MEC YEKFile under Worldwide, Roma, Rock & Beyond!
Sometime midway through the 1990s, Piet Maris (frontman with the acclaimed Euro roots outfit Jaune Toujours)
began to make contact with gypsy musicians and, through their guidance and contacts, to travel regularly to a Roma
community in Slovakia. Through the latter, the ever curious musician learned their gypsy style of playing. Afterwards,
this repertoire was thoroughly reintepreted by the musicians of Jaune Toujours, who, in their usual fashion, began
pushing the music beyond the boundaries of tradition by adding their own musical flavours to the sound. At first, the
more traditionally-minded gyspies in the band’s audience frowned in astonishment at these changes but the sound
began to catch on with the younger Roma. The latter’s stamp of approval was, ultimately, given authority when two
young Roma singers - Katia and Milka Pohlodkova - joined the band on stage and never left... The gypsy
incarnation that has developed from Jaune Toujours is called Mec Yek!
Line-up : Katia & Milka Pohlodkova (vocals), Piet Maris (accordion & vocal), Théophane Raballand (drums & percussion),
Mathieu Verkaeren (double bass), Mattias Laga (sax soprano & clarinets), Bart Maris (trumpet and tuba)
Mec Yek press quotes :
FINANCIAL TIMES (★★★★): The dominant Gypsy jazz offers endless twists SONGLINES (★★★★): A wide musical catchment
that reflects the group’s diverse backgrounds as well as the itinerant heritage of the Roma people ROOTSTIME (★★★★): het
soort Roma-muziek dat Mec Yek vandaag maakt heeft zonder iets van zijn eigenheid prijs te geven, moeiteloos de stap naar de
moderniteit gezet LUST FOR LIFE MAGAZINE (★★★★): Opzwepende muziek die Oost- en West-Europa op een originele
manier verbindt RnR (★★★): Taisa revels in its jauntiness, whilst the band are adept at providing restless rhythms amidst a
joyful approach that would excite any audience MIXED WORLD MUSIC: Katia en Milka kunnen een keel opzetten van je welste,
maar ook zo verleidelijk koeren dat het de luisteraar week wordt in de benen AT THE BARRIER: Manic and maverick Roma
ska-punk gypsy jazz from Belgium, without a violin in sight
Billetterie : https://my.weezevent.com/mec-yek
Event Venue
LE BAIXU, Pixel Museum, 1000 Brussel, België,Brussels, Belgium