Both in cover and title, this second album by Max Pashm is a parody of the Sex Pistols' debut. Fans of that group can be disappointed, because Nevermind The Balkans does not have any punk. Then what? Max Pashm is the pseudonym of Englishman Max Somers and that Brit proves that you don't need the Balkans at all to make Balkan music. Already in 1997, ten years before the outbreak of the Balkan beats
… virus, Pashm combined influences from world music with dance and hip-hop beats on his debut Weddings, Bar-Mitzvahs And Funerals. The Asian influences on his debut have disappeared and Pashm now draws more on European styles such as klezmer, Greek rebetika and gypsy music. A bit like Shantel and the Amsterdam Klezmer Band do. There are guest appearances from brass band The Baghdaddies and clarinetist Merlin Shepherd, who also debuted a year ago with a creditable album. (PdK)more
