Andrea Gerak - Zoltan Lantos duo

Andrea Gerak and Zoltan Lantos present their duo
on the 27th of October 2010, at IF Café, Budapest IX., 19 Ráday str.  

"The Hungarian voice that will keep one excited. Without fear, she experiments with traditional subjects, mainly with those coming from her country, approaching them from different angles. Nothing resists her; neither new age, nor world fusion, nor a cappella interpretations..." - Sobre Las Aireadas Olas

In many corners of the world, the name and of course, first of all the voice of Budapest and Stockholm based Andrea Gerak equals Hungarian folk song. With Irish, Turkish, Bulgarian and other folk songs, she takes the listener to other lands as well, even to such exotic places as the Solomon Islands.

Performing solo, with music or acapella, she mesmerizes the audience as well as in duo or accompanied by a full band.


Zoltan Lantos is a violinist who is at home in musical cultures from across the globe - but has forged a sonic language all his own, using Hungarian and Classical traditions, Eastern music and modern European jazz.

He is part of several international projects, beside performing solo, with electronic sound. Lantos' musical identity, as a violin player, is rooted in the traditions of his native Hungary. At the same time, it is deeply influenced by Indian music and other Eastern traditions, all embedded in a whirlpool of electronics, ambient textures and live looping. Sometimes contemplative, sometimes pulsing with fiery dance rhythms, his compositions and improvisations echo the music of his homeland, as well as the vast musical experiences he came across his way. Over the years, Lantos' musical voyage has brought him together with many great artists on stage and in the studio. But equally important were his numerous meetings with lesser known folk and ritual musicians, in the caves of Granada, the deserts of Rajasthan, the age-old Buddhist monasteries of the Himalayas, and remote Bulgarian weddings.



Upcoming dates
Book Andrea Gerak & Zoltan Lantos

The Queen of the Gypsies - Esma Redzepova

Concert review by Andrea Gerak

A few weeks ago in August, Stockholm had its yearly Kulturfestival, which is one of the greatest things here, with free events around the town. One of them was The Gypsy Queens & Kings with the Mahala Rai Banda, just in front of the Opera House.

And the Queen of Queens (well, I would say The Queen of Gypsies, for she was the only one from all the female performers to deserve this title, in my humble opinion): Esma Redzepova.

There could be pages and pages told about this charismatic lady from Macedonia, please check out her website at www.esma.com.mk

The whole evening with such a powerful, lively show was a real highlight for Stockholm (there should be much more of this kind of concerts, to shake up this cold North a bit...!!!) Let me just give you my personal impressions only about Esma's appearance, in a few words - more I can't find to express it all...

It happened to me.

What is it? Many times when I sing, I can see tears in peoples' eyes, they come to me to tell how grateful they are, what feelings I gave them with my songs - the most fantastic moments for a singer, to see others touched by something you do.

At those moments, I could imagine their states of mind, for I often have the same when I listen to music, I can be very emotional about it. But: it was still not completely real for me how my listeners felt, for I have known this only from instrumental music. I can't recall any singer alive whose voice has ever reached to my heart so deeply that it brought out my tears - and believe me, I have done quite some listening, including some of the biggest names, live...

So now it happened to me.

In the very first song when Esma stepped on the stage (stepped? is that a satisfactory word about a Queen, a real Dame, a phenomenon?), she did it to me. Letting her soul out with that powerful voice penetrated the innermost core of my being, and my feelings and thoughts had to flow out...

What an inspiration...!!! I was flying high the whole evening, and ever since, when I just think of those moments or listen to the recordings I caught with my mobile...

I am not a Gypsy myself, but love their culture, the music and the dances, it's an unbelievably rich source material for me that I try to weave into my performances. Have seen many of their folks singing, dancing and playing, on stage or at parties, but from this moment on, with these three or four songs from Esma, probably a new world opened for me as a singer.

If this is something that I can also give to others (and from the feedback, apparently I can...), this is what I wanna do in my whole life, as long as I am able to.

Thank you so much, Esma, with my greatest respect and admiration!!! Wish you good health and that people of the world can hear you for many, many years to come!












Also in Andrea's Blog (on www.andreagerak.com)