BraAgas - Fuerte (2012)

"This album was published by Indies Scope Records (CZ). The Hungarian distribution and the organisation of concerts in Hungary is carried out by NarRator Records. The first performance of the album takes place in the Babel Sound Interactive World Music Festival (17th to 22nd July 2012, Balatonlelle)
BraAgas is girls’ band of four which genre could be suitably called, using nowadays often used label, ""world music"", because their repertory consists of folk songs from entire Europe - e.g. Spain, Occitan, Galicia, Scandinavia, Balkan or songs of Sephardim. The band is characteristic for their expressive and colorful vocals and vivid rhythmic and also for the use of non traditional instruments, such as cither, bagpipes, shawm, shalimo and different kinds of percussion. BraAgas are playing together since the beginning of 2007. Since then they have played in many concerts in Cheh Republic and mostly abroad and have recorded two albums (No.1 in 2007 - a mix of world music and medieval songs and a year later the No.2 - Media Aetas - short playing album dedicated to medieval music).
In May 2009 BraAgas profile appeared in Terra Musica program on TV and June 13th 2009 the band played at the opening of prestigious MTF Golden Prague Festival.

Significant part of BraAgas repertory consists of Sephardic songs. That’s why the band has its own special program focused much more traditionally and historically. In this program, the most important part is beautiful melodies of Spanish Jews which represent the unique legacy of this culture.

The Jewish community which had occupied the Iberian Peninsula until the end of 15th century perfectly blended musical elements of all the cultures which had coexisted on this peninsula in its music - Jewish, Christian and Muslim as well. After the Jewish exodus from Castile in 1492 the Sephardic Jews moved to entire Mediterranean region - Morocco, some parts of Ottoman Empire (today’s Turkey), Greece and Balkan among others. Thanks to this fact the Sephardic songs acquired another musical extent enriched with unequal rhythms, so typical for Turkey and Balkan. BraAgas are trying to apply this variety in their arrangements of Sephardic music. Interesting sound is provided by ethnic and historic instruments, vivid rhythm is inviting to dance and above all that are floating four outstanding female vocals tangled in exactly those harmonies that the origin of the songs calls for.

Fuerte
Fuerte is the fourth studio album by the band BraAgas. The new album is more dynamic than the previous album Tapas which was awarded the Anděl 2009 prize in the World music category. Undoubtedly, it’s the consequence of changes in personnel; the original all women quartet currently consist of 4+1 and the ladies still have superiority. ""…I think that the band moved forward thanks to this. I have always tried to make BraAgas something more than just squealing girls’ quartet; it was the double bass that gave it the right dimension. ""
The title alone (Fuerte means ""strong"" in Spanish) shows that there were some changes compared to previous recordings, the album contains more dynamic, almost dance songs. Of course, it is still the typical production of BraAgas, selection of folk songs from Iberia or the Balkans, countries whose songs BraAgas love to arrange. Fuerte has no aspiration to be compared to previous successful album Tapas, more likely the album loosely picks up where Tapas left off, mostly in the more dynamic moments of the band."