Varkocs (Коса)

Varkocs (traditional braid) use only old pagan Slavic and Hungarian acoustic folk instruments. Their goal is to collect songs dedicated to the jaw harp as found in different ethnic groups living in Slovakia (e.g. Slovak, Hungarian, Ruthenian and Czech). That is why the band sings in four languages. The repertoire is based on songs that they have learned from old village masters and found in various archives. The jaw harp has a special place in Rye Islandian folk music; its use was mainly spread by Roma metalworkers and expanded rapidly around Slovakia by shepherds and village musicians. The band, however, enriches the songs with a new flavor of imaginative arrangements, almost pagan energy, and the sound of the jaw harp as a solo instrument.