Trans-Siberian March Band

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The Trans-Siberian March Band

TSMB at Rich Mix, August 2011.
Photo by Traz Rodd
Background information
Origin London, England, UK
Genres Balkan
Gypsy music
World
Years active 2007-present
Labels Kremlin Kitchen Records
Website
Members Isabella Fletcher, Ruairi Glasheen, Pippa Holmes, Rob Kelly, Lucy Lester, Emily Lim, Sarah Mann, Becky Millward, Sally Outwin, Omer Plotniarz, Kath Pollard, Donald Ridley, Nick Sweeney

The Trans-Siberian March Band (TSMB) is a London-based Balkan music band. They play not only the music of the Balkans, but also Russian, Turkish and Klezmer tunes. Their repertoire ranges from the well-known, such as Goran Bregović’s Mesecina, to the obscure. They also write their own material, described by the band as ‘affectionate pastiche’.

The band's sound and look

They are not purist in their approach to the music, and believe in mixing up styles and influences to create their sound. They mark the similarities between certain Balkan-style rhythms and ska, and include ska versions of Balkan tunes, such as their arrangement of Šaban Bajramović’s Buba Maro, from the Emir Kusturica film Black Cat, White Cat, which they have renamed Ska Maro, and of the Klezmer standard Golden Khassene, renamed Kompletely Khassene. They are prominent on London’s Balkan scene of bands playing what can be broadly described as Gypsy music. They have a brass-based sound, rather than one featuring violins, cimbalom, accordion or other instruments that could be classed as typical of this kind of music. With this approach, they follow a tradition established by leading Balkan music lights Fanfare Ciocărlia, the Boban Marković Band and the Kočani Orkestar, rather than, for example, violin pioneers Taraf de Haïdouks. A closer comparison is with the 3 Mustaphas 3, the London Balkan band from the 1980s, while a Time Out review described them as 'the Sex Pistols of Balkan Brass'. Their line-up features a front line of 3 trumpets, 2 clarinets, and 1 alto saxophone and a back line of 2 tubas, 1 bass trombone, 1 tenor trombone, 1 guitar and 2 percussionists playing, variously, a darabouka, cymbals, a davoul and a snare drum. They have also included a French horn, a violin and a mandola in their line up. To begin their gigs, the band often march while playing. This spectacle, the band usually playing battle marches from the Ottoman Janissaries’ repertoire, draws attention to the event. During the march, one of the trumpeters plays an ancient Greek instrument called a salpinx.

Band members of both genders cross-dress as part of their act. They present a cartoonish Soviet image, though they are not politically affiliated or oriented towards Soviet-style ideologies. The band costumes include showgirl-type outfits, a Russian sailor, a Yugoslav Pioneer girl scout, a baboushka, a Russian cyclist, outlandish hats, wigs and dresses, and garish make-up.

Appearances

The TSMB play extensively on London's Balkan and burlesque scene, in dedicated venues or one-off Balkan nights, pubs, clubs and masked balls. They also play outside London. They have played many festivals, including Glastonbury (2009), Secret Garden (2009), Lovebox (2009 and 2011), the Henley Festival (2010) and the Thames Festival (2010). They also played in the Royal Festival Hall as part of Bandstand Busking (2010). In 2011 they played as support to Mahala Rai Banda at London’s Rich Mix venue. Other high-profile appearances they have made in 2011 include the Playgroup Festival, the Out of the Ordinary Festival, Extraordinary Voices at the Barbican, and Bestival and the Chalk Farm Roundhouse, in collaboration with Duncan Beiny, DJ Yoda.

Unusual events

They have played at some unusual events, such as the 70th anniversary of the Kindertransport, at London's Liverpool Street Station (2008) in their first collaboration, in this case with actors from Liverpool John Moores University drama department. They played much of their Klezmer repertoire, but also included a Balkanised version of God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen. Other non-standard gigs have included a korfball tournament in Hungary, on the bridge in Mostar, in Bosnia, British shopping centres, on the steps of a museum in Mtskheta, in Georgia, and, also in Georgia, at an IDP camp. On 31 December 2011 the band did a full set as part of the Royal Festival Hall's New Year's Eve Party, and did a short marching set to lead guests out to see the fireworks, when they finished with a Balkan ska version of Auld Lang Syne.

Tours

In addition to playing in many locations in the UK, including Brighton, Bristol, Sheffield and North and South Wales, the band have done 3 overseas tours. In 2008 they played in Vienna, Austria, in Ráckeve, near Budapest, in Hungary, and, in Bosnia, in Maglaj, Mostar, and Sarajevo. In 2009 they played in Kotor, in Montenegro, and again in Bosnia, once again visiting Maglaj, Mostar and Sarajevo. In August 2011 they toured Georgia, playing in Gori, Mtskheta, Batumi and Tbilisi. The band organise the tours themselves, without management or agents, and finance them out of funds earned at their gigs. Band members use existing contacts, but also get in touch with promoters and venue-owners on spec, by e-mail or phone.

Origins

The band was formed in mid-2007. Band leader and clarinettist Isabella Fletcher formed the group with other musicians from the London Gypsy Orchestra, initially as a side-project from the orchestra. They were joined by musicians from a more traditional brass band. They later made the TSMB their primary musical outlet. Their first public performance was in the summer of 2007 at an open mic spot, as part of an evening of Gypsy/Balkan music. Their first booked gig came soon after.

Collaboration with DJ Yoda

In 2011, the band began its highest-profile collaboration, with Duncan Beiny, DJ Yoda. DJ Yoda supplied beats and effects from club hits, plus tunes orientated towards the band’s usual repertoire, such as the Tetris theme, (Russian tune Korobeiniki) and his trademark visuals, while the band responded, added to them or led them.

CD: The Tractor-Makers' Ball

In September 2010 the band released its first CD, The Tractor-Makers’ Ball. It was recorded in three sessions at the Strongroom Studios in Shoreditch. The songs featured on the CD are as follows:

  1. Kustino Oro – Serbia
  2. Gorky Street – by guitarist Nick Sweeney
  3. Mesk Havasi – Turkey
  4. Bublitschki – Klezmer
  5. Ska Maro – Serbia
  6. Sher – Klezmer
  7. Politburo Reggae – a reworking of the song Tradition, from Fiddler on the Roof
  8. Sina Nari – Turkey
  9. Mesecina – Serbia
  10. Petyorshka - Russia

Petyorshka video release

In March 2012 the band released its first official video, entitled Petyorshka. Directed by Kobie Flashman, it showcases the band playing Russian tune Petyorshka at a woodland party into which two dazed, crash-landed cosmonauts have blundered.

Band members

The band members work in various fields, including teaching, medicine and sound engineering. Their ages range from 23-72. Current members are:

  • Isabella Fletcher – clarinet and bandleader
  • Fotis Begklis – percussion
  • Pippa Holmes – trumpet and soprano sax
  • Rob Kelly – percussion
  • Lucy Lester – tuba
  • Emily Lim - trumpet
  • Sarah Mann – tenor trombone
  • Becky Millward – clarinet
  • Sally Outwin – alto sax
  • Omer Plotniarz - tuba
  • Kath Pollard – trumpet and salpinx
  • Donald Ridley – bass trombone
  • Nick Sweeney – guitar

References

[1][2][3][4][5] [6][7][8][9][10]

  1. ↑ 70th Anniversary of the Kindertransport in View London, December 2008
  2. ↑ , website of the British embassy in Tbilisi, reporting on the TSMB tour of Georgia in August 2011
  3. ↑ , TSMB with DJ Yoda at the Roundhouse, Loaded Magazine, Sep 2011
  4. ↑ , TSMB with DJ Yoda at the Roundhouse (2), Music OMH, Sep 2011
  5. ↑ , TSMB with DJ Yoda at the Roundhouse (3), The New Current, Sep 2011
  6. ↑ , BBC Zane Lowe show interview with DJ Yoda on collaboration with TSMB, August 2011
  7. ↑ , Review of TSMB at Rich Mix, the Arts Desk, 5 August 2011,
  8. ↑ , Review of TSMB at Rich Mix, This is London, the Evening Standard, 5 August 2011,
  9. ↑ , Time Out for TSMB on the bill at the Royal Festival Hall's New Year's Eve party, 2011,
  10. ↑ , TSMB on Underworld website, March 2011,

External links

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