BraAgas - Tapas (2009)

"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.
Tapas
The all female group of four called BraAgas has recorded their third studio album Tapas. Songs from the whole Europe originally dating back to anywhere within a thousand years time span are interpreted by the ladies on Tapas album in very modern way. And they do it with such energy and noticeable polyphony singing that you feel like you have just traveled the entire continent in forty seven minutes.
And since the ladies are mostly playing ethnic instruments and historic replicas, many guests were helping them at the studio and there were also some electronic recordings. Thanks to those a new modern sound was developed in production of David Göttlich and Petr Kolá ček who sup-ported the modern sound of the recordings. The album Tapas helps to bring this music and beautiful songs closer to today’s generations using also the medieval songs that are delivered to untouched listeners."