A Hawk and a Hacksaw to release EP and tour in May with The Hun Hangar Ensemble

A Hawk and a Hacksaw's Jeremy Barnes (Neutral Milk Hotel) and Heather Trost continue to explore their European musical influences. The band will move to Budapest, Hungary in February, "for the foreseeable future," to record an EP with The Hun Hangar Ensemble. The album will combine traditional Hungarian folk songs with avant-garde jazz.

The two bands will share the stage on a UK tour in May of 2007, at the same time the EP will be released through The Leaf Label. "This tour will be the first time A Hawk And A Hacksaw have been able to present the arrangements and instrumentation of their records live on stage, and anticipations are high."

"Jeremy Barnes made an exploratory trip to Hungary in the autumn, where he developed a huge respect for Budapest’s Fono, a music shop, venue and centre for Hungarian folk music. Following a succession of concerts and impromptu sessions with Fono-affiliated musicians, The Hun Hangar Ensemble was born," explains The Leaf Label.

Alex Nielson of Directing Hand and Scatter, the "highly gifted and original young English percussionist," will be joining A Hawk and a Hacksaw's ensemble. The Hun Hangar Ensemble is comprised of Bela Agoston (Hungarian bagpipes, clarinet, alto saxophone, taragoto, viola), Zsolt Kurtosi (upright bass, accordion), Ferenc Kovacs (trumpet, violin), Balazs Unger (cymbalom), and Alex Nielson (percussion).

The Leaf Label gives a brief and interesting history of the members of The Hun Hangar Ensemble:

"Multi-instrumentalist Bela Agoston, an inspirational figure within the Budapest music scene, known for his freedom of thought and expression, has worked with The Odessa Klezmer Band and Szvorak Kati among others. Ferenc Kovacs, a self-proclaimed ‘contemporary peasant’ and a phenomenal trumpet and violin player, is a member of the Balogh Kalman Gipsy Cymbalom Band and the Romano Kokalo, and has played with Archie Shepp, Roscoe Mitchell, Hamid Drake and more. His solo recordings combine a Reichian approach to minimalism with a Hungarian folk influence. Upright bass player Zsolt Kurtosi, a member of the Budowicz Klezmer Band with considerable experience in traditional Hungarian and Transylvanian folk musics and klezmer. Balazs Unger, a young maestro of the cymbalom (a dulcimer-like instrument central to traditional Hungarian music) has played since the age of 14 in a wide variety of styles, including jazz (with the Mihaly Dresch Quartet), and Hungarian and Balkan folk."

In October of 2006, A Hawk and a Hacksaw released The Way The Wind Blows, which was recorded in Zece Prajini, Romania with a local Gypsy brass band called Fanfare Ciocarlia. This twelve piece band backed A Hawk and a Hacksaw while they toured with Beirut and Calexico. The album also included Zach Condon of Beirut, whom Jeremy Barnes has recorded, produced, and supported.

A Hawk and a Hacksaw - God Bless The Ottoman Empire (The Way The Wind Blows)
A Hawk and a Hacksaw - In The River (The Way The Wind Blows)
A Hawk and a Hacksaw - Portland Town (Darkness At Noon)
A Hawk and a Hacksaw - A Kernel (A Hawk And A Hacksaw)
A Hawk and a Hacksaw - Maremaillette (A Hawk And A Hacksaw)
A Hawk And A Hacksaw - A Hawk and a Hacksaw (A Hawk and a Hacksaw)

A Hawk and a Hacksaw on:
iTunes | Emusic | Insound | Amazon | Hype Machine | Elbo.ws | SeeqPod | Last.fm | YouTube | Flickr

A Hawk and a Hacksaw UK tour dates:
May 05 - OXFORD, ZODIAC - www.ocmevents.org
May 06 - NORWICH, ARTS CENTRE - www.norwichartscentre.co.uk
May 07 - LEEDS, HOLY TRINITY CHURCH w/ Jack Rose - www.ticketweb.co.uk
May 08 - GLASGOW, THE ARCHES w/ Jack Rose - www.thearches.co.uk
May 09 - NEWCASTLE, UNIVERSITY OF NORTHUMBRIA w/Jack Rose - www.mynsu.co.uk
May 10 - CARDIFF, THE POINT - www.thepointcardiffbay.com
May 11 - LONDON, BUSH HALL w/ Jack Rose - www.eatyourownears.com
May 12 - BRIGHTON, DOME w/ King Naat Veliov and The Original Kočani Orkestar (Brighton Festival)

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