“On his new CD ‘Strange Suite’ he is merging jazz with influences from the Balkan and the Orient, interwoven with complex, unlinear rhythms. It is igniting like fireworks….“
Bert Noglik / MDR (Germany)
“Too often hotshot guitarist satisfy themselves with showing off, but Yuseinov is doing much more than that: he’s demonstrating what can happen when jazz fuses with Balkan folk music, and how much fun it can be–especially when you team up with a world-class beatboxer. I don’t recommend listening to this one in the car unless you want to get a ticket.”
Rick Anderson / cdhotlist (USA)
„In the course of an Eastern expansion of west European sensitivity and while being curious about the exotic sounds and not completely overfed with the old story of western pop music we can enjoy about his Balkanized jazz rock how he is using a fretless guitar, a bouzouki or a saz. In the melodies south European flair, Balkanesque rhythms and a trace of melancholy arise, which we do not have elsewhere. Thus this album is a plea for the acoustic Eastern expansion of our borders of taste.“
Harald Justin / Junge Welt (Germany)
„The album is driven by technical excellence, led by Yuseinov`s virtuosic guitar playing, his punctuated rhythms, intricacy and accuracy at lightning speeds. Though impressive, at times this furious precision verges on a mechanical rigidity that lacks space for breath. Perhaps for this reason, the album works best with the volume turned up, capturing the energy, fervour and soulfulness that deserve to be projected.“
Celeste Cantor Stephens / Songlines magazine (UK)
„Ateshhan’s cocktails and company (what a company!) Are dangerously intoxicating, unloading and dancing. But at times both deepening and satisfying.“
Ludmil Fotev / BNR (Bulgaria)
ATESH TAYFA feat World Beatbox Champion SKILLER (Bulgaria)
Ateshghan Yuseinov – Guitars
Venera Todorova – Vocal
tba – bass
Stoyan Yakoulov – Drums, Percussion
feat.
Skiller – Beatboxing
ATESHGHAN YUSEINOV is one of the most interesting guitar players, not only on the Balkan. With his unique technique which can be characterized by its fast rhythms and changes of the Balkan music and combined by improvisation in a very open way of playing he has aquired cult status. Apart from the guitar Yuseinov is famous for his multi-instrumental skills. He is equally in command of playing the tambura as well as the saz.
Biography
Yuseinov became famous with Elka Atanasova and the record „Winds Of The Rhodopes“ (Earthen sound).
Recordings and concerts with the group „Zone C“ and Okay Temiz followed.
Ateshghan Yuseinov also worked with the Zig Zag Trio / Peter Ralchev and Stoyan Yankoulov for a long time and the recorded the CD „When the bees are gathering honey“ (Kuker Music).
He was also successful with the Zig Zag Trio feat. Ivo Papasov.
Afterwards he took part in the special project „Fairground“ (Kuker Music) of Ivo Papasov. In 2005 this project took the BBC Music Award.
Ateshghan play also in the „Ivo Papasov & His Wedding Band“ for very long time traveling all over the world.
For the festival „Strings On Fire“ a special string project with Zoltan Lantos, Vladimir Volkov and Stoyan Yankoulov was realised.
The new project Kalman Balogh, Peter Ralchev and Csaba Novak was created for the jazz festival in Graz in 2005 and still is present.
In the last years he is also a part of Balkan Khans project feat. musicians from 4th diferent generations and with totaly diferent background (gypsy, beatbox, folk, jazz, modern) like 71 years old gypsy violin virtuoso Venzi Takev, 26 years young 2times Beatbox World Champion Skiller aka Alexander Dejanov, the multi instrumentalist and global fusion composer Nikolai Ivanov and tupan gaida (bagpipe) master Kolio Ivanov.
Yuseinov also staged at Rudolstadt Tanz & Folk Festival, Strasbourg Bienalle, Elmau Jazztival, New York BoC Marathon, Salzburg Balkan Fest, Graz European Culture Capital, Vienna Accordion Festival, Bruxelles Europalia, Dresden Festival, Gewandhaus Leipzig, Gypsy Festival Tilburg, Moskow World Music Festival, Fächerwelt Karlsruhe, Umea Folk Festival, Balkanfeever Vienna, Sziget Festival Budapest, Time in Jazz Sardinia, Cormons Jazz & Wine, Budapest World Festival, Graz Jazz Festival, Auerbach Festspiele, Roskilde Festival etc. etc. etc.
Review
Ateshghan Yuseinov’s guitar work techniques are mind blowing, yet he is not all technique. On faster numbers, he has a seventies-era jazz-fusion buzz, while on “The fog is lifting” his tenderness is evident.
PEGGY LATKOVICH / Rootsworld
SKILLER Wold Champion Beatboxer
the beatbox phenomena, in other words the bands drum machine
Where other bands uses drum machine, backing tracks or a set of sampler, Balkan Khans has Skiller. 7 minutes jungle or drum and bass rhythm, no problem – Skillers mouth do it! Dirty House beat or the sounds of snares, clicks and cuts, no problem – Skillers mouth do it! Basses and strange kind of samples, no problem – Skillers mouth do it! Furthermore the live sets of Balkan Han can be spiced by his solo beatbox sketches.
27 year old beatboxer Skiller aka Alexander Deyanov from Sofia/Bulgaria is better known as the “fast mouth” from the East. He earned this title thanks to its ability to perform fast rhythms and drum patters. Alexander takes his beatboxing beyond the traditional hip hop influences into a much broader range of contemporary styles.
The ability to express himself trough a different way gives him the opportunity to explore the art with different projects and makes him attractive for one of the most successful companies in the country – Nestle Bulgaria. Skiller has brought the art of beatboxing to mass attention in Bulgaria. He is the first national beatbox champion (2007). Despite his age he has been on stage in countries like: Japan, England, Germany, Russia, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Greece and many others. He sheared the stage with various international artist like: Shaggy, Lumidee, Outlandish, Jaba, N.O.H.A, Stereo MCs, Transglobal Underground, Foreign Beggars, and many others.
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