CSOKOLOM
Ludo Luda/Fool's Fancy (Arhoolie)
Reviewed by Eric Steiner

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Csokolom play traditional folk and dance music from the former Yugoslavia, straight out of Zagreb. On Ludo Luda/Fool's Fancy, this quartet of Anti von Klewitz (violin, vocals), Sander Hoving (kontra, a five-stringed Croatian national instrument), Anneke Frankenberg (violin), and Gregor Schafer (double bass) play 19 songs with roots all around central and southern Europe. I'm always amazed at how European fiddlers share melodies and dances across cultures, as their take on the "Pink Panther Theme" and "Gypsy Song" both would be right at home with traditional Appalachian fiddlers and dancers. Ludo Luda/Fool's Fancy features fine plucking and playing across Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, and Zagreb (since independence in 1991, the capital of the Republic of Croatia). This is Csokolom's second CD (May I Kiss Your Hand?, also on Arhoolie), and it's an exciting peek in to a country that's too often linked with war and strife and not often enough to the great folk music and dance that's flourished in traditional European cultures.

Track List:

Mahala Arpad, * Intro to Ludo Luda, * Ludo Luda * Hochzeitstanz * A Csitari Hegyek Alatt * Pink Panther Theme / Pink Legényes / Legényes A minor * Lullaby / Mahala * Gankino Horo * Anii Mei (years of my life) * Hajnali * Jove Malaj Mome * Victor / Szapora * Csillagok, Csillagok / Jadran * L'Infidèle * Mult Ma-n Treaba Frunza-ngusta * Gypsy Song / Legényes * Megragjak A Tüzet * Khelimasko Shavo / Dance tune from Romania * Mahala Arpad (Fools rush out...)

© 2002 - Eric Steiner