Music CD details

Forty Thieves Orkestar

'Forgotten Tales'

(Crafty001)

Musicians:
Aidan Love - Laptop, Dub Controller
Idris Rahman - Clarinet
Andy Gibson - Oud
Kate Hands - Violin
Sami Bishai - Violin

Record label - Crafty Music, UK
Released 2006

"Explosive debut from the band everyone wants to know...

...a multi-coloured, multi-textured flying carpet of an album. The perfect vehicle to pick you up before a night out, take you for a spin, then bring you safely back home again." 
Songlines, June 2006

From record label:
"A dastardly infusion of Eastern melodies and sultry London beats, Forty Thieves Orkestar create a unique sound both in their recorded material and in their live shows. Their influences range from Klezmer, Gypsy and belly dancing music to Hip Hop, King Tubby style reggae and the laid back bar grooves of Kruder & Dorfmeister. Clarinet, Violins, accordion, cello, brass, oud and percussion interweave with earthy samples, crisp beats, evocative atmospheric sounds and studio trickery.

The project started back in early 2003, with founding thief Aidan Love experimenting with various samples and melodic ideas. The first track, Beirut Express, came about in a very instinctive manner with its rich mixture of belly dance grooves, Arabian melodies, club beats and quirky/warm sonics.

Inspired by concerts by various Klezmer bands and the amazing Romanian Gypsy band Taraf de Haidouks, Aidan realised how important it would be to collaborate with musicians who could bring the project to life. First, clarinet maestro Idris Rahman's virtuoso but gritty playing transformed the Forty Thieves sound. After subsequent sessions with Joe Townsend (jazz/gypsy violin specialist) and Martin Green (accordion) the next batch of four tracks came to fruition.

In 2004 Big Belly Beat was used in the soundtrack of the Disney remake of Around the World in Eighty Days. That summer saw tentative forays into live performance, initially just using a CD backing track. Aidan gained some live programming experience with Axelle Red, and he started using a laptop and a variety of musicians - between three and seven - in gigs around London. Festival shows included Lost Vagueness at Glastonbury and Off The Tracks. As the Forty Thieves sound took shape in the studio as well as on stage, 15 tracks were soon jostling for inclusion on an album and the ripest eleven of these were polished up to completion."

GBP 10.79

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Forty Thieves Orkestar

'Forgotten Tales'

(Crafty001)

This symbol  indicates an mp3 sound clip for that track. Click on the symbol and wait for the clip to start. For more information click here. Tracks

1. Only For Kings (4'38") 2. Balkan Babylon (4'40") 3. Jamal (4'56") 4. Rabble Rouser (5'45") 5. Slow Burn Red (5'30") 6. Big Belly Beat (4'53") 7. Shaki Stepper (5'33") 8. Cairo (4'12") 9. Gypsy Lament (4'28") 10. Beirut Express (5'33") 11. Galata (4'20")

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