tea hodzic trio reviews

21.03.2008 SONGLINES - Top of the World 4*

Since her move from Bosnia and Herzegovina some years ago Téa Hodžic has become something of a fixture on the increasingly lively UK Balkan music scene, as one of the singers of the London-based band Szapora. On this, her first solo project, she is joined by two of her bandmates, accordionist-guitarist Luke Carver Goss and violinist Oliver Wilson-Dickson, both experienced musicians with a solid grasp of the region's music and a thoughtful, cleanly played approach to it. Hodžic herself has a dark, relatively deep but flexible voice (perhaps a little less prominent in the mix than it could have been), and she contributes some effective guitar as well.
The songs by and large hail from the southern areas of the former Yugoslavia and are given a gentle performance with slightly old-fashioned modal harmonisation, which suits such lovely songs as ‘Zar Ja Nemam Ruse Kose' or ‘Otvori Mi, Belo Lence' far better than some of the flashier versions. There's also an understated performance of a Bulgarian râcenica dance, and the title-track is a sinuous Hodžic/Wilson-Dickson composition. A couple of spicier Roma pieces leaven the mix, although to my mind the group is at its best in the more contemplative songs of southern Serbia, notably the hushed suspense of the gorgeous ‘Zal Za Mladost', while the CD as a whole is deceptively simple and needs a couple of hearings to fully appreciate its emotional depth. And I don't mind admitting that a couple of performances brought me to the edge of tears.
KIM BURTON

London Evening Standard

21.03.2008 - Tea Hodzic Trio - Stay Awhile

Originally from Sarajevo, the husky-voiced singer Tea Hodzic has been resident in the UK for nearly 20 years and performed with her sister Mirella Hodzic in the excellent Balkan-style group Szapora. But this slimmed-down trio project gives a close focus to the Serbian, Bosnian and Gypsy songs that are at the heart of Tea Hodzic's repertoire. There's a dark and haunting beauty to this music and it's carried well by instrumentalists Oliver Wilson-Dickson on violin and Luke Carver Goss on accordion. The catchy title track is newly composed by Hodzic in a Macedonian rhythm with English words. There's a nostalgia here for a world that's far-away, or even lost forever, but no sentimentality. The Tea Hodzic Trio deserve every success.
SIMON BROUGHTON

‘ Téa Hodzic has a rich, dark voice and never better than when singing the Bosnian blues from her former home in Sarajevo and the surrounding countries. Her solo debut is glorious, with Luke Carver Goss on accordion and Oliver Wilson-Dickson on violin. These are powerful songs with an extraordinary lyrical beauty that this intimate trio really brings across '
Simon Broughton, Editor Songlines

'You could warm your hands on that - beautiful.' Jonnie Walker, BBC Radio 2

‘I'm blown away... one of the best voices I've ever heard in my entire life... absolutely out of this world' Frank Hennessy, BBC Radio Wales '

'Her voice haunted me for the rest of the day'
The Times

'I love it, its got such passion.'
Genevieve Tudor, BBC Radio Shropshire

‘Sarajevo-born Téa Hodzic has expended immense energy over the years to bring her beloved Balkan folk to the masses.

Trained in classical guitar and opera, Hodzic was already established enough in her own country in the '80s to end up playing for President Tito (amongst other musical highpoints), before eventually moving to the UK and forming super-group Szapora, a band consisting of Hodzic, her sister, five British musicians and a Polish gypsy.

She has recorded several albums with Szapora, has kicked it live everywhere from Womad to Buckingham Palace, and has collaborated with (amongst others) the National Theatre and fellow Bosnian Goran Bregovic. In other words, Hodzic knows her stuff.

For Stay Awhile , she's joined by the equally experienced multi-instrumentalist Oliver Wilson-Dickson, and accordionist Luke Carver Goss (Mabon, Szapora and The Carver Trio), both of whom she has worked with for some time.

Focusing on what she describes as 'the jewels' of her homeland (i.e. former Yugoslavia), the album opens with the sweet, arching lament called "Cororo". Already Wilson-Dickson's dexterous violin (an instrument he's been studying since the age of six), and Luke Goss's compelling accordion act as perfect backdrops for Hodzic's masterful voice.

The enchanting power of that voice is naturally heightened by the mysteriousness and majesty of the Balkan language (the title track, one of two original compositions on the album, is the one concession to the English language and gives a valuable insight into the preoccupations of these folkloric songs); in the same way, the songs themselves - shot through with traditional themes of nostalgia, love and pride – gain potency as the rhythms and arrangements become more intricate, and the playing more impassioned.

Songs like "Magla Padnala V Dolina" and "Zal Za Miadost" are immensely moving despite the impenetrability of the lyrics, while the pseudo-instrumental "Racenica" is as biting as anything Szapora have turned their hands to. A haunting mix of heartfelt balladry and folkish flair, Stay Awhile is highly successful in translating both the joy and vulnerability that exists at the core of much Balkan music.'

by Paul Sullivan
19 December 2007
BBC ONLINE REVIEW

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