LES YEUX NOIRS (France)

GENRE:
Violin-wielding brothers lead excellent ensemble jazzing up gypsy and klezmer with gusto

MORE ABOUT:
Rhythms, songs, poems, and tales from another world. Nostalgia, virtuosity, emotions, lyricism, East and West intermixed. For 17 years, with over a thousand concerts around the world, Les Yeux Noirs have pursued their Romani-rock and Yiddish-pop journey! An epic voyage in a world free of borders, flamboyant, exhilarating. An adventure in the land of Gypsies and poets!

The band Les Yeux Noirs was created in 1992 by Eric and Olivier Slabiak. After being awarded the first prize by the Brussels Royal Conservatory, the two brothers did the rounds of various cabarets and restaurants which play Eastern European pieces. Eric and Olivier become skilled in the art of being musicians and learn the measureless repertoire which they have grown to love, through the legacy of their uncles, also musicians: Leo, the violinist played with Joseph Reinhardt for a long time, and Charlie, the bass guitarist, who sometimes accompanied Django.

SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY:
- “Opre Scena – Best Oyf” (Zig Zag – Harmonia Mundi, 2009)
- “T’Chorba” (Les Yeux Noirs/Recall, 2004)
- “Live” (EMI/Odeon, 2002)
- “Balamouk” (EMI/Odeon, 2000)
- “Izvoara” (EMI/Odeon, 1997)
- “Suites” (Buda Music/Mélody, 1994)
- “A Band of Gypsies” (Buda Music/Mélody, 1992)

PRESS REVIEWS:
“An outstanding ensemble” (Globe and Mail)

“The most vigorous music-making by far came from Les Yeux Noirs, the ensemble headed by brothers Eric and Olivier Slabiak. Brilliant as violinists and beguiling as vocalists, the brothers have managed to re-cast age-old Jewish and gypsy musical traditions in contemporary terms.” (Chicago Tribune)

“This French group revives the Gypsy rhythm with a new musical prose, somewhere between the Romanian Taraf de Haïdouks traditionalist vertigo and Gotan Project’s electric performance of tango” (Libération)

“Les Yeux Noirs stuck to their credo, making no compromise with trends” (L’Humanité)

“Staying seated while listening to these upbeat Gypsy melodies is trying. An enticement to dance and embark on a journey through Eastern Europe and the Balkans. Abounding with traditions, this music is sprinkled by Yiddish lines. In a remarkable and witty epilogue, the two brothers play a very skillful set of strings, violins seemingly chatting and bickering for the audience’s delight. The listeners, standing, have a hard time letting this ensemble of enchanting artists disappear backstage.” (La Montagne)

LINKS:
www.lesyeuxnoirs.net

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