Description:

Los Desterrados ? ?The Exiles? ? weave soul, jazz, flamenco and folk influences into the ancient Mediterranean music of the Sephardic Jews, creating a rootsy, contemporary sound that will appeal to a wide range of world music fans. The band was formed in 2000 as the brainchild of guitarist and oud player Daniel Jonas, with the objective of exploring the largely overlooked Judeo-Spanish musical tradition and bringing ancient Ladino music back to life for modern audiences. The repertoire is sung mainly in Ladino, a UNESCO-protected language. It is estimated that there are fewer than 250,000 Ladino speakers left. The songs themselves may be ancient, but they?re as relevant and powerful as they were 500 years ago, with their tales of love, faith, war and family life. Each member of the band brings their own musical inspirations to the mix, whether it?s jazz, funk, classical, flamenco, heavy metal or folk and the resulting music is an energetic blend of all these influences, plus a healthy dose of London attitude. In 2009 Los Desterrados were nominated for Best Group in the inaugural Songlines Music Awards, which led to festival appearances at Womad, Shambala, Queen\'s (Belfast), Canterbury and Brighton Sacred Music festivals. Los Des can also be found performing regularly as part of the London?s thriving world music scene at venues which have included the Roundhouse, Indig02, National Theatre, Notting Hill Arts Club, Wilton?s Music Hall, Clore Ballroom, St Ethelburga?s, and Rich Mix, Jewish Museum, the Scoop and artsdepot. Outside London, the band have played successful gigs at St George?s, Bristol, York?s Early Music Centre, The Venue, Leeds, The Carriage Works, Leeds and The Acorn Arts Centre, Penzance. Los Desterrados have released three albums, selling over 6,000 CDs to date (including over 1,000 in Turkey) through worldwide distribution. Their most recent album, \'Miradores\', was produced by Simon Edwards, former member of Brit Award-wi