Facts about KLEZMOFOBIA

KLEZMOFOBIA is Bjarke Kolerus (clarinets), Ole Reimer (trumpet), Andreas Ugorskij (guitars), Jesper Lund (basbalaleika), Jonatan Aisen (drums) and Channe Nussbaum (vocals).

KLEZMOFOBIA started playing together in 2004.

In 2006 they released their debut album “Tantz!” - and the album won an award for “Danish World Music Album of the Year” and was sold in more than 20,000 copies in no time ...

Late 2008 the second album "Ganze Welt" was released

The third album "Kartushnik" was released late 2012...

Reviews of a few of their live performaces and the CD's are to be found here

Facts about KLEZMOFOBIA’s music

KLEZMOFOBIA is real klezmer music at eye level with the audience.

KLEZMOFOBIAS living, lively, unpredictable and powerful expression speaks to every frame of mind and every kind of arrangements – from small intimate club scenes to outdoor international festivals.

KLEZMOFOBIA is a fascinating mixture of cheerfulness and melancholy. An innovative klezmer orchestra that mixes traditional impressive Yiddish klezmer music with a number of other old and new genres of music.

The klezmer music is the point of reference for everything KLEZMOFOBIA does. The integration of other genres of music departs from the klezmer music.

KLEZMOFOBIA is real klezmer music at eye level with the audience.

KLEZMOFOBIAS living, lively, unpredictable and powerful expression speaks to every frame of mind and every kind of arrangements – from small intimate club scenes to outdoor international festivals.

Klezmer was originally played by jewish musicians in Eastern Europe and the Balkans - klezmorim. Similar to the roma-musicians the klezmorim were versatile and skillful and were therefore sought after musicans for weddings, bar mitzvas, funerals etc. The jewish traditional folkmusic were also influenced by the local traditions and the gypsy music. The language used be the jews was jiddish – a language that still lives on.

Overview: What is Klezmer

In the beginning of the 20.th century a wide number of jews immigrated to the New World, and with them came the klezmorim. There was a lively music scene in USA, especially in New York, and old recordings still from the 1920´s and 1930´s are still one of the best sources for the music. The music was still played on fiddle, but influenced by the swing scene clarinet and trumpet soon took more and more over. One of the songs on Klezmofobias album “Tantz!” is directly inspired by the legendary clarinet player, Naftule Brandweine, which himself as a 27-old came as an immigrant to NY.

With time the music from the old world lost its popularity, and for decades the music nearly dissappeared. But from the late 1960´s the old klezmermusic had a renaissance, and the old klezmer musicians were new sought after again. A good example are the Epstein Brothers, that up till recently played and taught klezmer to the new generation.

It have always in the nature of folkmusic to be inspired by both it´s past and present. Today many klezmerbands get inspiration and songmaterial from the traditional klezmer, but also brings in modern influences such as jazz, rock and funk.

The Danish klezmer orchestra KLEZMOFOBIA is the living proof that an energetic mixture of tradition and renewal takes the music to places it has never been before. KLEZMOFOBIA is cheerful melancholy on Yiddish. A powerful and fascinating jumble of very old Yiddish klezmer elements and modern rock beats.