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Darko Rundek & Cargo Orkestar
Ruke: La Comédie Des Sens (Piranha)

Darko Rundek, singer, poet, actor, theatre director and frontman of the late Yugo-cult band Haustor took a holiday from his solo-career for the adventures of the Cargo Orkestar. The comédie des sens of Paris meet the European spleen of Zagreb, cosmopolitan influences of immigration clash with Balkan traditions. In the same dark vein as Boris Kovac's Ladaaba Orchest, this is music from a nightmare cabaret, full of subtle inferences and blatant miseries.

Listen:
ista slicka
makedo
ruke
tigidi rege

Musicians:
Darko Rundek - lead vocals, guitar, bass
Isabel - violin, electric violin-effects
Bruno Arnal - double bass
Dusan Vranic-Dutso - piano, bandoneon, cimbalom, backing vocals
Djani Pervan - drums, percussion, bass, guitar
Vedran Peternel - samples, loops, sound effects
Emmanuel Ferraz – trombone
Igor Pavlica – trumpet
Biljana Tutorov – video projections

About the artists:
Darko Rundek's musical career started in the beginning of the 80's as singer, then author-composer in the band Haustor in Zagreb. Haustor was a rock band with a brass section, who were open to reggae, Croatian, South American and African folk influences, which brought out four studio-recorded albums during the 80's and which disbanded in 1990; during this time it was top of the rock scene in ex-Yugoslavia, had several hits and performed numerous concerts to thousands of spectators. At the same time Darko Rundek gained his diploma in Directing at the Academy of Dramatic Art in Zagreb, directed several plays, radio dramas and radio documentaries for which he composed the music. He also played bass regularly for a Zagreb-based group, 'Cul de sac', who performed improvised music.

In 1991 he came to Paris and devoted himself mainly to theatre music. In 1995 a compilation and an album 'live' of Haustor was released. In 97 Darko Rundek presented his first album under the name 'Apocalypso' with the collaboration of about twenty musicians : a true kaleidoscope of different styles, and which was widely appreciated by public and critics alike.

In 2000 U Sirokom Svijetu (In a wide world ) was released, this was a more intimate album which delved deeper into traditional folk music. In 2002 the album 'Ruke' (Hands) was recorded in France with musicians who came together to form RUNDEK CARGO ORKESTAR and who co-wrote some of the compositions.

Meet the Cargo Orkestar
Isabel (violin, electric violin-effects), Swiss, brings to the group her exceptionally rich experience, ranging from performing theatre music with Peter Brook and touring with Nina Simone to studies of various musical and scientific traditions, J.S.Bach etc., but above all her volcanic energy and passion for instant creation. A foxy lady, a witch, a transsexual samurai.

Isabel’s house, a converted watermill on the outskirts of a small village in Bourgogne, saw the beginning of the Cargo project, with a ten-day exploration/recording session, documented by the camera of Biljana Tutorov, whose video projections have become a feature of Cargo Orkestar’s concerts. Isabel’s watermill is an Alibaba’s cave, filled with exotic instruments brought back from her voyages around the world. Đjani Pervan (drums, percussion, bass, guitar and anything that makes a noise), Bosniac, cute as a Persian prince; lived and played in Sarajevo through the years of the war, and left just before it ended. Living as a target gives one another quality of existence. With one foot in rock, with the other in Balkans folk tradition, he can play complex rhythmic structures on a darbuka with all the energy of a rock drummer. Dusan Vranic-Dutso (piano, vocals, bandoneon, cimbalom, etc.), Bosniac, bald headed, but hairy, man of many talents. Left Sarajevo with Đjani, by means of a UN aircraft and a lot of luck. He swims through the vast field of music influences with intelligence and humour, but his voice belongs to the rocky Balkan landscape.

Vedran Peternel (samples, loops, sound effects, treatments), French but Croat, Nosferatu, sound painter, the sonic boom, has lived in Paris since the age of twelve. Passionate sound designer and radiophonic creator, he has produced numerous music projects. His atelier-studio, a converted warehouse, has welcomed many rehearsals and recording sessions of Cargo Orkestar.