avant-groove
7-10 pm
$7 suggested donation
ghorar deem express
The ten-piece avant-groove ensemble Ghorar Deem Express will play the Zeitgeist as part of a romp around the northeast to support their first American effort, slated for release in August 2005 on Floating Opera Records.
Born in Amsterdam, Ghorar Deem Express draws upon a diverse range of influences and unusual instrumentation to create a unique sound. Its ten members hail from six different countries and the lineup includes a vocalist who raps in Bengali, Italian, and sometimes a combination of the two. (The group also has songs in English, Japanese, and Tongues.) A section of three saxophones (alto, tenor, and bari) and an accordion contribute to the group’s unusual sound. Sometimes compared to Frank Zappa’s early compositional works, Ghorar Deem Express is a pastiche of both music and members.
Production: Floating Opera Records www.floatingoperarecords.com zachel_the_mediatrix@yahoo.com
a bengali phrase. translates literally to ‘the horse’s egg.’ used to mean ‘nonsense’ or to denote a sense of the absurd.
the history of ghorar deem express is as mysterious and convoluted as their name is unpronounceable to the uninitiated. vagabonds, traders, missionaries, and minstrels all converged at one point in space and time to make the recordings for their first release on floating opera records, released in amsterdam in february 2004. the collective traveled and performed together until the fall of 2004, when the winds of change blew once again, scattering its members around the globe. now the fates have chosen another location for the collective to converge: no less than the hub of the universe, that quaint new england city of beans, boston usa.
the music of ghorar deem express is as much a pastiche as the motley crew of personalities who make it. representing various nationalities, ethnicities, and chemical preferences, the 10 members of ghorar deem express are a colorful bunch, indeed, and this shows through in the music. well nigh impossible to classify, it sports unusual, highly varied, and utterly catchy grooves; rapid-fire, kaleidoscopic arrangements; and stark, haunting melodies flanked by collective improvisational explosions. listen closely and you will hear traces of rock, hip-hop, dub, drum-and-bass, samba, funk, klezmer, punk, and balkan folk beats; but any one influence is as elusive and fleeting as love, money, and happiness combined.
personnel
andrew bergmann - bassist, composer, music director, and elder statesman
rachel koppelman - accordionist, artistic director, and mediatrix
tyler wood - keyboardist, organ donor, and astronomer
nader sobhan - vocalist, ranter, raver, and whirling dervish
nikolai onken - guitarist, rockstar, and jester
lars dietrich - alto saxist, gamer, and librarian
eric nilssen - tenor saxist, cartographer
jay mcmahon - bari saxist, strategist
stephan verchin - drummist, beat machine, and trickster