Combine a French clarinettist, Croatian accordionist, Russian bass player and Singaporean/Australian violinist and you have BabaGanoush - Melbourne's maestros of Eastern European music and song.

Intoxicated with passion, romance and tragedy, BabaGanoush cross many borders to tell their tales of love and heart-break. Their fiery arrangements of Gypsy classics, French cafe music, Klezmer dance tunes and quirky originals are masterpieces of inspired and virtuosic unpredictability.

One of the most exciting trends to hit the underground music scene in the late 20th century has been the worldwide explosion in the Eastern European / Gypsy music scene. Sparked by great bands such as the Rumanian Gypsy orchestra Taraf de Haidouks, this music has exhilarated audiences around the world with its exuberant energy and amazing presence.

BabaGanoush have brought this energy and excitement to their performances creating a heatwave everywhere they appear. From underground Balkan parties to the Spiegeltent, from intimate cafes to huge crowds at the National Folk Festival, from the streets of Melbourne to clubs in Hamburg and Paris, BabaGanoush's blazing musicians have created a fever and whipped audiences into wild frenzies with their hot performances.

Utilising great melodrama, BabaGanoush effortlessly transition between haunting laments and wild run-away dance tunes. The combination of violin, clarinet, accordion and bass is warm and pungent, with heartfelt vocals adding another layer of depth and meaning to the performance. Seamlessly mixing East and West, traditional and original, skin-tight ensemble playing with virtuoso soloing, BabaGanoush have created an unmistakeable sound that is both excitingly new and strangely familiar.

Whether appearing as a dynamic four-piece, or with stunning Gypsy-style bellydancer Sarah Turner, BabaGanoush are guaranteed to get your pulse racing. Violently sweet and sexy or cataclysmic and convulsive, the BabaGanoush experience is always memorable. Don't miss it!

BabaGanoush was founded in 2003 by Malini Chidzey, the band's charismatic leader and virtuoso violinist. She invited singer-accordionist Mark Planigale to join the group, and from their first moment of playing together, the magic of their combined talents was obvious. Malini and Mark began performing as a duo in early 2004.

In 2004-5 the pair were joined by Colette Mortreux (clarinet) and Andre Lobanov (bass) to complete the band's outstanding lineup. The first gig with this full lineup was in March 2005. Between June 2005 and April 2006, Colette travelled overseas and was replaced by clarinettist Aviva Endean.

BabaGanoush's profile has steadily grown with performances at local and national festivals as well as a European tour in 2007 that took the band to Germany, Holland, Belgium, France and Switzerland. BabaGanoush has a history of interesting collaborations with other groups including involvement in the Vjerba Dance Theatre production 'Svetlana's Lullaby' in 2006.

Important dates...

Jan 2004: First gig

Nov 2004: Clarinet added to lineup

Mar 2005: Bass added to lineup

May 2005: First radio live-to-air performance (3MBS)

Aug 2005: First festival performance (Darebin Music Feast)

Dec 2005: Launch of debut CD 'Posthumous'

Oct 2006: First performance with dancer Sarah Turner (Spiegeltent)

Apr 2007: First interstate performance (National Folk Festival)

Jun 2007: First international tour (Western Europe)

BabaGanoush's music incorporates many diverse influences, drawing upon the myriad of European folk traditions and also making forays into the realms of tango and bellydance. The band are led by their ears - following the sounds that they love without being overly concerned about musical (or political) borders.

The music is both authentic and fresh. Band members have studied with masters of Eastern European musical traditions. The music therefore reflects the subtleties of traditional genres. However, the musicians also let their imaginations loose to create interesting and unusual arrangements. There is plenty of space for inspired and exploratory soloing, and at times the music is reminiscent of jazz in this respect.

While it is difficult to describe BabaGanoush's repertoire in any simple way, most of the pieces have their roots in one of four musical genres:

Gypsy classics

These are well-known Russian Gypsy pieces such as Dark Eyes, The Basso, Two Guitars, as well as more obscure Hungarian and Rumanian gypsy repertoire, all given the unique and quirky Babaganoush treatment.

Klezmer

Klezmer is the traditional Eastern European Jewish music, full of mourning as well as excitement and joy. Klezmer is a huge genre and BabaGanoush performs a selection of slow and fast pieces including doinas, freylachs and bulgars.

French cafe music

Malini spent a year in France, much of it in Parisian cafes and bars performing with local musicians. She absorbed the culture and the atmosphere of the Paris music scene and brought back traditional pieces as well as original compositions in this vein.

Balkans songs and dance tunes

We are using the word 'Balkans' in a broad sense here to mean the South-Eastern corner of Europe. This region is the world's great home of irregular dance rhythms - 7/8, 9/8 and so forth. BabaGanoush love to perform these intricate and intoxicating traditional tunes and songs from Croatia, Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia and beyond.