MUSIC
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MOLOTOV JUKEBOX
PHOTO: DREW COX
Game of Thrones star Natalia Tena brings her gypsy-punk band north A band notorious for their high-octane live sets, Molotov Jukebox blend samba rhythms, Latino instrumentation and gypsy-punk riffs to form a sound that’s full of flavour. Following a tour of South America and two successful PledgeMusic campaigns, the six-piece is back with their second release, Tropical Gypsy, an album that builds on the energy and passion of their debut Carnival Flower. ‘We were trying to focus our sound and find our genre so we locked that down first,’ explains frontwoman and accordion player Natalia Tena (you might also recognise her as Harry Potter’s Tonks and Game of Thrones’ Osha). ‘Any time we started deviating on musical tangents during the creative process, we would look to the album title as a fixed mark, which is really an attempt at fusing the tropical hemisphere and Balkan rhythms and themes together.’ The band’s latest PledgeMusic campaign
enables fans to get more involved in innovative and creative ways. One such example involves Tena and violinist Sam Apley visiting the homes of dedicated supporters to cook lasagne. ‘I reckon it helps fans that pledge to connect with you as humans while being directly responsible for the album getting made. It’s a sexy symbiotic relationship and it humbled us that people actually did help us reach our target both times and believed that we could deliver the aural goods.’ Molotov Jukebox will be taking to the road to celebrate the new album’s release. ‘I literally cannot wait to start this tour!’ says Tena. ‘The closer it gets, the more it’s a strange combination of insomnia-inducing terror and manic, joyous excitement, like you’re a child desperate for Christmas but worried Santa might turn out to be psychopath.’ (Arusa Qureshi) Q King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow, Thu 28 Apr; Electric Circus, Edinburgh, Fri 29 Apr.
7 Apr–2 Jun 2016 THE LIST 79
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