A blend of traditional Argentinian music with contemporary sounds, electronic beats, infused with the richness of violin and accordion

9 MP3 Songs
LATIN: Tango, WORLD: South American

Details:
Alicia Borisonik was born in 1965 in the Argentinean province Buenos Aires. As a child she started playing music on the recorder at the age of seven,went on to play the organ and guitar, and by 12 or 13 years old she was composing music and writing poetic lyrics for her songs. Fascinated by harmonies, she taught herself by playing music, recording it, and playing over it. The accordion â the same instrument that her grandfather left Russia with as a boy â is an instrument Alicia learned to play as an adult.

Alicia enjoyed countless musical successes in Argentina. As a singer, arranger, composer and performer, Aliciaâs talents were regularly called upon in the thriving musical scene of Buenos Aires. She performed and toured with rock groups, Broadway-type musicals and theatre companies. However, she was unhappy living under a repressive and unpredictable regime. While visiting her sister in Canada she fell in love with the sense of freedom the country offered and so, in 1994, Alicia emmigrated to Canada.
Based in Hull Québec, where she now lives with her husband and stepson, Alicia has built a career around composing, teaching and performing. She plays accordion and keyboards, and is a vocalist, composer, and arranger.
She is also a professional piano instructor â including jazz and tango piano. She teaches both adults and in schools through support from the SOCAN Foundation,MASC,and the Ontario Arts Council. She has received funding from Ontario Arts Council, Canada Council, Conseil des Arts du Québec and FACTOR for research, composition and recording.

Drawn back to the traditional folk and tango music of her native Argentina, Alicia returned to Buenos Aires for the summer of 2006 to study tango and Argentinian folk music with some of the best local musicians.âGoing to Buenos Aires, my city, is for me a tremendous source of inspiration, the local scene is overwhelming, you can feel the lively spirit of the city vibrating all the time.â says Alicia. It is from this experience that she drew inspiration for the compositions on her latest recording, Busco un Lugar.

Quotes
âAliciaâs music stirs the soul. Itâs clear from the first note that itâs from the heart.â Donna Leon, CBC Radio In Town & Out

â... The rich diversity of cultures that co-exist in Argentina is reflected in her music along with her own European heritage. Presenters find Aliciaâs music is hard to define. She would be as at home in a classical series as she would in a jazz or world music series. Her added gift to presenters is her strong ability to collaborate with other musicians and her skill as a teacher. She is an artists of many strengths.â
Chris Dray Executive Director, Yukon Arts Centre

CD DESCRIPTION
Busco un Lugar (âLooking for my Homeâ), Alicia Borisonikâs second CD, traces Aliciaâs life from her teenage years in Argentina living under a brutal dictatorship, through the journey to her current life in Canada. On this new CD, she brings the most traditional influences of her lifexperiences together with contemporary musical innovations by blending traditional Argentinian music with contemporary vocals, electronic beats and loops, and infusing it with the richness of violin and accordion.
Alicia explains, âThis CD, in a way, is a gift to myself, the end of a cycle and the beginning of new ones. Itâs a collage of various moments, emotions and scenes from my life... â

Aliciaâs collaborative partner, drummer and artistic producer Ross Murray, created the loops, percussion and arrangements on Busco un Lugar and the roster of musicians on the CD includes Alvaro De Minaya providing bombo leguero and Latin percussion, Stuart Watkins and Tom McMahon on bass, Sunita Gingras playing violin, Rene Gely on guitar, and Daniel Srugo on Spanish guitar. Along with composing and arranging, Alicia Borisonik plays piano, accordion, and vocals.

People who are interested in Astor Piazzolla Lila Downs Gotan Project should consider this download.