Banda Yala

rebetiko / Greek folk

Banda Yala started as a duet, when Aron Hollinger (GER, guitar, vocals) and Odysseas Manidakis (GR, bouzouki, vocals) met in Linz in 2016, while studying at the Anton Bruckner Private University, Aron studying jazz guitar and Odysseas studying composition. The triggering cause was to play some Greek folk and rebetiko tunes for fun. They started performing in various restaurants and live stages in Linz and the surrounding areas. Over the years they developed a musical relationship, a core, which also welcomed other types of musical idioms into the melting pot of creativity. In 2018 Nikola Jelic (SER, accordion) joined in, bringing his own influence of Serbian folkmusic into the group (at that time named "Orpheus Trio") and that's when things started to get fiery. We are excited to share the sonic result of this collaboration with you and can't wait to celebrate together.

The Greek Restaurant Orpheus in Linz has been a place where the trio frequently performed and sometimes also invited other musicians to join on stage for a couple of tunes. Gradually the repertoire was expanded, the songs got arranged in fresh ways incorporating improvisation, reharmonized passages, translated lyrics and occasionally some explanation of the stories behind the songs. Eventually, own compositions and songs of Odysseas Manidakis were included in the program and the recent addition of Karolina Gaitanou (vocals, hand percussion) pushed our formation to the next level. We usually perform at festivals, cultural stages, corporate events, parties and weddings, but we are open for new challenges. The ultimate goal: To come closer to the audience in a live situation and embrace them into the folkloristic celebration mood.

Banda Yala @Kaffebar Quentin, Vienna

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Contact email: gyrosundseinefreunde@gmail.com