Django Jazz - Mec Yek

Somewhere in the 90s, Piet Maris, accordionist and singer of Jaune Très,

ventured into gypsy circles and made return trips to a Roma community in Slovakia. Her

accordion in hand, he took notes and recorded the songs that make up everyday life there.

It is this field work which is the basis of Mec Yek: the repertoire was strongly arranged by part of

the crew of Yellow Always.

Without staying too close to traditions and surprising the Roma community itself, Mec Yek

excites even the youngest among them. And it was then that two young singers Romani - Katia

and Milka Pohlodkova - threw themselves on stage at the end of a winter concert in Ghent, never to be seen again

to share out. The gypsy spin-off of Jaune Ouvert is called Mec Yek!

Just like the story of Mec Yek, their music is full of surprises. As successor to

SuperDiverCity, at the end of 2021, they released the album Taisa, which means 'tomorrow'. The ‘mañana’ of the Roma, we

could say. And the year Covid 2020 proved decisive for the sound of the new repertoire.

Mec Yek opted for a lightweight device with percussion, in order to be easily maneuverable and

to be able to rehearse in complete safety in the most diverse places: outdoors or in large

interior spaces, with the necessary distance. Most recordings have been made of this

way, moreover, in the VK concert hall in Molenbeek.

For the repertoire itself, Katia and Milka returned to their youth in Kosice, Slovakia, to a

demo of songs they made with their brothers. But there are also particular arrangements of

traditional Roma songs. The songs are sung in Romanesque, but sometimes also in Russian and

There's even a little bit in Dutch. With a wide musical palette, from tarantella to ska to name a few

by the blues of the islands. But against all odds: Mec Yek is a gypsy group without a violin.