Max Pashm

Max describes this as "KlezmerBalkanGreekGypsyPunk with Electro-beats" and that just about hits the spot. Imagine every Jewish or Gypsy wedding you ever went to or heard about crossed with an acid tinged disco and this fits the bill.

Klezmer is music of joy and of pain and of love and of broken hearts and Max Pasm manages to encapsulate all of these things while making the music incredibly danceable. I double defy you to sit still while this is playing and even more so to keep a smile off your face. The use of samples and beats together with traditional clarinet and bouzouki and the like are inspired but it needs to hold together musically as well and it does that with passion and j(oy).

From the opening number 'Imnul (Kisn Mayn Takhes)’ – translating as 'Kiss my arse’ – with the trumpet opening over balalaika you could be in Greece; until the beats kick in and the vocals start to chant and your hips start to shake with the rimshots. 'Fight In The Streets’ starts with Winston Churchill and wailing eastern European mamas before the madness overtake it. Nothing is as you might expect – lyrics don’t mean what they look like and the combinations leave your head spinning with the changes.

As a collective of musicians – Jewish, Greek & Balkan – the music has influences from all over but the whole is so much more than the sum of its parts. They create new music as well as subverting the old styles but the overwhelming feeling is that this crew are totally on top of their game and having massive amounts of fun while they do it.

I urge you to find this album and dive in; the worst that will happen is you might get to learn a new dance or three.