Please note this is an old page and Fly Global Music has now moved. Please follow this link and search for the entry in the new site.

The festival was a celebration of mestizo culture, showcasing diverse musical line ups, encompassing reggae stars Toots and the Maytals, hip hop from Brazilian Marcelo D2 and Mozambican xylophone-fusion orchestra Timbila Muzimba. Tonight’s line up (June 26th) brought together Portugal’s street company, Kumpania Algazarra with legendary Serbian bandleader Boban Marković and his Orchestra and headlining the evening, the master hispaniphier of pop, German i-book conductor Señor Coconut.

Kumpania Algazarra have already established a reputation in their home country for their manic, sporadic street performances and on stage energy. Tonight was testimony to their status as rising underground stars. A myriad of brass, reeds, rhythm, guitars, accordion and belly dancing, Kumpania are a mestizo of instrumentation and styles, blending ska, jazz, funk and gypsy music with a healthy dose of talent

Second on the bill was the Boban Marković Orchestra. The band, now in their seventeenth year , are considered by many the most important and talented Balkan Brass Band. Led by Mr Boban Marković himself and heir to the throne, Marko Marković, their influence has inspired the new wave of Balkan sound emerging from bands such as Beirut, Balkan Beat Box and indeed Kumpania Algazarra, who could be spotted paying homage in the audience.

Despite a lull at the beginning of their set, the ensemble raised the roof as they launched into a throng of driving and exciting Balkan dance tunes. The star of the show was undoubtedly Marković Jnr, his stunning trumpet solos wailed emphatically over the rest of the band, the highlight a vocal scat imitation of his playing style. On stage, the rapport between the players was demonstrated as they jollily, bounced along, further enhanced by the rapturous reception from the audience.

After the emphatic energy of Kumpania Algazarra and Boban Marković, Señor Coconut and band had a large task to live up to and unfortunately, in the light of his predecessors, their sound was flat and uninspiring. Señor Coconut is something of an oddball, brought up in Germany, the man of a thousand monikers moved to Chile in 1996 and has since dedicated himself to reinterpreting classic pop songs in a Latin American style. Tonight was a promotion for new album “Around the World” with a cover of the Daft Punk original at its heart. Alongside this we were treated to mambo and salsa reworkings of Sweet Dreams, Kiss, German 80’s track Da Da Da and some Kraftwerk.

Señor Coconut’s Venezuelan vocalist insisted the show relied upon a 50/50 relationship between performer and audience. For the previous acts this was a given. Señor Coconut however, left the majority feeling unenthused. A section of the remaining crowd got into the groove but many of eight hundred strong audience began to slip away into the night unmoved. It was all too polished, lacking the grit, entertainment and unpretentious fun of the previous two acts. Perhaps on a different line up Señor Coconut may have impressed but it was a disappointing end to an otherwise fantastic evening.