NEWS:
“Woman in Sin” Reviews and 3 months of touring
July 7, 2010
Hey lovers of good music and good times everywhere, your friendly group of Roma-inspired musicians here beckoning you to follow our adventures on the road for the next 3 months and to listen/buy our 3rd musical offering, “Woman in Sin“. But don’t take our word for it. check out some of the reviews below.
Also, have you checked out our ‘Shows Page‘ lately? It’s packed with shows, festivals, parties and radio performances all over the west coast, central and mid-west United States. In september and October we’ll be going to europe for the first time as a band. The details for that will be up on our website shortly as well. All of the shows we’ve been playing lately have been ridiculously fun and we don’t expect that to end anytime soon. Last week we played a new event hosted by Chris Douridas of KCRW called School Night at Bardot in Hollywood that was perhaps the most fun we’ve ever had (and that’s saying a lot). Some people even described it as a turning point.
Reviews for our latest album, ‘Woman in Sin’ have been coming in rapidly as of late. Allow us to tintalize you with some excerpts. Here is part a review by TJNelson of World Music Central. Thanks TJ! (read the full review here)
“Fresh and flirty, clever and quirky, Fishtank Ensemble’s Woman In Sin is a veritable boatload of fabulous. Building on a resume of recordings that include 2005’s Super Raoul and 2008’s Samurai Over Serbia, Fishtank Ensemble’s Woman in Sin careens headlong into a musical landscape fashioned out of gypsy tunes, swing, jazz, Flamenco and folk melodies from Romania, Serbia and Transylvania, as well as brief dips into a manouche from Holland and Kurdish folk tunes, transforming the group into an American gypsy band.
Opening with the title track “Woman in Sin,” it’s difficult to not want a seatbelt as the group takes off with dazzling violin and guitar lines, but it’s Ms. Knudson’s stunning vocals that send the track off into outer space. . . “
Here’s is part of a review by Shannon Holliday of GoodSound.com. Thanks Shannon! (here is the full review here)
“Fishtank Ensemble ups the ante with Woman in Sin (FE 1003), one of the most eclectic and pleasant new surprises I’ve uncovered in some time. . . First-rate musicianship harnesses the energetic thrust of the tunes, which the group renders rich with a Hot Club and theatrical flair. After just one listen, you’ll find it hard to resist the urge to clap and shout “Opa! Opa!” in chorus. . . I’m continually inspired by people who can have this much fun making a living.”
Amen to that Shannon. We promise to keep making this music as you as you all promise to keep enjoying it (and maybe even supporting us while you’re at it). Alright, Fishtank Ensemble, over and out, eastbound and down, loaded up and pluckin’.
New Fishtank Ensemble Merchandise – CD, T-shirt and Vinyl 45
June 9, 2010
"Woman in Sin" Cover Art
Fishtank Ensemble is in the middle of never ending tour to support our brand new CD, “Woman in Sin”. We’ll be touring throughout the US this whole summer so check out our schedule to see if when we’re coming to a town near you.
Some of the fun shows we’ve got coming up are the Summer Solstice Festival in Fullerton, Malabomba! CD Release Show/Party in Los Angeles, the Albuquerque Folk Festival, and huge show in San Francisco on June 25 presented by Kafana Balkan @ the Blue Macaw featuring the incredible tribal fusion dancer, Rachel Brice.
kafana Balkan presents Fishtank Ensemble & Rachel Brice @ The Blue Macaw, June 25th.
There is a great review of ‘Woman in Sin’ here. Here is a small excerpt of the review.
“Most of the time when you hear a band being described as world music it usually means they play something that’s not recognized as being pop music within our limited definition of that term. The Fishtank Ensemble actually do play world music as they are inspired by not only their different nationalities but an international variety of musical interests. While one song might sound like it comes from a demented cabaret populated by characters from a Kurt Weill opera, another is redolent with the raw, naked passion of loss you’ll only hear in the truest and scariest flamenco, and a third has echoes of a rain-swept street in late night Paris. From small mountain villages in the Balkans to the urban sharpness of a hot jazz spot, The Fishtank Ensemble will take you on a musical odyssey that will leave your head spinning and your heart soaring.”
Cover Art for 2 song vinyl 45
A special thank you to Richard Marcus for this very thoughtful review. If you haven’t heard the music yet, head over to our music page and check it out.
There’s also a new T-shirt, sticker and 2 song vinyl 45 now available in our Fishtank Ensemble Store. The songs on the 45 are two all time classic gypsy tunes, ‘Ciocarlia’ and ‘Ciganka Sam Mala’. Special thanks to Scott McCormick from the great band Boulder Acoustic Society for the 45 art work and Cory Podielski for designing our T-shirts and stickers.
Fishtank Ensemble T-shirt
“Woman in Sin” Available Now! & CA tour in May
May 11, 2010
Well, the production of our 3rd CD, “Woman in Sin” has been a long, interesting, tedious, joyous and frustrating process, but we’ve finally arrived at the goal: The new CD is here in our hot little hands. And it can in your hands too by stopping by our Music Page to sample some of the tunes, then heading over to our Store Page to pick up a copy of your very own. All orders come with a complimentary sticker!
We also have a special, limited edition 2 song vinyl 45 with two all time classic Gypsy songs “Cocarlia” and “Cinganka Sam Mala”. Brand new T-shirts are on the way too and will be available soon. Special Thanks to everybody who Pre-ordered our new CD and donated to the production process!
On May 12 we start a 2 week CD release tour of our home state of California to promote the new music. Check out our Shows Page for all the details, but here’s a list of the shows coming up this month.
May 12 – Berkeley, CA – Freight and Salvage
May 13 – Arcata CA – Arcata Playhouse
May 14 – Nevada City – North Columbia Schoolhouse
May 15 – Point Arena, CA – Arena Theatre
May 16 – Sebastopol, CA – Hopmonk Tavern
May 18 – Sacramento, CA – Firehouse 5
May 19 – Santa Cruz, CA – Moes Alley
May 21 – Briceland – Octagon at Beginnings
May 23 – San Louis Obispo – Cal Poly Performing Arts Center
May 29 – Claremont, CA – Folk Music Center
May 30 – Irvine, CA – Lightning in a Bottle Festival
Press Release for 3rd Fishtank Ensemble CD – Woman in Sin
March 26, 2010
Parked next door to a sandwich truck sits a hand-built, mule drawn “Gypsy wagon,” like an apparition from a bygone era, in the driveway of a contemporary hillside home in Hollywood, California.
Belonging to Fishtank Ensemble, it embodies the wild and wooly journeys of the band’s eclectic and eccentric members—vocalist Ursula Knudson, violinist Fabrice Martinez, guitarist Doug “Douje” Smolens, and bassist Djordje Stijepovic—who share a vibrant passion for unbridled creativity and music with Roma roots. The quartet with a quirky name blazes new musical trails on their new album, Woman In Sin due out May 11, 2010 (fishtankensemble.com).
“We all met at a performance space called the Fishtank,” explains Knudson, who often finds herself explaining the group’s unusual moniker. “It had lots of windows, so passers-by could peer in on the activities inside like a fish bowl.” The budding ensemble then spent the weekend learning an entire repertoire of Romanian folk music. They quickly got a local gig, when someone asked the name of the band. Caught off guard, Knudson recalls, “I just blurted Fishtank. It doesn’t fit, and I actually like that.”
Their gallop across traditional and original sonic landscapes began in Europe, with serendipitous inspirations, irresistible urges, and love at first sight. It stretches from the echoing caves of Granada to the bombing of Serbia, from rollicking Venice to brooding Transylvania. “We were all guided by unseen forces and random acts of fate,” Knudson reflects.
As a teenager and promising musician, Martinez hitchhiked to Istanbul, collecting a treasure trove of instruments along the way. As jeeps with armed men patrolled the city, Martinez played illegally on the streets to collect enough money to fly back with all his instruments. “One day out of the blue I heard this music near a theatre,” recalls Martinez. “It was just one old guy playing violin and singing in an alley. Nothing more, and I loved it!” Inspired, Martinez returned home to Paris and immediately sold all his instruments, leaving him only with a violin that had been in his family for years. “I wasn’t interested in other music anymore, just the violin,” he says. “I resurrected this long-neglected family heirloom.” His fiddle led him to learn from some of the finest Roma players in Europe.
Smolens also found himself pursuing a passion he couldn’t deny and tracing a Roma route of his own, thanks to some flamenco recordings he just couldn’t get out of his head. He had grown up in the L.A. rock scene, playing drums and hanging out with Billy Idol and Slash of Guns ‘n’ Roses, and had no intention of picking up a new instrument. “I tried to resist for years,” Smolens laughs, “but in the end, I had to learn to play flamenco guitar. It grabbed a hold of my heart.” This unexpected calling led Smolens to the heartland of flamenco—learning from Gitano flamenco masters in the caves of Granada, Spain—and inescapably shaped his musical future.
Passion struck opera-trained American Ursula Knudson as she stood in a mass of masqueraded partiers at Venice’s notoriously decadent carnival one year. “Everyone was just staring at each other. After becoming bored with this scene, I went to a casino where Vinicio Capossela was playing,” recalls Knudson. From across the crowded room, as if by fate, her eyes met with those of a stranger: Martinez, who was playing with Capossela at the time. “He came up to me and we began talking about music,” she continues. Despite having respective fiancés, a year and a half later the two were married. Guided by hidden forces, they soon began their romantic wagon wanderings through Transylvania, and eventually wound up in Oakland, where they teamed up with Smolens.
These traveling troubadours soon picked up exceptional Serbian bassist Djordje Stijepovic, who literally wrote the book on upright slap bass and has lent his trademark slapping style to some of the best rockabilly, Gypsy, bluegrass, and blues acts around the world. Growing up in Serbia, he got his hands on recordings by Elvis and the Stray Cats despite bombs, sanctions, and political upheaval. His masterful bass playing won him gigs with local Romany stars in smoky bars and coffeehouses from the tender age of 13, where the unique pulse and flash of the Balkans became second nature to the omnivorous musician. After moving to US he fulfilled his rock’n'roll dreams playing in a band with Lemmy from Motorhead and Slim Jim Phantom from the Stray Cats.
All these diverse roads led to California, where Fishtank Ensemble became an egalitarian society of like-minded musical overflowing with talent that lend to its rich and varied sound. As this wandering caravan forges new musical trails, each member contributes their own aesthetics and experiences to the collaborative creative process. “I like to start songs,” Smolens notes, “but I really love when the band helps finish them. We all end up shaping them and creating something unexpected.”
Woman in Sin teams with a polyglot array of personally-felt folk influences channeled into vivid original songs like the sexy title track, written by Smolens with extensive input from the group to showcase Knudson’s striking looks and torch-singing persona. Providing a solidly swingin’ foundation for the band, Stijepovic’s bass is virtuosic, upbeat, and sensual by turns, especially in a sultry duet with Knudson, the jazz standard “Fever.”
On “Cou Cou,” Smolens and Knudson mix French and English in a playful tease of original lyrics as Knudson’s girlish voice gracefully drifts between the guitar and violin, with a wink to the Hot Club of France. Reveling in the sounds of Django Reinhardt while adding rock ’n‘ flare, Smolens’ flamenco-tinged gypsy jazz guitar style shimmers.
Echoing the memories of Martinez’ days as a circus performer, a musical saw (played by Knudson) warbles a high-pitched haunting refrain on the lilting waltz “Espanolette.” “The saw is my thing,” says Knudson with a smile. “It works because I am a singer, and it involves the same bodily intuition. People always tell me that they can’t tell the difference between the saw and my voice.”
Stijepovic keeps the party going with an original take on an irresistible Balkan dance form with “Djordje’s Rachenitza”. “It’s a big thing in Bulgaria and Serbia,” Stijepovic explains,” but the 7/8 groove also gets people dancing anywhere. So I just had to write my own.”
Inspired by a Kurdish melody, “Nadim” is a blisteringly fast and darkly entrancing jaunt that features percussive bass slapping, virtuosic violin solos, and technically skilled guitar work. The title of the song pays homage to a melody by Martinez’ favorite violinist, Nadim Nalbantoglu. “It was incredibly hard to figure out,” Knudson explains, “but Fabrice loves a challenge. We all worked from the basic melody and arranged something very Fishtank Ensemble sounding.”
Showing the band’s versatility and emotional range, “O Dewel,” is a seductively slow-waltzing, musical prayer. Featuring lyrics in Romanes, a West European dialect of the Roma language, this intensely pensive piece produced a powerful spiritual experience in the studio. “It was a magical moment,” remembers Knudson. “On the first take, there was this point where the music swelled and we all felt it. It’s just that kind of a song.” Shifting gears, “Opa Opa” invites the listener to a raucous celebration by evoking images of dancing Gypsies on tabletops. Knudson notes that, “It’s just a dirty party song from Serbia that is like a volcano of sound.”
With a new emphasis on original material and old-school skills, Fishtank Ensemble has matured into their distinctly odd yet remarkably apt name, performing a self-aware selection of twisting timbres and tempos that capture an ineffable joy. “We want to produce music that people have never heard before, taking audiences to new places, so they can experience a range of emotions that we transmit through song,” muses Knudson. “That is the best thing we can offer: our heart.”
Here’s a video of us playing our new song, ‘Woman in Sin’, at Fox News in Austin, TX for SXSW.
SXSW, Endless Touring, Woman in Sin
March 10, 2010
Fishtank Ensemble is about to embark on about 2 months touring throughout the Southwest and Southern US. Check out our shows page for all the details. We’re especially excited to be heading to South by South West (SXSW) for a couple of shows at this legendary music festival. We’ll be doing an official showcase on March 19 at the Amsterdam in Austin, TX with our friends and agency mates Asylum Street Spankers, Boulder Acoustic Society and The New Familiars.
We are also proud to announce that the mixing is done for our new album, the artwork looks incredible and will be done shortly and we’ve decided on a title . . . “Woman in Sin“. There’s still time to help us pay for the enormous up front expenses by pre-ordering the CD.
And finally for now, check out this poster from our new promo pack made by our good friend Mike Huling of the incredible theatre group, Handsome Little Devils. If you haven’t checked them out before, please do. Their show is amazing!!!
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| From Promo Material |
Winter update in the life of a Gypsy band
January 31, 2010
These days we’re putting the finishing touches on our 3rd album, tentatively self-titled. Thanks to everyone who already has pre-ordered, it is a huge help in getting this CD out and not going into too much debt.
Here is the video of us performing at the LA County Holiday Celebration. (Finally a good video of us on youtube)
We just finished up a whole month of touring that has been really fun and successful. The shows in Lancaster, PA, Los Angeles and Santa Barbara have been especially memorable. And thanks for the free skiing at Northstar in Tahoe after rocking out the ice rink in sub-zero temperatures. We sold out half our shows this month and every show but one was packed (what’s up Philly??). We even sold so many CDs that we ran out half way through the tour.
We want to thank everyone that came out to a show, bought a CD, hosted us at their house, etc. Touring isn’t easy, and it means a lot to us to have such great, enthusiastic fans.
Special thanks to our friends from the band Luminescent Orchestrii from New York who put us up while we we’re there. We always have a great time staying with them. They are kindred spirits in Gypsy Music, if you haven’t heard them, please check them out.
January East Coast Tour – APAP Conference
January 5, 2010
Fishtank Ensemble is leaving tonight for the east coast to play 2 1/2 weeks of shows. We’ll be doing a whole bunch of shows in and around New York City and showcases for a big industry conference, The Association of Performing Arts Presenters, or APAP. Check out our Shows page for a list of the upcoming concerts.
Also, what you do think of the new website design?? A special thanks to Mark Thornton from the band ‘God of Shamisen‘ for continuing to do such a good job. We are incredibly busy these days with touring, finishing our new album, and promoting it, so now would be a good time to sign up for the mailing list or subscribe to the RSS feed so you can stay up to date on all the Fishtank Ensemble news. Thanks to everyone who has pre-ordered our upcoming CD so far, and you if haven’t yet done so, please consider it. It will definitely be our best yet, and you will be participating in manifestation of this album, which means a lot to us.
2010 will bring shows and more shows, a new CD, a limited edition LP, shirts, stickers, posters and much more, so stay tuned.
Check out this promo video made by the folks at the LA County Holiday Celebration that we recently played in. (It has Fabrice’s brother, Roland on bass because Djordje was in Serbia at the time)
Pre-order our upcoming CD!!
December 14, 2009
We are hard at work on our 3rd CD and we’re really happy about how it’s turning out. Please consider pre-ordering our new CD (due out April 2010) and/or donating the production process.
If you think about all that goes into producing and promoting a CD, it’s a wonder an independent band like ourselves manages to make it all happen. Here are some of the expenses associated with making this new CD happen: Recording studios, hiring a mixing and mastering engineer, graphic design, website implementation, CD manufacturing, promotion campaign, etc. We could go on and on but suffice it to say that the bills and debts pile up quick.
This is where you, our wonderful and supportive fans come in. By pre-ordering and/or donating to us, you are directing supporting and enabling our current and future endeavors. This also means you will be sharing in the creation of this work along with us. All pre-orders will also receive a special limited edition thank you gift to let you know how much we appreciate it.
If you choose to donate to us, please know that all money will go directly to production and promotion. When donating, please indicate if you would like to receive the special gift that comes along with your level of contribution by emailing us at fishtank@fishtankensemble.com.
We have a very busy 2010 planned so we hope to see you then!
Don’t forget to follow us on twitter at @ftensemble.
Members of Fishtank Ensemble on tour with Gerardo Balestrieri
November 13, 2009
Fishtank Ensemble is proud to host yet another italian artist as their musical guest, and to perform with him as he tours CA, OR and AZ this November and December.
GERARDO BALESTRIERI will charm audiences with his unique blend of neapolitan, turkish, greek, french,and italian originals, with world music and jazz styles, sung in his deep resonating voice. His ensemble includes clarinet, accordion, baglaman, violin, percussions (cajon, dumbek) , guitar and upright bass. The line-up for the tour is:
Gerardo Balestrieri – Vocals, Accordion, Keyboard, Clarinet
Fabrice Martinez (from Fishtank Ensemble) – Violin, Baglaman
Douglas ‘el douje’ Smolens (from Fishtank Ensemble) – Guitar
Sean Tergis – Cajon, Dumbek
Roland Martinez (yes, Fabrices brother from France) – Upright Bass
Here is a little taste of Gerardos music:
Check out our tour schedule and enjoy a wonderful and unique evening of sly world music and help us to welcome this artist to our country!
October 2009 Update
October 30, 2009
It’s late October and Fishtank Ensemble has wrapped up 3 months of non-stop touring as well as recording our 3rd album. We played all up and down the west coast, throughout the Southwest, and we we’re in the Mid-West for the first time. We we’re really happy to see such great crowds everywhere we went. We especially loved playing a week of shows with our good friends from New York Luminescent Orchestrii and our friends from San Francisco, Brass Menazerie.
In regards to our new album, we are very happy with the way it’s turning out. Special Thanks to Samur from Seahorse Sound for his excellent engineering work. The album, which is still untitled, should be ready sometime in early 2010. Stay tuned for more information on this.
Here is a great looking video that was filmed when we played at the Sacramento World Music and Dance Festival
Fishtank Ensemble in the SF Chronicle
October 30, 2009
On paper, Fishtank Ensemble sounds like a mess. Founded about five years ago by a French fiddler who trained with Romanian Gypsies, a vocalist who also plays the violin and saw, a wild man accordionist, a flamenco guitar ace and a student of the three-string Japanese shamisen, the ensemble weaves together an unlikely blend of traditions at breakneck tempos.
The resulting sound is consistently captivating, as if Gypsy swing continued to swirl around the world, picking up new inflections at every turn.
“We’ve got Balkan, Gypsy, klezmer, Japanese folk music, classical and Flamenco,” says guitarist Douglas ‘el douje‘ Smolens. “It’s a little difficult to say how it all comes together. The foundation of the band’s sound is Gypsy music in all its various forms, but we’re not Gypsies. We didn’t grow up in that culture, and it would be foolish to reproduce that music. We’re absorbing those influences and using our own creativity and experiences to make Gypsy-influenced music the best we can.”
The ensemble started taking shape when fiddler Fabrice Martinez came to the Bay Area to visit vocalist Ursula Knudson, a Sacramento native who graduated from St. Mary’s College in Moraga. They met the other Fishtank musicians at a jam session and were so pleased by their instant chemistry that they decided to form a band. But the group didn’t get a chance to perform much at first because Martinez and Knudson moved to southeastern Italy to perform with Croque Mule, a band that toured in Gypsy wagons and busked on the streets.
When that band broke up, Martinez formed Opa Cupa, a wild 12-piece Balkan brass band. After he and Knudson got married and had a son, they decided to relocate to California and devote themselves to the Fishtank Ensemble.
With most of the players now based in Southern California, the group is building a following with regular performances up and down the West Coast and a thrilling new album, “Samurai Over Serbia,” that captures the band in all its eclectic glory. The title stems partly from Fishtank’s newest member, Serbian bassist Djordje Stijepovic, a charismatic player who grew up studying European classical music and playing in Gypsy bands, where he mastered a propulsive slap technique.
“We don’t have any drums, so the bass and guitar are really the rhythm section,” Smolens says. “You need a super-solid bass player as the foundation, and Djordje is just impeccable. He breathed new life into our songs with the power he projects. When he goes from plucking to slapping, he just elevates the music. There’s almost a sense of danger, as if everything could go spinning out of control into a train wreck. But we keep it together, usually.”
- Andrew Gilbert, 96Hours@sfchronicle.com
This article appeared on page G – 4 of the San Francisco Chronicle
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