Çyçek and tradition
Kapsamun's repertoire is based on traditional folk dances from Albania (Kosova), where
this music plays an important part in everyday life. The tradition lives on at home,
where the music is played on accordion among friends or for dancing at weddings and
other festivities as well as at festivals and concerts. The deep and simple emotions of
everyday life are reflected in the virtuoso melodies from the Middle East which are
carried by high-energy rhythm. In addition to the odd beats (5/8, 7/8, 9/8), Çyçek (4/4)
is an important rhythm that found its way from Arabia to the Balkans.

Tradition and Kapsamun
Kapsamun is powered in part by the marriage of Arsim Leka's musical homesickness and
the musical wanderlust of his Swiss co-musicians while Arsim Leka doubtlessly creates the
cultural link for the remaining members, who all joined the band in search of further
musical challenges. The dances from Leka's home with their melancholic and yet cheerful
themes captured the others' interest, as did the odd beats and regular metres that have
an exotic gleam over here, and the overall Middle Eastern, Mediterranean freshness
of this music. However, the band would like to consider this traditional music primarily as
source material: after all, even the instrumentation is not that of a traditional folk group.
We would like to remain open to further developments and influences, and the
various genres of jazz, rock and classical music from which we originate and the resulting
open and creative exchange are certainly an advantage in reaching this objective.
By shaping all these different elements into a new form, we at Kapsamun create our very
own individual style.

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