Before Windcraft Music Fest made its home in Katydata eight years ago, very few knew of this tiny Nicosia village. Thanks to the festival, however, it comes alive every August and for three days is a playground for workshops, concerts and a hub that blends Cypriot hospitality and tradition with sounds from around the globe.
This summer too, Windcraft Music Fest is preparing a groovy comeback, with an international line-up of bands that infuse musical traditions of the world with jazz and electronic dance beats. The 8th edition of the festival on August 5, 6 and 7 will again see wind instruments have the starring role. In addition to the concerts, the festival will include three-day seminars for winds and voice, workshops and an interactive parallel programme.
This year’s concert programme includes selected Cypriot and international bands that will present original compositions. Combining modern sounds with the musical traditions from around the world, they will create a mixture of musical styles that will carry us away in a range of emotions and will surely make us dance.
Four renowned international bands stand out, in which wind instruments have a leading role: Fanfara Station from Italy, Tunisia and the USA, which blends brass with Maghreb songs and electronic sounds; Bobby Rausch from Germany which uses drums and two low-pitched instruments to transfer us to the dancefloors of Berlin; the trio of guitarist and trumpet player Ofer Mizrahi from Israel which combines the music of the West with that of the East with great sensitivity; and the energetic band Technobrass from Brazil that transmits the energy of techno music using only brass and percussion. From Cyprus, two exceptional groups featuring outstanding young musicians will be hosted: the project Hará of flutist Eleonora Roussou and the quintet of guitarist Alexis Kasinos.
Musical performances will also unfold in the narrow streets and squares of the village, with the Alarga Ensemble, the Tropos Ensemble and the Windcraft Band presenting traditional music from Cyprus and the wider region, while spontaneous musical encounters and jam sessions will accompany festival-goers until the early morning hours. During the festival, the audience will also be able to visit an in-situ sound installation by composer Stella N Christou that will be created after on-site research in the village.
Experienced and distinguished musicians and educators will participate in the festival’s educational programme of seminars: Giannis Diskos (Imam Baildi, Mousiko Kouti-ERT) will coordinate a workshop on Balkan music for wind instruments; the musicians of Bobby Rausch will present the use of acoustic and electronic effects in their performance; and Elena Xyda will moderate an acapella vocal ensemble. In addition, Elenitsa Georgiou will teach young children traditional songs, while Alice Ayvazian and Kalia Loizidou will present a workshop that integrates blues singing with dance.
Finally, the parallel programme of the festival is topped with activities and performances for the whole family: the musical-narrative performance In Two Paper Shoes with Marina Katsari and Giannis Koutis, the presentation of the new poetry collection by George Papaconstantinou Iliovouttiman, a cyanotype workshop with wildflowers and herbs, as well as quizzes and exploration games in the village.
Windcraft Music Fest
Annual music festival with concerts and workshops. August 5-7. Katydata village, Nicosia. Presale tickets: €15 for 1 day, €35 for 3 days. Tel: 22-377748, [email protected], www.windcraftmusicfest.com
