Dikanda “Ajotoro”

Having experienced the Polish group Dikanda live in concert, you are completely blown away. The quintet was founded way back in 1997 with members from Szczecin and Zakopane, in the north and south of Poland respectively, and is going from strength to strength in the meantime. Anna Witczak (vocals, accordion), Katarzyna Dziubak (vocals, violin), Piotr Rejdak (guitar), Grzegorz Kolbrecki (double bass) and Daniel Kaczmarczyk (percussion) partly take traditional tunes, partly write their own songs. They created a somewhat original and unique folk sound. It is not Polish folk and traditional music, and not what to expect from a typical Polish folk band. On the other hand, Dikanda is not one of those crossover roots bands springing up all over the place. They take their source material from the greater east European area. "Ajotoro" features six traditinal songs (coming from Macedonia, Russia, Gypsy traditons, etc.) and four original compositions in the very same vein, including the catchy title track. One might suspect the worst, but Dikanda circumnavigates all crags and cliffs. They make such songs their own and create a highly original roots sound, including all emotions traditional music has to offer: the highs and lows of a life, joy and pain, love and death. (Folkworld # 38)