Kestenje by Batiar Gang

The beauty of a moment often eludes you when you try to grasp or capture it. Instead, its magic only becomes perceptible in its fleetingness.
The image of falling chestnuts in the poem “KAO UPIJANJE LEPOG” by Serbian poet Čarna Popović, so wondrously depicts this immediate effect without time to alienate the experience through thinking. We couldn't help but weave those words into an epochal work with the magical dancing vocal melodies of our singer Lea.
The original musical theme was written by trumpeter Micha and had been maturing in the band for a long time. For several years, we heard these sounds, slightly reminiscent of Ibrahim Maalouf, as a cell phone ringtone, and during this phase they had a significant influence on the band's creative movements.
The effervescent time shifts of this work are an inspirational echo of our travels in south-eastern Europe, where some rhythms do not want to be subordinated to the corset of straight, normative time signatures and thus gain an immensely lively character. The powerful, sweeping soundscape of the piece, with its strong and deeply trusting melodies, forms a bridge to the uniqueness of a small dancing moment of a lovingly sung chestnut. The
otherwise easily overlooked miracle holds a beauty that transcends the grandeur of any epic. We want to marvel at the wonder of existence in all things, no matter how small, together with this song.

Batiar Gang is a unique collective of clanging trumpets, saxophones and clarinets, two artistic accordions, a powerful drum kit, funky bass and unique, polyphonic vocals from south-eastern Europe. They dance and sweat to an unmistakable borscht of songs from the band's 10-year history, created on the roads or with a lot of wanderlust in the rehearsal room at home.

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