EDITORIAL REVIEWS
GYPSY ROCK! PUTTING A MODERN TWIST ON AN ANCIENT IDIOM: OK, so maybe it's not "rock" per se, but it is an astonishingly modern take on the musical language of the gypsies. Balval, a youthful and fiery quartet, co-opts the traditional melodies of Eastern Europe and the Balkans and swirls them with jazz, blues, rock and folk. The result is a multicultural, multilingual world music that begs to be heard. In fact, no one makes music quite like Balval. In an ideal world, the quartet will do for Eastern European music what the Buena Vista Social Club has done for Cuba, or what Tinariwen has done for music of the Sahara.

It doesn't take long to hear how the sounds from different modern genres exert themselves on Blizzard Boheme. Eastern European and gypsy traditions quickly morph into something fresh and fun, as on "Tango," which becomes a coy frolic thanks to Awena Burgess' tart singing. The brooding "Keren, Chavorale, Drom" is sultry, very bluesy and a little playful. "Blues" is almost Chet Baker-esque in its languorous sweetness. "Liza" sounds like Leonard Cohen as filtered through the eyes of a Romanian gypsy.

There are experimental overtones here as well, with hints of Laurie Anderson, the Kronos Quartet and other adventurous artists. It's a credit to Balval that they can conjure up the spirit of those souls while at the same time remaining grounded in their unique neo-gypsy niche. Nothing is sacred. Everything is fair game when playing by their rules, which is basically not following any rules at all. The musical freedom is liberating.

In perpetrating this gorgeous chaos, Burgess is accompanied by scorching violinist Rosalie Hartog, guitarist Daniel Mizrahi, bassist Benjamin Body, and percussionist Bachar Khalife. Together, the noise is brisk and blissful, crisp in performance and full of energy. The songs are sung in a variety of languages, from the Roma language, which is a beautiful mix of eastern chant and western vernacular, to Bulgarian, Hungarian, and Serbian. In fact, you can find Balval's Blizzard Boheme at the crossroads of all these marvelous and colorful cultures. Though it may seem on paper like a diffuse mosaic of styles and expression, the fusion is utterly intoxicating. Listen and learn. Remember the name "Balval." it means "the Wind."







REVIEW
.vibrant, energetic sounds that conjure gypsy dancing around Balkan campfires.swirling violin burning behind Burgess' unaffected, no-hold-barred vocals.that begs you to get your dancing shoes on, and maybe get a little crazy.fun, exuberant, sometimes dreamy, sometimes fiery stuff that bends the categories all over the place. -- allaboutjazz, August 03, 2007

I was blown away.thoroughly modern and deeply rooted. Awena Burgess's voice is perfect and compelling, whether digging her reedy tones into a melody, scatting wordless syllables.or injecting vocal percussion to urge the band to play faster, sweeter, deeper.The focus.on the emotion that Balval creates.World music fans, I implore you to buy this stunning album right now, both for your own sake and to encourage this amazing group keep playing their heart-stoppingly great Romani music. -- soundroots.org, July 16, 2007