumphant UK dates in 2003 will know that Terrafolk live up to their name. Central and South European music played with an attitude to terrorise the complete authentic folk brigade. The instruments may be acoustic but the attitude is pure punk. Enthusiastic energy is a fantastic virtue on stage, but the one question was how this would translate onto record. Well the energy tangential humour and virtuosity are all there. Terrafolk on record are a lot better that I had imagined. The connection to the land and the declaration of intent in their name I got and plenty I didn’t expect at all multi-layered instrumentation. Tastefully chosen material, good production and the variety of moods and styles. Uptempo original and traditional tunes are done with a rip-roaring power worthy of Kennedy, slower ballads come with a cheeky nod and a wink, Bulgarian harmonies are arranged with gorgeous understatement, and there’s even a beautiful and Kitsch Latin number with genius deadpan ‘come to bed mama’ vocals. Everything is respected but nothing is sacred – Bregovic’s standard ‘Mesecina’ comes out like a 70s Bavaria tourist board commercial. Brilliant.
Scan of the Review in the Songlines magazin
(Jonathan Walton (sep/okt 2004 - SONGLINES MAGAZINE)) |
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Slovenia's finest four-piece make virtuoso fiddling fun
WITH no shortage of maverick musical ensembles performing at the Fringe, it takes something a bit special to stand out from the crowd. Slovenia’s Terrafolk have it in spades. The four-piece are clearly supremely talented musicians, able to turn their hands to anything from classical, jazz, folk, pop and even tango during the space of a sparkling set. But the band - paying a third successive visit to Edinburgh - also make the tricky task of entertaining an audience at the same time as handling the most complicated of arrangements look virtually effortless. Within seconds of their arrival on stage they had the audience captivated by their virtuoso musicianship, offbeat humour and charming audience interaction. Formed just five years ago, Terrafolk, who won the BBC Awards for World Music audience prize last year, deploy the accordion, mandolin, double bass and guitar to produce a richly textured sound which always seems to veer off in an unexpected direction. During one tune, fiddler Mike Rofone managed to seamlessly weave in a rousing version of Scotland the Brave, even though he was playing his instrument upside down with the bow gripped between his knees. The band gave the term grand finale a whole new meaning, with an encore which saw the entire audience follow them out into the Spiegelgarden, where the show was brought to a triumphant close - followed by a backwards bow. (***** 5/5BRIAN FERGUSON, Evening News) |
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" Posted by JJ: 24 Aug 2003 at 23:28
I went to see this band and thought they were completely awful!! I don't know how they have managed to get 5-star reviews, win awards etc. To my mind they were very poor and left me bored after their first set.
I could not believe that the clarinet player (good though he was) started smoking on stage and contributed a few swear words as part of his English vocabulary - how appalling!! Totally unprofessional...
I thought the act was dated and unfunny and did not deserve a run of 3 weeks at the fringe. Please do not come back! There are a multitude of young Scottish bands who could grace that stage and do a much better job.
The sad thing is that most punters actually thought they were seeing a high class act. This key to the success of this band is that they know how to sell (misrepresent) themselves.
Elizabeth Posted: 25 Aug 2003 at 12:46 I was not taken with Terrafolk either. I was looking forward to seeing them but found them very disappointing. They were good enough musicians but their choice of material was strange with combinations of classical, novelty items, Klezmer and allsorts. Not at all what I expected. I was really riled at the start of the show by the off-stage moron who introduced the band as "Estonian" and who,when corrected by several shouts from the audience, snapped back "Estonian Slovenian same bloody difference!" A disgraceful display of bad manners.." (JJ and Elizabeth (footstompin.com) ) |
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"It's not often that a new group has the audience whooping and clapping within minutes but that was what happened last week when Slovenian band Terrafolk played at Bristol's Tantric Jazz Cafe. it was a superb gig of exhilarating foot-stomping tunes that had every one calling for more."
(Susie Weldon, Western Daily Press, Bristol) |
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