Georgia delivered us the last surprise of 2017 by announcing the ethno-jazz band Iriao has been internally selected to represant the country in the Lisbon 2018 Eurovision song contest. So, expect some outstanding mix between jazz and Georgian ethno folk music!
The band's name comes from the famous Georgian yodling style krimanchuli, where "iriao uruao" is a common phrase. The band's goal is not however to try to modernize the UNESCO recognized Georgian polyfony music, but to saturate and adorn it with jazz elemenets.
David Malazonia is the mastermind behind the band and he has been succesfully composing over 30 years for theater and films in both Georgia and Germany, and started Iriao in 2013.
Besides Malazonia (Composer, Keys, Arranger and Leader) the band includes Nugzar Kavtaradze (Georgian Folk Instruments), Levan Abshilava (Drums, Percussion), Shalva Gelekva (Bass), George Abashidze (Vocal & Misc.), Mikheil Javakhishvili (Vocal & Misc.) and Bidzina Murgulia (Vocal & Misc.)
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