Silvayovci

Slovak band Silvayovci, from the city of Košice (European Capital of Culture 2013), performing at the Sports Cafe in Haymarket, London, this afternoon. Silvayovci are a traditional band with a twist, using trad instruments to play both traditional Slovak music and reworked interpretations of modern Western pop hits – they were covering Billy Jean in one of these images.
Although shooting at the Sports Cafe (which is being used as a meeting and entertainment venue by the Slovak Tourist Board during the Olympics) freed me from the usual three songs / 15 minutes time constraint of most concert venues, it meant that the band were surrounded by several large flat screen TVs showing coverage of the Olympics (nice red wall though). Avoiding these screens effectively limited me to shooting two band members, Slávka Lorencovičová (vocals and cajón in the first image, and violin in the third one – that’s Pavol Križalkovič in the background of the first one playing accordion) and Juraj Helcmanovský (cimbalom in the second image). Hopefully I can get some more shots of Silvayovci when I’m in Košice later this year….
All shot on a D700 with a 50/1.4G at 2000 or 1600 ISO, using available light.



Photos © Rudolf Abraham. No unauthorized use.