2005 - Saloni M presents The Shades of Love

Vardos

Driven by Alana's wild violin, chased by accordion and double bass, Vardos play gypsy and traditional music learnt during trips to Hungary and Romania. Formed by Alana Hunt in Perth in 1993, Vardos is now Melbourne based. Since 1995 members of the group have made trips to Eastern Europe to study the traditional music with folk and gypsy musicians, from Hungarian folk music schools to remote Transylvanian villages.

Vardos have also branched out into film and television. They made a cameo appearance on the popular Australian television series "Seachange", and also featured in Ruth Cullen's documentary on artist Vali Myers, "Painted Lady", shown on "Eat Carpet", SBS. Their music was used in a recent documentary about World Masters Games Athlete Vic Younger, screened on SBS television, and in Annemarie Szelecky's short animation about growing up in Hungary, "Fox Dance", screened in the 2004 Melbourne International Animation festival. Vardos star in the short silent film "Entertaining Countess Dracula", and have accompanied screenings of it live in 2004.

Performances in Australia include Four Winds Festival in Bermagui, New South Wales, National, Port Fairy, Victor Harbour, Illawarra and Fairbridge Folk Festivals, the Bellingen Global Carnival and the National Multicultural Festival in Canberra. Vardos have also toured to regional Victoria, Tasmania, South and Western Australia, New Caledonia, Switzerland and Hungary. Vardos had successful shows at the Famous Spiegeltent in the Edinburgh Fringe and the Edinburgh International Book Festival in 2003 and 2004, have appeared on Scottish television and the BBC news, and were nominated for the 2003 BBC Radio3 World Music Awards (Audience Award).

Vardos recorded their first CD in Budapest, Hungary in 1999 and launched their second CD, "Entertaining Countess Dracula" to a sell-out crowd at the Melbourne Festival Spiegeltent in 2002. A recent review:

"a ...traditional and acoustic sound, with the wild fiddle of Alana Hunt.. The virtuosity is just faultless, making it a joy to listen to. They bounce through Romanian, Moldavian and Hungarian tunes with joy and ease. "

Geoff Burton, folkROOTS (fROOTS) magazine, UK, December 2003

"With stagecraft that is equal parts formation dancing, martial arts and Keystone Cops, the violin-accordion-double bass trio play with formidable panache... Vardos don't hold back. They give the tumbling, compound-time dances and slow airs- so sad they can't bring themselves to sing the words- both barrels and not a few of Hunt's bow hairs." ****

Rob Adams, the Herald, Edinburgh 2004

Visit Vardos' website.

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