Hugh Tuffen
: Cello. When not studying volcanoes, Hugh plays, amongst other things, the cello. He is from Cumbria and recently rehaired his bow.
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Roger Purves
: Bouzouki, Guitar, Mandolin.
Roger, another Cumbrian, plays both rhythm and melody instruments in the Balkanics. He graduated on the Folk & Traditional music degree at the University of Newcastle upon-Tyne in 2005.
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Paul Ferguson
: Fiddle, Guitar.
Paul is also from Cumbria. He plays the fiddle from a largely Irish perspective, and the guitar with a possible lack of perspective.
Jane Lawrence: Fiddle.
Jane's playing draws on the Klezmer tradition as well as Northern English music. She teaches music in schools and community projects around the North West and was a member of European dance band Chouchenn.
Sian Phillips: Accordion.
Sian found The Balkanics Band after moving to Lancaster. She works as a music teacher and runs folk music workshops. Sian especially likes playing for dancing because, as she says, “it brings this music alive”.
Dan Fox: Percussion.
Ulverston's Dan Fox plays lots of percussion instruments and contributes the occasional blast of trombone with the Balkanics
Joe Murphy: Whistles and Percussion Joe left the band for a while because he was too busy, but he missed us so much he begged to rejoin. How could we say no?
Influences
Taraf de Haidouks, Ross Daly, Warsaw Village Band, Mozaik.
Sounds Like
The Lancaster Balkanics not the Washington Balkanics ;-)
With their unique blend of sizzling Balkan and Klezmer tunes, Lancaster's Balkanics Band deliver a big-band sound that ranges from driving dance rhythms to moments of melancholic introspection.
Since forming in 2007 they have been gigging throughout the northwest of England to increasingly large and enthusiastic audiences. Their idiosyncratic style reflects the diverse musical backgrounds of the band members, which include Balkan, Klezmer, traditional Irish, Scottish and English music, as well as rock, dance and classical.
For enquiries regarding bookings of any form, you can email us at thebalkanics@googlemail.com
The pig ate our accordionist Sian!
The recordings on this site were made in various live situations. We will shortly be starting work on our debut CD.
Here is a clip of us playing the tune 'Warsaw Frailach' at the Carnival of Culture in the Gregson Centre, Lancaster
Hello, How's it going, I have'nt seen you guys in a while. My daughter has just bought a Klezmer fiddle book and is working hard on a piece called "Bulgar from Odessa", she's only 10 and has been bitten by the Klezmer bug. Hope you are all well, I must try and see you live this year, hope to see you soon. Take care. Michael
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