Debi Botos' music blends Hungarian gypsy roots with the swing of Django Reinhardt. The young guitarist, who was born in Budapest and grew up in Toronto, absorbed some of her current style with her mother's milk, as Mama Botos sang the tunes of her homeland to her from an early age, including many nótas - melancholy songs full of longing.

And so Debi Botos tends to stand for soulful, almost restrained music and has less to do with the exhilarated outbursts of temperament and fretboard frenzy that is often prevalent in swing manouche. The self-taught musician, who has already been a guest at many international festivals, has her very own style, breaking through gentle chord progressions with razor-sharp rhythmic attacks.

You can hear this with us and on Debi Botos' debut album Mirror Me, on which she shows that tradition can be developed further and that gypsy jazz or swing manouche can cultivate the dialog between old and new in an open, lively language.

Supported by the Cultural Department of the City of Munich