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'ARTIST PROFILE' |
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Sokole is a group of women from the 'Sunshine Coast' of British Columbia who enjoy singing songs from the Balkans. |
 photo from video by Scott Bleakley |
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The songs we sing are usually sung by the women of smaller villages and are filled with stories of sadness, joy, playfulness and community but really, they all come down to the two main basics of life, ' love and agriculture'; think about it, what else is there? |
While only two of us have any eastern European heritage, we all have a love of the music, the sounds, the rhythms and the strength we feel singing with each other. Our musical director, Linda Williams, learned this style of singing from ethnic festivals, at workshops and from others who love these songs. When moving to Roberts Creek, on the Sunshine Coast (a 40 minute ferry ride from Vancouver, B.C. Canada) she wanted to share her knowledge and enthusiasm for this type of music with others. This resulted very quickly in the formation of 'Sokole' (a Croatian word meaning falcon). |
We are a 9 voice women's a cappella group that have been singing together since 1998 and have performed in many varied events and festivals. We sing in the languages of the songs, Bulgarian, Croatian, Macedonian, Czechoslovakian, Georgian, Serbian and Ukrainian. This is very powerful music and appeals to all those that hear it, many hearing it for the first time. We have recently added two more voices in the form of the Bulgarian 'Tambura' and the 'Dumbek', to add a little more flavour to our performance. "The visceral vocal energy, the wide-ranging dynamics and the raw power in this strangely wonderful, eastern vocalism lit up the auditorium. I want to hear more of this." |
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The current voices of Sokole include: Lorraine Caple Lynda Carlson Joyce Chong Lynn McKay Tamara Mortimer Katherine Muller Heather Powell Jana Razgo Linda Williams |
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| The women of Sokole are always finding new and exciting songs from the Balkans to please their loving audiences on the Sunshine Coast and beyond. We continue to perform at many festivals, celebrations, openings and venues, from beaches to trees and even some stages. Most of our founding members are still with us, those that move on often take the spirit of the music with them and share it in their new communities. |
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