Album Notes

Caspian Hat Dance is an independent Amsterdam band whose style is mostly influenced by Eastern European gypsy/klezmer music, and vocal and percussive roots music from Italian pizzica to Colombian cumbia.

Their shows are characterised by both high energy and great musical complexity, ongoing interchanging of instruments and languages, a blend of unusual compositions and visceral folkloric music, and inescapable demands for encore after encore.

Its members hail from Switzerland, Germany, the United States, and Uruguay, and the band has toured extensively in Eastern Europe, Holland and Germany. The Caspians are known to appear everywhere from sold-out concert halls to political actions to tiny independent cafes and cultural centers.

CHD grew out of the squat movement in Amsterdam, in which its members are still active. It quickly acquired a reputation due to its fierce musical & political independence. It publicly embraces squatting and the rights of immigrants, opposes the mandatory identification law now in place in the Netherlands, and draws attention to the deadening effects of commercial music on musical independence.

Its self-produced debut album _we say no talk_ was released under a Creative Commons License and can be purchased on the band's website for a digital donation. The website also includes a streaming radio station with content by other independent Amsterdam musicians, and a notice offering help from the band members to other independent bands struggling with booking, recording, copyright, etc.

CHD recorded an entirely original soundtrack for the film _Rafas Rules_, was the subject of a feature-length documentary on Dutch National TV, has music and interviews used in various film and TV projects, and is a well-known figure on local news.

They have played with Che Sudaka, the Amsterdam Klezmer Band, and Parno Graszt, and have acquired devoted followings in Amsterdam and Budapest.

In the words of a fan, "we all feel that something had disappeared from Budapest at Saturday dawn." (Dec 3, 2007)