The all female group of four called BraAgas has recorded their third studio album Tapas. Songs from the whole of Europe originally dating back to anywhere within a thousand years time span are interpreted by the ladies on the Tapas album in a very modern way. And they do it with such energy and noticeable polyphony singing that you feel like you have just traveled the entire continent in forty seven minutes. And because the name Tapas is not there just for kicks, the tidbits awaiting you while listening are served from Spanish, Balkan, Nordic and Italian sources…..thirteen selected music tidbits altogether.
If you looked up any previous mentions about this group, they wouldn’t be that old. The girl quartet started up in the beginning of 2007 after the split-up of the band Psalteria. Previous reviews are also little confusing regarding the genre because the two previous albums recorded by BraAgas are totally different from the current album Tapas. “The first album called No.1 was a mix of everything – medieval and folk songs as well; the second one called No.2 - Media Aetas was purely medieval and the album Tapas has nothing to do with ‘medieval times’. It’s an album containing songs which we have discovered and adapted and also those few ‘hits’ which we’ve taken the liberty to modify; those that listeners of world music will definitely recognize.“ And since the ladies are mostly playing ethnic instruments and historic replicas, many guests were helping them in the studio and there were also some electronic recordings. Thanks to those a new modern sound was developed in the production of David Göttlich and Petr Koláček who supported the modern sound of the recordings. The album Tapas helps to bring this music and beautiful songs closer to today’s generations using also the medieval songs that are delivered to untouched listeners.
The ladies from BraAgas are not exactly beginners; they have been playing for a long time now. There were the already mentioned Psalteria before BraAgas and it’s not the only base BraAgas are building on. “It’s little similar for the listeners because the front woman, the all female group and the repertory genre has stayed the same. Our experiences from other bands have merged here – for me and Karla it was the Psalteria band, for Beta it was Gothart. Michaela had been sometimes the guest in different groups (e.g. Krless) before BraAgas originated,” says Katka Göttlich. The fact that the band was since the very beginning formed by professional musicians has helped them to record the album immediately and to start touring. Live playing is one of those things BraAgas can do really well. That’s why the CD Tapas is the result of their live concert art. The band won the music competition Česká spořitelna Colours Talents this June at Indies Scope Festival organized by Indies Scope Records and the Colours of Ostrava Festival supported by Česká spořitelna and the recording of an album was part of this prize. From: https://www.indies.eu/us/alba/360/tapas/
