Imam Baildi | ms

Imam Baildi is a very popular Southeast Mediterranean dish consisting of aubergine stuffed with onion, garlic, and tomatoes simmered in olive oil. It is a similar fine blend that brothers Lysandros and Orestis Falireas and their 8 piece band do - only in musical terms!

Here’s what happens in their melting pot: Bouzouki meets electro swing, Greek roots meet hip hop and mambo big band orchestration, and original Greek - Balkan brass action meets uplifting MC’s and Cuban montuno’s. A truly unique blend of Greek retro gems with new orchestration, production and remixing techniques the brothers were subjected to while studying in Europe.

Their self-titled debut was released in 2007 to an international critical acclaim, followed by ‘The Imam Baildi Cookbook’ -Dec ’10, which reached no.5 in the European World Music Charts (June ‘11). Nothing similar is to be found in world music, and what’s best is that this is not just home-cooking, Imam Baildi’s shows are nothing less than perfectly prepared, massive sounding, 100% danceable acts.

Even before their album was distributed in European markets, Imam Baildi were discovered in the web and invited to perform in major European festivals such as Transmusicales de Rennes and Roskilde Festival. 2009 and 2010 found them performing more in Europe while playing an average of 80 gigs per year in Greece.

But it was not before 2011 that Imam Baildi started experiencing a serious boost in their performing activity. In short: Cologne 31Dec10 – Funkhaus Europa Party – SOLD OUT || Rudolstadt TFF Festival ’11: main stage, Saturday night, 15000 pax || Paradiso Club – Amsterdam Roots Festival || Oslo World Music Festival ’11 – SOLD OUT || Palace Akropolis – Prague || Is Sanat Istanbul SOLD OUT || FEB 2011 TOUR - 13 GIGS - SOLD OUT in Berlin, Copenhagen, Cologne, Frankfurt.

UPCOMING GIGS: Funkhaus Europa Festival - Mullheim 05/05 || FESTIVAL D'ÉTÉ DE VALENCE 22/07 || SZIGET FESTIVAL: 11/08 || ARIANO FOLKFESTIVAL 17/8 || and more tbc.
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