La Giostra

Kërkim (Albanian for ‘Research’) is an Apulian five-piece outfit augmented with a few guests. The result might be wrongly filed as an album of the Balkan fever that seems to pervade Apulia; their very name, however, indicates they mean to travel to investigate sound and rhythmic narratives across the Mediterranean.

Their second release, La Giostra (The Carousel) features nine tracks, a mix of self-penned and traditional songs. It begins with the title-track, symbolising migrant cultures, a nostalgic waltz that recalls the Italian brass band tradition but that also incorporates asymmetrical Balkan rhythms and jazz digressions where wind instruments and accordion are superbly intertwined. A fiddle serves as a counterpoint to the tasteful singing on the sevdah song ‘Zapievala’. Elsewhere, you'll find the celebration of Roma tradition in ‘Tre Tzigani’ and the plaintive Macedonian song ‘More Socol Pie’. Led by the oud, the single ‘Tu Che Parti’, sung in Arabic, points to the Maghreb with chaabi influences, while the Arbëreshë (southern Italo-Albanians) standard ‘Lulle Lu’ floats along to a soothing arrangement before accelerating. Certainly, another rousing tune that captures the combo's musical journey is ‘Ballata a Ritmo Incerto’; there are various rhythmic changes, embodying the idea of a journey around the Eastern Mediterranean. Openness and multi-culturalism make this an enjoyable album of world music in the most sincere sense.