Halva plays music in traditional Eastern European styles and is currently focusing on Greek and Romanian music. The band is unique in its approach, in that it exclusively plays new compositions by bandleader Nicolaas Cottenie, inspired by traditional style and repertoire. The idea is to search for the greatest possible personal expression while celebrating the beauty of traditional music. The result is music that breathes a deep energy that invites to dance, with a touch of seriousness and moments of spiritual introspection here and there. It is music that speaks to the mind and the heart. Halva has made a name for enchanting the audience with varied and subtle manipulation of the band sound, and for their expressive and virtuosic playing.

“Musafir” is Halva’s third album. Musafir, with different spellings and pronunciations, is a word that exists in both Romanian and Greek language (among many others) and which was adopted from Turkish, where it in turn appeared after being adopted from Arabic. It has different but connected meanings in each of those languages, such as guest, traveller and stranger.

On the one hand, the title Musafir refers to the vulnerability of ‘the stranger’, to the sadness of leaving home, or being forced to leave; to the suffocating feelings of loneliness, desperation and helplessness that come along with that, and to the inherent fact of being dependent on hospitality in a faraway land. But on the other hand, it also refers to the joy of feeling connected to and accepted by others, the excitement of discovering new worlds and the satisfaction of building a worthy life.

Lyrics by Andriana Achitzanova (vocals, ney) and music by Nicolaas Cottenie explore these topics in a heartfelt and touching way, sometimes inviting the listener to dance and to celebrate the exhilarating joy of being alive, sometimes touching on introversion, sadness and spirituality.