Fatima Spar & The Freedom Fries

Concert

“We can’t let Istanbul become Vienna” is the satirical slogan that Fatima Spar & The Freedom Fries formulated to respond to the political campaigns of the early 2000s. This ironic dig is still current today, when campaign posters in Styria use the rallying cry “Tradition beats migration!” The compositions and unique arrangements of the multicultural ensemble still hit the mark fifteen years after the group was formed; its members originate from all the various countries that emerged from the former territories of the Habsburg monarchy and the Ottoman Empire. Peppered with wordplay and intrepid drum lines, Fatima Spar & the Freedom Fries create dance music that is far more than the sum of its parts. A synergy of 1930s swing, pop, and elements of Balkan music, the atmosphere created by Fatima Spar & The Freedom Fries just makes you want to dance and defies potential labels of being “retro” or “restorative.”


Fatima Spar (1977, Hohenems, Austria) is a jazz musician, who founded the world-music group Fatima Spar & The Freedom Fries. The group has been touring clubs and festivals all over the world ever since 2004. In 2015 she produced her first big-band album. Spar writes songs in Turkish, English, and German. For steirischer herbst she performs with Philipp Moosbrugger, Sasa Nikolic, Orges Toce, Milos Todorovski, and Alexandar Wladigeroff. Spar lives in Vienna.

19.9.19, 23:00

Opening Extravaganza

Congress Graz, Kammermusiksaal
Albrechtgasse 1
8010 Graz
♿ Venue accessible for wheelchairs

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Free admission with Festival Pass

No single tickets

Vocals: Fatima Spar
Trumpet: Alexander Wladigeroff
Guitar: Orges Toce
Accordion: Milos Todorovski
Bass: Philipp Moosbrugger
Drums: Sasa Nikolic