Kartulia by SHARA (CD)

The Georgian folk band SHARA releases their debut album – 6 musicians, 4 dancers and plenty of songs in the famous Georgian polyphonic singing!

For a long time, the Republic of Georgia has been something of a hidden treasure. Being located at the border between Europe and Asia – the window from occident to orient – it developed an unbelievably rich culture that most people still to this day have only very limited knowledge about. Besides their unique language and their legendary hospitality, music is a uniting element in Georgian culture – the vocal part even a Unesco World Heritage.

SHARA, a band of 11 people – 6 musicians and 4 dancers – is bound to bring their wonderful and rich sound to the rest of the world.
SHARA is a very special group in a lot of ways. After their former band “Lakada” ended, founding members Giorgi Shanava, Giorgi Dzadzamia and the brothers Luka and Levan Mebonia added Irakli Chargazia and Shalva Tsivilashvili to the line up and met with famous producer Chabuka Amiranashvili. Together they developed a completely new approach to Georgian folk music and created an entirely new programme – GEORGIAN ETHNO FOLK.
Chabuka Amiranashvili wrote a lot of new material but also drew on classical folk songs from the different regions of Georgia. But they didn’t stop there: For special occasions and for touring four professional dancers were added to the group which allows for a unique immersion into the songs and the stories that they tell. “Shara sings in Georgian most of the times and the dancers help us visually to illustrate the story of our songs, so people who don’t know our language can also understand them. The choreographies of our dancers are so emotional that it’s impossible for the audience to be indifferent.” (Chabuka Amiranashvili).
After concerts in Lithuania, Germany, the Czech Republic, Russia, and, of course, Georgia Shara is already the most successful band in Georgia’s New Ethno Music scene. They performed at the legendary “Voices of Nomads”-Festival in Buryatia, Russia and a tour through Russia is currently being booked.
Apart from performing with SHARA, the vocalists are also Teachers of the special Georgian singing style in different parts of the world and are so keeping this tradition alive, which belongs to the UNESCO world heritage.

SHARA (which means “Narrow Road”) accomplishes something very rare: To combine the familiar with new and exciting sounds and visuals to create something that is by far greater than the sum of its parts: A total immersion into Georgian culture that captivates the imagination of the audience from the first note.