Oi Va Voi
| Oi Va Voi | |
|---|---|
 Oi Va Voi at a concert in Cambridge, September 2009 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | Alternative |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Labels | Outcaste, V2 |
| Associated acts | Spengler, Galliano, KT Tunstall, Haylie Ecker |
| Website | |
| Members |
Josh Breslaw Matt Jury Steve Levi Michael Vinaver David Orchant |
| Past members |
Sophie Solomon Lemez Lovas Katie Birtill |
Oi Va Voi is a British band that takes its name from a Yiddish-derived exclamation popular in modern Hebrew meaning, approximately, "Oh, dear!" It is an experimental band from London, England, which formed in the late 1990s. Their sound draws on Jewish music from both the Ashkenazic and Sephardic traditions, including both klezmer and Judaeo-Spanish music, as well as Eastern European, especially Hungarian folk music, as well as contemporary electronic music.
Current band members
- Michael Vinaver (guitars, vocals]]
- Josh Breslaw (drums, percussion, production),
- Matt Jury (bass),
- Steve Levi (clarinet, vocals),
- David Orchant (trumpet),
Guests:
- Anna Phoebe (violin)
- Lucy Shaw (bass)
- Bridgette Amofah (vocals)
- Alice McLaughlin (vocals)
- Katie Birtill (vocals)
Former band members
- Sophie Solomon (violin, viola, piano, accordion, melodica), a founding member of the band who left in 2006 to launch her solo career.
- Lemez Lovaz (trumpet, vocals, piano, songwriting, lyrics), songwriter and lyricist, a founding member of the band who left in 2007.
- Leo Bryant (bass guitar, double bass)
Associated acts
- Anna Phoebe
- Maiya James of Spengler
- Earl Zinger (a.k.a. Rob Gallagher) of Galliano featured on the Laughter Through Tears album
- KT Tunstall, though never an official member of the band, featured on the Laughter Through Tears album and was a regular member of the live set-up. Her solo career then took off towards the end of 2004.
- Uzbek musician Sevara Nazarkhan featured on the Laughter Through Tears album
- Haylie Ecker
Discography
Albums
- Digital Folklore (2002)
- Laughter Through Tears (2003)
- Oi Va Voi (2007)
- Travelling the Face of the Globe (2009)
Singles
- "7 Brothers" (2003)
- "Refugee" (2004)
- "Yesterday's Mistakes" (2004)
- "Yuri" (2007)
- "Every Time" (2009)
Awards
- Oi Va Voi won an Edison award for Album of the Year 2004 Netherlands
- Oi Va Voi was nominated for the BBC Awards for World Music 2003 in the Boundary Crossing category.