Suí Vesan

Suí Vesan grew up in Czechoslovakia under communist rule. When she was 14 years old, her father took her to Syria, where she was stunned and delighted by Muslim sounds and heard Western pop for the first time. Back home, she took up belly-dancing and began to vocalize partly in an invented language she calls Tatlanina. She also discovered Indian literature, which endowed her with an animist’s appreciation of nature. Following unpleasant incidents involving official repression, she put her career on hold, got married, had children and worked as a primary school teacher. Eleven years later, she got back to performing the starkly percussive personal amalgam that she calls Dadajazz. Accompanied by her guitarist husband, Rado, she gradually reclaimed her inner universe, even inventing new instruments as the need arose. Her first album, Suí, was released to astonished yet overwhelming critical acclaim. It became a fixture on BBC 3’s Top 20 World Music Charts and the song Makovienka reached number 13, remaining on the charts for six months. In 2002, she opened the Jazz Festival at London’s Royal Festival Hall and has since become a favorite wherever audiences have open ears and share her rarified sense of humor.

"Imagine Kate Bush taking you by the hand, leading you deep into the Slovakian countryside and showering you with pine cones. There is no doubt that Suí Vesan has a voice of her own and confidence in the presentation of her music."
- Fiona Talkington, BBC