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n route from sofia to Havana, guitarist Jaro Milko had a vision: to marry the Balkan melodies of his

roots with the south american grooves he loved, injecting both with a raucous new spirit. Cigarros explosivos! is the offspring of this crazy shotgun wedding.

Born into a family of Czech musicians fleeing prague for Basel in the 1970’s, Milko was weened on jump-step polka and gypsy swing. But as a teen he haunted the city’s used record shops, devouring all the multicultural rhythms and flavors he could get his hands on: garage rock and spaghetti western, israeli hafla and istanbul bellydance, Bulgarian chalga and Brazilian psych.

These formative influences fuel The Cubalkanics’ fiery debut, Cigarros explosivos!. The record is an open-ended ticket to a state beyond borders. To make it happen, Milko enlisted a gang of fellow vagabonds – The Cubalkanics. armed only with a $20 organ, amped-up trombone-bass, latin

percussion and drums, The Cubalkanics serve up a spicy jambalaya of swirling sound and pumping groove.

if music is a drug, this band is loaded. inebriated Balkan rave-ups share the stage with psychedelic peruvian chichas. stoned sambas and sunbaked rebetikas slide seemlessly into slinky montunos. overdriven cumbias simply make your ass want to move. and through it all, Milko’s fuzzed-out surf guitar shimmers and slices as sharp and cool as a Cuban machete blade. Whether he’s trilling his 12-string like a Cuban tres, or wielding his beat-up Fender like a bouzouki, Milko is the man behind the wheel.

like Kodachrome snapshots from a lost holiday, these 13 compositions conjure scenes of desert sands and deserted beaches, young lust and love gone wrong, barrio blowouts and rowdy cantinas. it’s a trip you will want to relive.

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1. Cumbia griega (3:50) * 2. el Topo (4:15) * 3. all The past (5:09)

4. Cumbia orientale (2:47) * 5. Music, rum and Cha-Cha-Cha (2:28)

6. Cumbia No. 5 (3:12) * 7. Miseria (3:30) * 8. summer in January (5:17)

9. Belly‘s Bounce (3:45) * 10. Herido (3:43) * 11. Danza Mentirosa (3:06)

12. el perro (3:40) * 13. Nah Neh Nah (2:20)

Jaro MilKo – guitars, vocals, keyboards, percussioneriC guT – drums, backing vocals, percussion, balafon

iNes BroDBeCK – percussion, backing vocals luKas BriggeN – trombone, bass trombone, trumpet

eriC gilsoN – organ

guesT MusiCiaNs:JaNa Kouril – vocals (track 8) · aNDreas TsCHopp – trombone (tracks 5, 6, 9, 11)

THoMas BauMgarTNer – gem sprinter 49 B, melodica, backing vocals (tracks 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 10, 12, 13)

srDJaN vuKasiNoviC – accordion (track 4) · aNi CorDero – intro speech (track 2)

CD-ATR 4614

& © Asphalt Tango Records GmbH 2014 Total Playing Time: 47:04

All tracks published by Asphalt Tango Records, except track 13, published by Tell It Like It Is

www.asphalt-tango.de

All compositions by Jaro Milko except track 6 by J. Milko / E. Gut, and track 13 by D. M. J. Schoovaerts / D. J - P. Schoufs

All lyrics by Jaro Milko except track 2 by E. Gut, track 8 by J. Kouril / J. Milko, track 12 by J. Milko / E. Gut / I. Brodbeck and track 13 by D. M. J. Schoovaerts / U. M. Balfe

All arrangements by Jaro Milko except track 13, tracks 1, 4, 7, 9, 12 by J.Milko / E. Gut and tracks 3, 5, 10 by J. Milko / E. Gut / I. Brodbeck

Produced by Jaro Milko and Eric GutRecorded and mixed by Serge Krebs at ww6.ch, Frenkendorf

Additional overdubs recorded by Eric Gut at onedrop.ch, BaselMastered by Dan Suter at echochamber.ch, Zurich, Switzerland 2013

Management and booking contact: E-mail: cubalkanics@gmx.ch, Phone: +41 79 938 18 25

Photos by Matthias WilliLiner Notes by Tod A, Cover design by Tod A, Artwork by Tod A and Claudia Bachmann

Executive production: Helmut Neumann & Henry ErnstMade in Germany & © 2014

Asphalt Tango Records GmbH Berlin, Germany E-mail: records@asphalt-tango.de

www.asphalt-tango.de

Special thanks to: Jana Kouril, The Milko family, Simone & Vincent Gut, Tod A, Ani Cordero, Serge Krebs and family,

Dan Suter, Emanuele Di Iorio, Angela Nyffeler, Matthias Willi, Stephan Brunner, Luc Montini

More outstanding music on www.asphalt-tango.de and in all fine record stores.