A few months ago, I never would have believed that listening to a fusion of jazz and electronic music would be a pleasant or even fun experience. But after hearing a number of friends rave about the funky beats of the noted Austrian ‘electroswing’ DJ Marcus Füreder — better known by his stage name Parov Stelar — I decided to check him out. Needless to say, I have been hooked on his music ever since.
Curious to see how Stelar’s eclectic music would translate into a live setting, I eagerly bought a ticket to see the Parov Stelar Band with popular supporting act Oi Va Voi, which means “Oh, Dear!” in the Yiddish language. An experimental band from the United Kingdom, Oi Va Voi bases its sound on Ashkenazic and Sephardic traditional music. For these two impressive musical acts, the show in Istanbul felt like a homecoming of sorts. Both of the bands have shown great affection and love for the city, and continually reminded the sold-out Volkswagen Arena how much they appreciated being back. The lively Istanbul crowd responded in kind by clapping, dancing, shaking and moving to the upbeat rhythms of the jazz instruments, the electronic beats, and the lead female singers of each act.
The highlights of the show for me were the great vocals from singers Bridgette Amofah and Steve Levi of Oi Va Voi (the latter is also a fantastic clarinet player); the two of them had an excellent give-and-take as they switched seamlessly between the band’s English and Yiddish song lyrics. Equally impressive was the layered instrumentation of the Parov Stelar Band, which featured Willie Larsson Jr. on drums, Jerry di Monza on trombone, and the aptly named Max the Sax on saxophone, together with powerful, fast-paced vocals from lead singer Cleo Panther. Oddly enough, Füreder, the ostensible leader of the Parov Stelar Band was off to the side, busy with his producing work and certainly not the main attraction. But don’t be fooled, without his DJ work behind the scenes, there would be no dancing. The show could not go on without him.
At one point in the concert, I almost felt as if I was transported back to the exciting era of the 1920s and 1930s, when the jazz and swing eras were in full force and that kind of lively, high energy dancing was a product of actual instruments rather than manufactured beats. However, in the 21st century, electroswing seems to be flourishing; it’s a masterful fusion of very new and old music genres that somehow seem to mix well together, especially when backed up with great vocals and musical instrumentation.
Overall, between last month’s appearance of Jack White with his band and this month’s amazing dual billing of Oi Va Voi and Parov Stelar, I can only hope that Istanbul will continue to attract high-profile musical acts. With consistently large crowds and concertgoers who really get into the music by dancing and singing along, the new Volkswagen Arena is a verifiable success, and clearly a great addition to the list of concert venues in the city. I look forward to seeing another band there very soon and sweating it out to the music with everybody else.
I’m hooked on Parov Stelar now, too. Hope to make it back to Istanbul someday to see a show there.