The Baghdaddies: Balkan melodies, Latin grooves, elements of English ska
January 30, 2019 2:36 PM   Subscribe

The Baghdaddies (official site) are purveyors of Baltics-via-Britain party-starting off-beat gypsy-ska-blues-funk, and have been going strong for more than two decades (Narc Magazine interview). Their official blurb is that their "exuberant and rampant brand of world music is an exhilarating cocktail of Balkan melodies, ska and latin grooves and sizzling brass played with furious energy and theatrical humour, making them as unforgettable on stage as they are when performing as wandering brass troubadours." Sounds good, but don't take their word for it. Enjoy their music on Bandcamp and Soundcloud, and check out five short videos from them on YouTube.

More from the Narc interview:
It all started with founder member Paul Susans spending time in bands in Europe, absorbing the multitudinous styles to be found across the continent, spending time with displaced people from the former Yugoslavia, particularly being influenced by the virtuoso Bulgarian clarinettist and belly dance enthusiast Ivo Papazov (YT, Papasov on Nightmusic), and assembling a collective of like-minded musicians on his return to the North East. What’s notable about the Baghdaddies’ line-up is that they’re effectively two bands in one – they combine a traditional bass-drums-guitar line-up with the more unusual ensemble of trumpet, trombone, sax, melodica and the mighty sousaphone, all with just five members. So it’s no coincidence that their style combines eastern European influences – Balkan gypsy, klezmer and souk music, with British folk, ska and even punk.
On Bandcamp, they have five albums:
posted by filthy light thief (5 comments total) 14 users marked this as a favorite
 
This scratches my Gogol Bordello itch. Gracias.
posted by delfin at 2:47 PM on January 30, 2019


purveyors of Baltics-via-Britain

The article is a little confused on their geography. They are a Balkan influenced ska band.

Besides, 9th-wave Estonian Ska won't happen until the late 2140s. Maybe then it will be the time that ska breaks into the mainstream.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 2:47 PM on January 30, 2019 [5 favorites]


thanks ... it also lead me to A-WA
posted by mbo at 4:33 PM on January 30, 2019


9th-wave Estonian Ska won't happen until the late 2140s

Lithuania sent this to Eurovision a few years ago, so it's a little more likely than you'd think.
posted by Copronymus at 4:35 PM on January 30, 2019 [1 favorite]


Aw, a nice British guy upon whom I had a crush gave me one of their albums and Random Acts of Kindness is on my "it'll probably be OK" playlist.
posted by ChuraChura at 11:30 PM on January 30, 2019


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