Michal Noga Band – Stopy (Občianske združenie NOGABAND, 2020)
Stopy is the long-awaited debut album of one of highly regarded Slovak folk music researcher, bandleader, virtuoso violinist and composer, Michal Noga.
The album contains a splendid set of ancient songs from recordings of his valued archive. The dazzling fiddle music music is derived from the work of elder masters from different parts of Slovakia. Michal Noga and his colleagues recreated these historical musical pieces with impressive new arrangements.
Michal Noga says about the album: “Most of the people who carried on the traditions of the older generation are no longer with us. Fortunately, thanks to researchers—ethnographers and ethnomusicologists as well as amateur folklore enthusiasts—we now have a large number of written, audio, and visual records that give us access to parts of traditional folk culture that in many cases have already disappeared.
“On this album we’ve also included some short passages from old recordings, and we’ve tried to revive some forms of musical expression that, with a few exceptions, it would be hard to find in their natural environment today. Nonetheless, several of our guest performers come directly from the regions whose music we’ve interpreted.
“Our humble goal was to lead the listener into the past along the tracks of earlier generations, and maybe even to leave our own tracks behind in the present.“
Buy Stopy
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.