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Overview
Powerful, intoxicating dance music from Melbourne's masters
of Gypsy and Eastern Fusion.
Zarafa is Melbourne's
premier Balkans and Near Eastern ensemble: a versatile group
of musicians and dancers who present a spectacular and eclectic
show featuring both traditional and original repertoire. The
ensemble draws on the complex rhythms and modes of Turkish,
Macedonian, Croatian, Persian and Moroccan folk traditions,
performing fiery acoustic dance tunes on authentic instruments.
These pieces are interspersed with samples and improvised
taksims to create evocative trance soundscapes, a backdrop
for dramatic contemporary bellydance.
Zarafa is led
by Pin Rada (baglama, ney, lyra) and Mark Planigale (oud,
accordion, sax, guitar, vocals), who draw on their Eastern
European heritage as well as many years of study in composing
and arranging repertoire for the ensemble. They are joined
by anywhere between one and eight other performers to create
an explosive blend of music and dance guaranteed to captivate
any audience.
Zarafa offers:
 a high
quality professional show
entrancing,
visually stunning bellydance
dynamic presentation of traditional musical repertoire
a cutting
edge sound combining electronic and acoustic textures
a versatile
lineup tailored to the requirements of each event
workshops
and classes on Bellydance, Middle Eastern Percussion, Improvising
with Eastern Modes, and more…
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Zarafa's Music
Sparkling new water from
an ancient well.
Zarafa specialises in the music of the Balkans peninsula
of Eastern Europe - the "Crossroads of the World" where
the ancient cultural tides of Europe, Asia and the Middle
East meet. The Balkan countries are home to some of
the hottest dance music on the planet, featuring wild
rhythms, haunting vocals and soaring instrumental solos
that come "straight from the source" - the fire in the
soul.
However, Zarafa is not simply a great Balkans band.
The key to Zarafa's music is diversity: the band draws
upon traditions as wide-ranging as Hungarian gypsy violin
music, medieval English songs, Sufi trance music and
North African bellydance. The result is an exciting
mix of traditional and original music and dance from
the Near and Middle East - a feast for the senses.
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Zarafa aims to be faithful to the cultural roots
of the music we play. We research and use traditional
melodies, modes, rhythms and styles of ornamentation
from the Balkans and the Arabic world. We also
use traditional instruments: baglama saz, ney
flutes, Cretan lyra, oud, violin, accordion and
others.
While Zarafa draws heavily upon traditional elements,
we do not aim is not to achieve a "pure" rendition
of this material, nor do we seek to recapture
some "golden age" of unadulterated traditional
music. Rather, the band seeks to create a unique
sound that expresses a contemporary, cosmopolitan
Australian identity. We see ourselves as playing
a popularising role, presenting the musical traditions
of the Balkans and Middle East in ways that make
them accessible to mainstream Australian audiences.
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We use the term 'Gypsy Fusion' to describe our
music. The word 'Gypsy' is used in reference to
the wide-ranging journey we have embarked on in
search of great music, crossing political, cultural
and religious divides; a refusal to be constrained
by artificial borders between musical traditions.
It draws an analogy with the role of the Rom people,
whose journeys over many centuries have played
a crucial part in the adoption and dissemination
of musical influences throughout Europe and the
Middle East. We use the term 'Gypsy Fusion' to
refer to our musical style, not the band members.
We do not claim to be of Rom descent or in any
way to speak on behalf of the Rom people. We are,
however, supportive of struggles against discrimination
and persecution in many parts of the world, including
the struggles of the Rom people. For more information
about the history and current status of the Rom
people, we recommend the excellent book "Bury
Me Standing: The Gypsies and Their Journey"
by Isabel Fonseca.
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Zarafa is a great example of the contemporary movement
in Australian music to explore the many cultural strands
that migrants have brought to enrich this society. We
communicate a message of delight in the many peoples,
cultures and environments that make up Australia.
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Zarafa has become renowned for colourful live
performances combining virtuoso instrumental technique
with emotional intensity. A Zarafa gig is as much
a feast for the soul as for the ears.
Zarafa has toured within Australia, bringing
diverse cultural influences to places where they
might not otherwise be heard. In so doing the
band has developed a following with audiences
ranging from primarily Anglo-Celtic crowds in
country towns, to primarily Turkish and Middle
Eastern audiences in the Northern suburbs of Melbourne.
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Zarafa has performed in a wide variety of venues,
from tiny cafes to concert halls. The band has
played at many of the well-known world music venues
in Melbourne, including The Boite, Barbukka, the
Big House and many more. Zarafa has also attracted
good crowds at festivals such as the Brunswick
Music Festival, Chewton Folk Festival, Pako Festa,
Hume Winter Festival, the Bendigo Easter Fair
and others. Zarafa performs and tours with dancers,
including expressive dancer Madhussa and bellydancers
Sarah and Tanleea. Zarafa has also presented theatrical
performances including a 90-minute children's
show entitled "The Tale of the Giraffe".
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Zarafa's Stories
Every piece we play has a
story.
Stories are woven through the fabric of Zarafa's music.
Each has a history; some stretching back centuries,
some only a few days. Some are stories about our own
lives; some about historical events; some resonate with
the fables found in many cultures. We tell them, act
them out, bring them to life with our instruments and
voices. One of our aims in performing is to communicate
these stories, their strangeness, joy and wonder, to
our audience.
Here are the beginnings of some of the stories that
are bound up with our music...
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Zarafa... the tale of the giraffe
Our name Zarafa derives from the Arabic
word for giraffe. We chose this name to
commemorate the story of the most famous
giraffe in history, who in the 1820's journeyed
from her birthplace in the Ethiopian highlands,
across North Africa and the Mediterranean,
to reach Paris where she became part of
the royal menagerie of King Charles X. Along
the way she caused riots as people flocked
from their fields and villages to marvel
at this amazing animal. With her spectacular
"forked lightning" coat and her gentle nature,
Zarafa charmed everyone who saw her. You
can read more about the true story of this
amazing animal in Michael Allin's book of
the same name.
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The princess and the gypsies
"Once upon a time, a princess lived
with her father the King and her mother
the Queen, in a huge old stone castle. She
had everything she could want: rich foods,
beautiful tapestries, teachers to impart
knowledge and servants to attend to her
every desire. But she was lonely. The thick
walls which ensured her safety also cut
her off from the wide world beyond. Then
late one night she heard the distant strains
of raucous gypsy music, drifting up from
the town below..."
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Imam Bayildi (Marvellous eggplants)
"At last the prayers are over and the
Turkish priest walks home after a long day's
work. As he makes his way through the cobbled
streets, he is surrounded by the sounds
and smells of the evening: car horns blaring,
children shouting, the sizzle of onion frying
and the smell of freshly baked pide. One
particularly tantalising aroma grows stronger
and stronger as he nears his home. His wife
has been busy preparing a fabulous meal
of eggplants…"
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Aisha's revenge
"Many centuries ago there lived a woman
named Aisha, a famous dancer. It is said
that she was one of the most passionate
and entrancing women of her day. Eventually
news of her beauty reached the ears of the
Sultan, a man who knew no limits to his
desire for control. He summoned her to appear
before the royal court. When she refused,
he sent soldiers to capture her, and forced
her to dance for him at the point of a sword
- the ultimate humiliation for a woman to
whom freedom was everything. Aisha nursed
her anger through many long nights and at
last devised a plan to exact vengeance.
With the aid of a large amount of gold,
she enlisted the services of an alchemist
and a black magician, and set about her
terrible plan..."
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Born with a halo
"Imagine a tiny village that clings
to the mountainside in Istra, western Croatia.
One chapel; one pub; one schoolroom; a thousand
narrow goat tracks winding among rocks and
scrub. This is the place of my father's
childhood. I say his childhood, not his
birth, even though my grandmother lived
there all her life. Because there was something
curious about my father's birth…"
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Updated July 07
