Thursday Balkan Boogie with Greshka and East Of West

Swing into the fabulous "It's Still a Secret" on Montague road for a delicious cocktail, some nibbles and be blown away by bombastic beats, silly segues and phenomenal French um music. And lots of alliteration.

East of West is a unique world music project initiated in 2018 by Bosnian-born composer and double bass player, Goran Gajić, Brisbane-based and renowned for his performance both nationally and internationally in jazz and world music scenes. The ensemble also includes Philip Griffin on the oud and laouto, a multi-faceted musician with a diverse range of achievements, including writing music for the Royal Shakespeare Company and leading the Senior New Zealand Ukulele Squad. Lastly, Malindi Morris completes the trio, offering her skills as a hand percussionist and composer specialising in Tapan, Darbuka, and frame drums, drawing on influences from the Mediterranean, Balkans, Turkey, and Iran. Their unique fusion of music explores compositions rooted in the rich musical influences of the Balkans and the Mediterranean, skillfully integrating elements of jazz and providing room for expressive solos and improvisation.

"This debut release by Brisbane trio East of West evokes, as the title promises, the experience of meandering through the back streets and alleys of a Mediterranean port city, where a moment of solitude and tranquillity can suddenly be replaced, as one turns a corner, by bustle, debauchery and danger. 

Bosnian-born bandleader, bassist and composer Goran Gajic, with oud player Philip Griffin and percussionist Malindi Morris, have crafted an album brimming with subtle touches and details, and replete with storytelling and imagery that's effective both mentally and viscerally." 

- Eugene Ulman, The Sydney Morning Herald (★★★★) 

Have you been feeling run down? You probably have a Vitamin S deficiency. Come to a Greshka gig for a big healthy nourishing dose of Vitamin Silly. They play music from Eastern Europe, gypsy, Balkan, klezmer – and all of it made extra silly with synthesisers, cimbaloms and singalongs. Greshka play music which sounds like the contents of Spongebob Squarepants suitcase as he sets sail for Sweden. There’s snappy sârbăs, synthonic ska and Serbian-style swing. It’s incessantly sporadic, spectacularly stupid, seldom stodgy, syllabically superfluous and unceasingly exceptionally SILLY!

Music from 7pm.

$12 on the door.