POZA

Poza’s repertoire is made up of street songs from the big cities of Eastern Europe and Asia Minor. This tradition reaches back far into the past, and represents the most popular artistic form among nomads from the East. Their erratic way of life is reflected in the texts, which speak of love, sex, gambling, drugs and other addictions, of the emptiness of human life, of envy, vanity and madness. Despite these themes, the mood of the songs is one of joy and vitality, and all of them are good for dancing, too. The group’s main inspiration comes from the musical tradition of Romanies and Jews who lived in the Ukraine, Macedonia, Greece, Albania, Romania and Turkey. Poza draws on such styles of music as klezmer, hasapiko, tsifteteli, kalamatianos, rembetika, tziganochka and others.

The founder of Poza, Alec Kopyt (accordion, voice), has roots going back to Odessa, a port city where Russian, Jewish, Greek, Turkish and Romany cultures mixed, and where he himself grew up among thieves, prostitutes and swindlers. He began playing the accordion when he was ten years old. Currently he lives in Amsterdam. The other member of Poza, Leonid Soybelman (guitar, voice) comes from Estonia, and currently lives in Berlin. He is also a member of the groups Ne Zdhali, Kletka Red and Gestar, and has undertaken several solo projects as well.